Visit Poble Espanyol at Montjuic

El Poble Espanyol is an open air museum located at Montjuic mountain, with 40 handicraft shops and a number of excellent restaurants and bars. It should be near the top of any list of things to do in Barcelona.

Built in 1929 it was made as the pavilion dedicated to art for the Barcelona International Exhibition and it was conceived as a real "village" from the beginning in the middle of a city, with a surface area of 49,000 m2.
The aim of the town was to act as an "ideal model" to give an idea of what a Spanish village might look like and contains the main characteristics and features of towns and villages in the peninsula. Therefore 117 buildings, streets and squares were reproduced to scale for this reason.

Poble Espanyol was built in just 13 months and actually had an expiry date which was the same time as the Universal Exhibition - just six months however its success as an open-air museum has kept it open until this day.

El Poble Espanyol combines history and art with more than forty art and craft workshops and shops working in the open-air museum. You can experience the wonder of historic handmade production techniques and qualities and appreciate how innovative elements of design and shape can enrich a traditional product.

The craft techniques that can currently be found here are: ceramics, engraving, decorative painting, glass fusing, puppet-making, jewellery, masks, sculpture, leather, embroidery, basket-weaving, musical instrument-making, espadrille-making and a long list of others.

Montjuic itself is a great day out for tourists renting apartments in Barcelona and during the summer months the central square of Poble Espanyol transforms into the open-air discoteca, La Terrazza which is very popular with tourists and locals alike.

Getting There
Take the metro (green or red line) to stop Plaza Espanya and from there take the escalators to Poble Espanyol. It is well signposted.

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Barcelona Shops Close in August

Unfortunately it is true that Barcelona shops close in August but not to worry, it's not as bad as it sounds.
However it is not just Barcelona shops that close. For many local, family run businesses like cafes and restaurants, the month of August is the time where they leave the city to take their annual holidays. It seems a strange time to go on holiday, during the busiest time of the year but you have to understand that they want to enjoy their summer too.
For tourists staying in Barcelona accommodation, then you shouldn't worry too much as all of the big shopping areas like Passeig de Gracia, Las Ramblas and Marseme del Forum are still open and are not affected by the holidays. So you can still enjoy Barcelona's wonderful array of shops and attractions around central areas in the city.
The only problem may lie with those renting Barcelona apartments and prefer to go to the supermarket to prepare their own meals. Supermarkets will have reduced opening hours and are more than likely to be closed between 1 pm and 5pm and also small cafes, bars and restaurants may be closed completely or have reduced hours.
In general, however, tourists should not be affected too much by the holidays in August and should be able to enjoy everything this wonderful city offers during the rest of the year.
If you need anymore information on Barcelona then look for a Barcelona guide online.