In 1938 during the Spanish Civil war, Francisco Franco laid siege to the city of Barcelona. On the 30 September 1938, one of Franco's bombs fell on the church killing 30 people most of whom were children from the School of Sant Philip Neri and some were refugee children from Madrid where the church had been turned into a make-shift orphanage. As people pulled survivors from the rubble, a second bomb hit the square, killing 12 more bringing the death toll to 42. It was the second worst bombing hit in Barcelona during the war. Evidence of the bombings can be seen in the pockmarked walls of the church.

Searching for a place to slow down and breathe in the bustling centre of Barcelona may be challenging, but Bar Cugat provides a solution: a timeless bar situated in Eixample, with an elegant yet low-key atmosphere. While originally stopping in for a quick coffee, we found ourselves returning an hour later for a wonderful dinner. The clean yet eclectic interior (with an Art Nouveau poster to boot) is a great place to dine, any day of the week. Recommendations: classic tapas + vermut.

Once a month I go to Jose's Hairdresser salon to cut my hair. Is an small place, simple and nice placed very near from my home, Jose cuts my hair exactly as I like it to do and the treatment is excellent: he is kind, but he doesn't speak too much, something rare in the field of hairdressers. With no doubt is one of my indispensable places of Barcelona.

This nearly 200-year-old bar— reputedly the oldest in Barcelona, is an absynthe bar. Was one of the locations from Vicky Christina Barcelona's film. The Marsella is one of those places that Hemingway supposedly loved to frequent (Hemingway being to bars in Spain what George Washington is to inns in New England).

Hidden pearl in the middle of Raval with a local feeling to it. Calm and cosy but with a lot of personality.