What area to stay in before & after Cruise - Athens before - Barcelona after

[wnorman]

help with what area to stay in before cruise in Athens and after cruise in Barcelona. Still trying to decide also on how many days in each place. Some say DON'T even bother staying in Athens and some say its a NOT TO BE MISSED hence can't decide what to do. Don't want to spend a lot on hotels though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[trvlgirlmq]

For Barcelona we are trying to decide if we want to spend a little more and stay in the Eixample area North of Placa Catalynya or if we want to save and stay in the Placa Espana area. Eixample would be nice with the architecture and proximity to Ramblas and Bari Gotic. I also like saving money so we will just continue to weigh our options for a couple more months!

 

We are opting to depart from Athens directly and not stay extra time. We have the overnight there so will see what we want on our full day docked there.

[fuddrules]

I have never been to Athens and we don't plan on staying there longer than overnight on the ship so I can't help much.

 

But in Barcelona last time we stayed about 3 blocks northwest of Placa de Catalunya on de Pau Claris and it was a good location.

 

I just booked a place today about 3 blocks from Placa Espana for our current trip. It's close to the Magic Fountain and close to the train station that services Montserrat. Both places we missed on our last visit.

 

There are also a lot of good places on/near La Rambla. I've read to stay closer to the north end as it's a little better.

 

Any place near a metro station will work. Get a T-10 ticket (10 rides) for about 10 Euros and you can go anywhere fairly quickly. Here's my metro tour guide the last time we visited. :D

 

Edited July 27, 2015 by fuddrules

[tncap]

For those of us on the transatlantic only out of Barcelona, a good many are staying at the Hotel Continental on Las Ramblas.

Edited July 28, 2015 by tncap

[bridgetjonesni]

Barcelona is a favourite city of mine. We've stayed in a few places but I now prefer to be near Plaça de Catalunya. It's a short taxi journey to the port and there are great train, Metro and bus connections there, so travelling to/from the airport is easy too. The hop on hop off tourist buses depart from there too, and I can't recommend these enough - Barcelona is a huge city and the sightseeing bus is really the best way to see a lot in a short time. Plaça de Catalunya is also right at the top of Las Ramblas, which makes for a nice (if somewhat touristy) walk down towards the Columbus Monument at the bottom, or you can easily veer off and explore the Barri Gòtic on foot instead.

 

Last time we stayed at the Hotel Denit, which was wonderfully modern. A little on the small side (but most Barcelona hotel rooms are, I find) and they also have a frosted glass bathroom door to your en suite, which was a bit weird for me. I love my husband dearly, but there's such a thing as too much knowledge of your other half (and I'm sure he feels the same!). Otherwise, for a budget option, I'd recommend it.

 

That said, before the Transatlantic I'm hoping to stay at the Mercer, the H10 Metropolitan, Catalonia Square, the Pulitzer, the Regina or the Catalonia Plaza (all on my "must try" list from last time!). I guess it'll depend on prices but October 2016 is a longgggggg way off :(

[BaseballMomof4]

We chose the Plaka Hotel in Athens and have booked for 2 nights prior to the cruise. This will be our first time in Athens but the hotel had great reviews and we managed to snag a decent price.

 

We stayed 3 days in Barcelona in 2013 but I chose an apartment hotel to rent since I traveled with 3 of my sons. It really was fabulous and well situated and the price was no different than the hotels - but they have a 3 night minimum.

 

My friend stayed at the Hotel Colon and it was gorgeous but prices are high right now for that so I am watching it for post cruise.

Edited July 28, 2015 by BaseballMomof4

[Touristbay]

I have stayed in Barcelona twice and booked private apartments. first time we stayed near the beach at Poble Nou but easy to use metro around the city. The second time we wanted to go to more Spanish restaurant and bars and stayed in the Gracia district, this area felt very safe and really enjoyed experiencing the Spanish way of life. I am also cruising this year from Athens and staying in central Athens , however when I worked in travel I frequently booked the area of glyfada in Athens. You can take the airport bus directly to here and can easily travel in/out the city centre.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Touristbay
spelling error

[Touristbay]

I have stayed in Barcelona twice and booked private apartments. first time we stayed near the beach at Poble Nou but easy to use metro around the city. The second time we wanted to go to more Spanish restaurant and bars and stayed in the Gracia district, this area felt very safe and really enjoyed experiencing the Spanish way of life. I am also cruising this year from Athens and staying in central Athens , however when I worked in travel I frequently booked the area of glyfada in Athens. You can take the airport bus directly to here and can easily travel in/out the city centre.

[trvlgirlmq]

We did book an apartment in Eixample near the Diagonal metro stop. We are not spending extra time in Athens instead flying directly to Rome to spend more time there.

[heatherbelle]

It really depends on your budget and if you want to be in the hub of things or a more relaxed area.

 

The first time we went we stayed at the top of Las Ramblas in a very over priced hotel, I guess we were paying for the location. We paid over $200 for the room The second time we went we stayed at the Novotel City, it's in front of a shopping centre, the metro and HOHO bus is a 10 min walk away and the beach is 20 mins tops, this room was $100 including breakfast.

 

Sometimes the Novotel offers cruise packages too.

 

For those wanting rooms for more than 3 you will struggle and you may find it cheaper to rent an apartment rather than pay for two rooms. Pay special attention to the bed arrangements for families, I struggled finding a hotel room to sleep 3 with a pool (DS's requirement LOL).

 

A good area mentioned by others is the main square, but it's very busy there.

 

Personally I like the marina, but non of the hotels there have pools that we can afford.