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Last posts

Shopping in the Golden Mile of Madrid

Diana Rodríguez Pretel Madrilenian, Only-Be, Practical Guide to Madrid

On par with Fifth Avenue in New York or London´s Oxford Street, the Golden Mile of Madrid is one of the most chic and luxury areas of the capital and boasts dozens of stores with the leading brands and an elegant ambient. That’s the Salamanca district, in particular the pentagon of the Golden Mile formed by Serrano, Jorge Juan, Juan Bravo, Ortega y Gasset and Principe de Vergara streets. The most important companies in the world are concentrated in this place where fashion is a lifestyle. This is a high class neighborhood, a shopping area that attracts customers from all over the world, tourists and the curious. It is pilgrimage site for lovers of fashion. The heart of Madrid’s Salamanca district is one of the few places that has remained immune to the crisis, where luxury still reigns and its customers are not on the receiving end of the bad economic news in Spain. Its exclusivity has been spared from the recession and that means the Golden Mile is full everyday with sporadic visitors and regular customers. The backbone of the Golden Mile is the street Ortega y Gasset which features world-class companies, including the most expensive, and especially jewelry stores, and shops for fashion and accessories, for which they pay something like 1,900 euros per square meter a year. It is the most expensive commercial area in Spain to start a business. One of the most expensive and extensive shopping streets in the world is the Fifth Avenue in New York, which is over 12 kilometers long. Its square meter price is around 11,500 euros, and you can... read more

Gay route around Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda Barcelonian, Only-Be

According to some of the studies that were stated in the latest Tourism Fair FITUR LGBT, the so-called gay tourism is considerably more profitable in business terms than heterosexual tourism, since the homosexual tourist tends to spend approximately 150 euros a day. This could undoubtedly be one of the factors that explain the accelerated exponential growth of a leisure industry aimed towards the gay population in the city of Barcelona, close to the beach town of Sitges, a place where one of the best Gay Pride festivals in the whole Mediterranean takes place, one of its most attractive places. Not without reason, this was the town chosen by Brian Epstein to unfold his seduction moves on John Lennon, with results that will forever be wrapped up in the darkest of mysteries. These are possibly the two most famous places to go to among those who are looking for a heated encounter with those of their same sex, with the exception of some areas of the district of Eixample and nearby, such as the Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, where cruising takes place with the excuse of taking the dog for a walk, the beach known by the name of Chernobyl and certain areas of the Parc de Montjuïc, such as around the Palau Sant Jordi and the Olympic Stadium. Regarding ´Chernobyl Beach´, it receives this name due to the old power plant next to it, whose three towering chimneys point the way from there to the metro station of Sant Roc, or to the trams to Sant Adrià del Besós. Unlike what happens in Montjuïc, where there´s sexual activity during day... read more

The Fábrica Moritz in Barcelona

Mónica Boixeda Barcelonian, Only-Be

On December 12, 2011, after seven years of restoration, the doors of the Fábrica Moritz Factory have once again been opened. But let´s start from the beginning. Louis Moritz of Pfaffenhoffen, a beer region of Alsace, came to Barcelona in 1851. His older brother was a master brewer, so he followed in his footsteps and started making his own beer in 1856. In 1862, thanks to an increasing demand for his product, he bought a farm in the Ronda de Sant Antoni, one of the first buildings of the Eixample after the demolition of the city walls. Thanks to his success, he was able to turn what started out as a single building into an architectural complex after he bought neighboring buildings (from 39 to 43 of Ronda de Sant Antoni) to open the Cevercería Moritz in 1897. Two years after the death of Louis Moritz in 1920, his heirs created the brewery Fábrica de Cervezas Moritz, S.A. In the 1930s they had record sales, controlling over 30% market share of Catalonia. In the 1960s, and after years of success, the production plant was too small so they moved out. But the oil crisis of the 1970s was difficult and Moritz Beer, SA disappeared from the market until the last generations of the family Moritz brought it back to life in 2004. Their offices are located in the former factory in the Ronda de Sant Antoni. Now this great space is a gastronomic center, which also offers cultural activities and entertainment. After a long rehabilitation, promoted by the CEO Alberto Castellón and carried out by the renowned architect Jean... read more