How Barcelona grew on us
Everyone we had talked to before we arrived in Barcelona couldn’t stop raving about it. After two months of travel in Italy and Spain we thought it would be a great way to wrap up our summer travel.
What we hadn’t counted on was that we might not enjoy our time there.
The problem was that we were buggered. We had forgotten how hard travelling can be. Living out of a backpack everyday and being on the go is freaking hard. By the time we arrived in Barcelona we were actually looking forward to our return to Edinburgh for a bit of rest and catching up on things we had been neglecting.
Not only were we exhausted but we had also chosen to visit during the height of the silly summer tourist season. The crowds were ridiculous, pick-pocketers created paranoia, the heat was unbearable and the prices were mind boggling. I’m still not sure how booze can double and even triple in price from the west to east coast of Spain.
On our first day after only 2 hours on the streets of Barcelona we had already given up and retired back to our Wimdu accommodation. We didn’t know what to do. We still had 3 days left and we weren’t keen to get out there again.
We realised that we were sick of being tourists!
We had visited the tourist hot spots like Parc Gaudi but we didn’t want to be surrounded by others with no room to think. We didn’t know what to do.
Waking on the last morning with a grimace we decided to give Barcelona one last chance. After hearing that the local farmers market, Mercat de la Boqueria, was very good and considering we love visiting local markets we couldn’t miss them.
Ignoring the crowds near the entrance we elbowed our way in. Suddenly our mood changed. We felt at ease again.
The mouthwatering smells wafting from the different stalls dragged us deeper into the gloom. Fresh produce filled the trays around us and we could browse to our hearts content.
We filled our growling bellies with a huge vegan falafel salad. Slurped down one of the many colourful freshly squeezed juices and we began to feel revived.
Our five senses had been reawakened and our passion for travel was slowly rekindled. We actually wanted to explore Barcelona. We wanted to find things to do in this city that we actually wanted to see. Not be trapped on the horribly crowded La Rambla street.
To find the hidden spots we needed to discover Barcelona’s hidden pulse. And in our opinion the best way to explore the different layers of a city (apart from reading our travel blog of course) is by joining a walking tour. After joining the Travel Bar free walking tour we can highly recommend them as well. Just make sure that at the end of you tip the guide what you think the tour is worth.
Winding through the narrow alleyways of the Gothic Quarter with our small tour group we were treated to stories of terror, love, sorrow and joy. We saw and heard things that we would never have found ourselves.
Did you know there are Roman ruins hidden in someones courtyard in the heart of Barcelona?
Instead of going with the tourist hordes or even battling against the unrelenting waves of tour buses spewing their cargo onto the streets of Barcelona we needed to get away from them completely.
Switching gears, quite literally, we headed to the beachfront on a pair of hire bikes. Cycling along the waterfront with ice creams in hand with the salty breeze whipping back our hair is how we prefer to travel. We don’t like being squeezed in to the middle of sweaty crowds on busy streets.
With hundreds of kilometers of dedicated cycle tracks around Barcelona, cycling is the perfect way to move quickly across the city. It allows you time to chill out at your destination rather than snapping the compulsory photos and moving on.
The final tick for Barcelona came from a last minute decision to join a paella cooking class. We love Spanish food so learning to cook one of our favourite dishes in Spain seemed like the perfect end to our few days in Barcelona.
Making our own sangria and eating piles of traditional seafood paella still hot from the dish will be remembered fondly for many years to come.
After a month of travelling in small towns in Spain we had somehow forgotten how we like to travel in cities. Because of this we nearly gave up on Barcelona. But by remembering what we enjoy and how we like to travel we actually would return to Barcelona if we get the chance again.
Have you been to Barcelona? Did you enjoy it?
Category: Europe
We have been wearing out our jandals (Kiwi slang for flip-flops) on our travel adventures around the world since 2009. We love all types of adventures that make us step outside our comfort zone, in comfort, including surfing, skiing, snowboarding, diving and cruising on our bikes. You can find out more 
That walking tour and the cooking class were 2 of my favourite things in Barca, also getting completely lost in the Gothic Quarter, we stayed away from Las Ramblas as much as possible, it is the worst! Also insanely expensive. There is another market over near the Gothic Quarter that I enjoyed a lot more, NO english and amazing food – perfect!
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The other market you are thinking of is probably Mercat de la Santa Caterina. We went there right as they were closing so missed out on trying the food unfortunately. Hated the crowds but glad we escaped them in a few places.
Glad at the end you found the way to enjoy Barcelona. I’ve been there only a day and a half on a flight stopover and really liked it. I was coming back from Andalucia though, where prices were definitely lower. Spot-on making it to La Boqueria, it’s never disappointing
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La Boqueria was fantastic. We went the first time then returned every single day buying at least 2 juices a day haha.
Glad you found your way to enjoy Barcelona, I would like to go back myself – after all I only got to spend a rushed day and one night there, but the festival of Saint Joan was an experience – fireworks banging and popping from everywhere, never experienced anything quite like it. Bombfires on the beach. Never seen a place so alive at so late at night.
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Spanish festivals in general are absolutely crazy! Not sure I would go back unless it was the off-season. Way too many people for my liking.
I’m glad you enjoyed Barcelona. I live 45 minutes from the city and i enjoy everytime i go there, but i highly recommend to visit nearby towns that are fantastic like Sitges! Anyway, when you’re a tourist, las ramblas is a place to see once and never go back unless you love crowds!
good thing you visited Park Güell, probably the city council is going to make us pay for it from september on:S
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That is crazy that they will make you pay for it. Maybe if you live there (or nearby) you will get in for free? Definitely coming back to Spain as we loved the rest of the small towns and cities.
I’m glad it grew on you – I love it! I think it’s such a great place to wander, and some of the festivals they have are unreal.
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We missed the festivals in Barcelona but in general Spain has some fantastic ones! We went to the San Fermin one in Pamplona this year. Mental!
We don’t know yet how they’re planning to do it, but since i live outside the city i will probably have to pay. hopefully it won’t be that much, and it’s not like i go every week so…
As Callie says, festivals in Spain are awesome!:)
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Hi Cole,
I know the hard work travelling feeling only too well! Those back home just don’t understand!
We too, need to give Barcelona another chance. We were there in the silly season, made even sillier by the Barca winning some futbol match – they screamed, tooted horns and played loud music ALL night for 2 nights. Our apartment cleverly absorbed ever sound. No sleep and being a little less that observant saw me fall prey to thugs in Las Ramblas…one day we will give her another chance
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Thanks for dropping by Jo.
That is such a shame that you ran into some thugs. I hate how incidents like that can ruin your whole perspective on travelling to various places. We managed to find some parts of Barcelona that we loved at least!
Parc Guell is by far my favorite park in the world! is just amazing! I love Barcelona but hate how crowd it gets. Where did you take the cooking class??
The cooking class was run by the Travel Bar (the link in the post will take you there). Really fun and definitely worth checking out.
I’m glad that Barcelona did grow on you in the end. I love Parc Guell! I didn’t try any markets when I was there, but I just loved wandering around, doing some shopping, going out with my friend at night. And the big bus tour, as Barcelona is quite big actually, so that I could give my feet a rest!
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I know the feeling of being tired especially with the intense summer heat, I had that whilst in Rome. But I’m glad you enjoyed Barcelona at the end. It’s my first time here today and had an extremely slow and lazy day with picnic at the Montjuic castle, I have to say that I love love Barcelona
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I loved Barcelona, but have to agree, it’s a busy city. We visited in April, and the tourist hotspots were crazy busy even then. We had to leave Parc Guell fairly quickly because the crowds were just too much to make it an enjoyable experience. The beach is always a great way to escape – and it was practically deserted during our unseasonably cool visit – which was nice! Pleased you had a good time in the end
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Barcelona is one of those weird cities that didn’t really resonate with us until our third visit. Once we “got” it, we couldn’t get enough. Despite having our iPhone stolen in the subway, I would return in a heartbeat.
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We obviously need to get back. It is like London I think, in that it slowly gets under your skin, and then you cannot get rid of it haha.
I love Barcelona when I visisted but I was with a big group who was just on a city break from studying – which definitely puts you in a different travel mind set. The markets are great though – we got so many cheap and delicious meals there
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We drank so many of those juices at the market! So tasty and nice on a hot day. I think we will have to give Barcelona a second chance sometime.
Ahh, I relate so much to this! Well done!
Cheers Lillie. We might have to head back and really get under its skin to see if we end of loving it completely.
I’m obsessed with Barcelona — but I also met her in a very different way! Isn’t it amazing what a market and wandering can do. This was a good reminder that sometimes it’s best to give ourselves a break and just go have a beer or something. I hope you made it back to Edinburgh!
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Back in Edinburgh, but we do miss the sunny weather of Barcelona! Nothing like a good food experience to cheer us up
I would LOVE to learn to make paella!
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We have done two courses now, and I still suck haha.
Timing can play such a big part in why you like or don’t like a place. If you’re tired and experiencing travel burn-out, it could easily change how you view your next destination. I’m glad you were able to find a few things you liked about Barcelona though. We enjoyed being there in August despite the heat because we decided to not worry about being tourists.
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Once we figured out that we didn’t want to be tourists then it definitely worked in our favour. Just took it slow and relaxed. Turned out not too bad in the end
Barcelona is crazy in the summer…uff. It’s a great city, but I’ve never fallen in love with it like a lot of people seem to. No doubt it’s beautiful, but there’s so many tourists. The best time I had was when I met with a friend and he took me to a tiny plaza with tons of young people drinking. Bought beer from a guy selling them on the street and enjoyed the night!
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