mrt

My wife and I (Americans in our 50s) are visiting Barcelona for 4 nights but are unsure as to the area we should stay. Do tourists generally stay in Las Ramblas, Eixample, and downtown areas or are there other neighborhoods/areas where we might enjoy more. We want to be close enough to be able to walk to points of interest and not in an isolated area. Thank you.

Robert2533

L'Eixample is the prime real estate area, and yes, people do stay on La Ramblas, where there are several excellent hotels including the Hotel Bagues (www.hotelbagues.com), Hotel 1898 (www.hotel1898.com) and the DQ Plaça Reial (www.hoteldoreial.com). But we prefer the L'Eixample.

tomarkot

We stayed in the Eixample area. . .near Passeig de Gracia, the main avenue,(somewhat akin to the Champs Elysses). It's close to restaurants and shopping. The Passeig de Gracia train/metro station is central. And Casa Batllo and Le Pedrera, two Gaudi attractions, plus other sites of interest, are within walking distance.

Although we visited Las Ramblas, that area would not be our choice for a hotel.

If interested in more detail, we did post a TR, which can be found by clicking on our screen name.

Good luck, mrt, with your plans for visiting Barcelona, a city which we really enjoyed.

di2315

We stayed in an apartment right in the heart of the old part of Barcelona - very convenient to walk to many of the iconic places and restaurants. If you're interested in the details, click on my screen name for the trip report. Di

BigRuss

La Rambla is a thoroughfare, not an area. There are neighborhoods on either side and some hotels on La Rambla itself.

"La Rambla" is a street from Placa Catalunya to the Columbus Monument at the edge of Port Vell. The Ramblas are various thoroughfares within Barcelona, of which La Rambla is the largest. Due to the fame of LA RAMBLA, various other "Ramblas" have been named, like Rambla Catalunya, Rambla del Mar, Rambla Raval.

All that said, get a street map that marks metro stations and a pencil. Draw a box from Catalunya-Tetuan-Verdaguer-Diagonal. Anything in or close to that will be a "good location." Most of what's IN the box is Eixample. Near it is Barri Gotic.

Avoid the Raval.

danon

Rambla de Catalunya is my favorite street in Barcelona,
La Rambla (or Las Ramblas) , not so much.

Dukey1

I usually stay at the same hotel on Las Ramblas because it is close to the opera house. The issue, for some, with Las Ramblas, is the congestion and noise. While it can be populated with some of the most imaginative "living statues" ever, it has, at times, also been populated with people running illegal shell games, pickpockets, and the like. the vendors range from bird and flower sellers to souvenir stands, etc., etc.

It is not as "refined" or as quiet as the Eixample (or as some call it, the "Gayxample") but it is certainly a part of the "real" Barcelona, like it or not.

Christina

I agree with Danon. I think tourists usually stay around the Ramblas (both sides and around placa Catalunya) as well as Eixemple. I think there are a lto fo bigger hotels around placa Espana, also, but those may be more business or tour groups, not sure.

I don't like Las Ramblas itself due to the crowds and noise on it, and the noise is worse than any other major European city I've been in. But a hotel not too far from it might not be that bad. IN fact, one hotel I stayed in could probably be described that way (Hotel Jazz), but it's several blocks away and also walkable to rambla de Catalunya where I'd go for eating or the Eixemple. I think that area is pretty perfect, around placa Catalunya, very convenient in all respects.

kimhe

I use to stay in vibrant and medieval El Born, close to "everything" and an area with lots of history and very important for Catalan identity.
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...s/el-born.html
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...-cultural.html

Two of my favourite tapas bars on the planet are in El Born, Cal Pep and Tapeo:
Cal Pep: http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_d.../tapas/cal_pep
Tapeo: http://www.yelp.no/biz/tapeo-barcelona-3