Barcelona

Barcelona: 3 tips for a trip without cheating

Barcelona is complex, a city that "changes every day while still remaining the same". Either you love it or you hate it. During my Erasmus stay in Spain, I had the opportunity to visit Barcelona several times. Every excuse was good to go back to what I loved to call "the city where I wanted to live". The Catalan city has never disappointed me and I learned to know it slowly, experience after experience.

Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited, able to steal your heart from the first moment, but also one of the most touristy. In thirteen years the number of tourists has quadrupled, so much so that these are four times more than the inhabitants themselves . We therefore arrived at the mass damage damage that has produced degradation in what was the jewel of Catalonia. The new mayor Ada Colau has realized the situation that rages in the city, deciding to block the licenses for tourist accommodation in the current year and proposing a sustainable tourism plan for the years to come.Walking around Barcelona and paying close attention to what we have around us, it is not difficult to realize the uneasiness of the residents who fight against hordes of tourists every day . The documentary Bye Bye Barcelona explains it well.

Recently I had the opportunity to read this brief and interesting investigation of what is less like Barcelona , the opinions of 380 foreigners living in the city for at least three months, and I thought that to get organized better it was useful to know who the city lives it every day.

Barcelona: 3 tips for a trip without cheating

1. Go out of the tourist circuit
   This first point may turn out to be banal, but in the specific case of Barcelona it represents the key to discovering the true face of the Catalan city. I'm not saying that you should not visit the most famous places like the Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Las Ramblas or the Barrì Gotic. I myself suffer the charm of these wonders that tell the story of the city, and I admit I have visited them over and over again. On the other hand, however, I have discovered that there is another Barcelona, ​​unusual and little known, but above all less influenced by mass tourism . This just mentioned is the first negative aspect highlighted by the survey mentioned above. It takes very little to get out of those non-crowded places of tourists, now a distant memory of a traditional Barcelona.

Some examples?

• The Horta Labyrinth Park , the oldest garden in Barcelona, ​​in the suburbs of Horta-Guinardó, composed of a neoclassical garden and a romantic garden. Within this park there is a wonderful labyrinth of cypresses covering an area of ​​45 × 50 square meters . It is a real labyrinth, like that of the film Labyrinth with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. Among other things, in this park, some scenes of the film Il Profumo have been shot .

• An alternative to the crowded Rambla, the one that ends with the statue of Christopher Columbus, is the Rambla de Poble Nou which, one kilometer in length, starts from Gran Via de Les Cortes Catalanes and reaches the sea. The area in question has undergone recent redevelopment and is now one of the areas preferred by the inhabitants of Barcelona. Forget the crowds of tourists and the many shops of junk and souvenirs. The tranquility of life and the serenity of the residents are the setting for relaxing walks through modernist buildings and a stop at one of the many Café to taste the orchata , the typical Catalan drink based on chufa . A slow pace that we would never think of finding in a metropolis like Barcelona.

2.Ponder well the choice of accommodation
The accommodation is another sore point. The amount of accommodation on Barcelona is endless, and choosing the best solution for our trip is not easy, especially if you do not know the city at least a little. In addition, not all facilities are up to the expectations we have created by seeing them on the web. So the rip-off is always around the corner. The first doubt we have when choosing accommodation in Barcelona concerns the neighborhood in which to look for it. How this investigation reveals, which shows the voice of the residents, the best neighborhood to live are Gràcia and Poble Nou that, thanks to a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, do not give the impression of being in the center. In addition, the level of security is higher than other areas of the center where, at least at night, we recommend to be very careful. A good solution is to rent an apartment so as to have a little 'more space and be able to be independent thanks to the kitchen . In this case, please mark the Ok Apartments Barcelona websitethat allows you to compare apartments, both in the city center and in the suburbs, and to choose based on numerous filters. The quality / price ratio is excellent, there is a contact number in case of need and a physical office with employees who speak many languages.

3.Do not trust the Rambla
La Rambla is the most touristy place par excellence, the farthest from what the authentic traditions of the city are. In fact, 8 out of 10 people here are tourists . From a certain point of view it can not be said to have been in Barcelona without having passed through La Rambla. But how much is left of really Barcelona? Anything. Even the Boqueria Market, one of my favorite places, is not the same as it used to be.

The first piece of advice I can give you about food is to avoid eating on the Rambla . Everything is extremely touristic, not traditional, qualitatively inferior and expensive. At every corner there is someone ready to let you enter his room proposing a classic tourist menu that probably includes the famous paella. But there is very little of paella in that dish. Allow me to open a small parenthesis to emphasize that the paella is a typical Catalan dish whose origin is located in the Valencia area. Obviously you can also eat it in Barcelona, ​​especially in the version with seafood. Returning to the point, to eat a good paella we must be willing to spend something more and have the patience to find the right restaurant. I'll help you by pointing out to you some restaurants that friends of Barcelona have advised me: Los Caracoles in Placa Reial, Restaurante 7 Portes in the Barrio Gotico and la Fonda. La Rambla is one of the most crowded places in Barcelona and is also the most hit by pickpockets. Always pay attention to those who gravitate around you, keep an eye on your things and do not be duped by unrepeatable characters.

The three fundamental points to avoid touristy cheating in Barcelona are in your hands. Make love and get out of the non-places to get lost in that happy chaos that is the essence of the city. You will discover that Barcelona is not like so many guides tell you and that the Catalans are not as unpleasant as it seems. Live Barcelona, ​​but do it in a conscious way.