The triumph of the film The 47th at the last Goya Awards gala has put in the spotlight a neighborhood of Barcelona hitherto unknown to many: Torre Baró.
Integrated in the district of Nou Barris, the award-winning film has boosted the popularity of an area away from the bustle of the Ramblas and the coastal side of the city, and where you can find one of the best viewpoints in Barcelona.
The Torre Baró viewpoint offers a panoramic view of the Nou Barris district, the Collserola mountain range and the entire city of Barcelona all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. As the film tries to show, the view itself is a metaphor for the history of the neighborhood, separated from the development of the big city, which from the distance observes the excessive growth of Barcelona.
From the hill of Torre Baró you can see the castle of the same name, a 1905 construction initially conceived as a hotel within a large urban project to convert this area of Barcelona into a garden-city neighborhood. The website Barcelona in office hours collects in an extensive report part of the history of the neighborhood and this failed plan that led to a situation like the one depicted in the film El 47.
Since the castle was declared historical heritage of the city in 1984, the viewpoint has gained visitors and popularity, but the hordes of tourists that swarm to areas such as Tibidabo or El Carmel do not come here.
For years the viewpoint area suffered a deterioration that meant that in 2024 it had to be rehabilitated again, at a cost of 713,854 euros financed by the Pla de Barris.
Those who climb up here can glimpse the districts of Nou Barris, Horta, Sant Andreu and Sant Martí, as well as Besós, Santa Coloma, Sant Adrià and Badalona.
The film El 47 has put the history of the neighborhood struggle of Torre Baró on the map, with a story centered on the symbolic hijacking of a bus by Manolo Vital to denounce the lack of basic services in the neighborhood during the 1970s.
To get by bus to the Torre Baró viewpoint, take bus number 182 in the direction of Torre Baró.