Barcelona Vote Oct 1 (should we reroute?)

This is "the tension" in the protest of this past Sept 11th... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0c34RfVaTc

There won't be a vote, some say, other say that there will be a vote. But a as a Barcelonian, I'm pretty sure nothing won't change. They did exactly the same thing 3 years ago and now they come again. Nothing happened that day or after, so you should do as normal.
If you need to move around the city you can always use the Metro to move fast underground the city.

It is a referendum vote, not a governmental vote..and it is Barcelona, not Kenya. Though one doesn't know for certain, on the several travel forums I read, assurance has been there should be little tourist impact. I wouldn't change my plans, but you jave to decide your own comfort zone.

Thanks Enric for the video of Sept 11. Fun to watch! We are more concerned with what we read and hear on the news about Oct 1 and lead up to it. Much less friendly forecast so wanted to know what we could expect in that regard if anything other than delayed transportation in the city. At this point we will wait and see closer to our leave date.

Tx, Susanne

Tx Joan, we haven't been to Barcelona before but have read the history and background to the vote to separate. Thinking it could be more intense this round so checking what others think. We will wait and see and definitely plan to use the metro.

Tx again, Susanne

Hi Maria, it is an illegal referendum vote and protests likely concentrated in Barcelona city centre. We will consider and definitely go with our comfort zone!

Susanne

Inappropriate wording is never a good idea @sdadson, especially on issues like this...

Catalonia is governed by a legally elected Parliament, 135 representatives elected in 2015 under the Spanish laws, as it has been happening in every election for the past 40 years. In Sept 7th a bill was passed in the Catalan Parliament which was backed by an absolute majority of the votes and in which the referendum to be held on Oct 1st was approved. Therefore this is a legitimate law as it would be any law passed in any Western democracy.

The Spanish government is against this law and "instructed" the Constitutional Tribunal (sort of your Supreme Court) to null it -not going to go here into the lack of checks and balances between the Spanish government and the Spanish judiciary!- yet this tribunal has not yet issued a verdict on the matter. While the law is currently suspended pending this, and regardless the wording used by a furious Spanish government and some hyperventilated nationalistic Spanish media, this is NOT an illegal referendum as it's backed by a legitimate law passed by a majority on a democratically elected Parliament.

I understand, and respect, that these matters shouldn't be discussed in a travel forum, so I will stop here, but I wanted to clarify an asseveration that's not correct, and that, left uncontested could portray a wrong idea about the political background on this issue . As Maria pointed out, this is a civilised country, not a banana republic!

While I am obviously not questioning anyone's "concern" -after all this is a very legitimate feeling- there's little anyone living in Barcelona can honestly add, other than it's very unlikely there'll be any violence.

I appreciate you took the time to expand your opinion. My original question concern was an honest attempt to get a reasonable opinion on safety and rerouting, as I am a first time visitor to Barcelona and getting my information from the media, news outlets etc and these all subject to many sides of political opinions so trying to discern my course of travel. So far, I have received political opinions, told condescendingly I was wasn't in "Kenya" after all, and had a good suggestion to stay in the metro. I imagine the metro as all other transportation might be a little crowded. I had hoped to get more measured info related to the ability to get around the city during this time, and if it was safe from a travellers or local perspective. That didn't happen, so I am going to rely on other forums where posts regarding this aren't as "sensitive". Good luck on your vote!

For the record, I am not expanding "my opinion", I'm explaining facts.

Despite posting and asking for thoughts or advice, we don't seem to be providing anything that is welcomed. I don't think my next comment will help either, but I am not sure, as independent travelers I would put much stock in the fact that there are tours booked during this time. Tours have the benefit of people on the ground advising them of situations, and they are therefore able to avoid areas easier than we who travel on our own.
Unfortunately, then we are not able to provide you the reassurances you would like. You have done your research via media and we have tried to look at outcomes from a local's perspective or the comparison of a referendum to a country's election. That doesn't seem to be enough. Canada has had numerous referendums with a lot of pre-voting tension and it has amounted to nothing violent and little to no impact on tourists. You are anticipating more, but no one can foresee the future.
You have 3 choices: decide to consider strategies and scheduling in Barcelona to avoid crowds and make the best of it; wait and see and decide what to do before departure, or decide now to head to Bilbao right after arrival in Spain so you don't have the uncertainty to worry about in Barcelona. No travel is worth discomfort or stress, so you have to just decide what your line in the sand is. Barcelona will always be there if you decide to go at a later date.
If you would like to salvage the Barcelona visit, there may be strategies you can use to avoid the unpleasantness you anticipate. Consider where you are lodging with regards to your train station (I am assuming you are taking the train to Toledo). Can you walk to the station? Have you a reserved seat? if yes to these questions, then you should be able to your train and out of the city on the 30th as planned without having to rely on public transport to get to the train. If you worry about crowds building on the days before, there are ways to avoid them. Do your down town stuff on 27th, and move further out of the core on the days building up to your departure. Move your lodgings further out. Consider staying near Sants train station - yes, it is busy as it is a major hub, but it is also the station you will use to get out of Barcelona.

You don't say Keith :))... but I stand by what I said... in my answer above I'm stating facts as they've happened, not my opinion. My opinion would have included suppositions, interpretations, and possibly wishes for it to go one way or another... but I didn't do so.

I was just trying to explain Susanne, or anyone else reading, that this is no different from many other "key" political moments in the recent history of other Western societies, namely -as pointed- the referendums in Quebec, or more recently in Scotland, or the separation of Slovakia from the Czech Republic in the 90s. No one has a crystal ball, so no one can predict what will happen, but as someone living here that knows about his fellow countrymen (and women!), I "think" there won't be violence if the Spanish try to block it by force, civil disobedience is more likely in that case. Thus, from a visitor's point of view, you perhaps might encounter some inconveniences (or not, again, don't have a crystal ball!), but as per safety, I doubt very much this can/should be an issue.

Was in Barcelona on 9/9 to 9/11. Unfortunately our schedule had us departing early 9/11 and we missed the celebrations which we attended in 2009 and 2015. My take on them were that they were multi generational families celebrating their Catalan heritage. Never saw any issues other than one has to be careful with little kids running around in their excitement.

We will be back in Barcelona next week and will enjoy ourselves but probably not spend much time in the Barri Gothic. The idea to use the metro is sound and if one is departing from Sants to Toledo, one would assume an early train.

My other suggestion would be San Sebastian or Sevilla if Barcelona is too stressful for you.

Susanne:
The United States Consulate in Barcelona has issued this statement today:

"Consulate General of the United States of America
Barcelona, Spain

"Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Demonstrations regarding Catalan political situation

"The U.S. Consulate General in Barcelona informs U.S. citizens that demonstrations have been taking place today at various locations throughout Barcelona regarding Catalonia’s political situation. Demonstrations might continue in Catalonia throughout the month.

"Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity."

We are in Barcelona right now and we were heading to Santa Caterina market this morning when we turned a corner and saw 100's of people and similar numbers of police during the protest.

It was simple enough to turn down another street away from the protests and feel as safe and secure as one does in any big vibrant city.

Of course you need to be aware of your surroundings and be prepared to alter plans if necessary.

Perfect...thank you for the advice and update.

I've heard numerous of occasions when people were 3 blocks or so from protests and altercations and though the news hit the world, they were totally unaware of the happenings and happily went on about their business. As stated, being aware of surroundings is important. I think also having a plan B or C for the day would also help. Personally, I do not like to have my daily plans benched so I would be more frustrated about that than worried about my safety.
Edit later in the day......I appreciate that this is a Rick Steve's forum, but if concerned, may I suggest reading the Trip Advisor Barcelona Forum? There are some threads today with similar concerns and responses bh oocals as well as tourists on the ground. Some will just want to keep their city from looking bad, but perhapsmover the next while you will read enough to make a decision.