I have been in Barcelona since 2016, and I believe it is the best city in the world.
As I like to say to anyone that will listen – it’s big enough for a band to stop here on a world tour, but small enough for you to walk across it in a couple of hours.
The culture, architecture and never ending list of things to do, coupled with 300 days of sunshine make it an intoxicating combination.
One friend once warned me to be careful, as the city is so much fun that you will make sacrifices in other areas to stay – she was right.
Whether it is avoiding tourists at the beach, or jumping in a car to visit the ski slopes, Barcelona pretty much has it all.
However, its not all plain sailing, the bureaucracy is still very time consuming, and it is still behind the UK (when I left 10 years ago) when it comes to digital processes to speed up regular admin – but it is improving.
Now, as I reflect on my first decade – I wanted to share the things that I wish I had known when I moved here.
Cycling is the fastest way to get around the city
If you have used a Bicing, you will know the struggle to get a fully functional bike which does not have a break that sounds like a fog horn, or a tyre that is flat as a pancake.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
That being said, it’s still a great service and worth every cent of the subscription that the ajuntament charges you each year. When you power Bicing with Citymapper, things get even better. No more hoping that there will be bikes when you set off and spaces when you arrive – CityMapper has you covered.
During the summer, the metro stations are as close to a furnace as you will ever want to experience, however an electric Bicing gives you a nice breeze as you zip around. Well worth the xx subscription and the xx per trip for the electric bikes. Get this and CityMapper as soon as you get your NIE, plug in your home and work address and the city is yours.
Residents get discounts or free entry at a number of attractions
Gaudir més (link in Spanish) is a residents programme which gives you discounted or free access to a number of Barcelona attractions. It is available to all residents of Barcelona and it covers a load of places which you would usually need to pay for. Registration is easy enough with a NIE or passport and can be done here. Its a bit of paper, not a card, so its a bit strange, but I have used it many times without issue and if you have children under 16 they also get the benefits of the programme.
MUHBA (Museu d’Història de Barcelona) / Plaça del Rei 7-9, 08002 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Park Güell / Carrer d’Olot 5, 08024 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free (check here to book)
Real Monasterio de Santa Maria de Pedralbes / Carrer de Montevideo 14, 08034 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Castell de Montjuïc / Ctra. de Montjuïc 66, 08038 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Museu de Cultures del Món / Carrer de Montcada 12, 08003 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Museu Etnològic de Barcelona / Passeig de Santa Madrona 16, 08038 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
El Born
Centre de Cultura i Memòria / Plaça Comercial 12, 08003 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Museu Frederic
Marès / Plaça de Sant Iu 5, 08002 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Museu de la Música / Carrer de Lepant 150, 08013 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Museu del Disseny de Barcelona / Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes 37-38, 08018 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Museu Blau (MCNB) / Plaça de Leonardo da Vinci 4-5, 08019 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Jardí Botànic de Barcelona (MCNB) / Carrer del Doctor Font i Quer 2, 08038 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Free
Tibidabo Amusement
Park / Plaça del Tibidabo 3, 08035 Barcelona (Google Maps) / 20% Discount
Funicular del Tibidabo / Carretera de Vallvidrera al Tibidabo 8-12, 08035 Barcelona (Google Maps) / 50% Discount
Zoo Barcelona / Parc de la Ciutadella, 08003 Barcelona (Google Maps) / 20% Discount
Torre de Collserola / Ctra. de Vallvidrera al Tibidabo s/n, 08017 Barcelona (Google Maps) / Discount (50%)
Digital creature comforts from home with VPN + IPTV
When it comes to settling in, there is something quite comforting about having all the TV channels from home, especially if you are not speaking Spanish, and whilst the TV here is probably quite good – being kind of disconnected form things has not necessarily been a bad thing. You can get the packages from Movistar of the other TV/Mobile providers – or, you can get IPTV.
What is IPTV you ask? Well, it’s pretty much every channel (plus TV series and films) you could ever wish for – and then some. I have been down this rabbit hole for some time trying to get a solution and setup that does not spend most of its time buffering or freezing at a vital moment and here is the setup I use.
Firstly, get a VPN so you can get past some of the ridiculous things that Spanish operators do to block services, and also you can access your TV apps back home. For example, I can set it to the UK to get iPlayer – or watch the different shows on Netflix USA by switching it the states. I recommend Nord VPN as it has an app for most devices (including Apple TV and most smart TV’s), if you use this link you will get free 1-3 months (so do I for clarity, but it does not cost you any more). I might move to Proton in the near future, and I would suggest waiting for Black Friday for the best offers. I use it on multiple devices and it’s a good tool to have in your selection.
Then you will want an IPTV container, this is like an app you will use to watch the streams, ideally you want one which will work with all of your devices so you can watch it wherever you are. I have experimented with a load, and the one I am using presently with all of my Apple devices is UHF, its Apple only at the time of writing this – but its head and shoulders above the others. If you are on Android, I have been using Smarters and that has been “fine”. Most are “fine” but UHF has been the only one which has really upped the quality of what I expect, and includes recording of shows and other things and I have found the streams to be rock solid, plus I have been impressed with the steady flow of updates.
Naturally you will play all this through your device, TV, mobile, tablet, fire stick, TV box etc. I use an Apple TV 4K as I like the interoperability- but there are a million options and guides on how to hack an Amazon Firestick and you can pick one up cheaply if your TV’s software is not great. Again, wait until Black Friday to get the best offers.
Finally, the service. I have been around the houses for a long time on this, and no services are going to be 100% perfect like Netflix. There are elements that are better, like the mind-blowing selection of things, but you might find the occasional channel that buffers or freezes, but I would say my setup with UHF is now 98% perfect, which is more than enough for me. I can get all the live football and sport I want and I never struggle to find a stream for the games I want to see – and the price is excellent. I pay around $6 per month when I pay for a year, and I have been using StreamQ (use this link for a free 24h trial to test it out and 10% off) for about 2 years now. I like that they have both WhatsApp and Telegram support and you can switch off the channels and languages you do not need (there are a lot). There are other service providers out there, so feel free to do your own research, but this is my summary after much experimentation.
Barcelona English Speakers WhatsApp Group
Disclosure, I started the group in 2020 so I am a bit biased here, but the reason I started it was to bring people together. Barcelona is a wonderful city, but meeting people can be hard, as can navigating the bureaucracy of Spanish and Catalan government. The community is free to join and will likely have most of the answers you might ask, such as “How do I get a NIE appointment”, “Where can I watch El Classico”, “What is the best pizza” (not Dominos) and we have a group for most things.
We arrange a monthly meet-up designed to help make new friends and have other events such as volleyball, padel, book club, hiking and a number of other things. Everyone is free to organise anything and we try to help each other and foster new connection. You can find the links to the groups here, and we welcome all. Be sure to check out all of the groups where you might have an interest, we have 20+.
Digital Certificate is worth the hassle
Last but not least, get a digital certificate. This will make your admin processes online so much easier. Sure you will have to go to a face to face appointment (typical Spain), but that might be the last time you do when you get it sorted. It cuts through admin time a lot, and once it is installed it works well (be careful to save it when you change devices as it is tied to a browser)
So, there you have my list of 5 things that I wish I had known when I moved to Barcelona.
