Working Remotely in Barcelona, Spain
This is part of my remote work travel series where I review places I visit as a digital nomad. Check out the rest of my posts and follow me on Instagram, YouTube, Substack, or on TikTok for more travel content!
Barcelona is a modern European city. By that I mean it still has the trappings of the old world — most notably, architectural marvels created by the famous architect Antoni Gaudí — while still having things like a Westfield mall and a thriving combination of university students, an abundance of Crossfit Gyms, and a healthy nightlife scene.
A lot of people I know gush over Barcelona, but I’d probably say it’s not my favorite city I’ve been to in Europe so far, and would maybe give it a 7/10. Why does this city get a C, maybe even a C+ from me?
I’ll dive deeper into the pros and cons of this city in this article. Barcelona is still worth a visit, but there are some factors that keep me from giving it a glowing recommendation to you.
Where to Stay in Barcelona, Spain for Digital Nomads
My partner Kyle and I stayed in this gorgeous Airbnb, which was a penthouse with an incredible view of the Barcelona skyline and an outdoor table perfect for writing blogs (and where I’m currently enjoying a soft breeze!)
I don’t know exactly what neighborhood we’re in, but it’s down the street from La Sagrada Familia, architect Gaudí’s finest achievements and one of the central areas of interest in the city.
✨ Overall, the location was fantastic: it was a 15-30 minute walk to almost everything in the city. The only time we hopped in a 9-euro Uber was to go to Park Guell, but we could have done the 45-minute walk if we had more energy that morning.
My one complaint is that our neighborhood wasn’t as “cute” as past places we’ve stayed in. If you’re wanting the more old-world European aesthetic (think: cobblestone streets and tiny storefronts) you may want to stay in the more touristy neighborhoods of El Born or the Gothic Quarter. Gracia was a little further out of the way, but also had some cute streets.
Barcelona was also more expensive than my favorite cities in Portugal (Lisbon and Porto) and accommodations were more expensive than our next stop, Valencia. However, Barcelona seems to be a pretty major city, and unlike Portugal it has a larger population of young people — probably due to the fact a lot of people come to study here.
RELATED: The Best Travel Cards for Digital Nomads
Where to Work in Barcelona, Spin for Digital Nomads and Remote Workers
💻 If you don’t decide to opt into an Airbnb, there are plenty of co-working spaces for you to take meetings and do work in. From bigger chains like WeWork to more niche, local spots, art and commerce co-exists nicely here.
You probably won’t find much room to whip out your laptop in most coffeeshops, however: indoor spaces seem limited and crowded, and it’s not in vogue to do work at a cafe with outdoor seating.
Like most of Europe, the pace is here is slower and more relaxed, so less emphasis is put on work.
What to Do in Barcelona, Spain for Digital Nomads
The best, most beautiful things to do here in Barcelona? Admire Gaudí’s body of work. Here’s how:
Start at Gaudí’s first house, Casa Vicens.
Then, visit Casa Batlló, which is a Mediterranean-themed house and one of my favorite museums ever. You’ll find out why when you visit. Get the Silver ticket to get the most out of your trip — it’s worth it, I promise!
Finish up your Gaudí experience at La Sagrada Familia. Get the audio guide but for the love of everything holy, SKIP the tower tour. There’s nothing interesting up there, and the views are not worth the claustrophobic climb down 300 steps. Trust me on this one: the church itself is stunning and worth the trip, but the towers currently don’t deepen the experience.
Then, learn how to cook authentic Spanish paella at this Secret Garden Paella Cooking Class experience and meet fellow travelers. This is a great vegan-friendly experience, which is rare for cooking classes!
Usually, I’d recommend a larger variety of tours, museums, and other must-dos.
This is where I’ll say what everyone’s thinking but no one is saying: Gaudí’s work is the key reason why Barcelona is a top tourist destination.
Seriously, this architect did this city so many favors — and ironically, Barcelona itself was responsible for his death as he was hit by a tram.
A tram line that is expanding to this day, as the city is under * constant * construction on almost every block and every major monument.
With that said, Guadí’s work is unlike anything I’ve seen before, so Barcelona is worth visiting just because of the uniqueness of his work.
Where to Eat in Barcelona, Spain for Digital Nomads
The food in Barcelona was solid, but only one place really wowed us:
This place is a pizza joint that lives in a converted parking garage. The hipster aesthetic of this place is completed by soft lighting and a wood-fired pizza stove. The sourdough pizza is to die for, and do yourself a favor and get the truffle and egg pizza. Every single person seemed to order this pizza, as we saw it on almost every plate.
This food was so good and it was pretty affordable for the city considering how great it was. (Around 11 euro for the truffle pizza!)
Parking Pizza has a sister restaurant, Parking Pita, right next door. I’ll admit we didn’t get around to trying the Pita place because we ended up going to Parking Pizza two nights in a row (yes, it was that good!) but I heard great things about Parking Pita as well.
(Also as a disclaimer, I know I mostly review vegan food here, but I’ve been able to be less vegan here in Europe, so I would skip Parking Pizza if you’re a full vegan as I don’t remember seeing any great vegan options on the menu.)
☕️ The one specialty coffeeshop that I liked was Three Marks Coffee, but prepare to wait in line for a bit and expect them to give you dairy milk instead of oat milk because they’re so busy. I had a great flat white here. While I usually have matcha in the mornings, Europe does not have very good tea and matcha, and I’m not able to order my usual picks when I’m traveling around Europe. So, I usually opt for green tea and the occasional espresso or coffee drink when I’m here. European espresso trumps American coffee drinks every day of the week.
🍰 For dessert, go to Hofmann and get a fruit tart if they still have one in stock. Hofmann was pointed out to us by one of our tour guides, and its earned a Michelin star for its creative desserts that are artfully made by top chefs.
Surprising Culture Shocks in Barcelona, Spain as an American Traveler and Remote Worker
Before coming to Spain, I’d heard how everyone naps in the afternoon and has dinner after 8 or 9pm and I thought that was crazy — but what no one tells you is that the sun here barely sets until after 10pm. 🌅
There’s so much daylight that it would be crazy for the culture to * not * completely build their life around getting outdoors and enjoying the daylight, and then sitting down for a meal only after the sun has finally set.
✈️ Just another reason why travel offers new perspectives that you can only get from visiting a place…
…or at the very least reading some books. 📚
The other culture shock that floored me was how little sugar was in all of the food. From matcha to churros with chocolate — sugar was used very lightly in almost everything we had…
…to the point where I was wondering what us Americans were doing to our tastebuds.
Last Thoughts on Barcelona, Spain
👍 In Barcelona, I loved…
The endless daylight
The beautiful late spring weather in June
The walkable nature of the city’s layout
The cute streets in El Born and the Gothic Quarter
The combination of modernity and history
Some of the food
👎 What I didn’t like was…
The endless construction everywhere
The loud, large roads (as opposed to the smaller roads in other European city centers)
The pollution (the city had a lot of unhealthy air quality days)
The higher cost compared to some other European cities that didn’t feel justified here
How everything else we did paled in comparison to the Gaudí experiences
The lack of love in a lot of the building architecture and city design (outside of the Gaudí work, of course)
Lack of green spaces and parks
Overall, I enjoyed our stay in Barcelona. It’s a city worth visiting, but not one I would recommend for stays longer than a week. In ten years, the city might be perfect once the tram lines are done and the construction has died down, but right now it feels like a city desperately trying to catch up to places like Paris, Prague, or Lisbon that have picturesque streets, way more green spaces, and tons of tram stops.
Last Words of Advice and Creativity from Gaudí
Next Stop in my European Summer as a Digital Nomad: Valencia, Spain
As I write this from our patio in our penthouse overlooking the city, sun is streaming into my workspace as my clothes are drying on a rack nearby. I’m mostly packed for the drive down the coast to Valencia tomorrow, and am about to move on to writing some pages for a client’s book I’m ghostwriting.
No matter what I experience in a city, I’m so grateful for this opportunity to travel and work remotely as a freelance writer.
I often say that I’ve ✨ moonwalked into my dream life ✨ but in reality, it was a combination of grit and a determination to find something better — and LOTS of trial and error.
If you haven’t already, grab my copy of Six-Figure Freelance Writer, my new book chronicling my journey as a freelance writer and digital nomad — and sharing my top tips for how you can build a freelance writing career of your own!
Happy travels!
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