It certainly has changed over the years. My first visit there was for three weeks in 1986, when I was housed with a local and was studying at a local Spanish language school.

It's very important to reiterate that the year was 1986. That year, Barcelona was accepted as the host city for the 1992 Olympics, an event that brought the city into much wider world consciousness. In many ways, that was the beginning of its undoing.

Upon my return in 2005, I could see the transformation that you talk about here. What a huge difference!

What remains the same, though, are the amazing museums dedicated to Picasso, Miró, modern art, and, of course, all of the Gaudí buildings.

Overall, the issues that you mention, while accurate, are not remarkably different from all of the over-touristed cities of Europe that are, sadly, too many to enumerate by name.