Barcelona is such a mixed bag of a city, with seemingly everything you could want in a place – from rich history and architecture, ample parklands and plazas, amazing food all over the place, scenic beaches and boardwalks, a verdant mountain affording stellar views, fashionable shopping districts, plenty of museums and a more than healthy nightlife. Whatever it is you look for as a tourist, Barcelona likely has it. Typical of most European cities, Barcelona is served by a convenient city-wide metro and bus system, but is also highly walkable. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself walking distances of several miles from one part of town to the next, as you can often squeeze other sites or scenic routes in between – but metro stops and cabs are found everywhere. On top of this, the city boasts a warm Mediterranean climate, though beware that this means during the summer there can be intermittent thunder storms and rain.

If you intend to visit, you should probably know a few facts beforehand so you’re not initially confused (like I was) about certain cultural aspects which make Barcelona distinct from other parts of Spain. To start with, Barcelona is located in the northeast of Spain on the Mediterranean coast, fairly close to the border with France. This makes it a good place to visit on a multi-country tour of Europe, as you can easily fly from/to Paris, say, or take a train. I ended up taking the two hour flight from Paris because I booked tickets somewhat late (around three weeks before I was to depart), and at this point flying was cheaper than taking a train. However, taking a high speed train is an attractive alternative which I hope to use in the future, which if booked in advance enough could be cheaper and infinitely more scenic. The only downside is more travel time (about six hours from Paris to Barcelona), but you get to enjoy the beautiful countryside whiz by you at incredible speeds, and on European trains you’re allowed to bring your own food and alcohol with you, so the ride should be pretty pleasant.

Important to know is that Barcelona is the capital city of the autonomous region of Spain called Catalonia. I had a vague awareness of Catalonia and the Catalan language before visiting Spain, but I honestly didn’t know Barcelona was their chief center. It wasn’t until I got off the plane and started reading the signs in the airport that I realized my knowledge of Spanish (distinguished in Spain as Castellano) wouldn’t necessarily be enough to completely immerse myself in Barcelona. Catalan is the principal language of the region, though many if not most people can speak Castellano as well. Remarkable is how little the two languages resemble each other – I could barely read the Catalan words in the airport and elsewhere, though thankfully Castellano is almost always included as a subheader. It was interesting to see the mixture throughout of the two languages. All the street names, locations and attractions are in Catalan. However, service workers such as cab drivers, waiters and cashiers mostly speak to you in Castellano. This is probably for the benefit of tourists, and indeed if all you know is Castellano (aka the Spanish you learned in high school) you’ll be able to communicate with virtually everyone without a problem. If you’re a tourist with little to no Spanish under your belt, you’ll be fine as well. There are always English translations at attractions, and many people can speak some English. However, it would be advisable to pick up some Spanish phrases (even better would be Catalan phrases), as some friends have told me that people speak less English here as compared to say, Paris.

The question though, is how locals feel about what can at times appear to be competing languages and cultures. A girl I met at my hostel who only speaks Castellano told me that once she tried asking a man for directions, but that he refused to respond to her unless she addressed him in Catalan. Personally, I didn’t encounter any offense taken when I used Castellano with people, though I may have been lucky, and admittedly most places I frequented were rather tourist friendly. Sometimes people would even clarify which language would be best to use – “Habla Castellano?” – so I wouldn’t worry too much about this aspect, though it is an important cultural difference to be aware and respectful of. Again, picking up some Catalan phrases may be a good idea regardless. Indeed, the people of Catalonia are proud of their heritage by many accounts, and have throughout history maintained their own distinct culture and often, their own governance. Since the Middle Ages up until today there has been a desire of complete independence from Spain, and this possibility remains ongoing with a referendum set to take place later this year. Catalonia is actually made up of four provinces of Spain, and Barcelona is the second largest city in the country – so a break is likely to be contentious and not easily won, but we will see what happens in the coming months.

Because Catalonia is rather different in many ways from the rest of Spain, you should probably not go in expecting certain typically Spanish attractions. You will find plenty of flamenco shows aimed at tourists, but I’ve been told that these are tourist traps, as flamenco dancing does not originate in Catalonia, but rather in the region of Andalusia. This is not to dissuade you from seeing flamenco dancing in Barcelona, but rather to inform that it may be a bit incongruous, and it’s not part of Catalonian culture, so it may be advisable to save it for elsewhere in the country for a more authentic experience. Additionally, bullfighting has been banned in Catalonia, and while you can find the dish seemingly everywhere, paella in most parts of Spain is not considered a local dish, other than in Valencia where it originates. However, do expect plenty of sangria, soccer, tapas, and siestas.

This is a general look at the unique city of Barcelona, which I highly encourage you to visit if you have not already. For a more detailed account of the city, I’ll be following up with a series of articles on specific places I explored, with more information and tips to guide you in your future visits.