mrt

American husband and wife in 50s - Which areas/neighborhoods in Barcelona and Madrid should I be focusing on for hotel stay. Safe and someplace to walk to for dinner and near attractions. Essentially, where I would expect tourists to stay. Thank you for your guidance.

cruiseluv

I havent been to Barcelona in a while so I'll pass on that. But I go often to Madrid and my preferred area is near the Plaza Santa Ana, which is also handy to the museums, specially El Prado and Thyssen, and not far from Plaza Mayor. They refer to this area as Barrio Las Letras, sometime as Las Cortes. Chock full of bars, cafes, restaurants. What are you looking to spend per night?

danon

Many areas of Madrid have restaurants one can walk to .
I am not particularly fond of Santa Ana area....too crowded for me
I prefer being closer to Retiro park.

In Barcelona, Eixample close to Rambla de Catalunya ( not Ramblas)

joannyc

In Madrid, I like the Salamanca area. I've twice stayed at the AC Recoletos by Marriott (I was using points). Good hotel and good location.

danon

Jardin de Recoletos just a street north of AC is even better.
( I stayed at AC once)
We always stay in Salamanca.

kja

IME, both cities are large enough and have sites of interest to tourists that are sufficiently dispersed that there is no SINGLE area that will suit all travelers' needs. For example, while in Madrid, I wanted to be as close as possible to the art museums, and so selected a place near El Prado, but within easy walking distance of Santa Ana, and that worked well for ME. In Barcelona, I can imagine one's interests drawing one to Eixampla or the Barri Gotic or Poble Sec or close to la Barcelonetta.... Others may disagree.

danon

Not only that both cities are large with many intersring areas, but in both the metro
network is excellent and taxis are not expensive.

kimhe

In Barcelona, around Plaça Catalunya. http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...-en/catalunya/

For example https://www.h10hotels.com/es/hoteles...atalunya-plaza

In Madrid, around Plaza Santa Ana: http://www.gomadrid.com/sights/plaza-santa-ana.html

For example http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/meli...ria.en-gb.html

BigRuss

<< Safe and someplace to walk to for dinner and near attractions.>>

Considering that Barcelona has a larger population than Philadelphia and is more spread out, the notion that the "attractions" are all clumped together in one area for tourists is fallacious.

Are you reasonably ambulatory? What "attractions" are on your list?

Placa Catalunya is the essential center of Barcelona, but Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Montjuic and nearby museums are not that close to Placa Catalunya.

Do two things: (1) get a map and look for a hotel in (or at least near) the box formed by the Universitat, Tetuan, Verdaguer and Diagonal metro stations; (2) familiarize yourself with the Metro Map.