A bike route around Barcelona

The flat geography of the city of Barcelona makes it one of the most easily passable by bike in Europe, both throughout urban and natural areas. Along the coast of Barcelona you can circulate in your bicyclo along the promenade or visit its most emblematic streets pedaling along the bike lanes, which are increasing since 2007, when in Barcelona was implanted the bike rental service “Bicing“. The advantages of the bicycle as a transportation method are countless: is echological, you are exercising while you move from a place to another, it’s cheap as the vehicle maintenance is minimal, is safe because the velocity is reduced, it is fun and develops a environmental consciousness among citizens.My purpose in this article is to develop a “touristic” route for anyone who wants to visit the landmarks of Barcelona on a bike. The route runs through the streets, avenues, walks and parks inside the city you can go by bike, either rented in one of the dozens of rent-a-bike stores, most of them located in Ciutat Vella and the Barri Gòtic, offering bikes per days or per hours, or with your own bike.

The route begins at the intersection of two main avenues that cross the city, Avenida Diagonal and Paseo de Gracia, just on a pedestrian area in Corcega Street. Pedaling on the side rail down Paseo de Gracia, we find, on the left, the Pedrera (or Casa Milà), one of the most representative architectural works of Antoni Gaudí. We will stop in front of this residential building to admire, from the outside, the impressive facade. Continuing down Paseo de Gracia and this time to the right, we could delight our eyes with another great Gaudi building, Casa Batlló. Without dwelling too much as we could create a big crowd on the sidewalk, continue down to the Plaza de Cataluña, which you can cross by bike without any problems, and even stop in the middle to give a 360 degree turn on ourselves admiring the mall buildings and offices that surround it.

Diagonally crossing the square to the right we will find the beginning of the La Rambla, it’ll probably sound familiar, right? Going down with caution on the right roadway of this iconic avenue, you’ll find several stalls selling souvenirs and local products that replace the pet stores that were on La Rambla a couple years ago. We can also stop and admire some of the dozens of human statues surrounded by tourists that are on this wide avenue. At the end of La Rambla you will smack into the giant pedestal that elevates the Columbus statue, which can be surrounded by either side until the Paseo de Colón. Riding along the excellent bike lane you can enjoy the sea breeze and the atmosphere of the Muelle de España (o Moll de la Fusta) up to the paseo de Joan Borbó, leaving behind your back the Gamba statue by Mariscal and the Barcelona’s Head by  Lichtenstein. At the end of the walk we will reach the most expected place after pedaling for so long, the Barceloneta beach! At this point we can take a break and have a drink in one of the terraces on the promenade, leaving the bike in a safe place. If we still want to continue our path we can ride along the seafront to the beaches of the Vila Olímpica, the village that was built to host the athletes during the 1992 Olympics.And here ends our recommended short bike ride to see the most emblematic landmarks of Barcelona while you get in shape. We hope that this route will be useful for you! If you want to learn more about the rental apartments offer of ShBarcelona to spend a great vacation click here.