Gràcia

Gràcia was an independent town until 1897 and still behaves like one, with its own civic pride, a string of small squares and a famously self-governing spirit. Its narrow streets are too tight for through-traffic, so daily life spills onto plaças like the Vila de Gràcia and the Plaça del Sol, where neighbours linger over coffee and vermouth. The shops lean independent, the cinemas and theatres are local institutions, and each August the festa major turns the streets into decorated open-air rooms. It feels less like a district than a village folded into the city.