Rollerblading in Barcelona - 3 Chimneys Park

Following on from my recent posts about rollerblading with kids in Barcelona, it's time for another place to explore which is very popular with skaters of all ages and boards, scooters, rollerblades, etc. and is located just on the outside of the old town, along Parallelo and is known as the three chimneys park. Likely that these were old rubbish towers to burn the refuse of the city's population (clarification welcome for anyone who knows, guys), and there are also old mechanical pieces such as the one below, converted into urban art. 

The park is an urban playground with plenty of smooth flagstones ideal for skating, and small benches, a bandstand/stage which is used to jump on/off/along/you name it, as well as slight gradients towards the back of the space (away from the road) to gather a bit of pace and speed. 

This is a popular hang out for skaters and is also a great place for the graffiti artists (indeed the place of the best graffiti I've seen in Barcelona - yet to be beaten) and I have to say that the standard of the art on the walls is always high. It's a well seen spot from Parallel in car, for example, and I'm sure there must be some sort of code I'm unaware of between artists as to who and what can go up there.

I was fortunate this past weekend, as it was pretty empty so you can see the amount of space that is around (that's my little girl again in a few of the photos), but maybe it was early in the morning.

You can see here above how it's easy to skate up fast towards this stage area, and you can "slide" along with urban skates or jump up on normal inlines, or jump off the back, too. You can see the benches here, too for those people who might be accompanying and not skating (it's a great place to just soak up the sun!)

Verdict ? Very cool place as it's so central. The disadvantage of Forum Park, for example, is the distance - we went in a car. I know that you can go along the various bike lanes, but it's a fair trek, and with small kids, would end up being a bit of a marathon to enjoy the actual smooth areas. This place is a great little urban playground for gaining confidence on different leveled surfaces, and with hardly any obstacles.

Does anyone else have any tips for other places? Specifically for kids? Or m ore geared towards adults? Let me know in the comments!! And if you fancy coming to Barcelona this spring, then check out the apartments that BCN Rentals have got to offer - some great deals!

Rollerblading in Barcelona - Forum Park

Following on from my last post about Rollerblading in Barcelona at Palau Sant Jordi, it's time to visit another great location on the opposite side of town. The stretch of coastline from the Olympic Village all the way down to the (white elephant that is) The Forum Park is a great place for many sports - jogging, cycling, skating on skateboards, rollerskates or rollerblades. 

By all accounts, before the Olympic Games in 1992, Barcelona used to have "its back to the sea". The area known now as Poble Nou and the Olympic Village was basically a dumping ground for the many factories housed in the area and drainage into the Mediterranean Sea. The awarding of the games started a massive regeneration of the whole city (awarded with prizes such as the Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects) and one of those areas to benefit was the "Oylmpic Village" and beyond. The beach was created from sand at the bottom of the sea, and Icaria, Mar Nova Bella, etc. were born.

The area is popular with families and teenagers as well as foreigners soaking up the great temperatures and sea breeze - there's a pretty cool half pipe kind of structure and plenty of low benches and the like for the tricksters and there's a baby one a little further back (which I didn't photograph). Again, you can park for free right in front of the beach - we had no trouble finding a spot to park, or the metro to Forum is yellow line.

 Fast forward about 12 years, and the massive investment in the (failed) Forum of cultures in 2004 literally "paved" the way for even more space down by the waterfront, leaving literally acres of space - some on a gradient but mostly flat.

Remnants of the Forum buildings were scooped up and dressed to be something they're not - a bit like the "urban playgound" I've talked about here before and you can see on this panoramic photo here. Go on, have a look, I even got the German shepherd dog twice! 

 Whilst we were there over last weekend, there was a group of kids on an organised "run" all with their yellow vests and various people helping them along. This is just along the way from where the official Barcelona Skating Association meets up each week (bit late for me!), so you know you're in the right place!

There really is a load of space to just keep going and going, and I also spotted a kiddy mini park with slaloms and the like on the top of the Decathlon store (click for a bigger picture).

 My own conclusion is that it's a little bit more difficult than Palau Sant Jordi area. That's basically just going around in circles, and you're more often than not shielded from any wind. With this being such a long horizontal stretch, there are parts which are more exposed than others, and there are also a few inclines which, while not particularly steep, are quite long, so my 5 year old girl, for example, struggled a bit and then similarly on the way back down there are many places to really gain momentum and unless you're really comfortable with braking and changing directions quickly, can get a bit hairy.

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Rollerblading in Barcelona - Palau Sant Jordi

 Technically, this could be titled Rollerblading with kids as it's a family activity that we do, but mainly geared towards the kids. It started last year, after we took them to the ice rink at Christmas two years ago. It's been a post I've had as a draft for absolutely ages, and just keep not getting round to publishing!!

It's well known that Barcelona is a great city for wheels of the non-motorised variety - hundreds of skateboarders descend on the city each year and the lax laws and slight gradient the city is on makes it a perfect place to practise tricks and shoot videos.

So it's natural that skating also fits the bill. There are plenty of associations and events that revolve around skating (both inline and traditional) and even just two weeks ago there was a roller disco kind of event at Sant Antoni festival, but I wanted to focus here more on the wee ones. Obviously, before I go any further, I'd like to remind everyone - young or old -to always wear proper protection. Knee and elbow pads, wrist guards and a good helmet are a must, people (as shown by my fashionable lad here in the photos).

As a family, we've tried a few places to skate which I'll be adding to the blog bit by bit (when I remember to take photos of the places we go!) but so far, I don't think you can beat just in front of Palau Sant Jordi.

There are so many advantages to skating here, it's a really tough one to beat. First of all, it's huge. Literally, these pictures don't do it justice at all, and there are actually three different spaces you can skate on, all joined together but on slightly different levels. You can see from the snaps, that the place is almost entirely covered with smooth pinky flag stones, so great for beginners but still "urban" enough to practice (there are plenty of broken ones and drains to navigate). You can also see the decorative posts in the above pic, which are great for training the kids on curves/slalom and just getting them to practise changing direction in short spaces.

Another massive advantage is that you can almost always find a car parking space right outside for free, so if you are going in a car, there's no need to worry about that. I say almost always, unless there's a daytime event inside the Palau, or nearby Olympic Stadium. And even if you decide to take public transport, it's a quick hop up from Plaça Espanya on the escalators, or there are bus routes too which stop right outside. 

It never gets crowded  - just occasional tourists who come to admire the views towards the airport, or close ups of the telefonica needle. There is also a great ramp to one side of the Olympic stadium which is great to practice on and get used to different inclines and gradients. Perhaps the biggest advantage though - and remember I'm always thinking of the kids here - is that there's absolutely zero traffic. You don't have to worry at all about someone straying off, or not being able to stop at a traffic light or junction!! 

And while you're there, you can get some pretty snazzy shots of the Barcelona skyline, too, like this one below! 

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