Nou Barris

No tourist comes here, and Nou Barris likes it that way. Built in the 50s and 60s by immigrants from Andalucía and Murcia who came north looking for factory work, this working-class district keeps its own counsel. Via Júlia—they call it the Rambla of Nou Barris—has the bars and shops but none of the cruise-ship crowds. You'll hear more Spanish than Catalan, more Andalusian than anything. Only 4 hotels exist in the entire district, but 130 restaurants serve the kind of food you remember: homemade tapas, menú del día for €10, vermouth poured by people who've poured it for decades. Some areas are rough—poverty didn't disappear when the factories did—but the 72 things to do here include green parks, community centers, and an authenticity that the rest of Barcelona has priced out. Come hungry, come curious, keep your wits.