If you're a traveler, you may have heard that doesn't want you around. The hot destination hosts more tourists than the city was built to manage — 15.6 million last year — leading to crowded public spaces, increased living costs, and environmental damage.
This chaotic trajectory of popular places is known as , and many locals in these destinations have had enough. This summer, by marching with signs, blocking off hotel entrances with tape, and spraying water guns at tourists to send the message that travelers aren't welcome. Those planning trips to Europe may consider this a bummer, or perhaps they've decided they don't want to contribute to .
But another city in Spain may be just as enriching . Take it from , a who has explored more than 40 countries and runs two about solo backpacking and visiting Spain. Sturzaker has traveled all around Spain by train and shared with Business Insider a as an alternative destination to Barcelona — .
Swap out Barcelona for Zaragoza Sturzaker spent four nights in Zaragoza during a through Spain in May. She recommends spending at least a weekend in the city as part of a longer journey in Northern Spain. The city in Spain's Aragon region has been around for more than 2,000 years and has a rich, diverse cultural history, she said.
It started as a Roman colony, was under Muslim rule for a couple of centuries, and then Christians with the Crown of Aragon took over in 1118. Walking around the historic old town, Sturzaker spotted architecture .