Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, is far, far bigger than its provincial side-kick Girona. We emerged from the Liceu subway station on La Rambla into the dreaded hordes of a big city and the last time we needed to drag luggage several blocks to a hotel.
Barcelona is one of those places that is being over-run with tourists (and yes, we're part of the problem). What the Spanish media dubbed turismofobia overtook several European cities in 2017 with protests held and measures taken in Venice, Rome, Amsterdam, Florence, Berlin, Lisbon, Palma de Mallorca and elsewhere in Europe against the invasion of visitors. In 2000 foreigners in Barcelona accounted for less than 2% of the population and according to the city's integration and immigration commissioner the true figure is now closer to 30%.
If La Rambla is anything to go by I can sympathise. It's a broad, 1.2km tree-lined boulevarde connecting the large, central Plaza de Cataluna to the once industrial but now funkified waterfront. What is a pleasant, leafy stroll is spoiled by meandering herds of goggle-eyed, selfie-sticked gawkers - my pet hate when travelling. And we were there in the off-season!
The tourist hot-spots can also of course get claustrophobic, but worth visiting are the medieval Gothic Quarter, the mandatory gaudy Gaudi Sagrada Familia and his Park Guell and the central Plaza de Cataluna. The gentrified old waterfront and adjacent Mont Juic (Jewish Mountain) the site of the 1992 Olympics were uncluttered by the horrible hordes. If the 'at least one street back' rule is applied the seething throngs can be by-passed. Our hotel was situated (still is i assume) in the El Raval barrio several blocks from La Rambla along a tree-lined central piazza where the foot traffic and retailers were predominately middle-eastern and Indian immigrants.
El Raval attracts comments like "the Raval is a prime area for pick-pockets and other unsavoury characters so it is worth being wary when in the area, especially at night. Don't wander down any unlit alleys and be watchful of your belongings everywhere" on an on-line tourist guide. That's somewhat surprising given the area, while not glamorous, presented no challenges apart from being constantly hit up for change or cigarettes every time i ventured out the door.
Barcelona was the starting point for our group bus tour and where we met up with our new travel companions. While well past their primes like us, pour a few drinks into 'em and they were noisy but easy to get along with and proved to be good company for the next month.