Woman travel in Barcelona

Old Aug 4th, 2006, 11:22 AM
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Woman travel in Barcelona

Hi - I'm going to be in Barcelona mid Sept, the majority of it on my own. I chose this for the mix of city culture and beach (hopefully not too far away from eachother). Wanted to know if anyone had recommendations for accomodations, somewhere safe, central to the most things in the city and not too expensive, mid budget?
And, more generally, peoples' thoughts on a woman traveling alone there? I've heard it's absolutely safe so not worried but is there a particular area I should avoid?
Thanks so much!
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Old Aug 4th, 2006, 11:29 AM
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Alyson- I am also asking a similar question re hotel as I will be in Barcelona for a conference. re safety, I was there years ago as a student and found things safe if you used common sense and watched out for pickpockets in the high traffic tourist areas (ex Ramblas).
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Old Aug 6th, 2006, 11:23 AM
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As a woman living alone in BCN I can say that it is a safe town except for pickpockets. You have asked about hotels, but what are your requirements? I have stayed in a few before that have shared bathrooms but private rooms and were really great and very economical (one in particular near the sagrada familia that I really enjoyed. . . I'll have to find the name). However, if you want a private bath, that is another story. They tend to be more expensive and aside from luxury travel with my mother, I like to slum it (ie: cheapie).

As for areas to avoid, I have one rule which is that if I do no see women or children on a street (hookers not included), I won't walk down it at night and sometimes not even during the day. I live in the Raval and love it, but admit that it is a sketchy place. That said, there are good streets and then there are the areas to avoid. The Rambla del Raval is a lot of fun, but taking any street other than Hospital can be confusing and dangerous, as the area is a kind of labrynth. At night, walking the tiny streets of the Gòtic and Raval is not such a good idea.

Have an awesome time visiting my city! It is a great place!
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Old Sep 6th, 2006, 08:46 AM
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Thank you for your responses - I ended up booking the Hesperia Del Port- it seemed to be in a pretty good area at a reasonable rate.
Definitely looking forward to my trip there - have no idea what i'm doing yet but not the point! Any good restaurant tips for solo diners?
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Old Sep 6th, 2006, 09:00 AM
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Well, it's not where I would have chosen to stay, but the hotel looks nice and has a lot of amenities, so you should enjoy your stay. The only reason I would not have chosen that location is that it is sort of far from a lot of things and at night is pretty seedy.

Most places in Barcelona are fine with solo diners, so you won't have trouble getting a table. . . just make sure you always try to take a small one and if they ask you to wait, do so. I posted my hotlist under "moving back to Barcelona." The thread has been dead for a while, but you will find it if you do a search. Other than that, try to find copies of BCN Week (or go online to bcnweek.com) and check out the Short List, which lists bars and some restaurants, most of which are in the Raval, Gòtic or Born.
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Old Sep 6th, 2006, 10:15 AM
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I'm 70 years old and I have no problem with going alone virtually anywhere in Europe, though, of course I wouldn't go wandering around alone in some districts.
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Old Sep 6th, 2006, 10:16 AM
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I meant to say in some districts at night.
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Old Sep 6th, 2006, 11:10 AM
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That doesn't sound good - it's so hard to pick a hotel, I went on about 6 different sites and read reviews on dozens of hotels and from what I read I had thought this was in a fairly safe neighborhood. That's disappointing. In any case I'm a single woman living in NYC so I imagine if I am extra careful I should be OK.
Thanks for the info.
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Old Sep 6th, 2006, 12:28 PM
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Just to reassure you further, one of my friends and I went to Barcelona a few years ago (so I wasn't alone, but we were 2 twenty-something females) and we felt fine. We're also New Yorkers
We stayed at the Hotel Gotico which was very centrally located and we felt very safe there. I just looked it up on Trip Advisor and it gets kind of mixed reviews so maybe it has gone downhill a bit since we were there - I remember it being fine.
We were told to avoid the dark streets in the Gothic Quarter late at night.
I do remember that there was a large population of counter-cultural, sort of hippie types in Barcelona - not dangerous, but not what we were expecting. But it is a beautiful and fascinating city and I'm sure you'll love it.
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