Barcelona City Guide

Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, blends Mediterranean lifestyle, world-class beaches and the unmistakable modernisme of Antoni Gaudi (Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Casa Batllo) with a fast-growing tech and startup economy anchored in the 22@ innovation district. It is a top global tourism destination and a magnet for international residents - foreign nationals make up around 26% of the city's population. Foreigners can buy property freely with no nationality restrictions, but the investment landscape has shifted sharply. Spain abolished its Golden Visa (residency-by-property-investment): the program closed to new applicants on 3 April 2025. Barcelona is also phasing out short-term tourist-rental apartments - the city will not renew any of its ~10,000 HUT (tourist-use housing) licences when they expire in November 2028, effectively ending legal tourist flats (a phase-out upheld by Spain's Constitutional Court). Separately, in January 2025 the central government proposed a tax of up to 100% on second-hand homes bought by non-EU non-residents; this remains a proposal, not law, and faces significant legal and political obstacles.