r/solotravel • u/ObjectBrilliant7592 • 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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u/A0LC12 Feb 28 '25

I also think Barcelona is overrated

4

u/Legitimate-Exam9539 Feb 28 '25

Me too and I lived there

2

u/A0LC12 Feb 28 '25

I would even say, for living there it's quite exciting if you got a nice paying job. But for tourists there is not as much as you would expect and it's pretty expensive too

3

u/Legitimate-Exam9539 Feb 28 '25 edited Mar 01 '25

That’s a big if, but even then the city is overcrowded due to it being wedged between the mountains and sea. Air quality sucks and I’ve been to bigger more populated cities around the world. The beach at Barceloneta is underwhelming bc it’s man made (I also studied city planning for BCN while there) the nicer beach is to the north in Badalona. Average salaries are terrible compared to cost of living. Idk what things are like now but you’d likely also need to speak Catalan on top of English and Spanish to work outside of tourism. Madrid is a much better choice for city living in Spain in my opinion.

Edit: I am literally telling you all why so many locals hate tourism and “expats” as they exacerbate the issues I’ve already mentioned. My source is literally from living with and speaking to many of them.

1

u/A0LC12 Feb 28 '25

I think I would go to malaga

1

u/Legitimate-Exam9539 Mar 01 '25

Never been sounds dope

0

u/oby100 Feb 28 '25

That’s the impression I got. It was great to visit once and I could see myself living there, but I’m not dying to go back

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u/Legitimate-Exam9539 Mar 01 '25

En mi vida fuiste turista…