Antiguo Convento de San Agustin, Comerç 36, 08003
Jaume I

Barcelona celebrates its love of all things sweet here at the Chocolate museum. Informative displays and an audio-visual presentation detail the history of the dark brown gold, as well as the city's coco connections.

Amongst the many chocolatey-drops of history described here, we learn that the Aztecs treasured their cacao bean so much that they used it as a currency. Suppose you were feeling hungry or horny, 10 beans could buy you either a rabbit or the talents of a prostitute; whereas the wealthy could buy a whole slave for just 100.

We discover also that the ancients used beans to pay their taxes; imagine turning up at the Inland Revenue with a box of chocolate truffles and hoping to clear your debts.

contributor: Nigel Hayler