How to Solo Travel Barcelona and Not Feel Lonely
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Solo travel can be a big step if you’ve never done it before. But don’t worry, I’m here to hold your hand as I traveled Barcelona solo and also made a friendship that’s lasted years, so I’m well equipped to tell you how to solo travel barcelona without feeling lonely!
When I tell people that I solo travel, they frequently ask me how I am not lonely. Honestly, it can get lonely sometimes, but usually, it’s an excellent opportunity to meet other travelers! It forces you to get out of your comfort zone.
Things to Do Alone in Barcelona
If you’re looking for general things to do, check out my whole 3-day itinerary for Barcelona. Here, I’ll just focus on the things that made me feel less lonely while on my trip, which I encourage you to do as well.
Free Walking Tour of Barcelona
I joined the Gothic Quarter Free Tour of Barcelona offered by Free Walking Tours Barcelona, and I highly recommend it for your solo travel itinerary.
The tour runs daily at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and lasts between 2 and 2.5 hours. The guide is easy to spot, as they carry a purple umbrella. Participation is free, and at the end, attendees can choose how much they feel the tour was worth, which is typical for such walking tours.
This company does offer other tours of Barcelona, which I encourage you to check out, as they cover Gaudí, the Raval, an Espadrilles workshop, a live flamenco show, and more.
The one I went on covers…
We will surprise you with stories, legends and secrets of warriors, conquers, explorers, kings and queens or the life of artists such as Miró, Dalí or Picasso. We will also discover first-hand, some of the architectural jewels of the city, from medieval palaces and gothic churches to some of the more modern Spanish squares and boulevards. Not only will we talk about its history and architecture, but we will also uncover secrets about the rich gastronomy in the city.”
I love walking tours, as they allow you to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time for an affordable fee. I’ve also met some lovely people on walking tours. For example, when I went to Stockholm and did a ghost tour, a kind family ‘adopted’ me for the night.
Go on a Food Tour
I unfortunately did not go on a food tour of Barcelona, but let me tell you, I wish I had because the food in Barcelona is AMAZING!
If you want details about everywhere I loved, I suggest you check out my 3-day itinerary in Barcelona. It features some classic spots but also some more modern cuisine.
As for a food tour, I would strongly suggest a Tapas tour as that’s the hot ticket while you solo travel Barcelona.
What are tapas? Tapas are small, savory Spanish appetizers or snacks typically served with drinks and meant for sharing. They can be served hot or cold and range from simple snacks like olives and almonds to more elaborate preparations like marinated meats and seafood. In my experience, the more elaborate appetizers are usually customary rather than a side of almonds.
Although I didn’t do a food tour in Barcelona, I had a blast on food tours in Ljubljana and Mexico City. I even made some friends on the later tour!
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Take a Cooking Class
If you’re more into an activity than just eating, I highly recommend taking a cooking class. I took one while in Italy with a travel buddy I met in Barcelona, and we had a wonderful time.
Although I’ve yet to use any of the skills we learned in our Italian cooking class, I still would suggest taking a cooking class as it’s a unique way to experience the culture of a place. In this case, Barcelona cooking classes typically focus on Paella!
What is paella? Paella is a Spanish dish of rice, meat, seafood, and vegetables cooked in a wide, shallow pan and flavored with saffron. The name “paella” comes from the Catalan word for “pan,” paella, which is the type of pan used to cook the dish. I’ve had this dish in Los Angeles and it’s quite delicious!
While in a cooking class, it’s a good chance to relax, learn about culture and cuisine, and a time to bond with your fellow travelers, as you’ll likely be taking the class with others inspired by the area.
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Go on a Guided Tour
I love going on guided tours, especially if it provides me with skip-the-line access or with a live tour guide. While I do enjoy an audioguide, sometimes just having an IRL person can’t be beaten! They have first-hand knowledge and can answer questions, which just can’t be replaced.
I’ve also met people on tours! Funnily enough, the same couple I was on a tour of Seville with went on this tour with me!
La Sagrada Familia
Since Barcelona’s most famous destination and arguably Gaudí’s most famous work, Sagrada Família and Park Güell are some of the hottest tickets in town, making them a must on your solo travel Barcelona itinerary. I highly suggest taking a guided tour of them so you don’t miss out. The one I did was from Get Your Guide, Barcelona: Sagrada Familia & Park Güell Guided Tour & Ticket, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. With this ticket, I could visit the church and its exhibits.
Though it is still under construction and will be until 2034 currently, Sagrada Família is a must-see! Gaudí’s original design calls for eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the Four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Thirteen spires had been completed as of 2023.
The completion of the Jesus Christ spire will make Sagrada Família the tallest church building in the world—11 meters (36.1 ft) taller than the current record-holder, Ulm Minster, which is 161.5 meters (529.9 ft) at its highest point.
The church is designed to have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the east, the Passion façade to the west, and the Glory façade to the south (incomplete).
Although it is the largest unfinished Catholic church globally, its interior is truly remarkable. If you’re fortunate enough to visit on a sunny day, the stained glass creates a stunning display of colors.
The Temple of the Sagrada Família will be bright. Religious emotion will not come from the fear of shadows only just penetrated by a ray of light, but will be born from the bright mystery of the harmony of light, from the sense of wellbeing that comes from sunlight filtering through a tree with the thousands of nuances of its leaves. It will, thus, be the Temple of harmonious light.
Antoni Gaudí
Park Guell
The other famous Gaudí project is Park Güell, making it a must on your solo travel Barcelona itinerary. Park Güell is a privatized park system composed of gardens and architectural elements. Those are a lot of words that probably don’t mean much to you. Let me translate.
Eusebi Güell tasked Antoni Gaudí with designing the park. They envisioned a well-structured collection of high-quality residences, equipped with the latest technologies for optimum comfort and enhanced by artistic details.
However, only two houses were constructed, and neither was designed by Gaudí. One was meant to be a display house, but it remained unsold after its completion in 1904 until Gaudí, on Güell’s advice, purchased it and moved in with his family in 1906. This residence, where Gaudí lived from 1906 until his death in 1926, now showcases original works by Gaudí and some of his collaborators. Since 1963, it has functioned as the Gaudí House Museum (Casa Museu Gaudí).
Though the houses weren’t designed by Gaudí, the park around them was, and that’s the showstopper here.
Again, I took the Get Your Guide, Barcelona: Sagrada Familia & Park Güell Guided Tour & Ticket to visit this attraction. This provided me with a tour guide and skip-the-line access, as I was told it’s hard to get tickets to Park Güell and Sagrada Família.
A note on this tour: you can do it with or without transport. I decided to be cheap and go without the transport and walked. It’s not far, but it is uphill, and it was warm out, so I was sweating by the time I arrived at Park Güell. In hindsight, take the transport or get an Uber.
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Ways to Meet New People
As I mentioned previously, I’ve made a friendship that’s lasted years while in Barcelona, so my suggestions below on how to solo travel Barcelona and not feel alone are tried and tested!
Bumble Date
The first thing I tried while in Barcelona was regular ole Bumble for dating, and it was disappointing, to say the least. I’ll spare you the dull details, but I went on two dates while I was solo traveling in Barcelona, and neither of them worked out.
Now, granted, dating is usually a drag for me, but I had hopes of trying while abroad. However, those hopes were quickly dashed, but if you have better luck, well, more power to ya!
I will say, though, do make sure to be safe. I met one date at a bar with a game night so I knew it would be well attended and that I wouldn’t be alone with the guy. The other time we visited Palau Güell together, it was another place where I knew that I would be safe.
Bumble BFF
How I made that lasting friendship was by using Bumble BFF. I have a while post dedicated to this experience, but I’ll cover the basics of what happened here in this solo travel Barcelona post.
Bumble BFF used to be part of the main Bumble app. However, they have since parsed off the varying sections of the app, the other two being Date and Bizz mode. Now, you can download just the Bumble BFF portion, which makes it easier to handle.
When setting up your Bumble BFF profile, the most important thing to mention in your profile is that you’re traveling. I usually write something in the tail end of my “Bio” that says, “Visiting Barcelona 6/1 – 6/8,” so others know I’m not a local. I want to be clear about my intentions and not mislead anyone that I’ll be there on a regular basis.
Within a day of switching the app to BFF mode, I met my travel buddy—someone I’ve now traveled to three countries with! We’ve been all over Italy, London, and Finland.
My criteria for who I was looking for were female, close in age, likes travel, and in the vicinity of where I was at the time. I did not overthink it beyond that, as doing so can ruin a good opportunity. We’ve since told each other that we were just hoping the other wasn’t crazy. That was it.
Timeleft
An app I wish I had used while I was solo traveling in Barcelona, as that’s where I first discovered it, is Timeleft.
The concept of Timeleft is that you meet strangers over dinner every Wednesday. All you need to do is pay their subscription fee.
Each subscription is valid for 30 days, 3 months, or 6 months and renews automatically. You then book what Wednesday you would like to sign up for and meet 5 strangers over dinner, all matched by their personality algorithm.
Sadly, I found out about this app as I was leaving Barcelona; otherwise, I would have signed up for it.
Luckily, it is now available in the States, so I’ve had the opportunity to try it out here and really enjoy it. I’ve gone to three dinners thus far and have met some people I’ve continued to hang out with.
As Timeleft is based in Europe, if you are traveling beyond Barcelona, I’d suggest checking this out in other cities as well since they have dinners much more regularly overseas.
Meetup
Meetup is the OG version of a lot of these apps. It was far more popular 10+ years ago but is still available today.
If you don’t know what Meetup.com is, it’s a website you can sign up for and then join different Meetup Groups, usually centered around an activity such as Movie Goers, Volleyball Players, Foodies, etc. It’s a great way to find niche groups to whatever you’re interested in.
However, I’ve used Meetup far more in the States than abroad, so do check what groups are available that may be of interest to you, such as Barcelona Activities.
Facebook Groups
If you’ve got a Facebook profile, I recommend checking out some Facebook Groups. I’ve seen the most genuine advice given there.
First-hand accounts from real people, not some tourism board, who have experiences that can guide those traveling alone for the first time and may be willing to meet up as well.
Recommendations on Barcelona Groups are…
- Barcelona Travel Tips
- Barcelona Travel
- Barcelona Travel Guide
- Barcelona | Girl Gone International
- We Love Barcelona – Travel Tips, Secret Locations, Food & More!
- Barcelona Foodies
- Barcelona Spain – Tourist Tips – Travel Questions/Answers
- Visit Barcelona-What to do in Barcelona
My top recommendations for Solo Female Travel Groups are…
- Girls LOVE Travel®
- Women Who Travel
- Travel Community
- Wanderful Women Who Travel
- The Solo Female Traveler Network
- GoWonder ® – Female Solo Travel & Group Travel | GoWonder Women Travel
- Girls vs Globe
Solo Travel Barcelona Safety Tips
Meeting Someone New
My #1 solo travel tip is to be safe! Do not go to someone’s hotel, hostel, or whatever accommodation they have. Many men have tried to pull this on dating apps. Luckily, I haven’t seen it on the BFF app, but I maintain this rule nonetheless.
When I met my travel buddy in Barcelona, we agreed to meet at a rooftop bar. As a public location, so both felt comfortable. If heaven forbid, one of us had been unstable or just plain awkward, at least we were in a heavily populated area where we could get help.
Always, always, always do this when meeting someone new. I knew the rooftop bar across from the Barcelona Cathedral was a touristy spot, so even though I’m not a Barcelona expert, I knew the area was public and, therefore, likely safe. If you’re unsure of the area someone suggests, Google its reviews or, even better, counter with a place you’re comfortable in.
How to Proceed Past the First Meeting
Let’s say it went great. You made a new friend while in Barcelona. Wonderful! Keep in touch however you feel comfortable. My travel buddy and I met a couple more times on this trip and exchanged Instagram handles before phone numbers.
Now, let’s say it didn’t go so well. That’s fine! I’ve met plenty of people while traveling that I haven’t heard from since. Just because you connect in that moment doesn’t mean it always carries on beyond that. But that’s perfectly okay! That’s simply life!
Meeting people while traveling is a lot of trial and error.
FAQ Solo Travel Barcelona
Is Barcelona a good place to solo travel?
Barcelona is a wonderful place for solo travel! I found the city easy to navigate and had lots to do, and I met some lovely, friendly people along the way. Aside from pickpocketing, I also found the city to be pretty safe, so venturing out on my own wasn’t a concern, even as a solo female traveler.
Is Barcelona safe for solo female travelers?
As I was solo on this trip and am a female traveler, I’m the perfect person to answer this. I found Barcelona to be very safe, except for pickpocketing as that’s highly prevalent in this city.
I had no issues walking around at night in Barcelona. I did stick to the touristy areas and had a lovely B&B located near expensive shops, which also made me feel safer. Overall, I’d highly recommend Barcelona as a destination for solo female travelers.
What are some safety tips for Barcelona?
Before I even stepped foot in Spain, nearly everyone I met told me they had had something stolen from them while in Barcelona.
That’s why, before I went on my trip, I invested in an anti-theft purse that I’ve since used on all of my trips! It’s the Travelon Messenger bag, and I don’t go anywhere without it. I’ve been lucky in that I haven’t had to “put it to the test” regarding its safety features, but I still have all my belongings, so there’s that.
During my trip, I was present when a bag was stolen from the table beside me at dinner. The diner had left it behind after finishing their meal. A couple of minutes later, they returned, only to find it missing. However, I believe this was partly due to their decision to leave the bag unattended.
Final Thoughts on Solo Travel Barcelona
Will people still ask if you’re lonely while solo traveling? Yes. But now you can tell them it’s an excellent opportunity to meet other travelers, locals, and to really experience the city!
I hope this guide helps you to solo travel Barcelona. Let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to comment below or reach out via email!
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