podtour
The Gothic Quarter: Saints, Kings and the Call
You begin in front of the Cathedral with Saint Eulàlia: her geese, the stolen finger already carved in stone in 1339, and the question of whether she ever existed.
Barceloneta: The Fishermen's Quarter: audio walk in Barcelona
A neighbourhood drawn with a ruler on the sand: the submarine that sailed in the harbour and ended up as scrap, houses that couldn't grow because of the guns, a marquis with two faces, families in thirty square metres, a cooperative born in a barber's shop, Carmen Amaya and a wooden school on the beach.
What this walk is about
You start beside the water of the harbour, where a dreamy typesetter took a wooden submarine under the surface in front of the public, only for it to be sold as scrap. Then the last warehouse of the old port, and the day the city turned to face the sea again. You enter a neighbourhood built all at once in 1753 on a beach crowded with shacks: identical houses, not one storey more, because the guns of the Citadel had to see the sea. The marquis who founded it also turned those guns on a city asking for bread. After that, numbers carved into street corners, the iron market, the cooperative that began in a barber's shop, the tavern that, according to the family who run it, invented the bomba, a tapa with an explosive name, and the house of the esparto-maker Joan Coll, the last example of the end-of-block houses from the original plan. Down by the beach, a stone bearing a woman's name, the fountain of Carmen Amaya, born in the shacks of the Somorrostro, the bathhouses and beach eating houses of the past, and the wooden school run by its pupils until the bombs of 1938. The evictions of 1966 and the bombing raids are told with respect.
- Start
- The submarine sold for scrap
- Finish
- The wooden school on the sand
- Who it is for
- A walk for anyone curious about everyday life and seafaring trades and social history and memory.
- Languages
- Spanish and British English
The route, stop by stop
An outline of the walk. The full stories are in the app.
Loading the map…
Open a marker to see its page. Use two fingers to move the map on mobile.
- 1
The submarine sold for scrap
- 2
The last warehouse and a city returning to the sea
- 3
Sand, shacks and forty years before the first stone
- 4
No building higher than the cannons allowed
- 5
The marquis with two faces
- 6
Numbers on corners, iron over the market
- 7
The barber's shop that became a co-operative
- 8
The tapas dish called a bomb
- 9
Thirty square metres for a family
- 10
A stone for Elisa
- 11
Carmen Amaya and the naked angels
- 12
Bathing huts, beach cafés and a beach for everyone
- 13
The wooden school on the sand
Walking directions are based on mapped pedestrian routes. Check local access and signs; the route is not an accessibility guarantee. Times are approximate.
Barcelona, before you go
A city worth looking up for, with pavements worth watching too. Between narrow lanes, long avenues and a break by the sea, leave room in the day to sit down.
More walks nearby
Santa Maria del Mar and the Born
You start under the colourful roof of Santa Caterina, the market a royal decree wanted to name after Isabella II, and that nobody ever called by that name.
The Gothic Quarter That Was Built in the Twentieth Century
You start in the Plaça Nova with a Picasso drawing his own hand never touched, and with the only two round towers left on the Roman wall: those really are old.
Good to know
What is Podtour?
An app for self-guided audio walks. Choose a city and a route, then listen to the stories behind its streets. You decide when to start and when to stop.
When can I download the app?
Podtour is coming to iOS and Android. There is no confirmed launch date yet. Join the waitlist and we will let you know when it is ready.
Does Podtour include attraction tickets?
No. Street walks and monument audio tours do not include admission tickets, transport or a guide accompanying you.
Can I listen without an internet connection?
Download the audio in the app before heading out, then listen offline. Loading the online base map and calculating a new route from your location require a connection.
What languages are included?
Every route includes Spanish and British English. The English version is adapted for English-speaking travellers, rather than translated word for word.
How do I get a whole city for free?
Join the waitlist, choose a city and confirm your email address. When the app launches, we will email you with access details. No card is required. You can also try one free route in every city.
Can I buy for myself or for a group?
Yes. Your own access is included and you can choose 0–5 guests: up to 6 people including you. Each guest saves up to €0.50 on a walk, €1 on a pack or €2 on a whole city compared with buying separately. The counter shows the total before you confirm one payment.
How do I share, and when must guests accept?
After paying, share your purchase’s invitation link. Each guest opens it in Podtour and accepts their place on their own iPhone or Android phone. They must redeem it within 30 days of purchase. Unclaimed places then expire and cannot be recovered or renewed. Access accepted in time is kept. Opening the link does not use a place; one account takes just one place, and no more people can join once all places are taken.
Can I add guests after buying?
No. Choose all your guests before confirming the first purchase. Afterwards you can share the places you paid for, but you cannot increase their number or restart the 30-day deadline.
Your first city,
on Podtour.
Join the waitlist. When we launch, your chosen city is yours to explore.
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Your first city,
on Podtour.
Join the waitlist and get one whole city free when Podtour launches. You choose where.
Podtour manages your launch request with your consent. You can withdraw it and exercise your rights as explained in our privacy policy. Privacy details.
One city per person. All its Podtour routes in Spanish and English. Available at launch. Offer details.