It seems to me that what happens in Venice will happen to the rest of the world. Look, for example, at the spritz, that orange drink –Aperol (for non-Venetians)– or red –Campari or Select (for Venetians)–. From a local custom, it has become a global phenomenon that, at times, becomes disgusting, especially if you see some tourists who, while having dinner, drink one without thinking that the spritz is only taken as an aperitif.

Ciutat Vella has historically been a difficult puzzle for Barcelona's governments to solve. This is also true for Mayor Jaume Collboni, who, upon taking office, made the revitalization of this district one of his top priorities. To this end, he launched a tool—the Pacte per Ciutat Vella (Pact for Ciutat Vella)—which, after two years of work, yesterday presented its roadmap with 187 actions intended to, in the mayor's words, address "the second major transformation" of the Catalan capital's historic center over the next ten years and reclaim it for the people of Barcelona. The municipal government has repeatedly denounced the fact that in recent years, successive city administrations had "abandoned" Ciutat Vella and that the district needed to be rethought. That's why he tasked Ivan Pera, the commissioner of the Pact for Ciutat Vella, with organizing discussions with entities and social and economic stakeholders in the district to reach a consensus on what to do in the neighborhoods of Raval, the Gothic Quarter, Barceloneta, and Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera. This work has resulted in a strategic document that includes 187 actions to "recover" Ciutat Vella. It is a strategic document without specifics, timelines, or a budget, and is intended to serve as a guide for policies implemented in the district in the coming years.

Every drug den is different, but some techniques are common. Like the one where a man whistles from the street and, as if by magic, a doorway opens. Immediately afterward, another man emerges, swaying and visibly high, and urinates on the first wall he finds. This scene takes place on a Friday afternoon on Sant Pere Mitjà Street, in Barcelona's Ciutat Vella district. Currently, according to residents, it's one of the city's most critical drug trafficking hotspots.

One of the objectives marked in red by Jaume Collboni's government when he took office was to improve the situation in the Ciutat Vella district. A mission in which the mayor now also seeks the help of the Generalitat (Catalan Government). Therefore, the proposal that the City Council is presenting to the Generalitat's Neighborhood Plan, which was made public this Monday, relates to the city's first district. Specifically, the council hopes the Catalan government will contribute up to €12.5 million to rehabilitate one of the oldest housing stocks in the Catalan capital.

Barcelona City Council will extend the ban on booze tours throughout the city and 24 hours a day. This was announced this Wednesday by the Deputy Mayor for Economy, Jordi Valls, who believes these types of activities—which consist of promoting alcohol consumption through a tour of a series of establishments—are not welcome in the city: "We are not interested in some travel websites presenting these tours as experiences in the city," he explained.

Barcelona City Council wants to reduce events and concerts in the Ciutat Vella district. During 2024, 1,994 events and 429 demonstrations were managed, which represents an average of more than six activities per day. The aim is to foster neighborhood participation and "achieve a balance" in an "area of great tourist tension."

It's part of the collective memory of the residents of El Raval, and soon it will no longer be a memory. Founded in 1929 on Carrer de la Cera, Can Lluís has, over the years, become a living part of Barcelona's history. For several generations, Can Lluís has kept the culinary tradition alive, but it has also experienced historic moments. had stepped into the iconic placeIts closure was a loss for Barcelona's culinary culture. After so much time, the last owners, Ferran Rodríguez and Júlia Ferrer, were forced to close: in 2021, after the pandemic hit, they were facing unaffordable rent and began legal proceedings that ended in eviction.

It was a request from the residents of the Gothic Quarter, the Old Town and the Raval for years, and finally the Barcelona City Council has taken action. The municipal government has announced that it is launching a pilot test to reduce Dirt on the streets of Barcelona, especially in these neighbourhoods of the Ciutat Vella district. And they will do so based on information and awareness, but also with greater sanctions. This was announced on Tuesday by the third deputy mayor and councillor of Ciutat Vella, Albert Batlle, who insisted that the problem does not focus on the work of the cleaning services –whom he has thanked for their work– but on the incivility of the "neighbours, merchants and visitors".

A man sits by his shopping cart and tries on shoes. Others gossip, wandering around between the sheets – and the tablecloth – lying on the floor. There are about fifteen of them, one next to the other, and on display are used shoes, toys (some with their boxes and others old), keyboards, some jewellery, second or third hand clothes... It is a fleamarket known as the market of misery, which offers a wide range of objects, usually recovered from the rubbish and which, since February, was cleared from the Ronda Sant Antoni. Instead, it is now set up every afternoon in the streets of the Raval. It is usually in the small Plaça del Dubte, on Riera Alta street, next to the Ronda Sant Antoni, but it also sometimes expands in neighbouring alleys such as Cendra or Requesens. Some times there are ten vendors and at others about thirty or even more, and now in summer they are usually there from the early afternoon until after eleven o'clock at night. If they see the police, they leave for a while and come back later.

Tourists who visit Barcelona and want a guide won't be allowed to be in groups of more than 30 people and, should they want to visit Ciutat Vella, no more than 15. The measure is part of a good practices guide promoted by Barcelona City Council, which seeks to "make tourist activity compatible with the neighbourhood", according to Ciutat Vella councillor, Jordi Rabassa. The restriction will not be mandatory, but even so Rabassa has already asked for the district's legal services "to analyse regulations" with the aim of sanctioning those who do not comply with all these recommendations. For the moment, however, the measure has the support of the Association of Generalitat de Catalunya Qualified Guides for Responsible and Quality Tourism (AGUICAT) and the Professional Association of Tourist Guides of Catalonia (APIT). The two organisations represent a total of 500 guides, out of the 800 official guides operating in Barcelona. The unofficial guides are left out, as are free tour guides, which have not signed the document.

While the mystery of who stole a wrought iron dragon from Baixada de Santa Eulàlia still lingers around Barcelona's Barri Gòtic, the neighbours discovered a new attack to the area's heritage yesterday: the fountain of Sant Felip Neri square was vandalised on Saturday night. For reasons that no one can explain, the capitel of the central column – which initially held a sculpture stolen years ago – fell into the water and broke. "They don't respect anything," neighbourhood platform Fem Gòtic lamented on Twitter, where it asked the City Council to react quickly so that no one could steal the broken part and further hinder the reconstruction of the fountain.

Closed shops in and around Joaquim Costa street in the Raval district of Barcelona are the exception, fewer than one in ten. Most shops are weathering the crisis as best they can, helped by local consumption and by the same network they have created among themselves, despite the fact that the moment is not easy and income has plummeted like everywhere else. The image, however, is far from that offered by some streets of the neighbouring Gothic Quarter, much more doomed to the tourist monoculture and lacking in neighbours, where the pandemic has closed - temporarily or permanently - 30% of businesses, according to data from Barnacentre. The collapse is more intense in very central streets like Ferran Street, and it has called into question the sustainability of the model. The Raval, on the other hand, has plenty of residents, with 42,669 inhabitants per square kilometre - twice as many as the Gothic Quarter - and is one of the most densely populated areas of the city and also one of the most diverse: 60% of its residents were born abroad. And the area of Joaquim Costa is an unusual sight of commercial vitality.