SPORTS & ACTIVITIES

The folks of Barcelona are as health-conscious as those of any other city and the number of places to indulge in a little ‘wellness’ of one sort or another is multiplying.

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SPAS & MASSAGE

Many of the better hotels have wellness centres, among them Hotel Arts Barcelona (Click here), Hotel Omm (Click here), Hotel Axel (Click here), Hotel Majèstic (Click here), W Barcelona (Click here) and the Hesperia Tower in L’Hospitalet. You can also get soothing spa treatment outside Barcelona (Click here).

AIRE DE BARCELONA Map

902 555789; www.airedebarcelona.com; Passeig de Picasso 22; thermal baths & aromatherapy €25; 10am-2am; Arc de Triomf

With low lighting and relaxing perfumes wafting around you, this hammam could be the perfect way to end a day. Hot, warm and cold baths, steam baths and options for various massages, including on a slab of hot marble, make for a delicious hour or so. Book ahead and bring a swimming costume.

AQUA URBAN SPA Map

93 238 41 60; www.aqua-urbanspa.com; Carrer Gran de GrÀcia 7; 75min session €51; 9am-9.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-8.30pm Sat; Diagonal

With sessions for anything from stress to tired legs (helpful for diehard sightseers!), this spa offers smallish pool and shower areas, along with steam baths, Roman baths and a series of beauty treatment options.

FLOTARIUM Map

93 217 36 37; www.flotarium.com; PlaÇa de Narcís Oller 3; 1hr session €35; 10am-10pm; Diagonal

Float in zero gravity and feel the stress ebb away. Each flotarium, like a little space capsule with water, is in a private room, with shower, towels and shampoo, and Epsom salts that allow you to float as if in the Dead Sea.

MAILUNA Map

93 301 20 02; www.mailuna.net, in Spanish; Carrer de Valldonzella 48; 1hr massage €55; 5-11.30pm Mon, 1-11.30pm Tue-Sat; Universitat

Mailuna is a bit of wellness universe. Not only does it offer all sorts of massages (Ayurvedic, Swedish, Thai and more), it’s also a restaurant, aromatherapy setting, wellness goods store and more. Stop for tea and you’ll feel better already.

MASAJES A 1000 Map

93 215 85 85; Carrer de Mallorca 233; first 20min €18, every 5min thereafter €4.50; 8am-11pm; Passeig de Gràcia

Stressed out by sightseeing of the nearby Modernista gems on Passeig de Gràcia? Pop by for a quick, invigorating massage. The chain has four outlets around Barcelona.

RITUELS D’ORIENT Map

93 419 14 72; www.rituelsdorient.com, in Spanish; Carrer de Loreto 50; baths only €28; women only 1-9pm Tue, 10.30am-8pm Wed, 1-4pm Fri, mixed 1-10pm Thu, 4-10pm Fri, 10.30am-8pm Sat; Hospital Clínic

Luxuriating in hammams, indulging in massages, exfoliation and other treatments is the name of the game in this slice of what could be the Middle East. Dark woods, window grills, soft lighting and candles, cushion-covered sofas to relax on – all combine to evoke something of the mystery we all like to imagine for such a place. If you have time to hang about for four hours, try the ‘Ritual Elixir de las Mil y una Noches’ (Thousand and One Nights Ritual), which includes a facial, 40-minute massage, exfoliation and wrapping up your body in a ghassoul mud pack.

SILOM SPA Map

93 272 66 62; www.silomspa.com, in Spanish; Carrer de ValÈncia 304; massages €35-100; 11am-9.30pm Mon-Sat; Girona

A touch of the Orient is the promise in this city spa, where you can combine a series of Thai, aromatic and other massages with aroma baths. Options for couples abound and you can get a facial while you’re at it. The masseurs are all Thai.

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GYMS

Barcelona is crawling with places for a workout, but most gyms cater to long-term members.

POLIESPORTIU FRONTÓ COLOM Map

93 302 32 95; www.frontocolom.com; La Rambla de Santa Mònica 18; admission €13.45; 7am-10.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-8pm Sat, 9am-2.30pm Sun & holidays; Drassanes

Smack in the heart of the old city, this gym offers a fitness room with all manner of exercise equipment, including a section with bicycles, step and other cardio machines, and a small swimming pool. There are various multiday passes too.

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RUNNING

Joggers have several attractive options in Barcelona. The waterfront esplanade and beaches are all perfect for an early morning run, before the crowds come out. Locals with serious running credentials take to Parc de Collserola, which is laced with trails. More convenient are the gardens and parkland of Montjuïc. Running in the city itself is crazy. It’s too crowded and air pollution won’t make your lungs happy.

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SWIMMING

Barcelona has several good options for those who want to get in some more serious lap swimming than is possible at the city’s beaches.

CLUB NATACIÓ ATLèTIC-BARCELONA Map

SWIMMING AU NATUREL

Skinny-dippers have several options in Barcelona. In addition to the ill-defined nudists’ strip at the southwest end of Platja de la Mar Bella (Map) and the predominantly gay strip at Platja de Sant Miquel (Map), you can also get it all off year-round at the Piscines Bernat Picornell, the Olympic pool on Montjuïc. On Saturday nights, between 9pm and 11pm, the pool (with access to sauna and steam bath) is open only to nudists (adult/6-14yr & senior/under 6yr €5.40/3.80/free). On Sundays between October and May the indoor pool also opens for nudists only from 4.15pm to 6pm.

93 221 00 10; www.cnab.org; Plaça de Mar s/n; adult/under 10yr €10.55/6.13; 6.30am-11pm Mon-Fri, 7am-11pm Sat, 8am-5pm Sun & holidays Oct–mid-May, 8am-8pm Sun & holidays mid-May–Sep; Barceloneta, 17, 39, 57 or 64

This athletic club has one indoor and two outdoor pools. Of the latter, one is heated for lap swimming in winter. Admission includes use of the gym and private beach access. Membership costs €35.70 a month, plus €71 joining fee.

PISCINES BERNAT PICORNELL Map

93 423 40 41; www.picornell.cat, in Catalan; Avinguda de l’Estadi 30-38; late Sep-late Jun adult/15-24yr/senior & 6-15yr/under 6 yr €9.65/6.50/5.95/free, outdoor pool only late Jun–late Sep adult/15-24yr/senior & 6-15yr/under 6yr €5.30/5.25/3.70/free; 6.45am-midnight Mon-Fri, 7am-9pm Sat, 7.30am-4pm Sun, outdoor pool, hr vary; 50, 61 or 193

Included in the standard entry price to Barcelona’s official Olympic pool on Montjuïc is use of the gym, saunas and spa bath. Membership costs €53.50 to join and €36.10 a month. Nude bathing is also possible here, see boxed text above.

POLIESPORTIU MARÍTIM Map

93 224 04 40; www.claror.cat, in Catalan; Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta 33-35; Mon-Fri €15, Sat-Sun & holidays €17.80; 7am-midnight Mon-Fri, 8am-9pm Sat, 8am-4pm Sun & holidays Sep-Jul, 7am-10.30pm Mon-Fri, 8am-9pm Sat, 8am-3pm Sun Aug; Ciutadella Vila Olímpica

Water babies will squeal with delight in this thalassotherapeutic (sea-water therapy) sports centre. In addition to the small pool for lap swimming, there is a labyrinth of hot, warm and freezing-cold spa pools, along with thundering waterfalls for massage relief.

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YOGA

Barcelona is full of yoga centres catering to many different tastes, from the very technical swastthya yoga to the sweat-inducing bikram variety. Happy Yoga (Map; www.happyyoga.com) specialises mainly in kundalini and hatha and has various centres around town. A search on ‘yoga Barcelona’ on the internet will throw up a host of yoga centres and schools.

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ACTIVITIES

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CYCLING

Although cycle lanes have been laid out along many main arteries, the city centre is not the most relaxing place for a bike ride. Hillier (but much less stressful) is MontjuÏc, or you could head up into the Parc de Collserola (Click here) with a mountain bike. For information on bicycle hire, Click here.

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GOLF

Head out of town if you enjoy belting small round objects around the greenery.

CLUB DE GOLF SANT CUGAT OFF Map

93 674 39 08; www.golfsantcugat.com, in Catalan & Spanish; Carrer de la Villa, Sant Cugat del Vallès; Mon-Thu €65, Fri-Sun & holidays €150; 8am-dusk Mon-Fri, 7am-dusk Sat & Sun; FGC Sant Cugat

This 18-hole course was designed by Scottish experts in 1917 to meet the needs of a firm of British and American engineers working on electricity projects in Catalonia.

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SAILING

On sunny weekends the Mediterranean off Barcelona is alive with the swollen sails of pleasure craft. Feel free to join in.

BASE NAUTICA MUNICIPAL Map

93 221 04 32; www.basenautica.org; Avinguda de Litoral s/n; Poblenou

Have you come to Barcelona to become a sea dog? If so, head to this place, just back from Platja de la Mar Bella, and enrol in a course in pleasure-boat handling, kayaking (€125 for 10 hours’ tuition), windsurfing (€185 for 10 hours’ tuition) or catamaran (€216 for 12 hours’ tuition).

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SPECTATOR SPORTS

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BASKETBALL

FC Barcelona’s Winterthur FCB basketball team is almost as successful as the city’s glamorous football outfit, with 15 premier league victories, 21 Copas del Rey and four European titles since 1946. One of its star players, local boy 2.16m Pau Gasol, has played in the NBA league in the USA since 2001 (now with the Los Angeles Lakers) but he returns home to play in the national Spanish team.

The team plays (generally on Saturday afternoons) in the Palau Blaugrana (Map; 902 189900; www.fcbarcelona.com; Carrer d’Aristides; Palau Reial or Collblanc), next door to the Camp Nou football stadium in Les Corts. Tickets can be purchased direct at Palau Blaugrana, on the phone or online. Ticket prices oscillate between €12 and €63, depending on the seat and match.

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BULLFIGHTING

Hemingway called it death in the afternoon and, like so many things in Barcelona, it is a subject of controversy and political demagogy. In 2004 the city council narrowly voted for a symbolic declaration that Barcelona was anti-bullfighting. In late 2009, the regional parliament voted to debate a ban on bullfighting in the region and animal-rights groups that oppose la lidia (bullfighting) were delighted. Many of those in favour of a ban accept the common claim that bullfighting is a Spanish cultural imposition on Catalonia, largely loathed by many Catalans. During the Civil War years, vegetarian anarchists banned bullfighting in Republican Barcelona.

Nevertheless, the main political parties seemed unconvinced by calls for the ban and no decision had been taken by mid-2010.

The bullfight season is staged at the Plaça de Braus Monumental (Map; 93 245 58 02; cnr Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes & Carrer de la Marina; ticket office 11am-2pm & 4-8pm Tue-Sun; Monumental). The fighting starts between 6pm and 7pm, mostly on Sunday afternoons from around Easter to late September. Tickets are available at the arena, through ServiCaixa or at http://tauroentrada.com. You can also pick up tickets at Toros Taquilla Oficial (Map; Carrer de Muntaner 26; 11am-2pm & 4-8pm Wed-Sat; Universitat). Prices range from €20 to €120. The higher-priced tickets are for the front row in the shade – any closer and you’d be fighting the bulls yourself.

On an afternoon ticket there are generally six bulls and perhaps three star matadors (those bullfighters who do most of the fighting and then kill the bull at the end). The matador leads a cuadrilla (team) of other fighters who make up the rest of the colourful band that appears in the ring. It is a complex business, but in essence the matadors aim to impress the crowd and jury with daring and graceful moves as close to an aggressive, fighting bull as possible. While the death of the bull is generally inevitable (its meat is later sold), this in no way implies the bullfighter always gets off scot-free. It is a genuinely dangerous business, and being gored and tossed by several hundred kilos of bull is no fun.

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FOOTBALL

Football in Barcelona has the aura of religion and for much of the city’s population, support of FC Barcelona is an article of faith. But the city has another hardy (if less illustrious) side, RCD Espanyol. FC Barcelona is traditionally associated with the Catalans and even Catalan nationalism, while Espanyol is often identified with Spanish immigrants from other parts of the country.

It all started on 29 November 1899, when, four years after English residents had first played the game here, Swiss Hans Gamper founded FC Barcelona (Barça). His choice of club colours, the blue and maroon of his hometown, Winterthur, have stuck. The following year, Espanyol was formed. It distinguished itself from the other sides, ironically, by being formed solely of Catalans and other Spaniards. Most other sides, including FC Barcelona, were primarily made up of foreigners.

By 1910, FC Barcelona was the premier club in a rapidly growing league. The first signs of professionalism emerged – paid transfers of players were recorded and Espanyol’s management charged spectators. Barça, who had 560 members (compared to about 173,000 today), claimed victory at that year’s national championship.

A match at Camp Nou (Map; 902 189900; Carrer d’Aristides Maillol; box office 9am-1.30pm & 3.30-6pm Mon-Fri; Palau Reial or Collblanc) can be breathtaking. The stadium is going to get a spectacular sprucing up in coming years.

After several years in the wilderness, FC Barcelona hit its straps and won the 2004–05 and 2005–06 championships. Another lull followed but then in 2009, the side swept the pools, taking the championship, the Copa del Rey (Spanish equivalent of the UK’s FA Cup) and the European Cup! The 2009–10 season, although not quite as glorious, saw FC Barcelona take the championship again, with Madrid biting at its heels.

Barça is one of only three teams never to have been relegated to the second division (the others are Real Madrid and Athletic de Bilbao). Since the league got fully under way in 1928, Barça has emerged champion 19 times, second only to arch-rival Real Madrid (with 31 victories). Between them, the two have virtually monopolised the game – only seven other teams have managed to come out on top (four of them only once or twice) in 70 years of competition.

Tickets are available at Camp Nou, as well as by phone and online. You can also purchase them through the ServiCaixa ticketing service. To purchase tickets by phone or online, nonclub members must do so at least 15 days before the match. Tickets can cost anything from €31 to €225, depending on the seat and match. The ticket windows open on Saturday morning and in the afternoon until the game starts. If the match is on Sunday, it opens Saturday morning only and then on Sunday until the match starts. Usually tickets are not available for matches with Real Madrid.

You will almost definitely find scalpers lurking near the ticket windows. They are often club members and can sometimes get you in at a significant reduction. Don’t pay until you are safely seated.

Espanyol, based at the brand new Estadi RCD Espanyol (off Map Click here; 93 292 77 00; www.rcdespanyol.com; Avinguda del Baix Llobregat, Cornellà; Cornellà Centre), traditionally plays second fiddle to Barça, although it does so with considerable passion.

A WOMAN’S TOUCH

On FC Barcelona’s official website (www.fcbarcelona.com) you’ll find information not only on the champion football side, but on the club’s basketball, handball and even its roller-skate hockey teams. But you’d never know that FC Barcelona has a women’s football team. Indeed, you’d be hard pressed finding out that 22 women’s teams fight it out each year for the Superliga Femenina premiership. FC Barcelona’s women’s team is full of fight, but it’s a different ball game. On average, fewer than 500 spectators come to watch FC Barcelona women’s matches and in the short history of the league (which started in 2001) it has tended to hang around in the bottom half of the table. For more information on women’s football in Spain, check out www.futfem.com, in Spanish.

CASTLES IN THE AIR

It’s difficult to know how to classify making human castles, but to many a Catalan, the castellers (castle builders) are as serious in their sport as any footballer.

The ‘building’ of castells (castles) is particularly popular in central and southern Catalonia. Teams from all over the region compete during summer and you are most likely to see castellers in town festivals. The amateur sport began in the 1880s, and although Barcelona’s home teams are not among the best, it is always fun to watch. When teams from other towns come to compete, it can be quite exciting.

Without delving too deeply into the complexities, the teams aim to erect human ‘castles’ of up to 10 storeys. These usually involve levels of three to five people standing on each others’ shoulders. A crowd of teammates and supporters forms a supporting scrum around the thickset lads at the base. To successfully complete the castle, a young (light!) child called the anxaneta must reach the top and signal with his/her hand. Sometimes the castle then falls in a heap (if it has not already done so) but successful completion also involves bringing the levels back down to earth in orderly fashion. The death of an anxaneta, who struck her head in a fall from the top of a castell in 2006, provoked calls for these children to wear helmets. In the end, nothing came of the demands, as it was pointed out that there had been just three fatal accidents in the entire history of the activity.

Home and away teams sometimes converge on Plaça de Catalunya, Plaça de Sant Jaume and other city squares for friendly competitions during the city’s various festivals. Ask the tourist office (p285) for more details. Beyond Barcelona, competition events can be seen in many towns, including Vilafranca del Penedès (Click here) and Tarragona (Click here).

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FORMULA ONE

Every April/May since 1991, the dashing knights in shining motorised armour have come to the Montmeló track, about a 30-minute drive north of Barcelona. A seat for the Grand Prix race at the Circuit de Catalunya (Click here; 93 571 97 00; www.circuitcat.com) can cost anything from €110 to €435. If you purchase before mid-March, tickets are slightly cheaper. Purchase tickets by phone, at the track, online or with ServiCaixa, or at advance ticket-sales desks in El Corte Inglés department stores. You can get a regular rodalies train to Montmeló (€1.60, 30 minutes) but will need to walk about 3km or find a local taxi (about €12 to €15) to reach the track. On race days the Sagalés bus company (Click here; 902 130014; www.sagales.com) runs buses to the track from Passeig de Sant Joan 52 (€8 return), between Carrer de la Diputació and Carrer del Consell de Cent.

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SAILING

The annual Trofeo Conde de Godó (www.regatagodo.com, in Spanish) is Barcelona’s prestigious yachting competition, held off the city’s coast over two-three days at the end of May and drawing crews from around the country.

In December 2010, the Barcelona World Race (www.barcelonaworldrace.com) two-person yachts were due to leave the city in the start of its second round-the-world regatta (first held in 2007). The race takes two to three months to complete.