Okay, let’s talk about how I put together that Barcelona neighborhood map thing. Honestly, I just got tired of friends asking “Where should I stay?” every time they visited. I mean, I’ve lived here six years but never actually mapped it out properly.
Getting My Bearings First
Started super simple – grabbed a giant paper tourist map off my shelf and spread it on the kitchen table. Took a red marker and circled all the areas I’ve actually spent real time in. Like, not just passed through on the metro. Then I realized Gràcia looked like a toddler’s scribble because I kept adding streets.
Rating the Vibes
Made a coffee, sat down with my battered notebook, and jotted down neighborhoods in three piles:
- Green list: Poble Sec (cheap tapas), Gràcia (chill squares), Born (pretty but pricey)
- Yellow list: Barceloneta (beach crowds), Raval (edgy at night)
- Red list: Honestly just put industrial zones here nobody visits anyway
Saw instantly I’d forgotten Sants – had to call my mate Paco who lives there for notes. His exact words: “Tell tourists we have actual locals here.” Fair.
The Digital Mess
Tried using free map tools online first. Big mistake. Ended up with:
- El Raval showing upside down
- Three Eixample districts merging into one weird blob
- Font so small my grandma wouldn’t read it
Trashed that. Opened Canva instead, threw in a simple city outline I found, and manually colored zones like kindergarten art class.
Final Crunch Time
Wrote descriptions at 2AM fueled by cheap Rioja. Kept it brutally honest:
- Tagged Barceloneta as “Great for selfies, terrible for sleep“
- Called El Raval “Fun with friends, sketchy alone“
- Added a skull emoji near nightlife zones warning about pickpockets
Proofread it while squinting – probably missed typos. Uploaded the PDF before I could overthink it. If people hate it, they can make their own damn map.