If you’ve been following along, you know that in June, my youngest and I went on a crazy, soccer-centric trip through Spain. We had a stop in Barcelona and were looking for things to do. But given the extremely small amount of time we were given in this famous city (we weren’t even staying overnight in Barcelona), I was anxious to maximize what we could experience and learn.
Being a tourist in Barcelona today (as of summer 2025) is controversial. If you haven’t heard, Barcelona residents are making national news for hating tourists. They stand at popular sites and shoot tourists with water guns. They yell and shout at tourist groups in crowded locations.
So, is going to Barcelona a good idea right now? Do they hate us? And if you go to Barcelona, how long should you spend and what should you see as a tourist so you don’t contribute to the problem?
Barcelona wasn’t always such a popular destination for worldwide travelers. From what I have heard and read, it really blew up when the combination of a manmade beach, an expanded port allowing more cruise boats to stop, and the hosting of the summer Olympics all happened.
In short, Barcelona invited worldwide attention, and it worked! People fell in love with it. Now they have to deal with the aftermath of their successful marketing campaign. People who live there aren’t that happy about it.
From what I gathered talking to people who live in Barcelona and from some news articles on the topic, the problematic thing is the increasing cost of housing due to the buying of property as investments by foreigners. (Think AirBnBs or second home vacation apartments.) People like me, tourists, come and crowd and demand to be entertained, but don’t steward. Then those who buy property for short-term rental income don’t invest in or engage with their new community.
The flood of human bodies for short periods results in water shortages, overcrowding on the metro and bus, and significant noise pollution.
The visitors create problems — problems that are not limited to Barcelona.
I get it – and I think it is an issue that many cities are struggling to figure out (Bar Harbor has started limiting cruise ships docking). Barcelona gets 12 million – 15 million tourists a year. That’s a TON. Not to mention a large number are day trippers that hop off the cruise ship for eight hours, then leave again in a whirlwind.
But those tourists contribute 9.6 billion Euros a YEAR to the Barcelona economy. In 2023, that amounted to 130,000 jobs and 12.6% of the GDP. But as we learned on our walking tour (see below), Catalonians are proud. They are fighters (as an American, I respect that). They have a strong sense of identity with their place. And they are proud of a Barcelona that they see being slowly chipped at by over-tourism.
I don’t think they hate tourists – after all, I presume many Barcelona residents leave their city to go stay elsewhere, where they are tourists, giving the same problems to that location they receive in their hometown.
But over-tourism is a massive problem (one that I’ve talked about even years before now here). As an avid traveler and adventurer, I both hate it and I contribute to it. It’s complicated.
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All that shared, I loved Barcelona (way more than Madrid). It is a beautiful city. We were never once accosted or yelled at. We were safe and felt comfortable,
Most of the best things to see in one day are going to be in the Gothic quarter, and it was hauntingly beautiful. So much tragedy and life in old streets that take crooked turns and only let in select streaks of sun. It’s worth the visit.
Just don’t be a jerky tourist when you go. These are people’s homes.
Top things to do in Barcelona, Spain (even if you only have 24 hours)
Table of Contents
Sagrada Familia (but GO INSIDE)
Look, the Sagrada Familia is the thing to do. If you have time for one thing, make it this. But plan. Because going inside makes all the difference in the world, but tickets sell out months in advance, and you absolutely cannot get in without a pre-purchased ticket. Seeing it from the outside is neat, but inside was stunning.
Sagrada Familia is a basilica (NOT a cathedral) that has been under construction since 1882. While we have been to a cathedral constantly under construction for centuries before, this one is different. This isn’t as though it was completed, but then restoration began as it immediately started falling apart. The Sagrada Familia has towers and wings still not even started. It’s wild to contemplate, especially since its famous architect/designer, GaudÃ, died in 1926 (“piously” according to the Internet, which is an interesting adjective there). Gaudà left, like, ZERO instructions on how things were to be completed.
Which led to some controversy (of course – it seems the people in Barcelona need to have some sort of controversy in their lives).
The back of the basilica had not been completed when Gaudà took ill. He drew some design sketches and said it should look “harsh and cruel, as if made of bones.” So a sculptor named Josep Maria Subirachs was given the task of figuring all this out and started on the 12 sculptures that are now visible.
The artist diligently devoted his life (working piously, one might say) to these from 1987 until he died in 2014.Â
And people HATED the work. “Too brutalist.” Not enough rounded edges. Not nuanced enough.Â
You really do have to judge for yourself. But you can’t see this section well at all unless you pay to go inside (even though, technically, it’s outside).
On the (actual) inside is some of the most unique and jaw-dropping religious architecture I have ever seen. This could not be more different from the famous, and also jaw-dropping, cathedral in Toledo. They are so different.
Architecture by Gaudà is imaginative and certainly eccentric.
The Internet says:
Antoni Gaudà didn’t just design a church; he dreamed up a stone forest where spiraling towers reach for the heavens, colorful tiles wink in the sun, and nature sneaks into every detail. Birds, vines, and seashells find their place among sacred figures, like a cathedral built by someone who got lost in a fairy tale and decided to stay there forever.
And damn, I wish I had written that because that is IT.
Since ChatGPT did such a great job nailing that, I asked it for more;
Visiting the Sagrada FamÃlia isn’t just sightseeing—it’s stepping into the quirky brilliance of a man who saw geometry in snails and divinity in tree branches. Gaudà was the kind of genius who ignored straight lines because, frankly, nature doesn’t use them much. The inside feels like standing inside a kaleidoscope of stained glass and stone trunks, as if the forest and the divine agreed on a joint venture. Whether you're into architecture, daydreaming, or just curious what would happen if Dr. Seuss built a basilica, this is a stop you won’t forget.
I mean… perfect. (The robots will be taking over.)
The stained glass windows were designed to flood the basilica with different colors depending on the time of day. We were there when everything was red, orange, and yellow, and it was stunning. I can’t do it justice (although I bet ChatGPT can).
There are so many price points and options for touring the inside. Given our travel schedule, we did simple timed entry tickets for the basic self-guided tour. There is an app that has an audio guide that will explain much of the sites and important markers.
But you can pay to go up one of the towers – you can pay for an official guided tour – or you can pay GetYourGuide for a tour.
Whatever works best for you, your budget, your timeline, and your interest, just pick something and plan to go INSIDE.
PRO TIPS:
- For official tickets to Sagrada Familia, visit: sagradafamilia.org
- Remember: purchase early! This absolutely sells out.
- Allow for 1 -2 hours to go through the basilica, depending on which tour option you’ve picked.
- You will go through a metal detector. No water. There is a dress code but unlike in Milan, it didn’t seem as heavily enforced.
Want More Gaudi?
There are quite a few more masterpieces by Gaudà in Barcelona.
Park Güell is a huge park outside the Gothic quarter designed by GaudÃ. Due to time constraints (you need time to get there, then a fair amount of time there), we weren’t able to go. If you go, get tickets in advance. This is a very popular place!
There are two other buildings designed by Gaudà that are in downtown Barcelona. One is Casa Batlló. Most tourists, including us, see it from the outside. But it is available for visits and hosts special events throughout the year you may want to check out.
The other popular Gaudà building in downtown Barcelona is La Pedrera or Casa Mila. Again, you can pay to enter but we saw this from the outside. I thought it was so whimsical and fascinating to see. It looked like it was melting.
The Barcelona Cathedral
Given our limited time in Barcelona, we did not go inside. (Our local guide told us that “it is basically just another big, ornate Gothic church with nothing too special”). But we did enjoy the majestic outside – particularly when compared to the Sagrada Familia.
However, the cathedral must mean so much more than our guide’s comment. It dates back to the 4th century, and there are plenty of tombs of important people to see.
We enjoyed learning the stories here. A co-patron saint of Barcelona was a young virgin who was a martyr for her religion. The legends about her are a bit crazy, such as: she was naked in a snowfall, but the snow miraculously covered her lady bits to keep her modesty. Since she was 13 when she died for her religion (in a barrel with knives), there are now 13 geese being kept in her honor at this Cathedral.
- To learn more and to visit, get information here: catedralbcn.org/en/
- Advanced purchase was not necessary for entry when we went.
Sant Felip Neri (Bareclona's Gothic Quarter)
Unfortunately, some places take on a poignant, not-to-be-missed beauty due to tragedy. That is the case with this square and this church.
What happened here is so worthy of commemorating and keeping in mind as people war and fight. It is also what adds to the haunting beauty. As golden petals fell on our hair, it was hard to believe what happened here.
For you Gaudà fans, this was the church Gaudà (piously?) attended. But in 1938, during the Spanish Civil War, the building was attacked. You can still see the bullet holes and wounded walls today. Inside at the time, however, were children who had been made orphans by the Civil War. During the attack, the children had been rushed to what was presumed to be a safe location inside the church – children just trying to make it through a war that had already taken everything. Yet the church collapsed where they were, killing 30 people, including the children. As residents of Barcelona rushed to dig the children out, another 12 people died.
Beautifully, though, today the church and square host a school for young children. And if you visit at certain times, you can see the next generation of humanity running with schoolmates, unencumbered, against a backdrop littered with bullets that killed children years before.
Barcelona has many stories to share.
- See more here: www.barcelonaturisme.com
Get Delicious Horchata
Looking for a refreshing break after all the walking? Thanks to someone who had a Rick Steves guidebook, we found a place that served some of the most delicious horchata I’ve ever had – Orxateria Torroneria. Even the 13- and 14-year-olds with us were impressed. If you can’t make it to this exact spot, do at least try some horchata at some point.
Visit the Markets (A Local One as well as the famous La Boqueria)
La Boqueria in the Gothic quarter is a Spanish market famous for good reason. There are so many stalls with delicious food to grab and eat. Some of the stalls have seating and also sell wine and beer. It is a scene, and we popped in here while wandering around to get lunch on the go. The patatas bravas were tasty, and I loved the empanadas we found here.
But as you may imagine, this doesn’t seem to be where locals shop. While we were down by the Futbol Mania shop and getting our horchata, we stopped into the Mercat de Sant Antoni. THIS felt like a real market. Stalls sold fresh eggs and fish on ice. We grabbed a sandwich from a vendor who didn’t speak any English. Honestly, I liked this experience better.
Las ramblas (Or Not)
We walked down Las Ramblas for a bit – because of course you have to. Although the pedestrian-only strip is 1.2 km, we weren’t on it long since it was crowded and we weren’t terribly interested.
The Famous Mural - It's wild!
Located in the Gothic quarter, this mural was so crazy to see. I actually didn’t even “see” the kissing image until I took a photo and I saw it in the snap. The individual tiles were submitted by people responding to the prompt “What does living in freedom look like to you?”.
It was constructed in 2014 and is hard to miss once you stumble into the tucked-away square in the Gothic quarter that hosts it.
- For more information, visit: www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en
Learn the History
Perhaps part of the way to be a responsible tourist, and not the obnoxious kind that makes residents angry, is to spend some time not just consuming its space and food but also learning about what makes the place unique.
Catalonia, in general, is very different from the rest of Spain. In addition to the virgin martyr story related to the cathedral, we also heard some other phenomenal stories unique to Catalonia (including stories about a pooping figure in a Christmas nativity scene and the beating of a yule log). Many in Barcelona still advocate independence from Spain entirely. This place is special.
We did a free walking tour of Barcelona, given our limited amount of time in the city, and loved it! I highly recommend this.
Honestly, one day in Barcelona is not enough in any way, shape, or form. But since that was all that I had, I gratefully took it. And I am so grateful that this enchanting city in Catalonia took me in and let me bask in its magic peacefully.
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