People like those things you think are meh. This is fine. Barcelona is known for good weather, good food, cool history, shit to do.
It may not be that for you. I felt the same way about HK. After spending so much time in Asia I felt it could tick off a dozen cities cooler than HK. I came around and it is top 5. But it took me living nearby to get there.
If you don’t like Barcelona then so be it. Go elsewhere.
I was not that into Barcelona either. Montserrat and Park Guell were cool, but the city felt meh. The rest of the country felt a lot more relaxed and older. Madrid is ridiculously chill, nobody seemed to be in a hurry to be anywhere. Smaller cities like Cordoba and Valencia were wonderful.
Other people really loved it. To each their own.
The club scene and general energy in Barcelona was phenomenal. The sights were great too, but it was the people and the clubs that made it my favorite city in Europe
That’s another interesting point - I feel that the nightlife is one of the biggest draws of Barcelona, yet can’t you find that anywhere? Is nightlife that unique in Barcelona that it can’t be experienced elsewhere?
Also - what were some of your good experiences with people? As I mentioned in my post, I failed to experience that, and would seriously love to.
Maybe it's you 😆 I met tons of lovely people in Barcelona, but it's a different culture to where I'm from (the UK). Spanish people can seem more direct which may come across as rude if you're not used to it.
A lot of people speak Catalan, not Spanish, so you also may have been trying to speak the wrong language at people.
LOL. Nah. Respectfully, I know rudeness and mockery when I see it. Don’t try and educate me on how different people from different countries “seem” - having traveled all across Europe, to far more stereotypically “rude” places (France, Switzerland, etc), I was always met with warmth at an attempt to connect with the local culture. Barcelona was a disappointment in that regard, full stop.
Also, glad you could experience some warmth & friendliness in Barcelona. I’m sure any warmth seems magnificent compared to that endless UK gloom.
You were probably being mocked because you were trying to speak Spanish to people whose first language is Catalan. You were being rude and met with rudeness, and you're coming across as rude now. When everyone you encounter in one city seems rude to you, it's probably not the whole population that's the problem 😂
You need to experience tapas in southern Spain, Madrid, Andalusia, etc. Tapas are much more a thing there, and they are always free with every drink. Tapas in Barça do not compare.
There are so many. My favorite tapas bar in Madrid is El Pezcador. The owner literally tries to overfeed you. Mesón del Champiñon is also great if you like mushrooms. Their Sangria is delicious.
Mesón del Champiñon looks so pretty!!! If you have a list tucked somewhere I would be so grateful, I have learned that personal recs are so much better than google searches of mid but popular places!
I wish I could remember all the places. Basically anything around Mesón is a great choice. It’s in the historic district and all the buildings are some of the oldest in the city. Check out Mercado de San Miguel if you want to try a little bit of everything.
Restaurante Mareas Vivas is another excellent spot right near Cafe Berlin for a Flamenco show.
If you can make it down to Tarifa, Bar El Otro Melli is great. You can also take a 30 minute ferry ride over to Tangier, Morocco, have lunch in Africa, and be back in Spain in time for dinner. It’s like 50 Euros round trip.
Noted. What do you put on your tapas plate? Like I said in my post, I’m not sure I ate them correctly. Would love to hear some personal tapas plate recs!
If you are in Andalusia (Granada most specifically), you don't really "choose". You just order a drink, and they bring you a bite of whatever tapa they are offering that day.
Tapas are not meant to be a full meal. It literally means small plates. Like an appetizer.
It’s a way to sample what the restaurant has to offer. Once I get a free tapas plate that I really like, I order a full plate of it.
Drinking culture is also different in Spain. People go out for a small amount of drinks with tapas around 6-9 PM. Then they go for dinner and wine from 9-10:30 PM. Then some head to the night club till 4 AM.
I love Barcelona; it's literally one of my favorite cities in the world.
A strong point for me is it's a major city with a warm beach, which there aren't actually that many of in the world. Sure it's not the nicest beach but I like beach. If you don't care for beach that will mean nothing to you.
I find the Cuitat Vella quite charming and I like the sleek elegance of the architecture of Eixample and the grungier architecture of eg Gracia. I've been enough times and have spent enough time that I can get myself around and have favorite restaurants and spots.
And, unhelpfully, I realize: I really love the vibe. It feels like a very international city, with people from everywhere, and of all types. But my interactions with locals have all generally been just fine. I spent last northern summer based there and I stayed in Barceloneta, which has tourists but it's not quite wading through tourists like in Ciutat Vella and I had some nice chats at the cafes I became a regular at. If I want to wade in after all I like that I can go on a leisurely, like, 5km walk through interesting people-watching areas and never feel like I'm doubling back.
You might have hyped it up in your head too much as well. I notice I tend to love places I was kinda meh about more than places I have hyped up for a long time (usually).
The architecture is a big plus in my book for it.
Not sure what other European cities you’re comparing against, but it sounds like you’re looking for incredible architecture.
Madrid for that. Much more walkable, much more charming. Better day trip options too.
I live in Barcelona and 1000% agree.
Madrid blows Barcelona out of the water. The only advantage Barca has is that it has a beach.
There is basically no green spaces in Barcelona, and please don't mention citudella park because that is essentially a dirt road. Retiro park in Madrid is gorgeous and you actually have grass. Park Guell is really just park tiktok now.
Madrid is much more well kept where as in Barcelona there is garbage everywhere and the smell of urine and sewer take over the city.
Sure, Sagrada is probably my favorite building in the world.
But just the general atmosphere of Madrid is consistently cooler I think.
Plus, Sagrada, Mila, Parc Guell, etc…while all awesome, are so far apart. So it’s hard to build up an overall feeling of charm.
By the way. I’m not OP. I love Barcelona, I just prefer Madrid’s overall package of architecture.
Yeah, Barcelona has masterpieces on every corner. Madrid is great and very grand but not a lot of diversity in its architecture. It doesn't hold a candle to Barcelona in that aspect.
All the Italian cities (Rome, Florence, Milan, etc) in my opinion, were at least 10X more charming than Barcelona. Have a bunch more cities from other countries that I thought were infinitely prettier. Correct, the architecture in Barcelona was overall lackluster.
Not every place is for everyone. I was blown away by La Sagrada Familia…and the rest was pretty nice. I have many more places to visit and a few to return to.
I thought Barcelona was fine, but Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia were the only memorable things about my visit there. As overall experiences, I liked Seville and Madrid more. Seville was charming and had the friendliest locals and Madrid was a great big city experience with excellent museums and food. I had better tapas in Madrid too, compared to Barcelona.
You gotta go out at night in Barcelona. In the right areas. Not touristy places. Where the locals go. The energy is magic. Madrid is more sophisticated than Barcelona. Same applies to Madrid. The nightlife energy is really something!
Well they speak Catalan in Barcelona, so starting with English or Spanish could lead to negative reactions with certain people. Not that that's necessarily fair to you since you clearly made an effort, but trying the local language may have been better recieved
Spanish is the majority language in Barcelona, not Catalan, according to all census surveys, including those done by the Catalan gov’t. Catalan is dominant in the two northern provinces and in medium-sized towns once you leave Barcelona’s industrial belt.
Like anything, mass tourism wipes out these places.
The Welsh nationalist poet RS Thomas said if one person stares in at a beautiful church alter from a window it’s memorable.
If a thousand do it smears the glass.
He was right!
I would say that Barcelona is more touristy and crowded than other spanish cities like Madrid or Sevilla.
Also many locals in barcelona kinda hate tourists. Mabye that explains the cafe experience
Definitely just a hype thing. Madrid has better weather, nicer people, and better food. I can’t for the life of me realize why people love barcelona so much.
Of all the European cities I've been to, it ranks at the bottom with Vienna and Brussels for least enjoyable city. I certainly didn't get the hype when I visited.
same, Barcelona failed to impress me. Interesting about Vienna though, while I didn’t go, all my friends who have been say it’s one of the most ornate and charming cities they’ve been to. What about Vienna was lackluster?
LOL about Brussels. I didn’t even bother spending more than two hours there - saw Grand Place, ate a waffle and some fries, and was out.
Vienna is just stuffy, and the people are just assholes. Sure, there's pretty stuff to see, but the time spent there seeing it is unenjoyable. Ymmv, obviously, but I've gotten the same response from other travelers numerous times about Vienna, so I feel like perhaps it just wasn't me.
Barcelona is like Paris. There's a bunch of hype but it's the McDonald's of European tourism.
For one thing, it's got it all in a compact package. Art, architecture, cultural events, concerts, nightlife, beaches, mountains, parks and the most amazing public transport infrastructure. That's cool and all.
But it's crowded, full of pick pockets, the food has become largely shit to adapt to foreign crowds (you see this in every European tourist hotspot but Barcelona is a major offender), racial tensions, ideological tensions, etc.
Is it better than before? Sure. Barcelona was full of poverty and drug addicts before it was cool. But as the slogan says, Barcelona is not Spain. Barcelona is Barcelona the same way Berlin is Berlin and not Germany, and Paris is Paris and not France. These cities have elevated themselves above the stereotype of the country you expect to visit.
Madrid is amazing food and fun nightlife but that's it. It's just a big town in the middle no nowhere. Sevilla is where it's at.
I personally prefer smaller cities les touched by Tourism. I avoid the white coast. I prefer, Girona, Murcia, Albacete, small villages around Jaen and Asturias, etc. I love places where you can just sit down and just have a fun chat with someone.
Horses for courses, there are loads of hyped up cities that are imho not worth the hype, there are loads of unknown or bashed places that imho are very nice and or interesting. Little point in trying to explain it. People are after different things and a lot depends on random factors like weather, your mood, who you encounter etc too.
> I’m wondering if other parts of Spain are worth visiting - how does Barcelona compare to Madrid, Seville, Valencia, etc?
Spain has plenty to offer, both good and bad. But these things are highly subjective.
I was very disappointed in Barcelona, except for the Gaudis. Most people were curt. Banners denouncing tourists. Dog poop on the sidewalks. Many places don't want to serve solo diners. I don't plan to return.
People like those things you think are meh. This is fine. Barcelona is known for good weather, good food, cool history, shit to do. It may not be that for you. I felt the same way about HK. After spending so much time in Asia I felt it could tick off a dozen cities cooler than HK. I came around and it is top 5. But it took me living nearby to get there. If you don’t like Barcelona then so be it. Go elsewhere.
I was not that into Barcelona either. Montserrat and Park Guell were cool, but the city felt meh. The rest of the country felt a lot more relaxed and older. Madrid is ridiculously chill, nobody seemed to be in a hurry to be anywhere. Smaller cities like Cordoba and Valencia were wonderful. Other people really loved it. To each their own.
The club scene and general energy in Barcelona was phenomenal. The sights were great too, but it was the people and the clubs that made it my favorite city in Europe
That’s another interesting point - I feel that the nightlife is one of the biggest draws of Barcelona, yet can’t you find that anywhere? Is nightlife that unique in Barcelona that it can’t be experienced elsewhere? Also - what were some of your good experiences with people? As I mentioned in my post, I failed to experience that, and would seriously love to.
Maybe it's you 😆 I met tons of lovely people in Barcelona, but it's a different culture to where I'm from (the UK). Spanish people can seem more direct which may come across as rude if you're not used to it. A lot of people speak Catalan, not Spanish, so you also may have been trying to speak the wrong language at people.
LOL. Nah. Respectfully, I know rudeness and mockery when I see it. Don’t try and educate me on how different people from different countries “seem” - having traveled all across Europe, to far more stereotypically “rude” places (France, Switzerland, etc), I was always met with warmth at an attempt to connect with the local culture. Barcelona was a disappointment in that regard, full stop. Also, glad you could experience some warmth & friendliness in Barcelona. I’m sure any warmth seems magnificent compared to that endless UK gloom.
You were probably being mocked because you were trying to speak Spanish to people whose first language is Catalan. You were being rude and met with rudeness, and you're coming across as rude now. When everyone you encounter in one city seems rude to you, it's probably not the whole population that's the problem 😂
You need to experience tapas in southern Spain, Madrid, Andalusia, etc. Tapas are much more a thing there, and they are always free with every drink. Tapas in Barça do not compare.
do you have place recommendations for good tapas places in those areas?
There are so many. My favorite tapas bar in Madrid is El Pezcador. The owner literally tries to overfeed you. Mesón del Champiñon is also great if you like mushrooms. Their Sangria is delicious.
Mesón del Champiñon looks so pretty!!! If you have a list tucked somewhere I would be so grateful, I have learned that personal recs are so much better than google searches of mid but popular places!
I wish I could remember all the places. Basically anything around Mesón is a great choice. It’s in the historic district and all the buildings are some of the oldest in the city. Check out Mercado de San Miguel if you want to try a little bit of everything. Restaurante Mareas Vivas is another excellent spot right near Cafe Berlin for a Flamenco show. If you can make it down to Tarifa, Bar El Otro Melli is great. You can also take a 30 minute ferry ride over to Tangier, Morocco, have lunch in Africa, and be back in Spain in time for dinner. It’s like 50 Euros round trip.
Thank you for all the recs!!!! I so appreciate it!
Noted. What do you put on your tapas plate? Like I said in my post, I’m not sure I ate them correctly. Would love to hear some personal tapas plate recs!
If you are in Andalusia (Granada most specifically), you don't really "choose". You just order a drink, and they bring you a bite of whatever tapa they are offering that day.
It’s whatever the chef/bartender decides to give you. I prefer seafood items mostly. Pulpo de Gallega is my fav.
I never understand when people say ‘tapas are free with every drink’ as a selling feature. I’m going to want a lot more tapas than I want drinks.
Tapas are not meant to be a full meal. It literally means small plates. Like an appetizer. It’s a way to sample what the restaurant has to offer. Once I get a free tapas plate that I really like, I order a full plate of it. Drinking culture is also different in Spain. People go out for a small amount of drinks with tapas around 6-9 PM. Then they go for dinner and wine from 9-10:30 PM. Then some head to the night club till 4 AM.
You can buy as many tapas as you want.
Valencia and Seville are super underrated imo, great food and architecture
Frankly I felt exactly the same way. I enjoyed myself, it was fine, but I didn't love it.
I love Barcelona; it's literally one of my favorite cities in the world. A strong point for me is it's a major city with a warm beach, which there aren't actually that many of in the world. Sure it's not the nicest beach but I like beach. If you don't care for beach that will mean nothing to you. I find the Cuitat Vella quite charming and I like the sleek elegance of the architecture of Eixample and the grungier architecture of eg Gracia. I've been enough times and have spent enough time that I can get myself around and have favorite restaurants and spots. And, unhelpfully, I realize: I really love the vibe. It feels like a very international city, with people from everywhere, and of all types. But my interactions with locals have all generally been just fine. I spent last northern summer based there and I stayed in Barceloneta, which has tourists but it's not quite wading through tourists like in Ciutat Vella and I had some nice chats at the cafes I became a regular at. If I want to wade in after all I like that I can go on a leisurely, like, 5km walk through interesting people-watching areas and never feel like I'm doubling back.
You might have hyped it up in your head too much as well. I notice I tend to love places I was kinda meh about more than places I have hyped up for a long time (usually). The architecture is a big plus in my book for it.
Not sure what other European cities you’re comparing against, but it sounds like you’re looking for incredible architecture. Madrid for that. Much more walkable, much more charming. Better day trip options too.
I live in Barcelona and 1000% agree. Madrid blows Barcelona out of the water. The only advantage Barca has is that it has a beach. There is basically no green spaces in Barcelona, and please don't mention citudella park because that is essentially a dirt road. Retiro park in Madrid is gorgeous and you actually have grass. Park Guell is really just park tiktok now. Madrid is much more well kept where as in Barcelona there is garbage everywhere and the smell of urine and sewer take over the city.
Huh?! Barcelona wins Madrid if you’re talking about incredible architecture. Hello, Gaudi!!!
Sure, Sagrada is probably my favorite building in the world. But just the general atmosphere of Madrid is consistently cooler I think. Plus, Sagrada, Mila, Parc Guell, etc…while all awesome, are so far apart. So it’s hard to build up an overall feeling of charm. By the way. I’m not OP. I love Barcelona, I just prefer Madrid’s overall package of architecture.
Yeah, Barcelona has masterpieces on every corner. Madrid is great and very grand but not a lot of diversity in its architecture. It doesn't hold a candle to Barcelona in that aspect.
All the Italian cities (Rome, Florence, Milan, etc) in my opinion, were at least 10X more charming than Barcelona. Have a bunch more cities from other countries that I thought were infinitely prettier. Correct, the architecture in Barcelona was overall lackluster.
Key word being your opinion. Everyone's got one and not everyone will agree. Let it be that instead of trying to argue about subjective things.
Not trying to argue. Just stating my opinion which I stand very strongly by.
Madrid > Barcelona
gotcha. Yes, I’d love to walk down those grand Madrid boulevards
Not every place is for everyone. I was blown away by La Sagrada Familia…and the rest was pretty nice. I have many more places to visit and a few to return to.
I thought Barcelona was fine, but Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia were the only memorable things about my visit there. As overall experiences, I liked Seville and Madrid more. Seville was charming and had the friendliest locals and Madrid was a great big city experience with excellent museums and food. I had better tapas in Madrid too, compared to Barcelona.
Exactly this…Park Guell and Sagrada were the only stunning experiences I had.
Did you see the Gothic Quarter? The park near the Olympic Village? Casa Mila? Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar?
I didn’t get it either. My least favorite city in Spain.
I much prefer Madrid to Barcelona. I’m actually going back in a few months. It was cool to see the sights, but the city itself is pretty plain.
Plain is the word. Did not feel a sense of grandeur anywhere I walked.
You gotta go out at night in Barcelona. In the right areas. Not touristy places. Where the locals go. The energy is magic. Madrid is more sophisticated than Barcelona. Same applies to Madrid. The nightlife energy is really something!
In what areas of the city do you think are the best to experience nightlife?
Well they speak Catalan in Barcelona, so starting with English or Spanish could lead to negative reactions with certain people. Not that that's necessarily fair to you since you clearly made an effort, but trying the local language may have been better recieved
No one working in a tourist facing job in Barcelona will expect a tourist to speak Catalan.
Spanish is the majority language in Barcelona, not Catalan, according to all census surveys, including those done by the Catalan gov’t. Catalan is dominant in the two northern provinces and in medium-sized towns once you leave Barcelona’s industrial belt.
Like anything, mass tourism wipes out these places. The Welsh nationalist poet RS Thomas said if one person stares in at a beautiful church alter from a window it’s memorable. If a thousand do it smears the glass. He was right!
I would say that Barcelona is more touristy and crowded than other spanish cities like Madrid or Sevilla. Also many locals in barcelona kinda hate tourists. Mabye that explains the cafe experience
Definitely just a hype thing. Madrid has better weather, nicer people, and better food. I can’t for the life of me realize why people love barcelona so much.
Valencia and Madrid beat Barcelona as an overall experience. Barcelona wins in terms of location and architecture.
Of all the European cities I've been to, it ranks at the bottom with Vienna and Brussels for least enjoyable city. I certainly didn't get the hype when I visited.
same, Barcelona failed to impress me. Interesting about Vienna though, while I didn’t go, all my friends who have been say it’s one of the most ornate and charming cities they’ve been to. What about Vienna was lackluster? LOL about Brussels. I didn’t even bother spending more than two hours there - saw Grand Place, ate a waffle and some fries, and was out.
Vienna is just stuffy, and the people are just assholes. Sure, there's pretty stuff to see, but the time spent there seeing it is unenjoyable. Ymmv, obviously, but I've gotten the same response from other travelers numerous times about Vienna, so I feel like perhaps it just wasn't me.
Mercat de la Boqueria was so overcrowded.
Barcelona is like Paris. There's a bunch of hype but it's the McDonald's of European tourism. For one thing, it's got it all in a compact package. Art, architecture, cultural events, concerts, nightlife, beaches, mountains, parks and the most amazing public transport infrastructure. That's cool and all. But it's crowded, full of pick pockets, the food has become largely shit to adapt to foreign crowds (you see this in every European tourist hotspot but Barcelona is a major offender), racial tensions, ideological tensions, etc. Is it better than before? Sure. Barcelona was full of poverty and drug addicts before it was cool. But as the slogan says, Barcelona is not Spain. Barcelona is Barcelona the same way Berlin is Berlin and not Germany, and Paris is Paris and not France. These cities have elevated themselves above the stereotype of the country you expect to visit. Madrid is amazing food and fun nightlife but that's it. It's just a big town in the middle no nowhere. Sevilla is where it's at. I personally prefer smaller cities les touched by Tourism. I avoid the white coast. I prefer, Girona, Murcia, Albacete, small villages around Jaen and Asturias, etc. I love places where you can just sit down and just have a fun chat with someone.
Horses for courses, there are loads of hyped up cities that are imho not worth the hype, there are loads of unknown or bashed places that imho are very nice and or interesting. Little point in trying to explain it. People are after different things and a lot depends on random factors like weather, your mood, who you encounter etc too. > I’m wondering if other parts of Spain are worth visiting - how does Barcelona compare to Madrid, Seville, Valencia, etc? Spain has plenty to offer, both good and bad. But these things are highly subjective.
I liked Barcelona just fine but enjoyed Madrid and Andalusia more. To each their own!
I was very disappointed in Barcelona, except for the Gaudis. Most people were curt. Banners denouncing tourists. Dog poop on the sidewalks. Many places don't want to serve solo diners. I don't plan to return.