Cafè de l’Òpera Coffee Shop / Historic Bar / Historic Restaurant

Barri Gòtic, Barcelona –

Kitschy tourist traps abound along the famous Las Ramblas stretch, but Cafè de l'Òpera – in business since the 1920s – isn’t just another overpriced coffee shop.

True, folks might pony up an extra Euro or two for items here, but the Art Nouveau-style interior usually offers enough free tables for anyone who wants to take their first morning coffee and read the newspapers in proper Spanish style.

Decorated with antique paintings and etched mirrors, the front of the venue provides ample opportunity for strangers to become fast friends at the tightly packed rows of black tables, while a nearby pastry display beckons to sugar junkies with everything from hot apple pies to traditional churros.

A small hallway by the bar leads to the larger back room, where a diverse crowd of everyone from older couples and artsy young friends to sore-footed tourists pile in throughout the evening to nurse beers and chat as dapper concert-goers grab a nosh before hitting the historic Liceu opera house across the street.

The street-side patio is a favorite for people-watchers, second perhaps only to the cozy second level – frequently rented out for private parties – where guests traipse up past the venue’s antique bottle display to enjoy the bustling thoroughfare from above.

Often busy but always relaxed, Cafè de l'Òpera is an old haunt that’s as good for a morning caffeine fix as it is for a cozy hot chocolate or a quiet beer before crashing into the Ramblas night.