Embark on literary routes inspired by classic and contemporary novels

Barcelona is a city resonating with history, culture, and specifically, literature. It's as if every corner, every street, carries the imprint of a book page. We invite you to experience firsthand the real settings that have inspired novels as classic as they are contemporary.

• Carlos Ruiz Zafón (The Shadow of the Wind) – Barri Gòtic: Let yourself be transported to the mysterious world of "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, as you wander through the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter. Imagine walking through the same corners that Daniel Sempere traversed in search of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.
   
• Mercè Rodoreda (The Diamond Square) – Gràcia:  this neighborhood will transport you to the Barcelona of the 1940s, where every corner hides a story of life and struggle that will surprise you. In a passage of the novel, La Colometa sits on a bench in the Gardens of Gracia. These gardens were dedicated to Salvador Espriu in 1991 to honor the poet, who had lived just opposite, at Paseo de Gracia, 118. Mercè Rodoreda wrote the novel from Geneva in 1960. She herself explains that she didn't remember much about the Diamond Square at that time; but she did remember the awning that was raised for the Gracia festivities when she was 13 or 14, and her parents' prohibition to let her dance. "Perhaps because of this frustration, many years later, in Geneva, I started my novel with that awning."
   
• Manuel Vázquez Montalbán – Vallvidrera: Explore the places in Vallvidrera that inspired the novels of the well-known author Manuel Vázquez Montalbán. Come and discover the natural landscapes surrounding Barcelona that have given life to so many stories full of emotion and intrigue.
   
• Eduardo Mendoza (City of Marvels) – L’Eixample: Do you know the fascinating world of "The City of Marvels" by Eduardo Mendoza? Then delight in the majestic modernist buildings of L’Eixample and imagine yourself among the lines of this work! We invite you to walk the streets that served as a backdrop for a Barcelona full of contrasts and dreams.
   
• Lluís Llach (Memòria d’uns ulls pintats/Memory of Painted Eyes) – La Barceloneta: marked the literary debut of Lluís Llach in 2012. The apartment described in this work is one of the typical "rooms of the house" found in La Barceloneta, a direct consequence of the increased demand for housing in this neighborhood during the 19th century, driven by industrialization and demographic growth. Thus, to make the most of the space, the large 120 m2 apartments were first divided into two parts and then into four, creating apartments of about 30 m2. Today, there are more than a thousand of these "rooms of the house" in the neighborhood.

And if you're still eager for more cultural tours, don't forget to also visit the film routes we have prepared for you, featuring the best stories of cinema through the streets of Barcelona.

Travel through time and space as you discover the real settings that have inspired the most outstanding novels – Hola Barcelona takes you there!