Top 10 Things You Must Do in Barcelona During MWC2013

Mobile World Congress is far and away the largest mobile-only trade show on the planet. Held each year in Barcelona, it brings together the brightest minds in the world of mobile, from games to apps to hardware and everything in between. I’m lucky enough to be from the lovely city of Barcelona and could think of no better way to welcome all of my friends and colleagues to my city than to give a quick, ten-point guide to BCN.

If you’re really interested in getting a taste of the city, message me for an invite to our private Game Developer Tour Bus. It’s going to be a great time!

1 Walk from Plaza Catalunya through Las Ramblas, an amazing street full of life. You will see El Mercat De la Boqueria on your right. Enter and enjoy the colors. Continue walking down until you reach the Cristobal Colon statue. 

2 Go back uphill and to your right to get lost in the streets of El Barri Gotic. The center of the old town still retains a maze-like street plan, with many small streets opening out into squares. You can visit The Cathedral and the old Royal Palace.

3 Continue walking to El Born, a bohemian neighborhood where you’ll find the most beautiful and hidden fashion stores. Have a glass of Rioja in one the wine bars in your way. Enter Santa Maria del Mar and finish your walk with a delicious tapas lunch at the Mercat de Santa Caterina.

4 Take a cab to La Pedrera and enjoy a glass of Cava on the rooftop of the Modernist building designed by Gaudi. Both the La Pedrera Museum and the rooftop are absolutely worth a visit, but the building is also beautiful from the outside.

5 Walk downhill on Passeig de Gracia, the nerve center of the old Catalan bourgeoisie. Find La Casa Batllo on your right, and enjoy another piece of Gaudi’s unique architecture.

6 Find Rambla de Catalunya, another beautiful walk that this time you can do uphill.  

7 Visit more of Gaudi’s highlights: El Park Guell, a modernist park with great views over the city, and Sagrada Familia, an astounding temple that has been under construction for over one hundred years.

8 Walk around the MWC area, where you can visit Montjuic, the magical mountain, MNAC, anArt Museum,Las Arenas, a shopping center built inside a bullfighting plaza, and the Ciutat Olímpica, where most of the 1992 Olympics took place. 

9 Have a gin and tonic at Mirabe SkyBar and enjoy the views over the city from the Tibidabo Mountain or at the Eclipse Bar, on the rooftop of the W Hotel by the Barceloneta.

10 Join me for a Game Developer Bus tour around the city on Tuesday 26th at 5pm. RSVP only, send an email to pepe@chartboost.com if you haven’t got your invitation.