Against the flow

Should you even visit overcrowded destinations like Barcelona? We think so, because this city is always worth a trip. But perhaps it's worth to be going when everyone else is not. In February, for example.

We start with a dilemma. At La vie en route, we are more than aware of the consequences of “overtourism”, the main victims of which are the residents of the respective destination. We also notice such tendencies at our home base in Zurich, driven primarily by the AirBnB industry.

The problem is that highly frequented destinations attract so many visitors for a reason. Like Barcelona, whose appeal we can also understand very well. The Catalan metropolis combines warmth, the sea, great architecture and fine cuisine with good infrastructure, safety and cleanliness.

 

A fantasy: how cathedrals can look like.

So what to do? Our approach: visit Barcelona, but outside the main tourist season. In other words: in the middle of February. Because we believe that Barcelona in winter is perhaps a little quieter than in the middle of summer. With fewer crowds. And much less hot.

In fact, the temperature differences compared to the departure in Zurich are surprisingly small. We arrive in the city late on Friday evening, check into our hotel and start our winter exploration tour on Saturday morning. The sky is gray and rain is in the air.

It doesn't matter, because no matter when you visit Barcelona, you can always feel the warmth. Especially around our hotel, a little away from the Ramblas and the old town, the city's inhabitants seem to be a little more present than in the tourist hotspots.

Our first stop, very close to our accommodation, is the Sagrada Familia, the still unfinished masterpiece by the legendary Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí. Our plan doesn't work out so well here - we come across many tour groups and a spontaneous visit to the cathedral is not possible, as tickets are sold out for days. But the Sagrada Familia is also worth a visit from the outside.

 

The city where even taxis are photogenic.

So we let ourselves drift back and forth through the old town, the “Barri Gòtic”. Here we ask ourselves whether February might not actually be the best time to visit Barcelona. Because even though it is lively here, this oldest part of the city with its narrow streets doesn't feel overcrowded at all. And that also applies to the numerous cafés and tapas bars.

By the way: Barcelona's many museums are of course also open in winter - so if you don't necessarily come to Barcelona just for the city beach, you might even get more out of the city in winter.

So would we travel to Catalonia again in February? A clear “yes” - perhaps it's even better than during the main tourist season!

A bit of rain doesn't bother anyone.

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Good to know

Barcelona is one of the most frequently flown to destinations from Zurich - Swiss and Vueling connect the two cities several times a day in around one and a half hours. If you want to travel by land, you should plan around 11 hours each way, whether by train or car.

Accommodation in Barcelona comes in all shapes and colors, this time we opted for the Hotel Seventy. It's a nice hotel that's a little away from the old town and convinced us with its good value for money.

Anyone who visits Barcelona is most likely also looking for tapas. Two places in particular stuck in our memory: while the Taller de Tapas offers all the classics in great quality; the Faire offers somewhat more unusual and always vegetarian variants from organic production.