Best Barcelona neighborhood

Old May 23rd, 2017, 10:28 AM
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Best Barcelona neighborhood

Hello

My husband, adult daughter and I are looking for an apartment to spend 5 nights in Barcelona.
This is essentailly our first time in Barcelona (spend 2 nights on cruise stop a few years ago).

We would like to be in a neigborhood that is safely walkable during day and night with good access to good eateries and shopping. We don't mind using good public transportation to see sights and museums.

The Gothic Barrio and Born sounds appealing but wondering whether Eixemple near Catalunya or Gracia would be as enticing ?

We woud appreciate general or specific suggestions.

Thank you.
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Old May 23rd, 2017, 11:13 AM
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All of those are good options - if it were me, I'd figure out which apartment I wanted, and let that decide. IMO the apartments in Eixemple will be larger and those in the Gothic Barrio / Born will be smaller. You probably know, the one area is much more almost, medieval, small narrow streets and then Eixemple much more open / art deco Gaudi. Born will be closer to the Barcelonetta, a part of the city that is also nice.

When you pick an apartment, pay attention to square footage. We rented a two bedroom in the Born area one time - the second bedroom was so small - hardly large enough for luggage, and then bathrooms can be very tiny.

But all the areas you mention will be convenient for eating and shopping with good public transportation connections and safe, except for the possibility of professional pickpockets. Just be mindful and don't carry all your credit cards - I always leave my passport in my room altho there are other posters who would use a fanny pack instead. But the pickpockets got me on the metro - they are a tricky bunch!
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Old May 23rd, 2017, 11:42 AM
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Go get a map of Barca that shows the metro stops.

Draw a box from Universitat to Verdaguer to Diagonal to Passeig de Gracia metro stops. Stay within that box or within 2-3 streets in any direction (other than in the Raval). Bingo, you got a flat.

And go here: www.apartur.com

Those are the licensed apartment rental agencies for Barcelona.

There is no square footage in Barcelona, listings are in square meters. A square meter is 10.625 square feet. A 40 m2 flat will be 425 square feet (that's small, unless you're from Hong Kong, San Francisco or NYC or part of the tiny house movement). A 50 m2 flat would be small and probably the minimum necessary for the three of you. A 60 m2 flat (637.5 sqft) would be ok.
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Old May 24th, 2017, 07:02 AM
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Those are good suggestions. Thank you.

Would Born put us in area without easy access to the metro ? Is the Barceloneta station the only metro access there ?

In your opinion where do we find the highest concentration of good eateries and cafes ?
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Old May 24th, 2017, 07:09 AM
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Barcelonetta is a bit of a walk - maybe 10 to 15 minutes. There are several metros in the Born area and beleive me there are cafes, tapas bars, restaurants everywhere in the central part of the city. The difficult part will be choosing which one!

If you are so inclined you can rent bikes - there is a big park and a boardwalk along the sea. A fun way to see parts of the city but it can be super crowded with pedestrians!
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Old May 24th, 2017, 01:46 PM
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There are not several metros in El Born, there are only two which are on what would be the edges of what is considered the El Born neighborhood, I think. Barceloneta and Jaume I are the two metro stops. If you were around the Picasso Museum, Jaume I wouldn't be very far, but if you were in the part close to parc Ciutadella (say where the El Born cultural center is located, or the K&K hotel), you'd be a bit of a hike from either one of those two, but not really that bad (about 600 meters). There are some bus lines that run through it also.
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Old May 26th, 2017, 07:41 AM
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I just got back from Barcelona and stayed in Eixample and Gracia. I really liked the feel of Gracia and would have loved more time to explore the neighborhood, but I did find it a bit far from the sights. The pro is that it has a little more of a local feel; on the other hand, I had to think twice about stopping back in at the hotel for a rest during the day because it was out of my way to go back and with each metro ride costing over 2 euro, all of those trips start to add up.

Eixample was convenient, but I really fell in love with El Born. There are tons of little restaurants and independent shops - it has kind of a hipster-ish feel, and I think the location is convenient to both the historical areas and the beach.
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Old May 27th, 2017, 03:43 PM
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I appreciate these observations.

El Born and Barrio Goti are adjacent on the maps it seems so staying in either area should be comparable ?

Finding an apartment in El Born seems more difficult whereas the choices in the Gothic area are more numerous.

Has anybody stayed in an apartment that they especially enjoyed ?
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