Hotel Continental Barcelona
La Rambla, Barcelona

While he was visiting Barcelona during the Spanish civil war, George Orwell and his wife stayed in the Hotel Continental, a beautiful and cozy 3-star hotel located at the top of Las Ramblas, right in the heart of Barcelona.

During his life he returned several times to Hotel Continental and he mentions it in Homage to Catalonia. Actually, after entering in the black list for the Stalinists due the strong split between the various leftist factions, the Stalinists agents searched the room where his wife was staying while Orwell was recovering from a shot in the throat in the hospital. The agents took his diary and the first notes of Homage to Catalonia.

There are still many travelers that come to Hotel Continental to see the hotel where Orwell used to stay in Barcelona. In fact, the hotel is still run by the same family, Malagarriga, whose member had to learn about the hotel’s history after so many guests asked them about its famous past resident.

Hotel Continental retains a special atmosphere like from another past era. Located in Barcelona center, its chintz wallpaper and pink satin bead covers have a lot to say about the history of the city. You can quite imagine foreign guests trying to maintain social etiquette while the sounds of battles taking place below floated up to the balconies and chandeliered lounge.

If we continue walking down Las Ramblas from Hotel Continental we find the Teatro Poliorama, where George Orwell stayed for three days and nights in order to keep an eye: the Assault Guards were poised to attack the POUM headquarters (now the Hotel Rivoli Rambla at 128 Ramblas) and there was a good sight from the roof. If we stand in front of the Poliorama and look up we can still see the rooftop observatory and the twin domes Orwell described.

After walking down Las Ramblas we reach the beautiful Liceu opera house: in its metro station, into the entrance in front of the theatre and in the middle of Las Ramblas, George Orwell described that the crowd was surging to take cover as the bullets flew. Today, el Liceu and Poliorama are offering an extensive program of culture and music through the year and they are part of the rich culture life of the city.
barcelona catalonia barcelonaexperience spanishcivilwar spain españa