Travel writer and The Local reporter Esme Fox, who has lived in the Catalan capital for over 10 years, shares her tips for visitors and the tourist traps to avoid.
Visiting Barcelona can feel a bit overwhelming – there’s so much you’ve heard about, so many places you want to visit and amazing buildings you want to see. It’s an exciting and vibrant city, but it’s also the type of place where you can be taken advantage of as a tourist and have a miserable time because you’ve not done your research properly.Â
Here are 12 Barcelona travel hacks to make your trip to the Catalan capital even better.Â
READ ALSO: How to avoid the tourist crowds in Barcelona, according to a local
1) A 10-journey or monthly metro ticket could be cheaper than the unlimited passes
Barcelona sells several different unlimited transport passes called Hola Barcelona Travel Cards, which last between two and five days and cost from €16.29 up to €37.89. They also include transport to and from the airport which costs an extra €5.70 on the train. It can be cheaper, however, to get a 10-journey T-Casual ticket for €12.55 and then pay the airport train separately, depending on how much you plan on using public transport. While you will use it a lot while you’re here, remember that the centre of the city is very walkable, so you’ll be getting around on foot much of the time too. The T-Usual monthly pass is also slightly cheaper than some of the Hola cards at €22, which also includes journeys to and from the airport.
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2) Don’t eat on La Rambla
La Rambla is one of Barcelona’s famous streets, but really by name only. While once it used to be a vibrant place filled with artists stalls and street performers, today it’s nothing but a tourist trap. For the last couple of years, it’s also become a construction site in a bid to improve it, making it noisy and rather ugly. If this hasn’t convinced you enough not to eat here, know that hardly any of the restaurants here are authentic – it’s mainly fast food and kebabs, but those that do have seats out on the street only pretend to be traditional. The paellas will almost always be packaged from frozen and if you order a drink, they’ll serve it to you in a pint glass so that you end up overpaying for a regular coke. Â
READ ALSO: 14 Barcelona life hacks that will make you feel like a local
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3) Avoid staying on La Rambla
And with that in mind, it’s best to avoid booking a hotel on La Rambla too. As mentioned, it can be very noisy, not just because of the construction, but also due to the number of tourists, and the bars and clubs nearby. La Rambla is also pickpocket central in Barcelona, so you really don’t want to be arriving here and walking down the road with all your bags in tow. At night, the Rambla also becomes a little sketchy, not really a place you want to be hanging around after dark.
4) Don’t shop at La BoquerÃa, chose a more authentic market instead
La BoquerÃa is Barcelona’s most famous covered market, dating as far back as 1836. Unfortunately, in recent years it’s turned into a place just for tourists selling products such as fresh smoothies, multicoloured sweets and chocolates in fun shapes. It’s also become so crowded that shopping here isn’t pleasant at all. While these items can be good, they’re not typically Spanish or Catalan. If you’re looking more for olives, chorizo, paprika and saffron, you’re better off heading to one of the other markets such as Santa Catarina instead. Oh and La BoquerÃa also on La Rambla, so maybe you should avoid going to La Rambla altogether.
5) Make sure to book well in advance for La Sagrada Familia and other Gaudà buildings
Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia basilica is the most-visited tourist site in the whole of Spain, attracting over 4 million every year. This means you can’t simply rock up and expect to get a ticket. It will often been booked up weeks in advance, so if you want to go, you need to be organised in advance. This is the same for Antoni GaudÃ’s other famous buildings and sights such as Casa Batlló and Park Güell. Booking in advance also means you can skip the lines.Â
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6) Avoid booking a hotel in El Raval
The neighbourhood of El Raval sits to the west of La Rambla and has a bit of reputation for being one of the dodgiest places in the centre of Barcelona due to the fact that it’s home to many narcopisos (drug dens), pickpockets and red-light areas. It’s a fascinating multicultural area, however, home to authentic restaurants from around the world, several excellent museums like the Barcelona Contemporary Culture Centre (CCCB) and the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and plenty of history, so it shouldn’t be avoided completely. It’s just not advisable to book a hotel here, particularly if you’re travelling with young children or you’re on your own.
7) Many museums are free on the first Sunday of the month
If you’re here on the first Sunday of the month, you’ll definitely want to take advantage of the free museum days. While you’ll still have to pay for the big attractions like the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and many other Gaudà buildings, lots of the more traditional museums have free entrance. This includes the Picasso Museum, the National Museum of Art of Catalonia (MNAC), the Barcelona History Museum and the Monastery of Pedralbes. It’s important to note though that for many of these you’ll still need to book your free ticket ahead of time, if you simply turn up, the free tickets may be sold out.
8) Book specific restaurants ahead of time
If there’s a particularly famous tapas bar or restaurant you have your heart set on visiting while in Barcelona, it’s best to book a table in advance. Eating out is a popular activity in Barcelona, even with locals, and places fill up fast, particularly on Friday nights and weekends. Many places will accept reservations, but if they don’t, you need to prepare to queue, particularly for places like El Xampanyet cava bar.
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9) The cheapest and quickest way to and from the airport is not the airport bus
Many visitors wrongly believe that the best way between the airport and Barcelona city centre is the Aerobus airport bus because it’s so well advertised and widely used. In fact, it’s actually a lot more expensive and takes longer to get to the airport. While the Aerobús costs €7.45 and takes 35 minutes, the R2 Rodalies train costs €5.70 and takes around 25-30 minutes. The Aerobús is really only useful if you’re travelling from Plaça d’Espanya or Plaça Catalunya or you’re travelling at night.
10) Don’t eat at restaurants that have pictures of the food and menus in many languages
This rule actually goes for most cities in Spain but is particularly applicable in Barcelona where there are so many restaurants just aimed at tourists.  If the restaurant has someone standing outside trying to entice you in, has lots of pictures of paellas, pizzas and seafood outside and a menu in English, French and German, you know it’s generally not a good place to eat. The food is likely to have been cooked from frozen and not be very authentic.
11) You’ll see the best of the city on foot
Public transport in Barcelona is great, but some of the best areas of the city can only be seen if you’re prepared to walk. These include El Born, Grà cia, the Gothic Quarter and Poblenou, to name just a few. These areas are filled with pedestrian only areas and narrow alleyways packed with historic sights, independent shops, hidden galleries and more. If you simply use metros and taxis to get around all the time, you’ll be missing the best parts of the city and what make it so unique.Â
12) Check out lesser-known places to avoid the crowds
Barcelona has a reputation for being one of the most over-touristed cities in Europe and packed with crowds and while this is true, there are many parts of the city where you can get away from it all. There are even many excellent attractions where you won’t find too many crowds either. These include places such as GaudÃ’s Torre Bellesguard and the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, a gorgeous Modernista hospital complex.
