Most people are surprised when I say I’ve never visited Barcelona – and for good reason. The city is one of the richest in Europe in terms of art, culture, cuisine and sports. It’s home to the Sagrada Família, Camp Nou, Barceloneta Beach and Casa Batlló. A place where you can wander among some of the most distinctive architecture on the planet, before sharing Catalan dishes along with a glass of crisp cava. What’s more, Barcelona is just a short hop from the UK, with a number of budget airlines flying regularly.
However, it has been a destination that I’ve repeatedly put off visiting, and this is certainly – at least in part – because I worry about the impact of overtourism.
Like many towns and cities across Europe (Venice, Amsterdam and Dubrovnik – to name just a few), Barcelona has been a victim of its own beauty. As visitor numbers surge, residents are feeling the strain, with housing becoming scarcer and increasingly unaffordable, souvenir stalls replacing shops selling local produce, and streets choked with crowds.
This week, we reported that Spain has broken tourism records in 2026, with more than 58.1 million arrivals in the first seven months of the year up until the end of July – a 4.6 per cent increase from the same period in 2025. Over the past few years, anti-tourism protests have flared in a number of Spanish regions, with demonstrators bearing banners with slogans like “mass tourism kills the city” and “your holidays, my misery”. In one very memorable incident, disgruntled locals sprayed tourists with water pistols while they were dining at restaurants. So concerned is the city about the impact of tourism that the new commissioner for sustainable tourism has outlined a plan to control visitor numbers with the message “not one tourist more”, putting an end to actively encouraging visitors to Barcelona.
However – and this is where I may need to re-think my aversion to visiting the Catalan capital – many protesters make clear that it’s not tourism per se that they object to; it’s the unchecked, unmanaged surge of visitors that offers little benefit to the local economy. Indeed, tourism is vital to the economy. So, the question becomes: how can you be a “good tourist”? And is it still possible to visit Barcelona responsibly? Last week Katie Mather wrote in Independent Travel about how visitors can best support the economy and provide benefits to communities when visiting the Catalan city, while limiting any negative impact. She shared advice including: stay in accommodation that is officially regulated; choose independent bars and restaurants; learn some Catalan; and ensure you respect local rules and customs.
The other suggestion I would add to Katie’s list is to visit out of season. Not only will you be contributing to the economy at a time when it will be most appreciated, but you’ll be visiting the city when there are far fewer crowds – a benefit to both the traveller and the host destination. Having stubbornly refused to travel to Venice until a few years ago as I was convinced it would be an overcrowded hell-hole, I eventually planned a trip to the city in the middle of winter and it was magical. The mist and rain are the perfect backdrop to the city, and at one point I found myself admiring the twinkly lights of the Christmas tree in St Mark’s Square without another person in sight.
So as the peak season draws to a close and tourists start to thin out, perhaps 2026 will be the year that I plan a city break to Barcelona. In fact, a winter getaway to the Catalan capital sounds really rather appealing.
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