Barcelona keeps banning pub crawls, but is it really working?
For some years now, Barcelona has paid the cost of its international popularity. Hoards of foreign tourists, tacky souvenir shops, pickpockets on its iconic Ramblas boulevard and a nightlife scene which keeps neighbours awake in some neighbourhoods.
Barcelona banned pub crawls in the Old Town (Ciutat Vella) in 2012, a part of the Catalan capital which includes the touristy Gothic Quarter, Raval and La Ribera.
Now a new rule will extend the ban on rutas alcohólicas or rutas de borrachera to the city's Eixample neighbourhood as well, banning pub crawls between 7pm and 7am.
Pub crawls are organised tours around bars and other nightlife venues where participants drink at each stop, and there's usually the promise of some free drinks along the way. They're usually aimed at tourists or groups of young people.
The new measure will ban the organisation and promotion of pub crawl routes between bars and nightclubs in Eixample and the neighbourhood's public spaces for the next two years, starting on June 1st 2025.
Eixample extends up from Plaça de Catalunya and either side of Passeig de Gràcia. It includes areas such as Fort Pienc, Sagrada Família, Dreta de l'Eixample and Esquerra de l'Eixample.
The main problem with Barcelona's pub crawls is that they take place in central areas where local residents live.
Barcelona's narrow streets, open squares and apartment blocks often with just single window panes (instead of double glazing) all mean sound can travel very easily.
A group of loud youngsters on a pub crawl can often sound like they're almost in your apartment, preventing locals from sleeping.
Between 2022 and 2024, Barcelona City Council handed out more than 1,100 fines to those promoting pub crawl in these central neighbourhoods
But despite the ongoing ban and stiff fines, these types of tours have still been taking place in the Old Town.
In August 2024, local news site El Periódico reported that they discovered advertisements for a ' whirlwind tour of Barcelona's hottest spots, where the atmosphere is electric and the drinks are flowing'.
And after a quick Google search for 'Barcelona pub crawls', The Local Spain found several of them still being advertised on booking sites such as Viator and Get Your Guide, many around the Ciutat Vella neighbourhoods like the Gothic Quarter.
There are even several websites specifically dedicated to pub crawls in Barcelona. Some of them say that they stay within 'central area of the city' and one states that the meeting spot is in a 'bar just off La Rambla' which again is smack in the middle of the Ciutat Vella area where they're supposedly banned.
Last year, Barcelona extended the Old Town pub crawl ban until 2028 and the new Eixample ban will last until the same year, although it's likely both will be extended further.
Eixample has also intensified controls on the sale and consumption of alcohol in public places, especially to those who are under age.
According to data from 2023 and 2024, 366 fines related to infractions of this type were issued in the Eixample neighbourhood.
If you're considering booking a pub crawl in Barcelona, particularly in the central areas, it's important to realise that it may be illegal and that by going on one you're contributing to the issues of mass tourism that so many locals in Barcelona have been protesting about for years.
There are plenty of local bars to visit on your own without having to go on an organised tour and disturbing the locals.
It's important to also be aware of noise levels and perhaps choose clubs away from the centre such as Razzmatazz.
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