Why I Love Being a Private Tour Guide in Barcelona
I’ve wanted to write this for a while. I feel very grateful to do something I enjoy so much, and I wanted to put that feeling into words.
There are so many reasons why I love working as a private tour guide in Barcelona. I like being a sort of ambassador for my city: showing people around, sharing its stories and giving visitors a little glimpse of life here 🥰
It also helps that I’m in one of the best cities in the world for it, because Barcelona makes my job pretty easy. It’s a goldmine: enough architecture to get bored of (though I never do), history beneath our feet and curious details around every corner. There’s always something more to learn, even on streets I’ve walked down hundreds of times.
But what I love most about this job goes well beyond the city itself.
People from Everywhere, with All Kinds of Stories
Giving private tours means I get to meet people I probably wouldn’t cross paths with otherwise. Couples, families, groups of friends… From Australia to the United States, with Singapore, the Philippines and South Africa in between.
And from all walks of life: architects, military personnel, doctors, musicians, dancers, marketing professionals, farmers… Some are in Barcelona for a conference and take the opportunity to explore the city. The list is endless, much like the world itself.
For a few hours, we share a little piece of our lives. I love chatting with them, hearing their stories, exchanging perspectives and talking about what’s going on in the world. I tell them about Barcelona, but I take a lot away from those conversations too.
They also remind me that all is not lost: with so much turmoil in the world, and how easy it is to lose faith in humanity after reading the news, the vast majority of people I meet are lovely. Curious, kind-hearted people who want to learn, understand the place they’re visiting and get to know a culture different from their own.
Not a bad daily reminder. And I know I’m biased, but… maybe I just have the best clients in the world.
Seeing My City Through Fresh Eyes
One of the lovely things about showing people around the place you call home is getting to see it through the eyes of someone discovering it for the first time.
Sometimes they ask a question or notice a detail I’ve barely paid attention to. Because when something is part of your everyday surroundings, it’s easy to stop seeing it. Until someone pauses, looks up and helps you notice it all over again.
I also get to explore Barcelona at different times of day and throughout the seasons. And that really changes the experience. Walking through the Gothic Quarter at nine in the morning, at midday or at nine at night feels completely different. The light, the sounds, the rhythm of the streets all change.
It’s the same city, but it doesn’t feel the same. And I love getting to know all those different versions of it.
Plus, it keeps me active. I walk so much. Between stories, conversations and stops along the way, the kilometers add up almost without me noticing. Although once I get home, my legs sometimes make sure I haven’t forgotten 😜
Sharing My Culture and Giving a Little Context
Another reason I love giving private tours is that I enjoy sharing my culture with visitors: Catalan culture, which is my own, and Spanish culture too, including what we share and what makes us different.
Talking about our history, language, traditions and everyday life. The things you notice as you walk around, and those that might need a little explanation. Giving people some context for the place they’re visiting.
This is where the journalist in me comes out too. I love communicating, sharing stories and anecdotes, having conversations and sparking curiosity.
I also enjoy connecting the dots between the city’s past and what visitors see around them today. Their questions often send me looking for more answers myself. And Barcelona, and Catalonia as a whole, give me more than enough material for all of that.
The more I learn about the city (and I’ve known it my whole life), the more I appreciate just how much history, architecture, archaeology and culture we have here. Getting to explore and share it all for a living feels like a real privilege!
The kind of tourism we all want
I also care about how we travel, something that comes up often in conversations about Barcelona, both with fellow locals and with visitors.
On the one hand, Barcelona is my home, and home to many other people. I want the way I show it to visitors to respect those of us who live here. To me, a good tour also helps people understand neighborhood life, support local businesses and remember that their vacation is someone else’s everyday life.
On the other hand, people arriving from elsewhere are part of Barcelona’s history too. From its founders—who weren’t exactly locals either 😅—to those who have come to live, work or explore here over centuries and centuries. That mix is part of who we are too.
The way I see it, as with most things in life, it’s about finding that elusive balance where there’s room for everyone. Looking after the city’s identity and the social and cultural fabric that keeps it alive, with respect going both ways.
That’s why I like to think I can be a small bridge between the people who come here and those of us who call it home. Helping visitors understand our customs, explaining why certain things cause frustration locally, and making room for curiosity and conversation. It’s another reason this work feels meaningful to me.
A Little Travel Without Leaving Barcelona
Somewhat unexpectedly, I’ve realized this job brings together so many of the things I love most: my city, communication, people and that traveler’s curiosity about what lies beyond the world I already know.
I show people around Barcelona, but listening to those who come from elsewhere is also a way of getting a glimpse of the wider world.
And as time goes by, I become more and more convinced: whatever our language, skin color, customs or beliefs, we all have so much in common.
I see it when we talk about our families, children, parents or grandparents. For all our differences, the same wishes keep coming up: to be well, to know our loved ones are well, and to find our own way of making the most of life.
Meeting people from so many different places helps me keep that in mind. I feel very lucky to share these moments, which broaden my horizons and challenge my own prejudices.
Being Part of a Happy Memory
There’s something else about this work that I find especially fulfilling: feeling that I can add something lovely to someone’s experience. The people I guide have chosen to spend a few hours of their trip with me, and it makes me happy to think that our time together might become part of their memories of Barcelona.
Earlier in my career, I used to write press releases (nothing wrong with that either 😜), and I often struggled to see what difference my work made. With tours, I feel it much more directly: in a conversation, a look of surprise on someone’s face, or someone telling me as we say goodbye how much they enjoyed themselves.
It might seem like a small thing, but knowing I’ve helped someone take home a happy memory of my city and an a connection with the Catalan culture means a lot to me.
And I Always Go Home Happy
Yes, this is my job, and it’s how I make a living. But often, while I’m walking and chatting with the people who join me, it doesn’t feel like work. I’m doing something I truly enjoy.
I’m lucky to do a job that brings together so many things I love, in a place that still sparks my curiosity.
And at the end of the day, I always go home happy 🧡
Would you like to explore Barcelona with me? Take a look at my private tours. I’d love to share a little piece of my city with you.
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