oopsy

Hi all. My husband and I are going to Barcelona in May for 9 days. Instead of doing two or three hubs in the area as we would normally do, we are going to stay in Barcelona the entire time and do a few day trips from there. We'll rent an apartment for the stay, and I'm having trouble deciding between Barri Gotic, Eixample, and the Born for location.

We like older areas of cities (loved staying in the Jewish Quarter in Seville a few years ago), but I have read many warnings that Barri Gotic is quite noisy at night. I can handle hustle and bustle of a city area, but I don't like the idea of a parade of 2am partiers outside my window. Eixample seems to be described as more "local" than the other two areas, but perhaps less walkable?

We will spend time in museums and other main attractions, exploring neighborhoods on foot, and taking a few day trips. We won't likely be heading out to hipster night spots, but we will look for a bit of jazz and perhaps some other live music.

Any thoughts on which might be a better neighborhood for us?

Dukey

Yes, there are parts of the Gothic Quarter which are noisier than others..you don't say exactly where youyr apartment might be located. Tnere are areas which contain a lot of shopping and nightlife opportunities hence the foot traffic may tend to be heavier.

You might prefer a quieter part of the (AKA) "Gayxample" but wherever you are I would make being within walking distance of the Metro a possible priority unless you prefer to do taxis.

I find many areas of Barcelona to be "walkable" although there are obviously some which are much MORE worth walking IN than others.

Am sure others will comment since the "where to stay in Barcelona" question is almost as popular and controversial as the "What to wear?" one.

zeppole

The Barri Gotic is really not a place to walk around comfortably at night -- and some parts of it during the day are the turf of purse snatchers. There are many hidden alleys and places to get turned around and lost. It is a very well preserved Gothic quarter and dimly lit.

I am not the only posting on this board who does not like to be in the area alone.

Some parts of the quarter are heavily trafficked by tourists and natives, but they are precisely the quarters that get the most partying and street musicians.

The place I like to stay in Barcelona is Poble Nou, so I can't comment on your other choices (I've not stayed there) but the city has a good transportation system. All parts of the city are plagued by pickpockets, including the metro, so don't carry anything around with you that it would ruin your trip to lose.

Barcelona has many defenders who will try to tell you that it is no different than any other European city when it comes to personal theft. That is not true.

MFNYC

We were just in Barcelona in November. We walked around everywhere day and night. Never had any problems. If you use common sense and street smarts, there shouldn't be a problem.

If you haven't already, printout Maribel's guide on Barcelona (www.maribelsguides.com). She has information about those neighborhood, and just about everything else.

I think noise could be a factor, but it all depends on the exact address.

AS

Aduchamp1

Yes there are pickpockets in Barcelona but I have never seen them conspiring in the narrow streets of Barri Gotic. There is very little violent crime in Spain.

To avoid noise do not stay on the Ramblas.

Dukey

I disagree about the noise and yes there is plenty on Las Ramblas...what MATTERS is where you STAY on Las Ramblas and I'd honestly like to clear that up....if you have a poorly-insulated accommodation then yes, noise might be an issue.

I stayed in the MonteCarlo hotel which is directly ON Las Ramblas this past November and I never heard any noise from the street at all.

I know this is PICKY and I am saying this not to be snarky with anyone but you want everyone's experience, right?????????????????

alan64

We also enjoy older areas; however, we stayed in the Eixample and were very happy with it. Tt's much more modern than the Barri Gotic, but it still has plenty of character. Nice cafes and restaurants too. We found it very easy to walk to the Barri Gotic for the excitement, but were pleased to return to the Eixample at the end of our evenings.

And another vote for Maribel's guides. Her suggestions were more useful than any travel book we had in Spain!

lovingretirement

alan64: We're traveling to Barcelona/Basque region and onto Portugal in May. We're also staying in the Eixample area. You mentioned nice cafes and restaurants. Care to mention any names for nice dinner spots. Trying to get recommendations for the various locations we're visiting. thanks

Aduchamp1

Dukey

It is not snarky.

The problem is, besides a personal recommendation how would someone know which hotels have insulated windows?

Last time I stayed at an apartment on Paral.lel and there was a courtyard and every night a drunk his wife would argue.

zeppole

I'm also going to take issue with Maribelsguides, which I used and stopped using because I found them too oriented toward a certain kind of predictable middle-class tourism combined with too much boosterism and not enough hard-headed assessment of the upsides and downsides of any destination. I also am more adventurous in my food tastes and hotel choices.

By all means get them, but my trip would have been much diminished without having several other more independent-minded guides to the region with me, in particular the Rough Guide in my case, but you should shop around the pro guidebooks.

The many tourists who are robbed in Barcelona are not all people who failed to use street smarts or who caused their own problem. A great many of the thieves of Barcelona are skilled professionals who are not threatening in any way (although there are also straight out muggers). You will not be unsafe or feel unsafe in Barcelona. But your wallet or passport may be gone if you take it out with you walking around.

Despite what Aduchamp hasn't seen, I have personally witnessed strong-arm purse snatching in the Barri Gotic.

You can read thousands of trip reports on Fodor's from travellers in Europe. Barcelona, Madrid, Rome's termini station and Napoli's centrale station are among the very, very few European places that, sadly, frequently are reported by travelers to be whey they had the one bad experience of their trip when they were robbed, often without their immediately knowing it. And MFNYC's experience and attitude is irrelevant in this regard.

zeppole

Sorry -- I read my last sentence and I don't want to dismiss all of MFNYC's post as it addresses other things, and it is part of the mix as the experience of one -- but only one-- poster. My reaction is that MFNYC has no basis for saying that if you "use street smarts and common sense" you shouldn't have a problem. That's simply not true, and I will say -- and underscore -- it can be irresponsible of people who enjoyed their problem-free vacation in Barcelona to minimize on a message board the actual problems that exist there for tourists.

NorCalif

We rented an apartment for a week in Barcelona at Christmas a year ago in the Born district. We loved that area. It was beautiful, had enough street life to be interesting and cheerful but not crazy (we stayed on a pedestrian-only street), and was close to everything. Santa Maria del Mar was just down the block, Barceloneta and the beaches, the Barcelona cathedral, the Boqueria, Las Ramblas, Barri Gotic, Placa Catalunya, the Picasso Museum, Parc Ciutidad, were all within at most a 15 or 20 minute walk or so. We even walked to La Sagrada Familia. There was a metro stop less than a block away. Many recommended small tapas bars and restaurants were also within a couple of blocks. If we are in Barcelona again, that is the district I would want to stay in.

You can click on my name to see my trip report if you are interested. It includes our run-in with pickpockets on the metro - they were caught in the act, so didn't get anything thank goodness. Barcelona is the only place in Europe that I have personally had an encounter with pickpockets - we were living in Amsterdam last year and did a fair amount of traveling around but didn't happen to have the problem anywhere else. Just reporting my experience - make of it what you will.

suec1

We stayed in an apartment at what I would say was the north end of El Born - quite near the big music venue Palau? We walked around quite a bit in El Born and Bari Gotic in the evenings, dark little streets and all and I felt fairly comfortable (we were two females). These days I would try to be pick-pocket, purse snatch saavy anywhere in Barcelona - do not carry alot of cash and all your credit cards around with you. We were targeted on the metro. The apartment building we stayed in emptied into a dark alley that was locked at both ends - a bit disconcerting at first but we had no problems and never really saw any "lurkers". It was certainly quiet. I'll post the name later and you can check it out. I liked being near El Born and Bari Gotic and it sounds like the atmosphere of those areas is more your cup of tea than Exiample,

yk

My vote would be either El Born or Eixample.

We stayed in an apt in Barri Gotic in November. Even though it's not a main throughfare street (foot traffic only), it was noisy at night when people walk down the street. It was a narrow street with paved stones, so their voices and footsteps get reflected upward and we could hear every word and footstep.

LikeLivingThere

Most of Eixample should be quieter but also more expensive. There are many nice apartment blocks between Passeig de Gracia and Sagrada Familia and within 2-3 blocks of Metro stations. Lots of local shops and eating places, la Concepcio market etc.

Gracia is seldom mentioned but it is out of the tourist zone and charming. Apartments not far from the Joanic station provide quick access to the Old City.

All of Barcelona is walkable until you start uphill toward Parc Guell.

oopsy

Hi folks, and thanks for all of your advice.

I'm starting to think it almost doesn't matter, that each of these areas is fine and if I just pick a place we'll be fine.. We try to be smart, and while I realize that doesn't completely prevent pick pocketing, it does go a long way. So far I've just looked at apartments from Habitat. Here are some of the possibiities:

In Eixample: Parc 4 C Apartment. Appears to be on Carrer de Sicillia between Carrer d'Ausias March and Carrer de Casp, http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/...rice&pagina=1#

In the Born: Princesa 8, appears to be just off Carrer des Flassaders, between Carrer de la Princesa and Passeig del Born, http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/...rice&pagina=1#

In Barri Gotti: Sots 3, on Carrer del Sots-Tinent Navarro. http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/...price&pagina=1

Of course, all of these have reviews somewhere online that say "great, quiet" and that say "too noisy". I guess it is all relative. It is good to hear from folks who stayed outside of Barri Gotti but felt it was a comfortable walk into that area.

yk

We stayed at Sots3 in November. That's the one I was talking about a few posts above that we could hear street noise loud and clear.

Princessa apts are good, HOWEVER, please note that Princess8 does NOT have an outside window in the living room. I think the only window that opens OUT is in the bedroom. If you don't mind that, Princessa8 will be a lot better than Sots3, as many posters here rave about the Princessa apts.

If you do a search here, I'm sure you can find reviews about the Parc apts. I think I've read some in the past.

Egbert

Bari Gotic is probably about 2000 years old, El Born the same. The Eixample neighborhood is beautiful but approximately 80 years old. Stay in Gotic or Born they're great and not dangerous. If you are from Europe and thousand year old neighborhoods aren't new to you then stay in Eixample. As an American we don't have neighborhoods that old with that much character so I love the chance to stay in them whenever I can. If I was going to live in BCN I might choose Eixample.

macdogmom

We have stayed in Princesa 8 for the last two years in May for a week. We have also stayed in another apartment in that building--http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/barcelona/apartment/view/princesa3.htm
Probably a nicer apartment because of the window in the living room, but we were fine with Princesa 8. There is an exterior glass block window in living room and an outside window in bedroom. I love the the building (doorman during the day), the location and it is very quiet at night. We never had any problems in Barcelona or in the Born district. I walked around alone during the day (my husband was attending a conference) and felt very safe. Took same precautions I would take in any big city. Besides all the great spots in Barcelona check out el xampanyet in the born district--one of our favorite bars/tapas place in Barcelona.

danon

I stayed in El Born twice and Eixample once, on our next trip we decided on Eixample.. One can easily walk to El Born 10-15 min.
The apt you are looking at is not the best location in Eixample , take a look at this (more central) location

http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/...price&pagina=2