4 Things Tourists Do That Annoy Locals in Barcelona
4 things tourists do that annoy locals in Barcelona
You have probably heard about the anti-tourist sentiment growing in the city. Sadly to say, it is rather understandable. Barcelona becomes a sort of a Disneyland for tourists and it gets increasingly hard to live here in peace (check this article to know more about the issue). If you want to show respect for the local life in Barcelona, try to avoid these four things.
Are you already doing any of them?
1. Being everywhere
Tourists making photos everywhere.
Tourists sitting everywhere.
This is the thing you wonât be able to stop doing (unless you cease to exist) but it is worth trying to at least behave less like a typical âguiriâ (foreigner). Donât obsessively take photos of everything, learn some words in Spanish or Catalan, donât walk around the streets in swimming suit and donât contribute to the crowd in Las Ramblas.
2. Getting drunk and shouting at night, throwing trash, peeing on the streets and behaving like a wild pig
Among all the annoying things this one probably beats the rest in the ranking. If you donât want to contribute to the problem, keep in mind that Barcelonaâs streets are narrow and there are actually people living in the city centre. So if you donât want to get soaked with a bucket of water, behave yourself. A good behavior also consists of keeping the streets clean by not throwing trash around and making your way to the toilet instead of peeing on the corner. The smell of pee and rubbish is one of the most frequent things you can encounter when strolling down the Gothic Quarter at night. Not the nicest thing, is it?
Source: Mariano FloresThe problem of people relieving themselves on the streets has led to a campaign promoting public toilets.
3. Referring to Barcelona as ââBarçaââ or âBarcaâ
âBarçaâ (read it “Barsa”) is a football club. âBarcaâ means a small boat. Barcelona is a city. That is all. If you want to make it shorter, you should call it Barna, which is the right abbreviation. Yet little people know it, usually only the locals.
Source: IncentivesBarcelona4. Calling Catalan a dialect.
You are probably aware of all the political tensions between Barcelona and Madrid, including the independence referendum of 2017 which ended up with throwing some Catalan activists into jail. Whatever your opinion on the matter is, it is better to remember that locals in Barcelona may be quite sensitive about everything that differentiates them from the rest of Spain and makes for their own identity; regional or national (depends on who you talk to). In general, Spain officially recognizes four languages, including Catalan, Euskera, Gallego and obviously Spanish. So if you ever have any opportunity to speak to a local, donât call their language a dialect!
Source: residenciasarriaStay tuned for our upcoming events at our website and Facebook page, we hope to meet you soon at one of our events!
