Take a trip into Barcelona and you are immediately faced with a practical question: how do you navigate your way round the swarming masses of tourists ? Step along the Passeig de Gràcia, the city’s swishest shopping street, and you must dodge mini-battalions of holidaymakers all armed with a guide who has an umbrella in tow, jabbering away in Italian, Japanese or English to his disciples. If you arrive outside the Casa Batlló, Antoní Gaudí’s amazing town house, watch your pockets. Like many spots where tourists stop to gaze, it is also where the pickpockets wait for their prey.
If your phone, wallet or purse is still in your pocket, you can head upwards along the same street to the delights of Chanel, Gucci or Jimmy Choo. “What do you expect at the height of summer?” I hear you say: The thing is that in Barcelona, tourism never sleeps. The visitors keep coming 365 days per year.
And wherever and whenever you go, there are tourists trundling those cases, looking for their Airbnbs. The hens are out dressed in mock bridalwear, or the stag is clad as an inflatable penis. It is for this reason that Jaume Collboni, the socialist mayor of Barcelona, has announced a ban on apartment rentals to tourists – or what he termed “tourist flats” by 2029.
A bit harsh, to deprive perfectly nice tourists of an Airbnb, you might think. Who could begrudge someone for trying to enjoy one of the most beautiful cities in the world? Hey, I was once one of those tourists too. But.
