Barcelona

BARCELONA is a fun city to visit, but have you heard about its cool neighbour?

El Poblenou sits just outside Barcelona in Spain but has far fewer crowds.

It was named one of the coolest neighbourhood by Time Out back in 2024.

And according to Meet Barcelona, the area is known as ‘Catalan Manchester‘ what with the industrial factories that remain.

The name emerged at the start of the 20th century, when textile factories and engineering plants filled the area and played a vital part in Barcelona‘s industrialisation.

During the 60s and 70s, the local government decided that having an industrial area so close to the city wasn’t the best and moved it further away.

Read more on travel inspo

HOL YES

I’m a travel editor & mum-of-3… my favourite family holidays from just £3pp a night

SUN SWAP

I’ve visited Florida 50 times… my holiday costs less than a European all-inclusive

Many of the factories became empty until a revamp plan called ’22@’ revitalised the area to what it is today.

When it comes to visiting today, the trendy neighbourhood has fewer of the factories it once used to – though chimneys still litter the skyline – and instead lots of cosy cafes and vibrant tapas bars.

The neighbourhood even has its own Rambla, a pedestrian-friendly street modelled on the famous one in the Old City.

Much quieter than the one in central Barcelona, it stretches from Diagonal Mar shopping centre to Avinguda Diagonal to the seaside.

This is where you will then find Platja de la Nova Mar Bella – a popular Mediterranean beach.

The beach stretches for 420 metres and boasts golden sand.

In fact, it was revitalised for the 1992 Olympic Games and is today known for its calm, shallow waters.

If you happen to be in the neighbourhood during the first weekend of the month, then head to Palo Alto Market where you will find an array of street food as well as fashion and homeware stalls.

Spread across three galleries, the market also has outdoor stages with live music throughout the day.

There’s also Can Framis Museum, which is home to an array of Catalan artworks from the 1960s to present day.

Though it might seem morbid, you can also explore Cementiri de Poblenou, which is a sprawling cemetery with artistic tombs including a winged skeleton that is known as the ‘Kiss of Death’.

If you happen to be in the area during the first part of July, you will be able to visit La Fira del Poblenou – also known as Poblenou Craft Beer Festival – which is a three-day festival with 45 to 50 brewers, street food stalls and live music.

Ciutadella Park then sits just outside the neighbourhood, which is a park that opened back in the late 1800s and features a zoo, boating lake, museums and walking trails inside.

Flights to Barcelona cost as little as £13 each way in April.

To get from the airport to the neighbourhood, it’s a 20 minute drive or 50 minutes on public transport.

For more inspiration on trips to Spain, there’s a tiny Spanish island yet to have mass tourism that is still hot in January with 20C highs and quiet beaches.

Plus, there’s an all-inclusive Spanish island holiday resort that is 20C in winter with £30 easyJet flights.

FANS of Spain will be happy to hear that TUI has launched new holidays to the Spanish city closest to the UK.

Taking less than two hours to fly to, Bilbao is the largest city in Spain‘s Basque Country.

And now it will be getting new TUI holidays this spring.

The city used to be an industrial port before it was later transformed into a modern city with unique architecture.

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is one example of the interesting architecture in the city.

It was designed by Frank Gehry and inside visitors can expect 20 galleries full of art.

Read more on travel inspo

TAKING OFF

I’ve visited 50 countries & this much-loathed budget airline is the world’s best

ALL IN

I found the best value all inclusive London hotel… just £55pp with free food & booze

Make sure when visiting to see Jeff Koons’ Puppy, which is the world’s biggest flower statue with more than 38,000 flowers that are even changed twice a year.

The museum costs £13.10 per person to visit.

Whilst visiting, you should also head to Casco Viejo, which is the city’s medieval old town and is filled with shops, cafes and the Santiago Cathedral.

It is a great spot for food lovers as there are lots of restaurants and bars offering pintxos (small snack dish) along with txikitos (small glasses of wine).

Pintxos usually cost from £1.80.

Of course, whilst you are in the city, take a stroll along the Nervion River to see views of Zubizuri Bridge, Iberdrola Tower and the San Mames Stadium.

Spain‘s famous Rioja region is also nearby, so wine lovers can head off on a day trip to tour one of the historic wineries and have a taste of the local wine.

If you want to see the city from a different angle, then head on the Funicular de Artxanda and you will travel to the top of Mount Artxanda, which has amazing panoramic views of the city.

For dinner, check out Mercado de la Ribera, which is Europe’s largest covered market serving fresh food.

Temperatures in the summer hit around 26C with lots of sunshine.

What’s even better is that Bilbao is only a short flight from the UK, taking just two hours.

With TUI, travellers can fly to Bilbao from Bristol, London Gatwick, London Heathrow and Manchester Airports.

Two night breaks with return UK flights can be found for just £127pp when travelling next month.

TUI’s commercial director Chris Logan said: ”Bilbao offers a truly special city break.

“With incredible art, fantastic food and beautiful scenery all in one trip, it’s ideal for customers who want the authentic taste of Spain.

“Outside peak summer, it’s fantastic value too with great hotels, unforgettable experiences and some of the best food in the country, all in a walkable city.”

For more inspiration on Spanish holidays, here are the best Spanish resorts you’ve never heard of.

Plus, the Spanish holiday resort that has the cheapest all-inclusive holidays this summer for families on a budget.

Barca miss a chance to move above Real Madrid in the Spanish league as Catalan neighbours Girona climb to 12th.

Lamine Yamal missed a penalty as Barcelona lost to Girona 2-1, passing up a chance to overtake Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. The defeat was the second in less than a week for Barca and left them second in the table, two points behind Madrid.

A win on Monday would have taken the defending champions above their archrivals, but, instead, a crisis brewed for coach Hansi Flick, whose side lost to Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Copa del Rey last week.

The second loss came even though Barcelona took the lead early in the second half.

Yamal hit the post with his spot kick on the stroke of half-time, but 14 minutes into the second period, Pau Cubarsi met Jules Kounde’s cross from the right and placed his header perfectly into the top corner.

The goal was Barcelona’s 100th in all competitions this season, making them the second club in Europe’s big five domestic leagues to hit the century mark after Bayern Munich.

However, Girona roared back into the game just three minutes later.

Barcelona’s Joan Garcia was already the busier of the two goalkeepers, but he could not stop Thomas Lemar side-footing home from close range after nice work from Vladyslav Vanat on the left wing.

Both sides pushed for a decisive second, and it was Girona who executed with three minutes remaining, substitute Fran Beltran scoring with a low shot from just inside the box.

Girona’s Joel Roca was sent off in the dying seconds, but there were no more goals.

The victory ended a three-game winless streak for Girona and lifted them by three places into 12th, equal on points with Getafe.

Only seven points separate the 11 clubs from eighth to 18th in La Liga.

Teenage star Lamine Yamal opens the scoring after six minutes to set the foundation for a convincing Barcelona victory.

Lamine ‌Yamal scored one goal and created another as Barcelona extended their lead at the ‍top of La Liga with a 3-1 victory over Elche on Saturday.

Barcelona moved to 55 points from 22 matches, four ahead of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. Elche remained in 12th place with 24 points from 22 games.

Yamal opened the scoring for the visitors ⁠before Alvaro Rodriguez equalised for Elche in an end-to-end first half.

Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford struck ​to complete the win, sparing the blushes of wasteful Barca, who had 30 efforts ‍on goal in the match.

“We got three more points. We continue to grow as a team. We haven’t reached our peak yet,” Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said.

“We usually have people who finish well. There are times ‍when they fail. ⁠The important thing is that we have them [chances].”

Yamal sets the tone

Barcelona took the lead within six minutes when Dani Olmo played Yamal through on goal, and the 18-year-old rounded goalkeeper Inaki Pena to score his 13th goal of the season in all competitions.

Olmo struck a shot against the crossbar midway through the first half, and within a minute, Elche were level.

German Valera slipped former Real Madrid forward Rodriguez in behind the Barcelona defence, and he raced clear to score.

The visitors should have retaken the lead when Torres struck ‌the crossbar again from six yards out with a poor miss. The ball rebounded to him, and he then steered it against the post in a comical sequence of play.

Torres got his goal in 40 minutes when de Jong found space in the box and, rather than shoot himself, laid the ball back for the forward to fire into the roof ‌of the net from 15 yards.

It should have been 3-1 ⁠minutes later when Fermin Lopez somehow skied the ball over the crossbar from six yards with the goal gaping.

Barcelona continued to create chances in the second half, with substitute Rashford guilty of a poor miss when he put his shot wide ‌with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Rashford got his goal in 72 minutes, however, when Yamal’s low cross was not cleared by the Elche defence, allowing the England forward to blast the ball ‍into the roof of the net from close range.

“Barca attack very well,” Rodriguez said. “They have very good players, and it wasn’t to be. We will continue working to do better.”

Barcelona leap into Champions League automatic qualifying positions with win in Copenhagen, but PSG face playoffs.

Barcelona stormed ‌back in the second half to claim a 4-1 victory over Copenhagen at the Camp ‍Nou, sealing ‍a top-eight finish and direct qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League.

Goals from Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Marcus Rashford on Wednesday ensured the Catalans finished fifth in the standings on 16 points, level with Manchester City, Chelsea and Sporting but ahead on goal difference.

Copenhagen shocked ⁠the hosts early when 17-year-old Viktor Dadason slotted the opener past Joan Garcia in the fourth minute, but ​the second half began with a Barcelona fightback.

Yamal set up Lewandowski to equalise in ‍the 48th minute, before scoring himself in the 60th with a deflected effort that left Copenhagen keeper Dominik Kotarski helpless. Raphinha made it 3-1 from the penalty spot after Lewandowski was fouled, and Rashford added a fourth with a free kick ‍in the 85th minute.

“We ⁠all came here tonight thinking about getting into the top eight. We’re very happy with the win,” 18-year-old Yamal told Movistar Plus.

“When you concede a goal in the Champions League, it’s very difficult to come back, but the team was very resilient and managed to turn it around. With the number of matches we play in a season, having two fewer matches leaves you feeling much better.”

Despite the comfortable final result, Barcelona endured a frustrating first half, during which Copenhagen took ​a shock lead.

Dadason stunned the home crowd after Mohamed Elyounoussi delivered a ‌defence-splitting pass, allowing Dadason to outrun Barca’s high defensive line before rifling a low shot past keeper Garcia.

Clearly unsettled, Barcelona were wasteful in attack during the opening 45 minutes. Raphinha and Lewandowski spurned opportunities to equalise, while Eric Garcia came closest to levelling ‌when his driven effort struck the crossbar in the 33rd minute.

The second half, however, saw a completely transformed Barcelona.

Barely three minutes after the restart, Yamal burst forward ‌on a counterattack, darting past Copenhagen defenders before unselfishly squaring the ⁠ball for Lewandowski to slot into an empty net.

The hosts seized control and upped the tempo, pinning Copenhagen deep inside their own half, and Barca took the lead on the hour mark through Yamal, whose deflected shot from inside the box looped over a ‌stranded Kotarski and nestled into the far corner.

Raphinha made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 69th minute after Lewandowski was brought down inside the area while attempting to shoot, and substitute Rashford wrapped up ‍the scoring.

Although Barcelona delivered a clinical attacking display, questions remain about their defensive organisation. They completed the league phase without a clean sheet and finished with the worst defence among the top 13 teams.

Dembele’s penalty miss costs PSG in 1-1 draw with Newcastle

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele had a night to forget, missing an early penalty and a golden chance from close range as defending champion Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 with Newcastle in the Champions League.

The draw meant both sides finished out of the top eight places in the league table and failed to qualify automatically for the last 16. They will enter the playoffs instead.

PSG was awarded an early penalty when Bradley Barcola got behind the defence down the left wing with less than one minute played. The ball hit Barcola’s arm following a tackle from a defender coming across, and then flew onto the arm of Lewis Miley right behind him.

Miley seemed unsighted, and the handball appeared accidental, but referee Slavko Vincic awarded the spot kick following a short video review.

Dembele aimed for the bottom right corner, but goalkeeper Nick Pope made a brilliant save. Pope was beaten in the eighth minute when Vitinha curled a shot into the same corner after being set up by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia on the edge of the penalty area.

Dembele, who scored 35 goals overall last season, scooped the ball well over the crossbar from 10 metres out in the 40th minute when meeting a cross from the left.

Joe Willock equalised for the visitors in first-half stoppage time, and substitute Harvey Barnes missed a chance to win it for the visitors with moments left.

A British woman who relocated to Barcelona almost 10 years ago has witnessed locals becoming increasingly frustrated with the transformation of their neighbourhoods due to the influx of expats and tourists

A British woman who moved to Barcelona has told how residents are growing more and more fed up with how their communities are changing due to the influx of nomads. Gemma Askham made the move to the sought-after Spanish destination in 2017 when her half-Spanish husband’s career took them there, and she’s remained ever since.

While the initial six years passed without much drama, a wave of expats arriving, combined with anti-tourism feelings stirred up by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification (SET) campaign, has transformed the neighbourhood.

With foreigners and holidaymakers flooding into Barcelona, the local economy has adapted to serve their tastes and needs, instead of the other way round. Gemma observed that this tension between expats and their new home escalated after the Covid-19 outbreak.

OPINION

Writing in Grazia back in August 2025, at a time when brewing tensions were escalating between residents and tourists, Gemma explained: “In 2023, a street pedestrianisation project aimed at improving community life was completed. But there are now eight English-named brunch cafes within two blocks.”

Hiding the confusion this has caused among locals, Gemma shared how her 69-year-old neighbour, Toni Fontclara, can’t understand why people queue at 11 am for avocado on toast, “a dish not from the region, served at an unheard-of eating hour for the Spanish, with a menu in a language he doesn’t speak”.

Gemma’s not the only one spotting Barcelona’s transformation, with visitor numbers dropping after years of anti-tourism demonstrations. Another British resident, also living in Barcelona, previously disclosed that certain areas of the city have become noticeably quieter, with holidaymakers being put off from visiting.

Laura, who has been based in the city for around three years, took to social media last summer to post videos of empty streets, showing just how unusually quiet they had become during daylight hours. She said: “Day one of recording how quiet Barcelona is now, the tourists don’t feel welcome. The businesses must be feeling it. The streets are so quiet now. These businesses last year used to wake me up in the morning. One has just recently been renovated.”

Laura’s clips demonstrate just how effective some of the demonstrations have proved, although views remain divided on what they’re really trying to achieve. Whilst some protesters have been calling for tourists to stay away, others insist the demonstrations are rooted in a desire to protect local residents, rather than drive away visitors.

Professor Marina Novelli explained: “Places like Lisbon, Venice and Barcelona are increasingly reduced to lifestyle backdrops where locals feel like strangers. The SET movement is about cross-border solidarity. Ultimately, it’s not anti-tourist, it’s pro-resident.”

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com

READ MORE: ‘I haven’t used the sink’ since getting no-plumbing dishwasher now £50 off