NOT a good location in Barceloan...

try Eixample or Born

sorry, Barcelona
the are of lower Ramblas is not a place I liked at night.
closer to Placa Catalunya would be much better

Upon advice from this board I booked the following apartment in Eixample, a 10 minute walk from Place Catalunya.

http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/barcelona/apartment/view/modernista-b.htm

What about apartments at the top of Raval (not near the port) but closer to the Museum of Contemporary Art? I this a good area to stay?

we rented from negrebcn http://negre.us/apartments
we were happy with the apartment. Neighbourhood was quiet - near to Sagrada Familia and a 15-20 min walk to Playa Catalunya

Does anyone know about the Raval area for apartments. I understand that the lower area by the port may not be the best, but what about the top area. As I stated above, we are interested in the area around the museum of contemporary art if it is safe?

Interested in your thoughts as we will be looking for an apartment for 3 nights in july

It would help if people looking for apts give an approximate price range..

I would give 5 stars to the 2-bed; 2 bathroom apt I rented with a friend near Placa Catalunya. We paid about 165 per night, plus cleaning fee at the end. I give the highest marks to the agency, DestinationBCN:

http://www.destinationbcn.com/

There is more detail in this report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/barcelona-dining-report-winter-2011.cfm

We stayed here in El Raval as a couple: http://tinyurl.com/3kpxkjj

If you check the map, you'll see that it's toward the far edge of the district. At first we were a little intimidated by the large numbers of people on the streets at night, but soon realized there were a lot of families in the crowds. We could walk to Ramble del Raval in a few minutes and to the Sant Antoni Metro station to go elsewhere in the city.

This is not near to MACBA, but still only 15-20 minutes on foot. Colorful zone, lots of fruit stands and funky shops. This place was very quiet.