When I mentioned to a friend that my husband and I were going to Barcelona, she recommended a private guide company, Hi This Is Barcelona. I could tell right away from their personalized email reply to my inquiry that this was a classy boutique organization. My husband and I took two of their ½-day tours. Seeing Barcelona through their guide was like shopping for a novel at an independent bookstore versus going to a chain store. Our guide had so much knowledge and passion about his adopted city and he was genuinely committed to sharing as much as possible. 

 

He met us at our hotel the first morning and gave us an overview of the Gothic area, geographically, culturally and historically. That introduction, which he elaborated on during our walk, gave us a full perspective on what we’d be seeing. During the tour, we had time to hear stories and anecdotes that weren’t in any of the guidebooks or websites we’d checked out before our trip. 

 

My husband wanted to photograph the city from various perspectives. During the Modernist tour, our guide brought us to rooftop locations with aerial views, and we always got there at prime time for best lighting conditions. He navigated us to the least crowded areas with the most interesting mix of architectural styles and shared insight about the lives of the architects, their relationships which each other and what was going on around them that was influential at the time.

 

After our tours, our guide recommended restaurants, specific shops, and day trips outside the city that catered to our interests. Compared to the places our hotel concierge suggested, our guide’s picks were places where we felt like insiders instead of tourists. We chose Barcelona as a destination because we needed to feed our souls with culture, history and great food and Hi This Is Barcelona made it all happen for us in a uniquely relaxing and stimulating way. I highly recommend it!

 

Posted by Guest Blogger, Robin Regensburg, co-founder of RainCastle Communications, a web design and marketing firm in Boston