How to Make Friends in Barcelona as an Expat

Barcelona is one of the easiest cities in Europe to fall in love with — and, for a lot of newcomers, one of the hardest to feel at home in. The sun, the sea and the tapas are all there on day one. A group of friends to share them with takes a little more effort. Here is what actually works.

Why making friends in Barcelona can feel hard

If you've been here a few weeks and still eat dinner alone, you're not doing anything wrong. A few things make Barcelona tricky:

• Locals have long-standing circles. Many people grew up here and socialise with friends from school or university. They're friendly, but their weekends are often already full.
• The expat crowd moves. People come for a semester, a contract or a year, so friend groups are constantly changing.
• Language. Barcelona is bilingual — Catalan and Spanish — and many newcomers speak neither yet.
• Remote work. If you work from home, there's no office to meet people in.

The good news: because so many people are in the same boat, there are lots of others actively looking for new friends too. You just need to put yourself in the places where they are — repeatedly.

1. Go to the same meetup more than once

The single biggest mistake people make is going to one event, having a nice chat, and never going back. Friendship is built on repetition. Research on friendship regularly points to the same thing: it takes many hours of time together to go from acquaintance to friend.

Pick a recurring event — a weekly social, a sports group, a quiz night — and commit to going three or four times. By the third visit you'll recognise faces, people will remember your name, and the conversations get much easier.

That is exactly why AmigoUp runs an event every week: the same friendly faces show up, so you're never starting from zero.

2. Join a social sport

Sport is a shortcut to friendship because you're doing something together instead of just making small talk. Barcelona has a huge sports culture:

• Padel — hugely popular in Spain, easy to learn and played in fours, which makes it naturally social.
• Beach volleyball — there are courts along Barceloneta and Bogatell, and pick-up games happen most of the year.
• Running clubs — several groups run along the seafront or up Montjuïc and grab a coffee afterwards.
• Hiking — Collserola Natural Park is right on the edge of the city, and the Carretera de les Aigües is an easy, flat favourite.

3. Try a language exchange

Language exchanges (often called intercambios) pair people who want to practise each other's languages. They're one of the best ways to meet locals rather than only other expats, and you'll pick up Spanish or Catalan along the way. Many bars host them on weeknights.

4. Say yes to the follow-up plan

Meeting someone at an event is the first step. Turning them into a friend means suggesting something smaller afterwards: a coffee, a walk on the beach, a padel match. It feels awkward the first time, but almost everyone is glad to be asked.

A community chat makes this much easier. In the AmigoUp WhatsApp community, members post spontaneous plans — "anyone up for the beach on Saturday?" — so you can join something without having to organise it yourself.

5. Explore your neighbourhood

Barcelona is a city of barris (neighbourhoods), each with its own squares, markets and local festivals. Becoming a regular at a café or local market stall, joining a neighbourhood gym, or going to your barri's festa major are all great ways to feel part of the place.

6. Be the one who invites

Most people are waiting for someone else to make the plan. If you start a small group chat after an event, suggest a dinner, or bring a friend along to the next meetup, you'll quickly become the connector — and connectors are never short of friends.

The short version

1. Find a recurring event and go at least three times.
2. Do an activity, not just drinks — sport is ideal.
3. Follow up with smaller one-to-one plans.
4. Join a community chat so plans come to you.

Ready to start? See our upcoming events in Barcelona — they're free or low-cost, everyone's welcome, and you can come on your own.