Where do locals actually go for aperitivo in Barcelona?

Barcelona doesn't really run on aperitivo culture the way Milan does, so the honest framing is vermut, the local version, which happens Sunday midday and sometimes Thursday or Friday early evening. The classic neighborhood for it is Gràcia, where Bar Calders on Parlament (technically Sant Antoni, but the same pocket) and El Xampanyet on Carrer de Montcada in El Born are both genuinely used by locals rather than tourists alone. El Xampanyet pours house cava for around three euros a glass with anchovies and pickles on the counter. In Poble Sec, the bars along Carrer de Blai do a similar thing before the pintxos crowds arrive. The ritual is low-key: a glass of vermut or cava, something salty, standing at the bar or on a terrace, done by 2 p.m. when lunch starts. Avoid anywhere on Las Ramblas or the immediate Barceloneta strip, where the pricing and the crowd tell you everything you need to know.

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