Not a Fan of Barcelona, but it is not Barcelona's Fault

After leaving Oviedo we headed to Barcelona via train, along with Jana's parents. We spent a few days in Barcelona, kicking off a little true vacation time split between Barcelona, Alsace (France), and Paris. Of all the places we visited, I liked Barcelona least. But it truly was not Barcelona's fault. The city itself is lovely in many ways. But the popularity of the place as a tourist destination was unattractive to me.

It's important to keep in mind that we arrived to Barcelona from two months living in a nice little city that is most definitely off the well-worn American tourist path. And that was one of the reasons we chose it. We didn't want to be surrounded by English speakers and tourism on this trip. As off the tourist path as Oviedo was, Barcelona was just as much on that tourist path.

First, some things I really liked about Barcelona. Lodging was not expensive. We were able to be in a very nice three bedroom apartment for about $200/night. That was great. The architecture is truly wonderful. You have Gaudi buildings (which are one of the main attractions), wonderful old churches, great palace-like theaters, a cool waterfront, and a great gothic quarter. We particularly liked the Born neighborhood which had the appearance of the more well-known Gotic neighborhood, but was a bit less touristy and more trendy. It was full of great restaurants and wonderful streets to explore. And it was very close to our apartment. We loved the Sagrada Familia and liked a lot of the other Gaudi attractions. Here are some photos to show you really how nice the city is:

LL Playing Near the Catedral del Mar

Waterfront Barcelona

At the Park Guell

Enjoying the Cool/Edging El Born Neighborhood

Ceiling of Sagrada Familia

Full View: Sagrada Familia

Facade of Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia

Barceloneta Beach

 Despite all of this really great stuff, I just don't have a burning desire to go back to Barcelona. I'm glad we went once. It was great to see the amazing works that Gaudi is responsible for in Barcelona. But the city was just so touristy as to be unattractive to me. I suppose it's possible to get off the beaten path more than we did, but it's much easier to get away from the crowds in other touristy places I've been. Las Ramblas is a famous street in Barcelona that everyone visits. And because everyone visits, it's full of people. Which is fine except that it becomes completely crowded with barely anyone speaking Spanish or Catalan and the feel of the place is basically completely fake. Oh, and since the weather is good year-round and there is really not a true "low" season, this city has become the pick-pocket capital of the world, and the capital of the capital is Las Ramblas. So, we were holding onto our wallets when we took the requisite stroll on Las Ramblas.

I'm also not a fan of hot weather. And it was hot while we were there. Unlike some of the other places we visited, there was not much escaping the heat. If I ever do visit Barcelona again, it won't be in July. I'll wait until later in the autumn, spring, or even winter.

One last thing. This, to me, is one of the warning signs of a place that is too tourist oriented for me to like it: abundant menus and signs in English rather than the local language (assuming the local language is different than English of course). Everyplace had signs and menus in English. Not a good sign. I'd be the first to admit that if you don't have local language skills, abundant English can be a draw. Lord knows there were times in France where I was wising for some more English!! But the authenticity of a place is undermined when the tourism industry caters to an English-speaking crowd. And that has happened in spades in Barcelona.

So, it's not my favorite place in Spain. Was it horrible? No. We had no major issues (though we ran into some seasoned travellers in France who had been pickpocketed while in Barcelona). It was fine. It just was not my ideal kind of place. I think you should go to Barcelona and draw your own conclusions. There is a lot to like there. But given where I was coming from and what we were hoping for from this trip, there were just lots of other places I'd put higher on my list than Barcelona.