If you’ve spent any time in Barcelona, you may have heard people talking about how they feel Catalan rather than Spanish. Actually, as you get the train into the city from the airport you can see a huge piece of graffiti demanding that people “Speak Catalan.” But if you want to know about the actual history that’s behind why Catalans feel their identity is so different, then give the Born Centre Cultural a try.
This former market in the Born district hosts a ton of information about Barcelona’s history, plus a whole lot more. Come take a little visit with me!
No matter if you agree with the idea of Catalan independence or not, a visit to the Born Centre Cultural at least helps understand where separatists coming from. And it’s free!
How to visit the Born Centre Cultural:
- Address: Plaça Comercial, 12
- Closest Metro stop: Jaume I on the yellow line.
- Cost: It’s totally free! There are guided tours and special exhibitions that are paid though, at €6 regular price and €4.20 reduced.
- Discounts: People from 16-29 or over 65; additional discounts for specific card-holders and groups.
- The whole center is free after 3 p.m. on Sundays. On the first Sunday of every month, it’s free all day.
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The bar is open until midnight.
- Days it’s closed: January 1, May 1, June 24, December 25
- Official website: http://elborncentrecultural.bcn.cat/en
- Other nearby attractions: The Picasso Museum, Santa María del Mar church, the Espaí Mescladís restaurant, the Parc de la Ciutadella
Also, on a semi-related note, I recently wrote up a guide to the Catalan correfocs! You can see the article on the OK Apartment site.
Annnd I’m off to the BBK Festival in Bilbao at the end of this week! I’m so, so excited to be going to the festival.
Besos!
-Jess
Beware! You are walking on thin ice
Hi José! Thanks for your comment. However, none of this is a personal opinion at all; the museum is really dedicated to the history of Catalonia, which lots of Catalans do believe is distinct from the rest of Spain. Even if you don’t agree, like I said in the post, I think it’s still interesting to see how historical events are viewed from that perspective.
…Funny–I feel like throughout all the regions, there’s some sense of the people not totally self-identifying as straight-up, 100% Spaniards, you know???…To me, Spain is literally a conglomeration of 17 distinct little countries, with the people chock-full of orgullo for their part of the Peninsula…
In my experience so far, that’s definitely been the case! That’s why I’d love to spend more time in a more ‘traditional’ area of Spain to see what that’s like. But in Catalonia they take it very seriously and people are always talking about becoming independent. That I haven’t seen in other regions quite so much!