Barcelona Bars: The Rubì and the Concha

As you know, Barcelona is the centre of European party life…
So few cities like the Catalan capital can boast so many bars, pubs, restaurants, clubs and so on.

One of the most fun attractions of the city is to walk around without any goal, among the tiny gothic streets, getting lost in the net of multiple roads to find out some little bar, some place you didn’t expect, and then stopping and resting for a while, drinking a hot chocolate or a cocktail (during the days of coldness, both are good to warm yourself up), before starting again more relaxed, finding new original and lost places where tourists from La Rambla and El Cortes Ingles will not be.

It’s impossible to compile an exhaustive guide to all the pubs and places of the city, but anyway, today I want to talk about two of them where I’ve been and that I particularly liked.

The first is called Rubì, and is found in the centre of Borne, in Banys Vells, close to the famous “La Fianna”. As the name suggests, Rubi is a completely red bar, where everything, from the chairs to the tables to the counter, justifies the name. It’s so original that it is often photographed for house magazines across the world. The bar has two floors, on the first one, there’s a big counter and some little tables, but if you go up the stairs, you can get inside an intimate and surprising little room, where there are big couches where you can lie down, while drinking a good cocktail (we suggest you go in happy hour, where you can buy cocktails for 4 euros). You can also eat international cuisine, whilst drinking Cava.

Another good place is “La Concha”, that is found on the other side of Rambla, in the very centre of the Chinese quarter. The bar has a vague kitch atmosphere in the entrance, because the walls are covered with pictures of the singer and actress Sara Montiel. Once you over come through the strange entrance, the warm and relaxed atmosphere of the bar will fascinate you. It is run by Morroccans, and then of course you can find the characteristic Narghilè that you can smoke on the comfortable couches or directly at the counter, while drinking a cocktail or a tea.
If you’re going for tapas, I think these two places are special “resting-stops” where you can take a break from your sightseeing tour. And if you want to find special accommodation, remember to choose one of the cheap appartamenti economici barcellona, or even the most beautiful alberghi Barcellona,that you can easily find in the city.

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