Spending under 200 euros over 4 weeks in one of Europe’s most expensive cities

As my time in Barcelona begins to wrap up, I have started reflecting on the experiences that have shaped this stay for me. While pondering, I found that nearly every single highlight from this stay was totally free activities! 

From lounging on the beach to viewing the city sunset from Montjuïc, simply absorbing the city around me was one of the most fundamental activities to understanding how life in the city actually is. 

Before departing for Barcelona, I had planned on keeping a tight 150 euro budget for my 4 weeks. In hindsight, it was cute that I believed I would follow through with this. Now that I am anticipating my total spend here to be closer to 200 euros for the 4 weeks, I will walk you through what I decided to stay frugal with, and what to splurge a little on. 

I was made aware before my departure to Barcelona that this was one of the most expensive cities in Europe. The large influx of tourism in recent years in turn caused a surge in prices of popular sites, restaurants, hotels – anything necessary for tourists to spend money on. Nevertheless, I was determined to make this work. 

For context, my budget does not include my room & board, nor the 3 meals a day provided by my internship. All other costs (transportation, drinks, activities, etc.) are included in this budget. 

Transportation: 

This was by far the most cost-efficient purchase I have made during my stay in Barcelona. I purchased the T-usual, a monthly, unlimited-ride, transport pass. For only 22 euros ($25.48), I was able to ride the subway, tram, bus, and any other form of public transportation throughout the entire city of Barcelona for one month. The only extra transportation I paid for was the two weekend trips I took to Blanes (~15 euros roundtrip) and Sitges (~10 euros roundtrip), bringing my total transportation cost to 47 euros ($54.44). 

Food and Snacks: 

I decided before my internship that I would only eat out once a week, as well as two ‘fun snacks’. These snacks could include a trip to the Mercadona, a cafe, whatever I choose in the 5-10 euro range (closer to 5). This included a restaurant meal of 20 euros max which put me at a fixed cost of food per week to 25-30 euros. I was kept very busy with work my first week and did not eat out. My first weekend in Barcelona and Blanes food cost was then about 30 euros (what can I say, I was at the beach!). The following two weeks I still stuck by this rule, making my total food cost of this trip about 75-100 euros ($86-116). 

Experiences and Excursions: 

Barcelona offers many discounts on their monuments and museums, particularly for students and people under 25. Since the city offers free entry to many of their museums on the first Sunday of the month, as well as every Sunday after 3pm, I focused on using this time for my museum visits. The only two I visited outside of these free times were the Picasso Museum, which was 7 euros as a student, and Hospital de Sant Pau for 11.90. This left my total excursion cost for the month to be just under 19 euros ($22.01). 

Clothes, souvenirs, misc.: 

I bought very few things as ‘souvenirs’ during my stay in Barcelona. I created a 20 euro budget for myself to thrift or buy what I would like. My coworkers and I took advantage of a sale held at a popular consignment store called Humana. The sale on the day we went put a 3 euro price tag on every piece in the store and I decided to buy 4 pieces (12 euros). 

In terms of gifts to my family, I chose to buy only one thing for my mom. For the past couple of years she has been obsessed with the Mediterranean diet, and many of the things I ate in Spain were not new to me due to the food that my mom has been making me at home! While at the Picasso Museum, I found a lovely cookbook of Catalan food that I knew she would love. This gift was for her, but I put it on her card (sorry, Mom!), so I am not going to include that in my budget.  Outside of that, I chose not to buy anything else, as I have a tightly packed backpack I still need to take home. 

Total Spend: 

After adding up these costs together, I found that my spend was around 175-200 euros for the month (slightly more than anticipated but not bad). I found that some of the most fulfilling things to do in Barcelona were free. Simply walking the Gothic quarter and listening to live music on the way down to the beach of Barceloneta was enough for me to feel just hungry enough to go home and enjoy the food provided by my internship. I enjoyed bringing fresh snacks from home to hang out with my friends in lively plazas, parks, and beaches in perfect weather. 

I understand that the room and board provided during my stay did much of the heavy lifting, but it was also a great encouragement to fully utilize the things I already had provided for me. Fresh fruit, veggies, and amazing Mediterranean pasta at my disposal was not a very disappointing alternative to eating out for every meal. Although I experienced some FOMO in tourist hotspots of the city, I was still grateful to enjoy my own, individual stay.