Written in the Stars

Originally published in Metropolitan

Anyone who has stood outside at night and peered up into the skies above Barcelona knows that there’s not much more to see than the gold-frosted hue of light pollution typical of metropolitan cities. This light pollution, known as skyglow, means we city dwellers see a fraction of the stars that are visible in the countryside, and even with the help of telescopes, they’re difficult or impossible to spot.

Luckily, we live near rural landscapes that are perfect for viewing the stars unobstructed. Whether you choose to see them through a telescope at an observatory or with the naked eye through the flap of your tent, we have gathered a few of the best places to stargaze in Barcelona’s backyard.

Learn about the Stars

Observatori Fabra de Barcelona

Closest to Barcelona, the Fabra Observatory is a short drive into the Collserola hills. Established in 1904, it’s the fourth oldest functioning observatory in the world. The observatory’s scientists give tours of the facility (in Catalan or Spanish), which teach visitors about astronomy, meteorology and seismology, as well as the domestic uses of the building in the early 20th century. The guides also demonstrate how the observatory’s two modern telescopes work and show guests around the library and panoramic terrace. During the visit, you can freely access the observatory's gardens every Sunday and public holiday from 11:00 to 13:00. If you want to know more about the night sky after the tour, there are basic and advanced astronomy courses available.

For a less academic experience that’s just as memorable, during the summer months you can make a reservation for the Dining with the Stars dinner series that the observatory hosts. The dinners take place outdoors with a privileged view of Barcelona. After dinner, a 30-minute scientific talk is held, with a question and answer session at the end. You can also visit the museum, the modernist room, the telescope and the large dome room. From the dome you will be able observe elements of distant constellations, stars and much of the solar system, with the 1904 telescope—one of the largest and oldest in Europe still in operation.

Guided Day Tours

Hours: Sundays, 11:00

Price: €3, free for children under 14

Guided Night Tours & Observation

Hours: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at sunset, October to June

Price: €15 adult on Friday, €25 adult on Saturday and Sunday, children up to 12 years pay half-price

Reservations required: Call 93 327 0121 or 697 864 262

Address: Camí de l'Observatori, s/n, 08035 Barcelona | fabra.cat

Catalan Rite of Spring: the Calçotada

"February can be a surprising month for those new to Catalunya. Visitors to Barcelona are sometimes struck by the seemingly non-Mediterranean feel of the temperatures, while new transplants to the city sit tight, not-so-patiently awaiting summer. In this at-times bleak in-between, the Catalan tradition of the calçotada is a welcome highlight signaling the imminent arrival of spring.

The calçotada is the event that celebrates the beloved calçot, a wild spring onion that grows in the woods and national parks throughout Catalunya. Its harvesting period is determined by the conditions of each particular season, but most years it is possible to find calçots on the menu from the beginning of February until the first weeks of March. Families and restaurant owners grow or forage for their own calçots and then gather together in groups to happily feast on their spoils. It has become such a well-loved tradition in the region that the anticipation of this annual event is almost tangible."

Dead Sea Poems

"It was springtime when we descended to the Dead Sea. I wanted to take in the wide horizon with a breath, but I was shaken and caught by the geometries of light and landscape, by the myths of the soil retold to us by the passage of time, by the plain fields of an electric sea, unburdened and alive."

Alta Alella

"From the top of the hill, you can see the Mediterranean sparkling on the horizon. Clusters of fat bees are bobbing and weaving, drunk on the nectar of the yellow wildflowers they’re inspecting. An incessant warble of birdcall trills overhead carried by the constant breeze that blows up from the sea. We are standing at the top of the amphitheatre, as they call it here at Alta Alella, the u-shaped set of terraces which hold the majority of the vineyard’s experimental vines. My tour guide, Matilde, has brought me up here for a quick look of Alella’s operation, but we’re so entranced by the view that neither of us really wants to leave. We linger a little longer, me making up questions I didn’t have on my list, her telling me little stories about the work and her life before arriving at the vineyard. We wave to a neighbor on his morning walk along the public path that runs along the property’s back fence."

On Dancing

"We're on a photo shoot for a magazine article I'm writing, but we're having trouble keeping our efforts serious. So many of the photos are rendered unusable because Anna's laughing, her wide smile pulling her eyes closed, the images mostly out of focus. The article is a cultural piece about espadrilles, or espardenyas, as they're known here in Catalunya. Although I haven't quoted her in the article, I probably should have, because Anna owns more espardenyas than anyone I know. Most of them are worn with age, the way her point shoes are, a mark of love and dedication. Luckily the light is falling and the dirt scuffs are muddled by the shadows that fall over the small corner of Parc de la Ciutadella where we're shooting. There's something about the overgrown building and the chipping paint and Anna's dirt-scuffed shoes that creates a kind of poetic trifecta."

The Dalí Triangle

"The wind-tossed coast and ever-shifting light of this part of the Catalan coastline are familiar protagonists in the paintings of Dalí, Chagall, and Picasso. The artists’ studies of the landscape reveal the powerful influence of place in their work, and none was more connected to the Costa Brava than Surrealist Salvador Dalí. Those who want to know his work intimately can journey to what is known as the Dalí triangle, in reference to the three iconic locations on Catalunya’s Costa Brava where Dalí lived and worked: Figueres, Púbol, and Portlligat."

Day Trip to Vic

"Culture, history and a special affinity for sausages, the small Catalan city of Vic makes for an excellent day trip from Barcelona by train or car, or a weekend visit to really capture the atmosphere. Sometimes written as Vich, it is the capital of Osona, a landlocked comarca (county) in central Catalunya, and is located on the banks of the river Mèder almost equidistant (approximately 70 kilometres or so) from Girona and Barcelona. A long and storied history has put Vic on the map, but it remains there, among other reasons, because of its long and fervent political history and the mythical status of its sausage. Not many other cities in the world can hang their hat on that."

Yoga Weeks

Yoga Weeks is a studio in the heart of the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona which offers week-long yoga courses for those who also want to explore the urban side of life in the city. In the latest story at Kita Collective, you can read all about the Yoga Weeks project and how co-founder Ana Puig changed her life through yoga.

Grassroots: The Espadrille

"La Manual Alpargatera is also the favourite espadrille shop of Àngeles Ortega, owner of Foodie Experience Barcelona, a local cooking school situated nearby. When teaching visitors about local culture, she regularly espouses the shoe’s virtues and sends curious clients to the shop. She appreciates the shoe for its simplicity, aesthetics and, particularly, its roots. 'I enjoy the poetry of an object that comes from such humble origins,' she explained, referring to the shoe’s beginnings as footwear for peasants. She admires them for being what she calls ‘survivors’—a shoe whose simplicity, function and form have helped it to both maintain its identity and to grow and evolve into something new."

Melissa Leighty

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