Barcelona tours - Working class town, medieval monastery, hilltop prehistoric village

Working class satellite town of Barcelona with numbers of shanty town dwellers evicted from Montjuïc for the great exhibition of 1929. Sights include: early twentieth century villas, may last longer than later, aluminosis-prone tower blocks; auto-construction and petanque alleys, fruit of 1960s economic boom; modern sweatshops, generally Chinese; our lady of bullfighting; graffiti 1 and 2; the multicolour flats you only ever see from the train and motorway.

At the top of town, spectacular views of the nearest town on the coast, Barcelona's emblematic power station chimneys. We then head down into a valley to check out a ruined monastery and one that is still functional, complete with its tenant gardeners (visits bookable, interior shots: 1/2/3/4/5/6). Climbing up past the monastery, classic Mediterranean flora: lots of pine (umbrella, stone), chunks of Quercus ilex, standard flowers, cacti.

The ridge has more power station views, several chapels, Andalusian palaces and guard dogs, as well as interesting junk. Getting towards the top, various prehistoric remains, including a natural cave where human and pottery finds were made in the 1950s, Barcelona views. Then, on hilltop, a rehabilitated Iberian fort/village, with foundations, a reconstructed hut, good info displays.

Finally, a superb 360º panorama of Barcelona and the coast, Montjuich, Collserola, Montserrat (on a good day), Montcada, Sant Llorenç del Munt etc:

Back in town, various interesting lunch options, including a market bar with three tables, a Galician…