BARCELONA XL – 21K

Are you ready to become a local runner thru this 21km circular tour?

Your running guide will wait for you at plaza Catalunya, the big square- and the commercial heart of the city. This is also where the famous Rambla begins. This iconic avenue, now very crowded due to tourist and commercial activities, is our route to the beach. During this 1,5 km downhill, we will observe the Liceu Opera House, la Boqueria and the Gaudi Palace (Unesco World Heritage). If booked as morning tour, we will not be slowed down by the crowd and we can fully enjoy this wonderful tree lined avenue. The monument to Columbus will redirect us to the famous sail shaped hotel (W hotel), right on the beach. If lucky enough we can run a few kilometers along the Barcelona beaches enjoying the sunrise. The morning lights are simply amazing, making Barceloneta, the fishers’ quarter, a work of art.

It is now time for a jump into the past, during the middle ages and the Gothic period. We will be running in the old city, passing by Santa Maria del Mar Church (yes, the one of Ildefonso Falcones great book “Cathedral of the Sea”) and the “real” Cathedral of Barcelona.

Leaving behind the past, its now Modernism’s show time. Barcelona is the world capital of modernism thanks to many artists, among whom is the great Antoni Gaudi.

Through the Palau de la Musica we will reach the incomplete masterpiece of Gaudi: la Sagrada Familia: there are no words to describe it, I will let you be surprised. Can be a good time to take a rest and take some photos. In this area, the Sagrada is not the only Unesco World heritage monument, in fact, Hospital de San Pau is just few hundred meters away.

We can now reach the famous Passeig de Gracia, one the most expensive and most beautiful streets in Spain which hosts luxury shops, 5-star hotels and gems of Catalan modernistic buildings, among them, Gaudi’s “Casa Batlló” and “La Pedrera”, both UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Once back to our starting point in Plaza Catalunya, you will be ready to enjoy the city as a “local”, have some tapas and sangria (or take a deserved siesta).