They sleep on the beach instead of in a hotel. “We organize guard changes”

Fashion, which has been known in Ibiza for many years, has also affected Barcelona. Short city breaks, inextricably linked with night escapades to nearby bars and discos, in the capital of Catalonia often end with an overnight stay on the beach. Some tourists don’t want to spend money on a hotel when they spend most of their time away from it. This solution makes sense, especially during the season, when an average room costs up to EUR 150. “They range in age from young backpackers to sixty-year-olds,” writes the Spanish website Tourinews about “beach nomads.” Even the risk of a fine does not deter them.

The beach is the cheapest hotel in town

Around 1:00 a.m. every day, those who intend to spend the night arrive at the city beaches in Barcelona. Most often, a mattress becomes a makeshift bed and a backpack becomes a pillow. They rarely set up tents because this increases the risk of receiving a fine – which can be up to EUR 600. If they received a penalty, the whole procedure would make no sense. Spending the night on the beach is primarily a way to save, even several hundred euros in a few days. “Some are sleeping on the beach for the first time; others are repeat offenders and have already incorporated this routine into their holidays,” writes El Periódico. Tourists staying this way come from many countries, including those generally considered wealthy.

There is also the other side of the coin

Not all those sleeping on Barcelona’s beaches are people looking to save money, and not all of them are tourists. There is, of course, a large group of people in the crisis of homelessness. According to the Spanish media, there are also those who have houses in Catalonia, but the heat in July and August prevents them from having a pleasant stay in their own four walls.

Barcelona is not free from the problem of petty thefts and even robberies. Sleeping on the beach, under the open sky, would be asking for trouble for many “more sensible” tourists. However, night beachgoers have their own ways to get a good night’s sleep. The groups organize special guard shifts, selecting guards from among themselves who are responsible for maintaining order for several hours.