1

Interesting article.....Barcelona has more than reached saturation point for tourism.

Personally too many..I doubt I will go back there,though 20 years ago it was maybe my favourite city in Western Europe.

2

The Barcelona link does not open in the uk.

3

I watched the programme.

If you google it there are a few links to the video as well.....

4

#2 It's on the BBC website under travel.

5

All the older of us may think this is terrible since we can remember Barcelona, Firenze and Roma 20 years ago - and maybe even London, Paris, Venezia 40 years ago. (But I can also remember how awful Avignon were then).

The reason that it was different? Back then there were only a few countries (all in NEurope + N America) where more than 5-10% of the population had the money to travel 1-2-3-4 times a year. Most never left their own country or did it once or twice in a lifetime! - this both due to lack of funds, lack of language skills and lack of tradition.

Still the world is huge, even Europe is huge - 99% of the area of Europe is nearly void of tourists.
But so many really enjoy "meeting other travellers" "partying at night" "visit the must-sees" and all the other expressions you see in post after post, Guess these will love present day Barcelona.

6

I have no idea why Barcelona always gets the bad reviews here and in the press. It is by far not the most touristy city in Europe - London, Paris, Rome see more visitors.

Have you been to the vatican museum, the trevi fountain, around and in the colliseum, Montmartre, the eiffel tower, the Champs-elysees etc ? You may have noticed something - hordes of tourists, and year-round. I won't even start about cities like Venice etc.

It's the same for Barcelona. Somehow most tourists only visit the "highlights" - Las Ramblas, Parc Guell, Sagrada familia and the horrible Barceloneta beach. (There is more than 4 km of beach and the one next door to my apartment and metro sees few tourists and is seldom crowded).

So yes, those places are very crowded and unpleasant. Why people stay in and around the Rambla I do not know. This is a city and there are plenty of cosy streets and squares where few tourists venture. I even know one next to the cathedral which is one of the most beautiful squares in the city. Like Bjoern says - the world is huge. It is easy to avoid tourists.

But people like to go to touristy places it seems - the club with northern european music, the restaurant that looks really cosy with familiar dishes, the bar that sells heineken,...

Lastly, some people may complain about tourists, but most people i know here have several friends or familiy members benefitting directly or indirectly from tourism. Many people work in it, and it forms an important part of the city's income. The drunk and loud tourists in summer in the city center of course are a huge pain, people get irritated by them, but the voices that say - tourists out - are very, very few. Surely that is the case for Rome as well.

7

agree with bjoern, most of us consider it was 'better' in the past, and honestly: Barcelona is just a random example for lots of places. however I think it's something highly personal and has a lot to do with our first impression and expectations upon return, where we often expect a reproduction of these sentiments. when I first visited the Cyclades in the 90s I was overwhelmed, when I returned 10years later I was already startled about some spots and nowadays I'm already reluctant to return to some places at all - at the same time, travellers from the 70s/80s must have been shocked in the 90s already, and there will still be 'fresh' travellers that will be (rightly) exited today. so, imo it's different, yet not necessarily worse.