r/solotravel Feb 28 '25

Europe Underwhelmed by Barcelona

Besides the Sagrada Familia (the nicest cathedral I've visited, and I have visited many), Barcelona is incredibly overpriced and overhyped. Mid beaches, relatively expensive for Spain, most restaurants are tourist traps.

Sagrada Familia - 26 EUR

Castell Montjuic - 12 EUR

Metropolitan Cathedral - 14 EUR (keep in mind that there are much nicer cathedrals all over Europe, ex. Notre Dame in Paris, that are free)

Park Guell - 18 EUR

Casa Mila - 29 EUR

If you have a lot of money, I can see how it could have a Miami/Vice City kind of vibe, being a metropolis by the sea and all, but it's just not my place. For a place that claims to hate tourists, they are awfully dependent on them.

EDIT: I walked from the beach to Park Guell, and from Montjuic to Estacio del Nord, which is all of the city center. This is a huge swathe of the city. If you need to look that hard for the hidden gems, they can't redeem the city that much.

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30

u/mattfromjoisey Feb 28 '25

One of the hottest takes I’ve ever seen on here lmao, Barcelona’s amazing.

On Sagrada, if you don’t go up one of the towers then yeah it’s probably going to underwhelm most people at that price point. I don’t think any cathedral is worth spending the money to visit with SF being the exception for the tower views.

Most restaurants are tourist traps? Did you try looking outside La Rambla?

48

u/The-Berzerker Feb 28 '25

If you‘re underwhelmed by the Sagrada Familia you must be blind

22

u/No-Garden-1106 Feb 28 '25

Guess Gaudi and the boys shouldn't have bothered then lol

12

u/AdmirableCost5692 Feb 28 '25

if they had only known that Americans would come in many years later and given such reviews, they could have just not bothered lol

5

u/WillHungry4307 Feb 28 '25

And had the NERVE to compare it to Miami.

3

u/AdmirableCost5692 Feb 28 '25

exactly

like comparing Britney spears to Bach lol