How to Be a Tourist in Barcelona

So you think it would do you some good to visit Barcelona, the city-queen of Spain and of all things Spanish on this Earth. But can you take it? For Barcelona is a city unlike any other. It’s exotic and fast-paced, as you’re likely to find out if you go for a walk on one of its crowded, noisy, lively boulevards. Yet Barcelona is also a place of solemn gravity, soberness and tranquility – all you have to do is step in the shadow of one of its ancient cathedrals, churches and palaces and it’s like stepping into another world.

Intrigued? Then let me tell you more about what to do and where to go in Barcelona so that your visit should be more than just a simple tourist’s expedition.

The right time for “Barceloning”

Barcelona is blessed with a Mediterranean climate, warm and sweet, with a soft breeze which you’re sure to miss once you’re back home, maybe in a drab and gray metropolis. There is no such thing as winter here, at least not as you know it; Barcelona’s winter-time is like a cool, day-long spring morning. But you must like it really hot if you dare those months of feverish heat which go by the name of summer down here in Barcelona. Yet this is the time when the true spirit of the city comes out to play.

Anyway, if you’re dead set on visiting the Spanish capital, be sure to book in advance, because lots of people come here, for business or pleasure, and hotels are busy for most of the year. Try to schedule your stay for spring and early summer, because the weather is still pleasant at that time of year and there aren’t too much tourists gawking around in the streets (not that you do that, far from it). High summer (which awakens in mid-July and goes back to sleep in late August) is a bit on the asphyxiating side, but, like I said, it’s all part of the atmosphere. In fact, many locals (who are already used to the exotic hot-latino atmosphere) have the good sense of bailing out of town at this time of year. Things quiet down a bit in September, even if the weather can play several nasty tricks on the unsuspecting tourist. If you have a strange and disquieting craving for rain, choose October for your stay. Winter isn’t very harsh, but you should still look for a room with heating.

Attractions? How about just going for a walk?

Even if you’re for the first time in Barcelona, and even if you plan on staying for only a few days, you shouldn’t rush in and enter a state of sight-seeing frenzy and run around the city, blitz a-blazing. Take your time, savor the unique Spanish aroma, with all its foreign spices. For example, just go for a walk and look around, you don’t necessarily have to hunt for the “attractions” you read about on some tourist guide.

A good place for such an experience is the Gràcia, a very pleasant suburb of Barcelona, with enough of the historical to please your photographic tendencies, but also with a goodly number of places where you can relax and have fun. It’s not really an antique part of town, the place became a fully-fledged “hood” in the 19th century. Nowadays, its residents are a tutti frutti of artists and students and some “average” persons which results in a relaxed, down-to-earth atmosphere, a thing that the classical grand touristic attractions, like the Sagrada Familia or the Aquarium area, are lacking. It’s not that they’re too crowded and stressful, their main disadvantage is that they’re somewhat fake and artificial (tourist make-up) and you have to make an effort to look beyond the facade.

Once, the Gràcia was a village, separate of the big city, and at the end of the 1890’s, they still had poor roads, no street lighting and no sewers. Tough, huh? Don’t worry, they caught up just fine. In the 1960’s and 70’s it was the meeting place for rebel-like figures, all sorts of bohemians and radicals. That kind of flavor is still fashionable today, especially in the cafes and bars, of which you’ll find aplenty, and many of them are quite picturesque, in the hip sense of the word. If you really can’t just wander about and you just have to have a specific place to go and photograph, try the Plaça del Sol – it’s a nice place to be, with beautiful 19th architecture and it’s practically surrounded by cafes. Give it a try.

It’s all about the money (even in Barcelona)

A piece of advice: you’re a tourist, you have money and you’re in a unfamiliar place. Which means that you can get in some trouble, even in a charming place such as Barcelona. You would avoid many uncomfortable (to put it mildly) situations by simply using a card. ATM’s are practically around any corner and most money spending places take major credit cards.

Another often encountered difficulty of the tourist is tipping. A small thing which can lead to other “uncomfortable” misunderstandings. In Barcelona, there is no ground rule about tipping, you are not always expected to tip on top of restaurant services; still, it is rather customary to leave some small amount (especially if you intend to come back and receive a bit of special attention, you know the drill.)

Delightfully foreign

As you may have noticed, the information above, despite its practicality, is not necessarily meant for classical tourists, addicted to sightseeing and admiring all that other people have admired and found to be exactly the same. When you travel, you should do so in order to experience a different kind of atmosphere, something beyond the routine feel of your home. And Barcelona is perfect from this point of view, because this city has so many faces that any visitor, no matter his or hers place of origin, will feel this place to be delightfully foreign.