8 COMMON MISTAKES TOURISTS MAKE WHEN VISITING BARCELONA.
Mistakes that locals will never do. And tourists always do when visiting Barcelona for the First time.
There is some time, I haven’t written anything about this beautiful city, Barcelona. With this helpful guide you will discover the most important tips for traveling to Barcelona.
Before jumping into the details of common mistakes every new tourist do in Barcelona, I propose you to have a look, to my previous articles about Barcelona.
4 DAYS COMPLETE ITINERARY TO BARCELONA.
24 HOURS IN BARCELONA. THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN ONLY 1 DAY IN BARCELONA.
HOW TO MOVE AROUND IN BARCELONA?
BARCELONA BUCKET LIST: WALKING TOUR OF BARCELONA. 10 MUST SEE PLACES IN BARCELONA.
THE MOST INSTAGRAMMABLE PLACES IN BARCELONA.
Barcelona is a top summer destination for many tourists, when it comes to plan their holidays. Many people come to Barcelona for many years in a row, and other ́s can be their first visit. As Barcelona is so popular, it is common that you will be caught by diverse tourist traps spread out at the seemingly most convenient places.
It is very easy to fall under these tourist traps and pay for overpriced food, things and experiences. And it can be your first or tenth time to visit Barcelona. We live here, and first years we got into such tramps a lot of times.
Luckily, due to globalization, you don’t have to be an expert in tapas or seafood to know that you are not eating what you are paying at certain restaurants. And with these wide use of internet, it is easy to find the right price for famous attractions and to see where is the tramp.
I really hope you will read the post carefully, as here I will share all you need to know, in order to enjoy the city as a local.
Here comes the top 8 common mistakes tourists make / and we did, when visiting Barcelona.
Mistake No 1. Visit Barcelona in August.
As we love so much to travel, and we always look for fantastic destinations, we understood that August is the worst month to travel around in Europe. It is very hot, very touristy and very expensive month.
Prices are high and all attractions are just so packed with tourists.
Mistake No 2. Laying at Barceloneta Beach.
After talking about August as super touristy month. The second mistake to avoid is going to Barceloneta beach. It is such an overrated place in Barcelona, that if you go there, I assure you, that you won’t find at least 1 local. All the people are tourists and pickpockets are guaranteed.
Locals think about Barceloneta as a dirty beach filled with weird people and they can’t understand why and how many tourists still go there.
Barceloneta Beach is Barcelona’s main beach and the closest one to the city center. And it is clear why many tourists go there. After a long walk on the Las Ramblas, you get there and enjoy the sea. I highly recommend you to walk a little bit more and enjoy Bogatell beach.
At Bogatell beach, you will find a list of good restaurants, and it won’t be filled with so many people. But if you want to experience a paradise scenario in terms of a beach, then you surely have to go to Costa Brava.
Mistake No 3. Not to investigate about Gaudi Before Going to Barcelona.
When it comes to Barcelona, you just should learn as many things you can about Gaudi. It is just his city in terms of architecture. I was impressed on learning the vision this master had about the city, and how big impact he did for Barcelona.
Mistake No 4. Staying in queue to buy tickets.
The combination of Mistake No 1 and No 4, can just leave you exhausted while traveling to Barcelona. Nowadays, when it is so easy and cheaper to buy all the tickets online, on the official sites of attractions, it is just a waste of time staying in queue for a ticket. You can spend several hours of your priceless time on a queue.
Be smart, buy online, no queuing, no hustling, not freezing, not getting wet on hot weather, and most important, not wasting your precious hours as a traveler.
Mistake No 5. Eating at Las Ramblas.
I am sure that if you have been at least once in Barcelona, you were looking to stop by the restaurants at Las Ramblas. They do very tricky things, and one of it, putting a very cheap price for the food. Once you get the order you find out that you overpriced your drinks,and the price for those it is much higher than for food.
We experienced this, and it was a BIG mistake of ours, and we won’t repeat it for sure.
Mistake No 6. Drink Sangria at Las Ramblas or anywhere else.
Surprisingly enough, but locals don’t ́t drink Sangria. The popular drinks here are Cava and Vermouth. You will easily find many Vermoutherias around the city.
Mistake No 7. Underestimating Pickpockets.
Pickpockets are a common issue all over Europe and not only in Spain. And Barcelona is not exempt of it. Specially very touristy locations, like Las Ramblas, Sagrada Familia, Plaza España and so on. Stealers just wait for the perfect moment to take action, and it can be the moment when you just relax too much.
Always keep an eye on your bags and wallets.
Mistake No 8. Not Trying Catalan Food.
Paella, sangria, and many well known seafood are Spanish dishes. But, how about some Catalan dishes? Here we go with Calçots with Romesco, Escalivada (grilled tomatoes, peppers and aubergine), Escudella i carn d’olla, Canelons, Mongetes amb botifarra, Pa amb tomaquet, Crema catalana.
Food that you have to try at least once.
Guys, many of these mistakes we all do in every trip we make. We end up going to most touristy places, just because it is recommended in all tourists guide. We tried food in the places many people said that are great. I just think that coming to a new destination, requires a little bit of research and you can avoid making any of these mistakes in any destination you go.