One of Europe’s most iconic travel destinations is looking almost unrecognisable. In what feels like a scene from an apocalyptic movie, Barcelona’s vibrant streets and tourist-packed plazas have fallen eerily silent.
Viral footage shared on social media shows empty alleyways, deserted squares, and even popular local supermarkets “temporarily closed.” The typically jam-packed Gothic Quarter and La Rambla are seeing barely a trickle of foot traffic—a dramatic shift for a city that welcomed over 90 million tourists last year.
This unsettling quiet comes in the wake of intensifying anti-tourism protests across Spain, with locals fed up with soaring rents, housing shortages, and overtourism disrupting their daily lives.
“Tourists go home” signs have appeared on city walls. Some residents have even sprayed water pistols at diners or confronted tourist buses.
Rents in Spain have doubled in the past decade, and property prices have soared by more than 44%. Locals blame short-term rentals like Airbnb for displacing families and pushing housing further out of reach.
The message from locals appears to be working: Tourists are starting to stay away.
In response, Barcelona’s city council has announced bold measures, including a complete ban on short-term holiday apartments by 2028, a move expected to return more than 10,000 properties to long-term local use.
“We believe we have to try several measures,” said Deputy Mayor Jordi Valls, noting plans also include rent caps and redesigning tourist-heavy zones like Sagrada Familia to manage foot traffic more sustainably.
