bdemarco

We're flying into Barcelona for an 8-9 day stay in September. We enjoy getting to know a particular city by wandering the different areas of the city, seeing key sites, and taking a couple of nearby day trips....typically renting an apartment in a quiet area, using the grocery stores and relaxing at different cafes/bars/parks, occasionally going out for dinner.

Any suggestions on particular area or neighborhoods should we focus our apartment search? These are the main ones I've found during some basic research.
L'Eixample (newer city district)
Barrio Gotico (Gothic Quarter east of the Ramblas)
El Born (east of Gothic)
El Raval (old-town area west of the Ramblas)
Barceloneta (near the ocean)
Poble Sec
Sant Antoni
Gracia (away from the center)


Thank you.

IMDonehere

I would not stay in Raval, on La Rambla, or Gracia. Gracia is fine, it is just not near much. Parts of Raval can be seedy.

kimhe

Sounds like local atmosphere and bustling Poble Sec could be what you're looking for. Close to the heart of town and at the foot of magnificent Montjuic (Jewish mountain): http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...to-bodega.html

Gracia is excellent and something special, and just on top of the famous and upscale Passeig de Gracia. http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...ark-guell.html

I use to stay in medieval and vibrant El Born, a cradle of Catalan identity and culture and super Central. Of course more tourists here: http://www.barcelona-life.com/barcelona/born

loves2sing

My friend and I stayed in the El Born area, we loved it. We rented an apartment and we could open the doors in the evening and hear the sounds of some guy beautifully playing his guitar. It was probably coming from one of the nearby cafes. The whole area around us was perfect for us two women, we felt safe walking around at night...and we pretty much walked all over town. This is the apartment we rented and this was our view our our window. This particular apartment may be larger than you need (we had my friends son for a few days so the extra bedroom came in handy), but I know they have others in the same building of varying sizes. I had a friend who was staying in some grand hotel over on La Rambla and we all much preferred our quaint little part of town with all the little cafes and shops.

https://www.habitatapartments.com/en...ew/gotic41-htm

thursdaysd

I enjoyed Barcelona much more when I stayed in the Eixample area.

letsgeaux

El Born or Gothic Quarter.

outwest

We stayed in Gracia (Aparthotel Silver by Fontana Metro) and it turned out to be the best choice of our trip. I had been worried that it was too far to the sights but we walked almost everywhere (we like walking). But what made it so great was Gracia itself. Every night of our stay we walked to one of the neighbourhood squares (I think there were about five of them) and sat and watched the local life--kids playing, dogs running around, people having drinks etc.--it was truly the highlight of our trip. There were tons of restaurants and shops in the area.

It's not for everyone but I wouldn't rule it out just because of the distance.

Christina

Residents of Poble Sec are sick of tourists ruining their neighborhood, they've had protests about it.

kimhe

Christina, could you give a link to protests against tourism in Poble Sec? Find that kind of strange, Poble Sec is very local atmopshere, not many tourists find their way out here, even though it's so central. http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...poble-sec.html

thursdaysd

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Poble-sec,_Barcelona

Also: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...led-by-tourism - marchers could have been from anywhere in the city.

IMDonehere

The same concern led to timed tickets to Parque Güell.

kimhe

Wow, then things must have changed beyond recognition in a couple of years. Last time in Poble Sec (spring 2015) it was like always, quiet and full of locals in the bars and cafés. Must check out next time, I suspect that this almost activist wikipedia article with no solid references is exaggerating somewhat...

These photos are very representative of Poble Sec, light years away from the tourist nightmare described in the wikipedia article. https://www.airbnb.no/locations/barcelona/el-poble-sec