What Do You Know about Horta-Guinardó?

If you tell someone you live in one of the many neighborhoods that make up the Horta-Guinardó district, a visitor or a recent arrival to the city will probably look at you quizzically and say, “where?” If you tell a local, their expression will usually change to one of surprise. Aside from the notable exception of the Parc Guëll and the Hospital Sant Pau, this part of the city is not a tourist destination, and the percentage of expats living in the area is very low. 

Located on the northern outskirts of the city, with the wide green hills of the Collserola at its back, this district is geographically set apart from the bustling city center and the overflowing beaches. It’s a collection of mostly Catalan neighborhoods, each with a proud history and a personality all its own.

The Horta-Guinardó district is the amalgamation of two districts in Barcelona, which encompass a total of eleven separate neighborhoods. These eleven neighborhoods are: El Baix Guinardó, El Guinardó, Can Baró, El Carmel, La Font d'en Fargues, Horta, La Clota, Montbau, Sant Genís dels Agudells, La Teixonera and La Vall d'Hebron. From tiny, picturesque La Clota to peaceful Sant Genís dels Agudells at the foot of El Tibidabo, each of them is worth exploring.

Overview

Horta-Guinardo covers 11.93 square kilometers, or 11.9% of the total surface area of the city of Barcelona. It is the third largest district in the city, after Sants-Montjuïc and Sarrià-Sant Gervasi. It houses the hospital Vall d’Hebron, including its famed VHIO Oncology Institute, the Mundet Campus of the Universitat de Barcelona, as well as a number of primary schools and language schools.

The neighborhood of Horta was an independent municipality until 1904, when it was annexed to the city of Barcelona. Until then, it was also known as Sant Joan d’Horta, after the church parish located there. While some say that Horta got its name from all the green space in the neighborhood (horta means garden in Catalan), others claim it got its name from the Orta family, which owned most of the town and its surrounding territory from 1036 to 1260. The two centers of the district were the monastery of Sant Jeroni de la Vall d'Hebron, which became a center of commerce for merchants and noblemen beginning in the 14th century, as well as the Plaça d'Eivissa—once the heart of the independent town of la Vila d’Horta, and is still the main plaza of the neighborhood to this day. 

While it was never an industrial hub, the district around Horta expanded exponentially between the 16th and 20th centuries due to its readily accessible supplies of water. This allowed businessmen in the region to open a number of laundries, catering mostly to industrial clients and upper-class residents, as well as for rich farming. The region was mostly known for its orchards, farmhouses and country estates of the occasional wealthy nobleman. 

While a tram line connected Horta, neighboring El Carmel and the other adjacent neighborhoods to Barcelona as early as 1901, it wasn’t connected to the city by metro until the 1960s. Some of the poorer residents living in barracks built in hilly El Carmel didn’t have basic services like electricity, running water or waste disposal systems until the 1970s. However, these days the public transportation system makes it easy to get to the center of the city in practically no time, via bus or on the green, blue or yellow metro lines.

El Guinardó, the other neighborhood that gives the Horta-Guindaró district its name, was transformed from a historically rural district full of vineyards and grain fields to a middle-class residential area by the 20th century. Nearly all of the small houses and historic towers that used to stand were destroyed to make way for more modern apartment buildings. 

These days, the neighborhoods of the district are largely residential, and while a few streets are lined with single-family houses with ornate façades, most of the residents are working-class people and their families living in apartments built since the 1950s. The neighborhoods in this district are some of the most affordable in the city of Barcelona today, as long as you’re not in the market for an apartment in the vicinity of one of the few tourist attractions in the area.

Things to See

One of the most famous sites in the Carmel neighborhood of the Horta-Guinardó district is the MUHBA Turó de la Rovira: El Mirador de les Bateries. Simply known as los bunkers by locals, the Spanish Civil War-era concrete bunkers are where anti-aircraft guns were installed nearly a century ago. In the 1940s, the area was home to sprawling shantytown housing some of the city’s poorest residents, but these were eventually razed by the city in preparation of the 1992 Olympic Games. Today, tourists and locals are drawn to the spot for its panoramic views of Barcelona from above. 

The district contains a number of parks and green spaces, including the Tres Turons park, the sprawling Parc de Guinardó, the famous Parc Guëll, hidden gem Parc Turó de la Peira, and several others. The picturesque Parc del Laberint d’Horta is the oldest garden in the entire city. It was created in 1794 by the Marquises d’Alfarrás on what was once family farmland and features a literal maze of waterfalls, streams, hedges, trees and ponds dotted with marble statues and arches. At the edge of the park is the velodrome of Horta, which is the headquarters of the Catalan Cycling Association. The 3,800-seat velodrome hosted the track cycling competition during the Olympics. 

If you’re into cycling, hiking and other outdoor activities, the district is surrounded by hills and valleys, and there are a number of trails winding through the vast Collserola Park. And if you prefer to do your exercising in a more controlled environment, you can visit the Montbau Municipal Sports Center or the Municipal Sports Palace of the Vall d’Horta, among the many other fitness centers and gyms.

If tapas and wine are more your style, there is a long list of traditional Catalan restaurants to be found in Horta-Guinardó, ranging from cheaply-priced neighborhood bars such as Snack Bar XXL on Passeig Valldaura (famous for its gigantic, tasty sandwiches) or historic Quimet d’Horta in Plaça d'Eivissa (known for its endless and affordable menu), to the upscale Can Cortada housed in a country house or masia that dates back to the 11th century. Even the smallest plazas in every neighborhood usually have a few tables and chairs in which to enjoy a coffee or snack and soak up the sun.

There are also a number of cultural and civic centers scattered about the district, which host concerts, workshops, plays, puppet shows and traditional celebrations. Lluisos d’Horta and el Casal de la Font d’en Fargues each boast two spaces: a down-to-earth bar where Barça fans come to watch futbol, and a beautiful small theater. Others include the Ateneu Hortenc, Ateneu Popular Els Quinze, el Centre Cívic Teixonera, el Centre Cívic El Coll; all serve as a gathering place for locals of all ages, as do the four local libraries located in the district.

Fans of modernisme architecture will also want to check out the former Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, which was designed by the famous Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The stunning building is one of the most impressive examples of this style of building in Catalunya and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Impact of Urbanization and Tourism 

In spite of the area’s relatively peaceful existence, it’s not without its drama.

The use of outdoor spaces is the focus of many of the issues in the district. Neighbors complain of non-stop noise, copious amounts of litter, graffiti and vandalism, drug deals and drunken fights near the Carmel bunkers, as this isolated spot with spectacular views has attracted a glut of tourists and young people looking for a place to party. The neighbors have been petitioning the city for a solution, one of which has been the proposal of a massive wall that would be shut after dark, intended to eliminate both the nocturnal view and the problems.

Neighbors living around Barcelona’s iconic Parc Güell have experienced similar issues, saying that the park and the neighborhood have become overrun with tourists to the point of causing severe damage to both, especially in the summer months. The city government has been fighting local neighborhood associations since 1953 in an effort to create a large green space in the Tres Turons area of the district. The creation of additional park space sounds like a lovely idea, unless it’s your home that’s going to be razed in order to make it possible. 

The conflict of interests between a city that wants to expand, urbanize and attract tourism with its residents who want to live a quiet life is one of the reasons why, if you ask some residents of the district where they’re from, they’re more likely to reply soc d’Horta (I’m from Horta, in Catalan) than “I’m from Barcelona.”