Barcelona: Jamon Experience & Erotic Museum
In our hostel, we found a card offering a tour at The Jamon Experience plus a glass of cava for €5 each, and we found the whole idea of a whole experience based around good old ham pretty intriguing. Jamon is a huge deal in Spain, a world away from your Sainsburys Basics wafer thin, and from the tour we discovered just how much effort goes into creating gourmet jamon.
Featuring six rooms, the Jamon Experience takes visitors through the entire process – from rearing pigs to the long journey of the meat before it ends up being sold to the public. I actually found the tour a little scary as we were the only two people in our group and the rooms went dark quite a lot, but at the same time it was strangely fascinating to hear about the process.
After the tour itself, we sat down for a jamon tasting session. It cost €35 for both of us, which was a bit more than we’d intended to spend on The Jamon Experience, but really worth it as the ham we tasted was incredible – we tried six different kinds, including the much-loved Iberico. The jamon was carved in the middle of the restaurant by hand, and I was impressed at the craftsmanship that went into carving such thin pieces.
As well as tasty food, we also had a wonderful view of La Rambla marketplace from the window, it was a really lovely experience and definitely something I’d recommend if you’re looking for something a bit out of the ordinary on your trip.
Read more: How to eat like a local in Barcelona
We’d spotted the Barcelona Erotic Museum the previous day and thought it would be a bit of a giggle to pop in and have a nose around. I haven’t posted many photos as there were a lot of willies and boobs and I wanted to make this post relatively safe for work!!
Although it’s quite a small museum, there’s plenty to look at and take in for €9 each, including all kinds of erotic paraphernalia and artwork, including a display dedicated to Marilyn Monroe and a room of entertaining erotic-related facts and world records. They also have a small outdoor seating area at the centre of the museum, where we had a little break, a drink and a chat about the museum.
One of the most fascinating things I found was looking at erotica through the ages, and how different body types were represented throughout the eras, proving that ‘sexy’ has never been about having the body that today’s media shows as the ‘ideal’. In lots of the art on show, women had fuller bodies, small bodies, all kinds of shapes represented, which I found really interesting and inspiring, especially set against the current climate of body debates and body positivity.
What quirky tourist attractions have you visited?
