How to survive Barcelona’s top 4 attractions

By Regina W Bryan From eurocheapo

There’s no such thing anymore as a quiet stroll down La Rambla. Photo: Jason Paris
At its best, Barcelona is an enchanting Mediterranean city with creative cuisine, golden beaches, and a fascinating history reaching back to Roman times. At its worst, it can be a total touristville with neon paella and ill-advised Mexican sombrero souvenirs.

Furthermore, the busiest attractions in Barcelona can get incredibly overcrowded depending on when you visit. The beauty of the Gothic Quarter, the majesty of the Sagrada Familia, and the quirkiness of Park Güell just don’t have the same appeal when you’re just trying to keep your sanity.

But we can help. Before you run away back to your hotel, don’t give up. Follow these tips to enjoy Barcelona to its fullest — even at its most visited sites.

La Rambla

You absolutely should stroll La Rambla once. But once is probably enough. It swarms with visitors and therefore also with pickpockets. Avoid gambling on La Rambla, which seems obvious, but tourists are frequently suckered into street games which they will never win.

Admire the human statues (they will want a tip, especially if you take a photo), pop into La Boqueria Market, check out the flower stands, and then move off La Rambla to have lunch or dinner. Avoid buying souvenirs on La Rambla, as you are sure to find the same thing somewhere else at half the price.

Park Guell
Sometimes just getting beyond the entrance can be the biggest challenge at Park

There are two aspects of a trip to Park Güell that are difficult: getting there and finding something to eat.

Getting to the park takes some time, but it’s not rocket science and is well worth the effort. If you take the metro to the park, remember that you will have to walk uphill to reach its gates. It’s not a bad walk, but you may not want to do it in the middle of the day when it’s 90 degrees outside. There is also a bus that will take you right to the gate, and this is an easier option. Plan 30 minutes to an hour to get up to the park, and maybe a little less to get back to the city center. Here is our full guide to visiting the park.

Once you are at the park, there is little in the way of cafes and restaurants. Pack a lunch or at the very least take a bottle of water. The park is expansive, so allow yourself plenty of time to walk the grounds and visit the museum. Though Park Güell was once free to visit, those days are over; see more on purchasing tickets here.

The Gothic Quarter

Welcome to the heart and soul of the city and one of the most interesting areas when it comes to history and shopping. Strolling the Gothic Quarter (“Barri Gotic”) is a must to see fragments of Roman architecture and medieval homes, and to hear your heels click across cobblestone streets. However, wandering around the Gothic Quarter can also mean battling crowds of tourists and locals, dodging pickpockets, and paying too much for meals.

The area around the city’s cathedral is often mobbed with tourists in the summer. To avoid the crowds, visit in the early morning or during low season. Tour groups tend to stick to the main streets in the Gothic Quarter, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can always duck down an alleyway where you’ll often find yourself alone with the cobblestones and dangling laundry. But take note: At night you’ll want to avoid these same charming side-streets, because pickpockets are known to lurk along them. Again, in the daytime it’s fine, but at night stay on main streets (also because you’re less likely to get lost!).

There are wonderful restaurants tucked into the Gothic Quarter’s many nooks and crannies. There are also numerous eateries that cater exclusively to tourists and charge a pretty penny. It’s hard to tell which is which, but generally the restaurants around Plaça Reial and along Carrer Ferran are for visitors, not locals, and you’ll have to shell out more for your tapas. There also plenty of affordable hotels in the Gothic Quarter, so you can also make this neighborhood your home base during your trip.

Sagrada Familia

Don’t waste your valuable vacation time waiting in the endless ticket line at La Sagrada Família. Instead, get your tickets ahead of time online and walk right past the poor souls in the endless queue. La Sagrada Família is well worth the €15 it costs to get in (unless you attend a service for free), so splurge on this one even if you’re on a budget.

After touring the basilica, search out lunch in a local spot a few blocks away from the tourist hype. Most of the restaurants around the site are geared toward separating tourists from their euros. However, La Sagrada Família is also a thriving neighborhood with lots of authentic offerings available for those who sniff them out. One excellent tapas and wine bar in the ‘hood is Casa Mariol.

Barcelona Alley

Final Tip: Wander off the beaten tourist path

Critics say that Barcelona is becoming more and more soulless, because the city government has sold out to easy money, creating a metropolis that is more for tourists than residents. In some cases, this is true, but overall the sentiment is incorrect. Those who have come away from the city with this limited impression did not venture too far off La Rambla. While your experience in Barcelona could be akin to a trip to Disneyland, you also have the opportunity to make it a profound encounter with Catalan culture.

If you prefer the latter, make sure to spice up your time at heavily visited monuments with trips to secluded plazas, up-and-coming ‘hoods (Poble Sec, Poblenou), and traditional eateries that draw a local clientele. (Check out this list of off-the-beaten path hotels to sleep closer to the locals.)

Take a chance and venture out of the tourist zone, and you’ll discover a city that’s unlike any other.

About the author
Regina W Bryan
About the author: Regina W.Bryan is a Barcelona-based freelance writer and photographer. When not eating tapas and exploring Europe, she is tending her balcony veggie garden and practicing Catalan. For more of her thoughts on Spain, check: www.regwb.com and www.thespainscoop.com.

IMAGES:
Güell. Photo: Slim Ficky
Slip down a quiet alley to escape the crowds and discover a different side of Barcelona. Photo: mrcl
La Sagrada Familia is an incredible experience, worth braving the long lines. Photo:
Antonio T.
Tourist Gothic Quarter It’s easy to get lost amid the old architecture and streams of tourists in the Gothic Quarter. Photo: Michael C.

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