We will be traveling to Barcelona with our son (who will be one year old) this coming May. We will be attending a wedding in the Borne area (I think at the Santa Maria del Mar). I'm just beginning to research for this trip and am leaning towards renting an apartment for 7-10 days. With a one year old, we think it may be best to use Barcelona as a base and just take day trips.

So, my questions are:

1) Does anyone have any advice to share about traveling with a one year old in Barcelona? Child-friendly restaurants, sights, day trips? Is an apartment the best option?

2) If we do go with the apartment, what are the better areas? The Borne sounds appealing, but will it be too noisy? We are interested in several nice apartments right on Argenteria (www.oh-barcelona.com), and was hoping that someone could tell us about the noise factor in that part of town. Does it make a difference if the kid's bedroom isn't facing the street?

Thanks!

Topping. Anyone have any good advice? Thanks.

Traveling with a one-year old presents it's own set of challenges, but they shouldn't be any different then being at home. Spain is generally very child friendly and you'll find that most neighborhood restaurants and cafés welcome families, including the youngest members.

You may want to download a free copy of Maribel's Guide to Barcelona (http://maribelsguides.com) for a little more information and advice on planning your excursions in the city.

A few other web sites you will find useful are:
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/
http://www.bcn.es/english/ihome.htm
http://www.aboutbarcelona.com/
http://www.apartments2book.com/barcelona.htm

I would say an apartment is definitely the way to go, especially with a small child.

As for the location, I have rented an apartment in Calle Brosoli which leads off Argenteria - I didn't find it noisy at all (although actually being on Argenteria there might be a little more pedestrian noise - Argenteria itself is a traffic-free zone except for the rubbish carts in the mornings) and in fact we loved the location, it was very convenient for getting anywhere in Barcelona, on foot, by bus or metro. I was there with 2 teenage daughters and we felt very safe at all times too, even down our dark alley!

As you walk down Argenteria, it opens into a little plaza, and on the left are two terrific cafe/restaurants, one being Taller Tapas which has recomendations from all over the world! Worth staying in the Born just for that place...

Thanks to Robert2533 and julia_t for your recommendations. I will definitely check out the websites you mentioned. I'm glad to hear that Argenteria isn't too noisy. We'll also try to get an inner-facing room for our son.

Any ideas on good day trips?

Parc Guell! A magical, whimsical park. You can have a cafe con leche and look at the view of Barcelona while your little one crawls all over Gaudi inspired madness!