10 Barcelona Aventures to Boost Morale at Your Startup

The summer is over, the days are going by faster, and it’s getting darker earlier and earlier. Autumn can be a little somber, but luckily you are living in Barcelona – a city full of activities to boost your autumn-mood and the morale at your startup.

Together with Trip4real, we found 10 great Barcelona adventures to do if the autumn-gloom of dark clouds hits the offices of your startup over the next few months.

1. Slide down a ravine and discover the Barranco de Nuria:

You don’t have to be a daredevil, but you have to be ready to fuel your adrenalin. Take your office out on a Saturday or Sunday (takes five hours) to discover the amazing ravines outside of Barcelona called the Barranco de Nuria, together with Josep, a local expert on the area.

Get to know the ravines by hanging from a rope, sliding down the natural shaped slides or just jumping in the water from the ten meter high cliffs. This is a local jewel and will get your blood pumping faster than your first high school crush.

2. Hot-air balloon ride over Catalunya:

There are a lot of good views to be had in Barcelona, but nothing compares to this. Powered by gas and fire and moved by the wind, you’ll discover Catalunya in a whole different light.

Together with balloon-pilot Benjamin you’ll experience the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean Sea, Montserrat, Montseny massifs and even Barcelona itself in a floating 3,000 feet above the ground.

3. Confessions of a Barcelona gangster:

Every day we have different conversations with the people at our office, but this conversation is something unique. Meet Dani the Red, former gangster, body guard and a proud bankrobber, who according to himself has robbed more than 150 banks without hurting anyone. After spending some time in jail, he also worked as a bodyguard for Calamaro, Messi and Loquillo among others.

Perhaps you need to practice your pitch or need some help on how to convince your boss that you deserve a raise. Dining with a man who has convinced more than 150 people to hand over their cash without hurting a soul, might have some tips for your particular situation. Or if you just want to listen to some of his amazing stories from the underworld, that’s fine too.

4. Explore Montseny National Park on a quad:

Everybody should enjoy nature once in awhile, but hiking is not for everybody. If you are interested in getting out of your crowded, hectic, warm office but hate the idea of walking in the woods, this could be just for you.

Ride your own quad and see one of Catalonia’s most beautiful national parks without any strenuous activity. Sound like a dream? It’s not, it’s perfectly real, for both you and your colleagues.

5. Create a sculpture with a local sculptor:

Startups are all about creating and being creative. But once in awhile we get stuck in our day to day tasks, no matter what we do. Re-charge your creative side and take your office to Poble Nou to meet the local sculptor Yranzo.

Yranzo will help you to create a small piece of art which will be placed together to create the character called “Otoko”. The experience will be accompanied by a slow and enjoyable breakfast, so if you’re interested in this activity, keep in mind it is a “before-work” activity.

6. Enjoy Barcelona’s skyline from a private sailboat:

You may have seen the beautiful Barcelona skyline from the crowded beach or mountaintop, but few have seen the shore from the sea itself. With local skipper Marc at the sails, you’re in great hands to enjoy the Mediterranean with your colleagues aboard his beautiful sailboat.

Included in the price is a glass of vermouth (and the good memories, of course).

7. Gourmet visit to Catalunya’s oldest vineyards:

Most of us have some kind of relationship with Catalunya’s extraordinary wines, but few have discovered it like this. Take a trip outside the city to visit the vineyards that make the delicious wine many of us celebrate each weekend. Together with wine-expert Sonia, you’ll visit the vineyards in a 4×4, go to the cellar and enjoy a gourmet tasting with views of the vineyard and the sea.

If your office consists of people appreciating gastronomical experiences, this is the thing to do.

8. The history of Barcelona’s graffiti scene:

You may have seen many of Barcelona’s great art exhibitions or gone to some of the many museums in the city, but this is something else. There is no que to get in, and the pictures do not hang on a white wall, rather throughout the beautiful streets of Barcelona.

Go after work and catch the biggest, most magnificent graffiti-pieces in the beautiful light of the Barcelona sunset. For a creative startup it’s only natural to discover some of Barcelona’s and maybe Europe’s most creative graffiti-artists.

9. Sunrise yoga at the beach:

It’s easy to feel a lack of energy when the summer ends. No need to worry, restore your body with an energizing trip to the beach. Go as a group before work, see the sunrise over the beach and end with a body full of energy that will last the entire week. The teacher, Mariona, helps everybody through the session and pushes you into a relaxing state of mind.

There is no need for yoga-experience, come as you are.

10. Baumes Corcades via ferrata

This is rock-climbing for people who don´t know how to climb rocks (most of us). Via ferrata can be translated to English as “iron road”. It is a type climbing where you are locked on a wire the whole time, but still have to climb the mountain with your hands and feet. The wire is attached to bolts in the mountain.

Together with local climber Josep, you’ll get to experience the beautiful Baumes Corcades first hand. Though this is considered much safer than regular climbing, it is still tough on your muscles, so be ready to sweat.

(Pictures: Shutterstock and Trip4real)