Poble-sec — the "dry village" — earned its name because it was the last part of the city to get a public fountain. Squeezed between the Avinguda del Paral·lel and the green flank of Montjuïc, it grew up in the nineteenth century as a working-class neighbourhood of factory hands and, along the Paral·lel itself, of theatres and music halls. That boulevard was once Barcelona's answer to Montmartre, a riot of cabarets and variety shows; a few grand old venues survive among the modern blocks.
The neighbourhood has quietly become one of the best places in the city to eat and drink. Carrer de Blai is lined almost end to end with pintxo bars, where skewered bites cost a euro or two and the crowds spill onto the pedestrian street on warm evenings. Nearby, more ambitious kitchens — including some of the most talked-about tapas spots in Barcelona — draw diners from across the city, while the hillside parks of Montjuïc and the viewpoint of the Mirador del Poble-sec lie a short climb away.
It remains residential and unflashy at its core, a place of small squares and old grocers, but for food-minded visitors it is one of the most rewarding corners of the lower city.