Exploring Barcelona with the city’s homeless tour guides

Former homeless people are acting as tour guides in Barcelona, showing visitors a unique and alternative view of the city, reports Nicky Sullivan

WHO knows a city better than the people who have lived on its streets? Literally. Inspired by this seemingly simple idea, Barcelona’s Hidden City Tours has set about recruiting and training formerly homeless men to act as guides to the city. The aim is to give them a leg-up to self-sufficiency while providing a unique experience for visitors. The result is a journey with one foot in Barcelona’s volatile past, and an eye on its unsteady present.

My guide is Ramón, who is to take me on a two-hour walking tour of the Gothic and Raval districts. One now a tourist mecca, and a warren of narrow, winding streets with busy shops, shaded market squares, and everywhere some staggeringly beautiful detail to be found.