HurricaneKid wrote:righterwriter wrote:Avoid
Barcelona: I lived here for one month once and then two months this past winter and its the most overrated city in Europe, by far. Overpriced, underwhelming architecture (outside of a few famous bits) full of international rich kids, completely gentrified in the touristy areas (hopefully you like vegan and gluten free stuff), and just not impressive outside of maybe a two day highlight version of the city.
Avoid
- Venice: Undeniably beautiful, but its full of cruise ship tourists from Florida
I loved most of this post. I just cannot believe you would tell people not to go see Barcelona and Venice. You can tell people that they shouldn't stay more than a few days in each place. But Venice is one of the more spectacular cities in the world and completely unique in its layout. And there are parts of Barcelona (Familia Sagrada, etc) that are as impressive as any sights anywhere.
I did stay in Barcelona too long myself. And there are seasons where Venice is flooded (literally, not by tourists though that happens plenty during the day as well- NOTE evenings are GREAT because the cruise ships have packed everyone back on board and the city is yours again). But both should be seen for at least a few days each IMO.
I only spent a day in Venice, so I would certainly be willing to defer to someone like yourself who says that there is more to see. The advice about the city at night is good, although I've heard it's prohibitively expensive to stay in Venice proper (most people stay in the adjacent town of Mestre, including the Italians who come to work in Venice).
My impression with Venice is that it's one of these kinds of small places that are so nice that tourists besiege them and change the culture. It really breaks my heart (Dubrovnik and the center of Prague are other examples), as instead of experiencing local culture you get restaurants with pictures on the menu, disaffected locals that deal with spastic tourists all day, and a bunch of souvenir shops.
Barcelona I am against and always will be against, as it is hands down the most overrated city I've ever been to. Like I mentioned, I spent one month there in 2004, then this last winter I spent over two months there. This last time I literally walked over 8 miles per day exploring the city's neighborhoods in every direction, and I found it to be mostly dull, ugly, and when hitting an area that had visual appeal (El Barrio Gotico, for example) it was full of tourists and rich exchange students, and all the overpriced, BS shops and restaurants that catered to them.
I just found it to be a bit contrived and lame, full of tourists in a market by Las Ramblas paying 14E for a small plate of food, talking about how amazing everything was and how cool Barcelona was, when it was literally a place full of tourists and vendors overcharging them. That's not real, that's the image someone is selling them at a premium. Locals don't go there to eat or buy groceries unless they are rich.
The best neighborhoods there were Gracia and El Raval (both very different, with Gracia being more upscale and El Raval being "rough", especially at night). These places had a sense of community, local shops and restaurants, and were not either utterly gentrified or dull like the other parts of the city.
If you want to have a three day trip and visit La Sagrada Familia and take a walking tour and a food tour, and eat some tapas and go to the beach (pretty crap beach, but okay) then Barcelona is probably fine. But I think what most travelers experience there is mostly just skin deep. Other parts of Spain are much, much better in this respect-- especially Sevilla, Granada, Madrid, and San Sebastian.
They found his luggage within 2 days and sent it to his house with a voucher of 50€ discount for his next flight. Best luck, RS!