Your Barcelona Guide

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, here is Lili, your co-editor. Today I would like to introduce you to your Barcelona Guide. I call Barcelona my “third home”, because after my home country and the place where I’m currently living, this is the town which I’m visiting most often. The simple reason is that my sister is living there. Therefore, if I want to see her, I have to visit Barcelona. You might ask why she is not visiting me? She does- from time to time. However, Barcelona has better weather throughout the whole year than the countries where I live in the last years.

As my sister is also having a blog (travelistagoesto.com), I will not repeat everything she writes- she will be your Barcelona Guide. In addition, she is the expert of this city, more than me, who is spending just the weekends there. Most importantly, I want you to get the most useful information for certain places. And in this case I consider her more capable of giving you such. I will also share my best pictures from the Catalonia’s capital.

Lili’s 5 good-to- know tips when travelling to Barcelona:

It is almost summer the whole year round

Barcelona is located at Mediterranean sea and has a maritime climate, with mild winters and warm to hot summers. It is clear that you will not be able to swim in the sea in January, but the winter there is what we call spring in Bulgaria for example. The summers though can be quite hot. The breeze from the sea helps a bit, but if you cannot stand the heat, avoid going there in July and August.

Call the locals “Catalans” and not “Spanish”

You have most probably heard about the desire of the Catalonia district to become a separate country in the last few years. The locals do not consider themselves as belonging to the Spanish country, so they will reckon your behavior as insulting if you call them Spanish.

Accommodation can be quite expensive

Even if you find a good deal for the flights, you will be surprised how expensive accommodation is. More and more tourists are willing to visit this Spanish city. Consequently, prices are getting higher and higher. The local authorities are even thinking of introducing a limit for the apartment prices, because the local citizens also suffer from this price inflation. Make sure you book your accommodation a lot in advance.

Beware of the restaurants which are pure tourist trap

We already mentioned the fact that there are many people who want to visit Barcelona and they do so. The central part of the town is crowded at all times. Of course there are many businesses which are benefiting from the crowds. For example the restaurants. Some of them are charging high prices and the food is not delicious. To name a few- those in the area of La Rambla street, around the Cathedral, the yacht port and in the beach area.

Pickpockets/ thieves

The first lesson I learned one of the very first times when I visited my sister in Barcelona is that I should neither leave my bag on the chair, not my phone on the table (in restaurants). You should keep your belongings with you everywhere and at any moment.

Here are the topics you might be interested in reading about when travelling to Barcelona:

Places to visit in Barcelona– you will find a list of 20 must-visit places. Just a small portion of it you can find in the gallery below.

17 Hidden Gems in Barcelona– if you want to go off the beaten track and avoid the crowds, this article will definitely help you.
Biggest festivals and Celebrations in Barcelona– Catalans are famous for their party spirit. You might pick one of the 8 events and decide to visit Barcelona, especially in this time of the year.
Most common tourist mistakes when visiting Barcelona . In my article about the things to consider when planning your trip, I mention that one of the key things to check before travelling are the popular scums at your destination. Well, these are not all scums, but useful tips if you do not want to be a typical tourist. This is one of my favorite articles by the way.
Best Rooftop Bars in Barcelona– 14 ideas of places where you can enjoy Barcelona from above. See below a teaser of what kind of views are there for you.