Barcelona to ban pub crawls across city after pilot tests in Old Town and Eixample

Barcelona will ban all pub crawls across the city after the pilot test that has been in place in the Old Town since 2012 and in the Eixample neighborhood since June 1.

A new local decree will ban promoting, organizing, selling, and even planning pub crawls to "improve coexistence for residents, sleep time for locals, and public health."

While the ban was first limited to two neighborhoods during nocturnal hours, it will now be extended to all day, as opposed to only from 7 pm to 7 am.

The decision comes after authorities became aware that pub crawls are organized all year round and not only at specific periods, particularly in summer.

The test started across Barcelona's Old Town (Ciutat Vella) due to the large number of tourists in the area, the primary customers of such drinking activities. Local authorities consider that the ban in place until now has been "positive" as this experience is something "that does not interest the city," Jordi Valls, councilor for Ciutat Vella, said during a press conference on Wednesday from the city council.

The city council has approved a local decree and will now have a 20-day period for allegations. Once it is fully approved, the ban will be in place for four years. 

Pub crawling sees participants following a planned route across several bars. The practice has been considered a "risk activity" due to the fast alcohol consumption, the quality of the drinks, and the disturbances for locals.

The city Guàrdia Urbana police said that the ban has contributed significantly to drastically reducing the number of routes in place. While in 2012, police filed 58 complaints related to pub crawling in Ciutat Vella, in 2024, only three fines were issued.

"There has been a high level of obeying the law since its banning," Valls said.

Police fine organizers with up to €900, and the fines can be extended to other breaches of legislation, such as promoting alcohol consumption or noise complaints, as police officer Francesc Sanchís told journalists.

Participants are not fined for pub crawling, as they are customers of such, but they can be fined for noise or drinking alcoholic beverages on the streets.