Gràcia

L’Entresol is probably the coolest bar in Gracia’s, mainly because of its commitment to a clean and contemporary design, a musical selection that's always updated to the latest world trends and their menu of G&Ts that will have you feeling like you've just drunk from the fountain of youth. Until the next day. The G&T with tea takes top billing. Beautiful people and some famous faces fill out the tree of this growing family.

This tea shop named after an Indian island features carved wood stools and tables decorated with a collage of images from newspapers and magazines. Sit a spell and play chess or other table games while you have a cuppa. After 10 pm, enjoy the 'happy hour' menu of gin and tonics and other cocktails. 

Like a man called Peter who names his son Peter, so is the Cafè del Sol. Why take unnecessary risks with fancy names when you're the king of a square where the sun always shines, the trees tickle the windows with their leaves and the dogs bark with glee. An emblem of the Gràcia neighbourhood, Cafè del Sol was one of the first bars to open in this most famous of Gràcia squares, which is a spot not only for sun worshippers, but also for barrio dogs and more than a few buskers. Cafè del Sol features a generous terrace peppered with metal chairs, where day and night, you hear patrons speaking local and world languages, not understanding each other until the waiter comes over, when everyone knows how to order a 'cervesa'.If you're not into the uneven sunburn sitting in squares can lead to, inside the bar is like a Gothic cathedral – nice and cool, and a good retreat for the more freckly among us. There's a lovely marble bar, where you can look over the homemade dishes of the day before ordering and sitting at a table while reading the paper. The staff are friendly and the service, while it make take longer in warmer terrace-packed months, is quick and attentive. And if you are inside and don't get a chance to enjoy the constant stream of penny whistle players, the music from the speakers is loud enough to tap your foot to, but quiet enough to talk to friends over a candle lit on your table.

Àlex González has reinvented the clothes shop Boo without leaving the Gràcia neighbourhood or losing the essence of what makes it special. They stock international brands such as Saint James, Penfield and Levis, and items from independent designers including Tuk Tuk and Plectrum. Check it out, even if just for the fun of getting changed in a 1920s Barcelona telephone cabin.

A manifest, a set of ethics, a price: none of the garments or accessories found at GreenLifeStyle break the principles of sustainability, recycling and fair trade. Another unwritten rule is support for design. We love the Milch jumpsuits, the knitted pieces from Caro-e, the colours of the Maronskis and the silhouettes from Las Racines du Ciel. Dress for winter with a hat and a knit sweater from Carolina Simón.

Pinc Store is the shop, workshop and creative lab of Ana Tichy, a designer who works with and reworks sewing patterns, stretches the boundaries of the textiles she uses, and also includes embroidery in her collections.

Gaudí's brief for the design of what became Park Güell was to emulate the English garden cities so admired by his patron Eusebi Güell: to lay out a self-contained suburb for the wealthy, but also to design the public areas. (This English influence explains the anglicised spelling of 'Park'.) The original plan called for the plots to be sold and the properties designed by other architects. However, the idea never took off – perhaps because it was too far from the city, perhaps because it was too radical – and the Güell family gave the park to the city in 1922. The fantastical exuberance of Gaudí's imagination remains breathtaking. Visitors were once welcomed by two life-size mechanical gazelles, a typically bizarre religious reference by Gaudí to medieval Hebrew love poetry, although these were unfortunately destroyed in the Civil War. The two gatehouses that remain were based on designs the architect made for the opera Hänsel and Gretel, one of them featuring a red and white mushroom for a roof. From here, walk up a splendid staircase flanked by multi-coloured battlements, past the iconic mosaic lizard sculpture, to what would have been the main marketplace. Here, 86 palm-shaped pillars hold up a roof, reminiscent of the hypostyle hall at Luxor. 

This small but important venue was founded by the Samuel Beckett–inspired Teatro Fronterizo group, run by playwright José Sanchís Sinisterra. He's no longer based at the theatre, but his influence prevails. Since its inception, the theatre has promoted contemporary dramatists and has shown a visible interest in experimentation and in new forms of dramatic writing. Sala Becket also offers an intense programme of education and training in workshops and seminars.

The five-screen Verdi and Verdi Park, its four-screen annexe on the next street, have transformed this corner of Gràcia with a diverse programme of independent, mainly European and Asian cinema. At peak times, chaos reigns; arrive early and make sure you don't confuse the line to enter for the line to buy tickets.

The CAT is city group that runs the Associació Cultural TRAM (organisers of the Festival Tradicionàrius, the most important traditional music festival in Catalonia) and opened the L’Artesà civic centre in Gràcia in 1993. The CAT regularly organises concerts, dances and improvisation sessions, as well as workshops and traditional music performances.

This alternative theatre offers high-quality plays and dance performances, including some in English and an entire programme just for kids.

Certainly one of the best spots in Gràcia for live music and a good night out, Heliogàbal Cultural Association sprang up in 1995 to provide a platform for the development and promotion of arts and cultural activities in the barrio. Since 2001, with a new management team, the association has focused on displaying and promoting poetry and music projects, as well as other forms of artistic expression: painting and photography exhibitions, books, magazine and fanzine launches, audiovisual screenings, etc. Heliogàbal is where the public and the locals meet with artists, groups and associations. It also collaborates with other cultural platforms and artistic associations of Barcelona, such as independent record labels and publishers. In its many years of activity, the Heliogàbal Cultural Association has become a reference point for the revitalisation of artistic life in Gràcia.

This is the sound of a neighbourhood bar for young people who want fair prices and care more about the music in the joint than some fancy furniture. Elèctric has a carefree, indie air about it, like being in your best friend's living room where all you have to do is kick back and relax. At the back is a comfy lounge where they regularly host concerts by local underground bands, jam sessions, and rumba, folk and electronica acts. It's just the right blend of a concert hall and alt bohemian bar.

This is a warehouse full of nighttime memories run by those passionate about collecting. At the weekend, they play host to a group of others who share their nostalgia and are not satisfied with the nocturnal and musical trends of the last couple of decades.