Non-touristy attractions in Barcelona

So you want to come and explore Barcelona, but you are not like other tourist who want to see only main sights, which everybody else are going to see. You like to travel quietly and you want to get know the city from inside. You want to see the normal life and become like on of the ”locals”, if you think like that, then this hub is for you! I will give here some tips how to become part of locals and gain some respect from them.

Gain respect by knowing the language

Speaking English in Spain is not recommended; because Spanish are proud of their language and often do not want to speak other languages. Then if you will speak English you will be straight away recognized as a foreigner, so try to avoid speaking it in Barcelona.

In other hand if you will give a try to speak Spanish you will be respected and you will be treated completely in a different way. So be brave and try to speak Spanish or Catalan. It is suggestible to learn some local language before you trip.

Barcelona is the most international city in Spain and locals have used to speak English with tourists, so if you can not speak Spanish do not worry you will manage but learn at least some basics like “Hola=Hi”, “Que tal?=How are you”, “Muy bien=very good”, “Gracias=thank you” and “Adios=bye”.

When to be in Barcelona, to avoid tourists

Best time to avoid tourist masses in Barcelona is between November and May, but most of people want to enjoy nice weather as well. No tourists + nice weather, sounds almost impossible in tourist paradise like Barcelona, but it is not. In March weather in Barcelona start to get warmer. At day time it’s usually near +20 C. In April and May weather is pretty much all the time over 20. In my opinion best time to come to Barcelona is in the middle of April. Then spring is already arrived and everything is getting greener, so it’s really beautiful and calm.

Places where you do not want to be

At summer time Barcelona has really a lot of tourists, but most of them go to the same places as other tourist do – most popular Barcelona attractions. Here you will find a list of most popular tourist attractions in Barcelona:

• Las Ramblas
• La Sagrada Familia
• Plaza Catalunya
• Park Guell
• Tibidabo
• Montjuic
• PicassoMuseum
• Barri Gothic
• BarcelonetaBeach
• The Maremagnum shopping center
• Passeig de Gracia

Places where you want to be

Barcelona is one of the most popular cities in Europe, so it’s almost impossible to avoid tourists there, but there are still some places where tourists do not go so much. So finally here are some non-touristy places in Barcelona:

• Gracia – is a part of city where locals go to party and escape all the tourist masses. At day time it’s nice to make a walking tour around Gracia. Place has really nice restaurants and bars. On weekends great nightlife.

• Poble nou – One of the most famous clubs are here for example Razzmataz. At daytime there is nothing to see because it’s industrial area.

• Eixample (avoid Passeig de Gracia) – This is a wealthy area where is nice to walk around and to see great architecture. Area is also famous for its gay community and there are some famous gay clubs. Here you will definitely see tourists but not in same amounts than in the most famous tourist places.

• A park tour – There a lot parks in Barcelona and many tourists do not know about them. One of the nicest park is “Labyrinth” in Horta.

• Art gallery tour – Barcelona is famous for its art and there are a lot of small art galleries around the city without tourists

How to become one of locals

The best thing is not to live in a hotel as all other tourist do. A nice option is to rent a Barcelona apartment and see the city from inside. You might to get know your local neighbors and ask them for advice where to go to avoid tourists. This is often even cheaper option compared to hotels.