← Back Published on 18th June 2025

Dispatches from Barcelona

Barcelona’s urbanism is far better than London’s. Plazas integrate cafes, bars, apartments, and markets with kids playing football. The trees cool everything down and go a long way to ensuring that the streets are not alienating like many of London’s.

Barcelona uses its monumental architecture in such a democratic way. In Vienna, I found the roped-off palaces oppressive. In Barcelona, the monuments are lived in – for instance, exercise classes are held on the Cascada Monumental. I think it fosters a better sense of place and identification with the city than keeping them as museum pieces.

The activities in Barcelona are very different to those in London in that they do not require drinking or spending money. You can swim at the beach or meet a friend in the plaza. Only parks in London can fulfil this for a few months a year. The Catalans undoubtedly live better than the English.

The sense of place can dramatically change from street to street. There can be three identical streets in the Gothic Quarter for instance; one is local and quiet with Spanish people serenely drinking in bars. Another is overrun with identikit tourist shops and a jabbering mob wielding selfie sticks. Another can be strewn with cardboard and drug addicts. Yet the buildings remain the same.

There is a far slower pace of life in Barcelona. I didn’t see anyone in a suit in Barcelona moving with purpose.

Tourism has damaged Barcelona. Before considering the impact on living costs for locals, entire districts are hollowed out with tat and crowds of tourists. It’s annoying for a visitor, too. Things like menus in English, global food and copy-paste vape shops make Barcelona feel less distinct and just another monocultural city. It must be stressed that this is only true for some places. To some extent, Barcelona is the victim of its own success. It has an amazing location, climate, a beautiful city and a famous football club. However, it is also rich enough to not need tourism which is why anti-tourist protests are strong here.

I walked a section of the Cami d’Ronda, an old smuggling route from Barcelona to Perpignan. I met an old man, who appeared to be in his early 60s despite being 93. He told me that the secret to living a happy life is “estar afuera toda tu vida”, be outside of your life.

One evening on the trail, I looked out to sea and the setting sun while children played in the rockpools, and Spanish voices abounded. This was probably the most content I’ve felt for months. There’s a life-giving force in nature and travelling that can revive the psyche from the worst of stresses.

The Mediterranean is the most important sea in history. You can’t look at it and not think of the harbours and civilisations on the other sides – Ancient Greece, Rome, Carthage, Judea, Egypt... It is not like the vast Pacific or Atlantic with their latent power that dwarfs humanity. This is a humanised sea that has been furrowed by ships for thousands of years. It is beautiful in the same way that a quaint agricultural scene is.