Hi,
I'm a runner and will be visiting Barcelona (3 nights), Toledo (2 nights), and Madrid (3 nights) next week and I would like recommendations on good places to run in each city. I prefer parks, but low-traffic neighborhoods would be fine too.
Thank you!
Hi Darlene - I'm only running if I'm trying to catch a Metro, but in Barcelona you might consider heading up on Montjuic. Walled-in old town Toledo is pretty much hilly, narrow streets, but it seems there was some flatter greenery down near the river. Madrid has Retiro park on the east side of downtown, and on the west end, in front of the Royal Palace, there's a parkish area with dirt pathways - near the Opera Metro stop.
I saw many runners and groups of runners in Barcelona. Actually, more than any other city we visited (Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, Sevilla)
You can run anywhere in the morning. The streets are empty and squeaky clean. I couldn't believe they clean the streets every night. I saw tons of people running down La Ramblas when we were out early around 8 or 9 am. You could go south on Las Ramblas down towards the beach and run along there.
I spent a month in Spain last summer and am a runner as well. Luckily my apartment in Barcelona was right next to the Parc de la Ciutadella. It's a great park for running, and there were always lots of other runners there in the morning. There is a metro stop at the NW end (Arc de Triomf) and another one at the eastern end (Ciutadella/Villa Olimipca). The park is entirely flat, so it depends on whether you like hills or not. Montjuic is VERY hilly, basically no flat zones at all, so it just depends on your preference.
In Madrid, you should go to Parque de El Retiro (or Retiro Park), which is huge and gorgeous. There are multiple metro stops around the park. It is about half flat and half sloped/hilly so it has a great mixture of terrain.
I've never been to Toledo, so hopefully someone else can help out there.
It all depends where are you going to be staying...
In Barcelona, I will be near the El Putxet metro stop. Are the Jardins del Turó del Putxet a good place to run?
Thank you.
Hi soon-to-be "neighbour" :)).... the Parc del Putxet is very nice, safe and tranquil -except on the playground at 5pm, bloody toddlers and soccer mums!- but very hilly, note that the word "turó" is Catalan -the local language- for "hill". There are nice views of the city from above. El Putxet can be a nice option for a 'close by' quiet area to run a bit.
A couple of other options:
Route through the streets of the northern part of Sant Gervasi, yet also a bit uphill at times. Those streets are very quiet and full of beautiful detached houses, especially the area of Avinguda del Tibidabo and left of that avenue, and north of Passeig de la Bonanova:
If you have the time, at the foot of the Serra Collserola (the hills north of Barcelona) you can enjoy some of the best views of Barcelona while running down a wide, flat track. This is a classic for Barcelona runners who want to avoid the asphalt. From the Pla dels Maduixers there is a 9-kilometre long road known as ‘Carretera de les Aigües’, a dirt road that winds around the foothills of the Collserola range. This is a very flat road, without any inclines, which suits all physical conditions, as you can turn back at any point. Furthermore, from the Carretera de les Aigües you can access steeper roads that can lead you to Parc Tibidabo or the Collserola Tower, designed by Norman Foster. But beware: for this, you need strong legs! On Sundays is full of Barcelonians strolling, running and biking. Note that Collserola is a huge urban park).
Hi neighbor, and thank you for the helpful advice!
Do you happen to have recommendations for nearby places for lunch, dinner, and coffee?
Well, not really to be honest... you see, the problem is that when one goes out for lunch/dinner, one tries to do it in a different neighbourhood (...go "out", that's the purpose) so I almost never lunch/dine in the 'hood' :)) Having said that, here some restaurants in the district that you might want to have a look at:
-ABAC: for a great dinner on Michelin-star restaurant with chef Jordi Cruz and on a very beautiful garden. Not cheap, though!
-El Pinxus: great tapas
-Blavis, for sophisticated and delicious Mediterranean cuisine
-Mirabé, located on the slopes of the Collserola Hills, with impressive views of the city
-Bonanova, a typical no-frills Catalan cuisine restaurant
-El Asador de Aranda: superb place, especially if you like meat (steaks, etc)
-Coure and Hisop, both very close to each other. Cheffy and a bit pricey, but quite good.
-Freixa, another great Catalan traditional cuisine restaurant
-Il Giardinetto: for a medium-priced Italian with fusion cuisine.
-Vivanda, simple Mediterranean food in a lovely small garden.
As per coffee, you'll find plenty of places almost at every corner. For example, around the fresh food market by the metro at El Putxet.
Note though that all this district is considered to be a medium-high income area hence prices in many of the restaurants aren't as cheap as in other areas of the city.
