Barcelona is probably one of the main destinations for tourists in Spain. Many people you speak to will tell you it was one of their favorite cities to visit. Almost all will tell you that they liked it better than Madrid. For me, the difference between Madrid and Barcelona is minor. Sure if you like the sea, Barcelona might win. But, who wants to swim at a beach in a major city. The fact is that there is a lot of ship traffic coming in and out of the port, and the water is bound to be dirtier than beaches elsewhere. Many people note that Barcelona is more interesting because of the hip culture in the Barrio Gotico. You can get a similar scene in Madrid too though, that scene just happens to be outside the most touristic part of the city, where in Barcelona it is the touristic part. It's just more obvious in Barcelona than in Madrid.
Barcelona has some very interesting sights. You have the works of Gaudi, which of course are grotesque in their lavishness. The beach, although I would rather swim elsewhere, has quite a nice boardwalk. There are nice parks, and you can watch the friquis down on La Rambla. For young people this is a pretty awesome place to visit, because the Barrio Gotico has plenty of enticing aromas filtrating out from balconies and windows. For many, it is a fun city.
I personally don't love Barcelona. My time there was not the most
enjoyable - we go there to visit Javier's eye doctor. If I were to
spend time as a tourist in Spain, I would much rather spend time in
Cordoba, Granada, Sevilla, and at the beach in the south. (Of course I
would make the same argument for Madrid. There are just more
interesting places than these two big cities.)
