Sabadell

Population: 200,905

Sabadell is another place that is heir to an extraordinary amount of history. The town claims to go back to 5,000BC but in reality Sabadell’s pre-history probably amounts to little more than a few Iberians waiting around for the Romans to arrive. As with so many other towns it enters the records in the early 11th, when central Catalonia was being repopulated following the Moorish invasion. By all accounts, though, it didn’t really get going until much later. From the 16th century, it had been a centre for the textile industry so when the Industrial Revolution came it entered a boom period and its population began to grow. A reflection of Sabadell’s prosperity is that it is still the seat of two important banks, the Caixa d’Estalvis de Sabadell and Banc Sabadell.

These days Sabadell is one of Catalonia’s nicer industrial towns, which although hit by mass immigration under Franco retains a clear sense of its own identity. The outskirts are a bit characterless, but the old town is particularly pleasant with a ramshackle feel that harks back to its long history. I particularly like some of the old Industrial Revolution buildings and the surprising number of Modernist gems, which were designed by mainly second division architects but are delightful nonetheless.

It’s a particularly dynamic town and by all accounts an excellent place to live. The Festa Major always begins on the first Friday of September and lasts a week, but there’s a lot more to enjoy throughout the year with each barri celebrating its own festa and quite a few musical events as well; Sabadell even boasts its own symphony orchestra. My overriding impression of Sabadell, which goes back over a decade and might well be a little out of date, are of relaxed bar crawls through the winding backstreets of the old town – an altogether pleasurable experience.

Ajuntament de Sabadell Plaça de Sant Roc, 1 - 08201 Sabadell - Tel 93 745 31 00.