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On top of Barcelona

ByRoy Voogd

When I arrive in Barcelona, it almost feels like coming home after all those unforgettable visits to the city. I used to prefer to stay in the busy historic centre to get the most out of everything the city had to offer. Last year, I discovered a new hotel at the top of Tibidabo. It was then called “La Florida”, but this year it has been completely refurbished and is now part of the exclusive global 5-star chain METT. The soothing tranquillity remained unchanged, but after the major renovation, it was a great pleasure to rediscover this wonderful hotel.

On top of Tibidabo: Hotel METT Barcelona

Perched high on Tibidabo, METT Barcelona feels like someone has pressed “pause” on the city. The drive up already hints at what’s to come: the traffic and noise slowly drop away, the air gets cooler and pine-scented, and then suddenly the hotel appears, clinging to the hillside with big terraces that look straight out over Barcelona and the Mediterranean. From the pool deck and rooftop corners, the city lies at your feet like a living map – you can trace the grid of Eixample, pick out the Sagrada Família and watch planes glide towards El Prat in the distance.

What I loved most wasn’t just the spectacular panoramic 360° views, but the sense of calm that comes with it. Down below, Barcelona is all tapas bars, traffic and late-night energy; up here, it’s all soft conversations, clinking glasses and the sound of water spilling into the infinity pool. The terraces are designed for lingering: loungers turned towards the skyline, small tables for a slow vermut at sunset, and just enough background music to frame the moment without stealing the scene.

Inside, the rooms continue that “urban resort” feeling – light, airy spaces with big windows and balconies that keep the city in view but at a comfortable distance. You wake up with Barcelona at the end of your bed, yet it feels like you’re staying in a hillside retreat somewhere far outside town. A complimentary shuttle drops you in the centre when you’re ready for Gaudí and galleries, then brings you back to your hideaway above the skyline. 

For me, METT Barcelona is all about contrast: morning swims with only birds for company, followed by afternoons in the buzz of the city; golden-hour cocktails with Tibidabo’s chapel glowing above and the sea melting into the horizon below. If you’re looking for a place where Barcelona is always in sight but never in your face, this hilltop oasis is an unbeatable base.

Skip the pictures, go straight to the next subject: A walk down to the city

Down to Barcelona

Leaving METT Barcelona on Tibidabo, I step out of the hotel’s calm cocoon and feel the city stretching out below me like a map I’m about to walk into. The air is cooler up here, scented with pine and just a hint of sea salt, and for a moment I just stand still, breathing it in. I wander along the road that follows the ridge until I reach the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, the characteristic church with the giant Christ statue on top and the small theme park including the colorful ferris wheel. There’s also the cable car station, sliding it’s rails down the hill in a straight line. As I step into one and it pulls away, Barcelona drops away beneath my feet: villas hidden between the pines, church towers in the distance, and then the full sweep of the city, running all the way to the shining strip of Mediterranean on the horizon. I feel both very small and very lucky.

At the lower station I walk straight back into the city’s rhythm. The quiet of Tibidabo is replaced by scooters, snippets of conversation, clinking cups and the smell of coffee and warm bread. At Carrer d’Isaac Newton, the Barcelona Submarine suddenly appears. A strange sight, still so high above sea level. I let the Av. del Tibidabo pull me downhill, not in a hurry, just following my curiosity. Passing small castle-like architecture, giant villa’s in modernist style and the Chinese embassy illustrate the rich background of this part of the city.

Getting lower and lower into the city, cafés spill onto the pavements, balconies lean over me with plants and laundry, and every corner feels like a small scene. I continue on my way and cross the large Av. Diagonal, where the beautiful Casa de les Punxes with its pointed towers looms up on my left. I decide to continue along the stately Av. Diagonal towards the Sagrada Familia. Rich, typical Barcelona architecture lines both sides of the grand avenue, and in a side street stands the stately Catholic Parròquia de Sant Francesc de Sales. Beautiful, but insignificant compared to the destination of the walk…

From there, it’s just a few more blocks to the Sagrada Família. With every block, the towers of the basilica grow a little higher between the apartments. Then, almost suddenly, it’s there in front of me, rising like a stone forest above the rooftops. I cross the small park, sit on a bench for a moment and gaze in wonder at the immense structure that is now truly nearing completion.

After a walk around the Sagrada Familia, and -of course- the numerous photo shoots, I continue the walk to El Born and the Gothic Quarter in the historic center. Eventually the elegant house blocks make place for narrow streets that twist around to easily make you get lost. First I visited the Catedral de Barcelona, built in the 13th century, but finally I found myself in front of the Palau de la Música Catalana. Its colourful façade and stained glass look almost unreal against the stone around it. That night the Maestros de la Guitarra gave a concert as a special tribute to Paco de Lucía, fusing both flamenco and Spanish guitars. I bought a ticket, and realized I had enough time for some tapas at Fa Patxoca in El Born. While I enjoy great traditional Catalunya tapas, I watched people pass by and felt like I’ve stumbled onto a small secret in the middle of the city.

The performance of the virtuoso guitar players and flamenco dancers was absolutely amazing. The colorful modernistic interior design of the famous Catalan music hall added it’s own magic to the performance. After the concert, I stepped down in Via Laietana and looked right back up at Tibidabo, where my day began. It hits me that I’ve just walked a line through the city – from my quiet hilltop refuge, past music and everyday life, to Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece watching over it all. It took the taxi only 15 minutes to bring me back up to the METT’s calm cocoon again. What an amazing day!

Skip the pictures, go straight to the next subject: Nearing completion: Sagrada Familia

Barcelona in the picture

Sagrada Familia

The first time I stood in front of the Sagrada Família, during my first visit to Barcelona on a trip with my wife’s family. I had a cheap camera and sore feet from walking the city. The basilica looked less like a church and more like a giant, half-finished sandcastle someone had abandoned. Cranes pierced the sky, entire facades were wrapped in scaffolding, and locals shrugged when I asked when it would be finished. “They say in about 25 years” one of them laughed, “but maybe never.” I believed him. It felt like Barcelona’s beautiful, impossible promise to itself.

Over the next 25 years, I kept coming back to the city. Each time, I would drift past Gaudí’s masterpiece almost out of habit, like checking in on an old friend. New towers rose, details sharpened, colours seemed brighter. Nativity and Passion were no longer just opposing stories in stone, but chapters in a book that was finally filling up. The cranes were still there, even inside the holy church with the most amazing sky high stained glass windows. And outside too, but they looked less like interruptions and more like punctuation marks.

This year was different. Standing on the square, I tilted my head back and saw it: the highest tower complete, crowned and gleaming against a clean blue sky. Wrapped in scaffolding for the construction workers, but still unmistakably under construction. But the Sagrada Família didn’t feel like a sketch or a promise – it felt whole, or almost. I realised I was watching something rare: not just a building nearing completion, but a century-old dream quietly becoming real. Somewhere, I thought, Gaudí would have smiled at the slow, stubborn patience of it all – and at the fact that, after all these years, Barcelona had finally almost caught up with his imagination.

Skip the pictures, go straight to the next subject: Barcelona Food-impressions

Barcelona Food

Fa Patxoca, El Quim in La Boqueria and Fan Dim Sum each show a very different side of Barcelona’s food scene – and they’re all worth a detour.

At Fa Patxoca in Ciutat Vella you get that classic, slightly bohemian El Born energy: a corner spot with a cosy, brick-and-wood interior and a terrace that’s made for long, slightly tipsy evenings. The menu leans into Catalan comfort – think proper patatas bravas, grilled calamari, croquettes and cheese baked with honey – generous portions, fair prices and a list of local wines that makes sharing plates dangerously easy. 

El Quim de la Boqueria is the opposite vibe: loud, bright and gloriously chaotic, right in the middle of Barcelona’s most famous market. You perch at the counter, watch the cooks work inches from your plate and eat some of the freshest Catalan tapas in town – classics like baby squid with fried eggs, razor clams, seasonal vegetables and whatever just came in from the stalls. It’s cramped, there’s usually a wait, but the theatre of it all is half the fun.

Over in Sant Gervasi, Fan Dim Sum swaps tapas for steaming baskets. It’s a modern, relaxed dim sum house with seriously well-made dumplings – thin wrappers, juicy fillings – plus xiao long bao, silky aubergine dishes and playful desserts. Service is warm, prices are fair, and it’s one of the most reliable spots in the city when you’re craving something other than Spanish food without compromising on quality. 

My final food experience was -of course- at the restaurant of METT Barcelona. A whole new restaurant concept compared to my previous stay. Good reason to try two dishes: the foie gras and the authentic Catalunya paella with lobster. And what good choices those were.

The restaurant at METT Barcelona, Albarada, feels like a quietly confident fine-dining spot that just happens to have one of the best views in the city. Set high in the hills above Barcelona, the dining room opens out towards the lights of the city, so you’re eating modern Mediterranean food with a backdrop that constantly reminds you where you are.

The cooking matches the setting: plates that are clean, seasonal and very product-driven rather than fussy – the kind of dishes where good olive oil, perfect vegetables and well-cooked fish or meat do most of the talking. It’s Mediterranean cuisine “reimagined” with a local Catalan sensitivity, so you get familiar flavours in a more polished, contemporary form, supported by a proper wine list and an elegant cocktail selection. 

What really stands out is the atmosphere: the service is warm but not overly formal, and the restaurant strikes the perfect balance between a special-occasion venue and a relaxed hilltop hideaway. Head to Albarada for a slow, multi-course dinner that makes the most of those “privileged views” over Barcelona. The focus is less on showy gastronomy and more on making guests feel genuinely looked after in a memorable setting.

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