City of Sin: Gran Hotel La Florida, Barcelona
The origin of the name Tibidabo, the hill on which this hotel was built, goes back to the legend that this is the place where the devil tried to tempt Jesus. The short version of what the devil said to him, “Haec tibi omnia dabo”, translates to: “All these things will I give to thee.” So apparently the view over land and sea was pretty good even back then. Built in 1924, the Gran Hotel La Florida served as a military hospital during the Spanish Civil War and only reopened to paying guests in the 1950s, with Barcelona’s high society particularly fond of spending their summers here. Today the view is best enjoyed from Deluxe Room208 (see below) or from the hotel’s panorama terrace. That all sounds very relaxing, but what about temptation? No problem: Barcelona can be reached in twenty minutes by car, and there’s a free shuttle service three times a day.