Visit Barcelona’s Fishing Port and Eat Slow Food
Last week we went to see a part of Barcelona that neither Mari, who was born and bred in Barcelona, nor Petz who has been living here since 2004, had seen properly: Barcelona’s fishing port, the Moll de Pescadors. This part of the city, tucked behind the Hotel W and the Maremagnum in la Barceloneta, is usually closed to the public. Recently however,the fishermen’s guild has decided to show this hidden part of Barcelona to the public.
Our friends Cristina and Guillermo from Barcelona Slow Travel took us on this very different tour of our city, where people are working hard to keep the trade going. Anna, a marine biologist from el Peix al PLat, runs the project to raise awareness towards sustainability in the fishing world. She guided a group of 7 of us through the harbour where men were fixing fishing nets and all of a sudden the boats arrived and the fishermen were frantically taking the fresh catch to the auction house. We were allowed to enter and see the auction, whilst learning about the distribution of fish in Barcelona, as well as fishing techniques and fish species. The experience makes you appreciate the food you eat and understand what fish we should, and should not eat. See for example the Fish Size Ruler by the European Commission:
Being in the fishermen’s harbour feels a little like being behind the scene of the Truman show. Behind the glamorous Barcelona of yachts, fashion and cocktails, the shiny Hotel W and the Maremagnum, is a place of hard hands-on work, rough tools and fishing nets, where people are very depending on nature and fighting for their livelihood (see A portrait of Barcelona’s fishing community).
There are a lot of surprises and unanticipated pieces of information regarding our city on the tour that we don’t want to give away; some involve the clock tower and others octopus! After the auction we said goodbye to Anna, who is an amazing source of information, and very passionate about her work, and headed over to a Slow Food restaurant to try some fresh seafood. Cristina and Guillermo know the restaurant well and ordered some delicious tapas for us, all in line with sustainable fish consumption, local food (KM0) and zero waste. The conversation flowed while sipping some exquisite organic white wine, and we realised that it had been a while since we learnt so much in one day! This experience is a great example of the city we love and how you can still have a great time in Barcelona, while being a responsible visitor.
If you want to experience this part of Barcelona yourself, please contact us directly.
You might also like to read:
4 reasons to visit yök and Barcelona during the low season
7 New Year’s Resolutions for Visitors (and Locals) in Barcelona
Photos by Petz Scholtus