Carretera de les Aigües: the balcony of Barcelona
A flat dirt track along the hillside with the whole city and the sea hung below you the entire way. This is a Claude-drafted route awaiting the editor's walk.

1. Peu del Funicular (FGC)
The FGC line hands you to the base of the *funicular*. Don't walk the hill — ride up, but only as far as the *Carretera de les Aigües* request stop halfway; that's where the track meets the line.

2. Carretera de les Aigües funicular stop
A request stop on the *Funicular de Vallvidrera* — tell the attendant or press the button, because it doesn't always halt here. Step off and the track is right there, already at the height where the view begins.

3. The track itself
A broad, flat dirt *carretera* (road) that follows the contour of the hill — built to carry a water main, now the city's favourite place to run, cycle and walk. The surface is easy; the discipline is not stopping every fifty metres to look.

4. First mirador over the city
A bend where the trees fall away and the *mirador* (viewpoint) opens: the *Sagrada Família*, the towers of the *Diagonal*, the port, the sea behind it all. On a clear morning you can pick out Montjuïc across the whole sweep.

5. The runners' stretch
The eastern run of the track, busy from dawn with regulars — you'll be overtaken, cheerfully, by people who do this every day. Keep right, keep the view on your shoulder, and let them past.

6. Turnaround and back to the funicular
There's no neat end — the track runs for kilometres. Pick a *mirador* you like, turn, and walk back to the funicular stop with the view now ahead of you instead of beside you. Flag the funicular down for the ride home.

Carretera de les Aigües: the balcony of Barcelona