La Barceloneta

Built in the 18th century to house dockworkers displaced by La Ribera's citadel, La Barceloneta is a tight grid of narrow streets, small squares, and balconied apartment blocks that opens straight onto the Mediterranean. It still has a working-class, salty character — laundry strung between balconies, old-school seafood bars along Carrer de la Mar, and a daily fish market — even as the beachfront promenade and the sail-shaped W Hotel tower have made it a magnet for sunbathers and beach volleyball players. Locals eat rice and fried fish at unpretentious taverns rather than the pricier places right on the sand. It's also the gateway to the marina, the cable car up to Montjuïc, and a flat, easy walk along the harbor to the Gothic Quarter.