Soaring rent prices and cruise ship caps: How Barcelona has changed in the 10 years I’ve lived here

03.09.2024 - 04:12 / euronews.com / Antoni Gaudí

I have now been in Barcelona for a decade - the longest I’ve lived anywhere in the world and the place I feel most at home. 

Over this time I have seen the city transform, shift and change into the place it has become today. While some of the changes have been positive ones, others show that the city will face some real challenges in the near future. 

But, for better or worse, it remains a place I’m proud to call home and I’m still in awe of its greatness. 

I have been lucky enough to witness the opening of many major attractions, which have now become almost emblematic of Barcelona and visited by thousands every year. 

The first of these was the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau back in 2019, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed old hospital which is the largest Art Nouveau complex in the world. 

Another Modernist marvel, the Casa de les Punxes opened to the public for the first time in 2016. Then in 2017, Casa Vicens opened its doors - the first house that Barcelona’s celebrated architect Antoni Gaudí ever designed. 

The very next year, the elegant Sant Antoni Market reopened for the first time since 2009 after an €80 million renovation, which completely changed the face of the neighbourhood bringing with it lots of new businesses and investment. 

New attractions, however, have brought bigger crowds. Barcelona was one of the first European cities to complain about overtourism and during just my time alone I have seen the number of visitors increase from 16.7 million in 2014 to 26 million in 2023. 

This can be felt in many aspects of life from more crowds on public transport and clogged up streets in the Gothic Quarter to the increase in prices and tourist traps offering poor quality food and goods. 

It also affects the city festivals, which are no longer as enjoyable as they once were due to constant queuing and hordes of people. 

It has created a big problem with nighttime noise, too - especially in the small central streets. Tourists of course also add to pollution levels, particularly those who visit on a cruise. Cruise ships in fact emit three times as much air pollution as all of the city’s cars put together. 

Last October, Barcelona moved its main cruise terminal away from the city's central residential areas and enforced a new cap of seven ships per day.

While the hoards of tourists are contributing to pollution in Barcelona, the city has made strides in combating it.

It has long had a problem with poor air quality, and between 2010 and 2018 the maximum levels of nitrogen dioxide surpassed the limits set by the EU. 

Since then, the city has made a conscious effort to try and be greener and introduce more sustainable practices. This has meant a lot of roadworks and upheaval, but ultimately it has paid off. 

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