Barcelona Off the Beaten Path Tips by nancyread

Although many tourists visit Tibidabo, few bother to explore the enormous woodland area on the Collserola massif. This is a pity, because there are cycleways, riding trails, and paths that provide a welcome change from pounding hot city streets. There is a visitor centre revealing the unusual mixture of Mediterranean and North European fauna and flora found in the park (including wild boars and genets). The trails are generally well-laid out and signposted. Rather than going into detail, I have placed a link to the park authority below. Note that Tibidabo is fairly close to the visitor centre [Address: Carretera de l'Esglesia, 92, Tel: 932 803 552] and a good jumping-off point for many of these walks.

However, one path you would do well to avoid is the Cami de Sant Iscle. That is because Uralita, a company making asbestos cement, dumped industrial quantities of fibre waste along this track back in the 1970s. It seemed like a good idea to the local council at the time - a durable substrate and free! Many of the locals cycle and walk along this track, blissfully unaware of the deadly legacy and the asbestos fibres released as they churn the sandy surface. As a well-informed tourist, this is one health hazard you can save yourself. After all, you want the city to have a place in your heart, not leave a shadow on your lungs.

Those staying in the old quarter of the city and anywhere near demolition work should also watch out - asbestos cement roof water tanks and piping are commonly ripped out with no concern at all for public safety. Unfortunately, environmental concern and standards in Spain still lag far behind most of Northern Europe.

If you visit the park in the autumn/winter months, check the hunting season. The locals are gun crazy and are allowed to shoot boar in the park. More than one hiker has been blasted by trigger-happy yokels.

Take these basic precautions and you should have a pleasant day out. Put enough water and food in your rucksack and a map of the paths.

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Phone: 932 803 552 park visitor centre
Website: http://pmpc.amb.es/NOVA/angles/home/home.htm

You can see the Foster Tower (the British architect, Norman Foster designed it) from virtually everywhere in Barcelona. Simply look inland (which is usually uphill) and raise your eyes to the left of Tibidabo and there it is - an elegant telecommunications tower soaring skyward. If you are going to visit Tibidabo you might as well visit the tower (there is a 360 degree enclosed viewing deck about one third of the way up). Just walk down the slip road next to the funicular down to the main road and strike off towards the tower. There is a lift [price to be inserted] up to the viewing platform. Worth a half-hour visit, perhaps combined with a trot along one of the woodland tracks (see my "Collserola Park" tip).

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The city council is trying to sell Barcelona as a kind of post-modernist nirvana full of yacht havens, conference centres, shopping malls, etc. - in fact the kind of stuff you can see almost anywhere.

Wars, uprisings, riots and revolutions are swept under the carpet by the marketing boys. It is a pity, because all of those things have made Barcelona the way it is today.

I am thinking of drawing up a Spanish Civil War itinerary. In the meantime, here are a couple of snippets on Barcelona's strife-torn history.

If you happen to be in the Sant Andreu district, look a few yards up on the wall of number 2 Socrates street. There's a cannon ball incrusted in the wall - a remnant of shelling by General Prim, who bombarded the then town of Sant Andreu de Palomar on December 22, 1842. The townsfolk were demanding a more liberal government in Spain.

Read Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia"? Visit eslgesia del Pi (church) in Placa del Pi. On the wall you will see faded writing: Placa del Milicia Desconegut (Square of the Unknown Militia Man) - the name it was given in September 1937 during the Civil War. Amazing, when you think of the pains Franco took to erase all traces of the Spanish Republic.

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Underground Sant Andreu (red line), placa Orfila > Gran de Sant Andreu street > Socrates street.

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Placa del Pi in the Barri Gotic (Old Quarter). [worth a visit in its own right]

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[Tip to be extended in due course]

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