Apartment location in Barcelona

pjfnme · August 24, 2019

Hi all. We will be visiting Barcelona for the first time next May - 3 days/2 nights pre-cruise. There are 4 of us - 2 adults and 2 20 year-olds and we would like to all stay together. I've noticed that most of the hotels only accommodate 3 adults (although we are considering the family suite at Hotel Jazz) and was considering an apartment from VRBO, Airbnb, etc. I know very little about Barcelona and would like to book in an area that was safe for our two kids to walk around and sight-see on their own. What would be the very best areas for me to look for? I've been reading through all of the forums, but at this point I feel like I'm drinking from a proverbial fire hose in trying to sort it all out. Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Thanks!

sailco · August 24, 2019

4 hours ago, pjfnme said:

Hi all. We will be visiting Barcelona for the first time next May - 3 days/2 nights pre-cruise. There are 4 of us - 2 adults and 2 20 year-olds and we would like to all stay together. I've noticed that most of the hotels only accommodate 3 adults (although we are considering the family suite at Hotel Jazz) and was considering an apartment from VRBO, Airbnb, etc. I know very little about Barcelona and would like to book in an area that was safe for our two kids to walk around and sight-see on their own. What would be the very best areas for me to look for? I've been reading through all of the forums, but at this point I feel like I'm drinking from a proverbial fire hose in trying to sort it all out. Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Thanks!

Anywhere on or within a block of Las Ramblas or close to Placa Catalunya would be perfect. We stayed at the Citadenes Apartments this year. It's in an excellent position for easy walking to almost all the major city attractions and heaps of fabulous bars, cafes and restaurants. Your 20 year olds and yourselves would find the location fabulous.

CruiseDigits · August 25, 2019

I don't think you can go wrong. We are in Barcelona now with our two daughters and will be here for another week (a total of almost two months during 2017 and 2019) -- it's a wonderful city though the one area I would avoid is El Raval, just to the West of La Rambla (do a web search). One of our favorite places to wander is El Born, just to the East of La Rambla.

Note that pickpockets are prevalent so just make sure your 20 year-olds are city savvy.

Two years ago we stayed in El Poble-sec (I highly recommend Pintxos on Carrer de Blai in El Poble-sec, just type "pintxos" in to google maps and you'll see exactly where to go) and now we are staying in Sants at The Bicycle Apartments -- both locations are off the beaten path in residential type neighborhoods. Taxis and public transportation are everywhere in Barcelona so you'll have access to the city almost anywhere you stay.

Happy to answer any other questions!

hkto · August 26, 2019

Anywhere in Eixample except near Arc De Triomf and Barcelona Nord bus station is fine. Going north of Diagonal is ok too. I would prefer any normal residential area to Ramblas which noisy, crowded and full of pickpockets.

pjfnme · August 27, 2019

Thanks everyone! I was wondering about whether or not we wanted to be close to Ramblas and you answered my question.

pjfnme · August 28, 2019

Has anyone ever stayed at the Casp74 apartments? They have a really high rating, but when I searched the forum I didn't see any reference to them.

pjfnme · August 28, 2019

On 8/25/2019 at 1:36 PM, CruiseDigits said:

Happy to answer any other questions!

Thank you for the wonderful information! Would you know anything about the area around the CASP74 apartments? I have searched the forum but don't see any reference to them. Their map shows that they are a block south of the Gran Via between Placa Catalunya and Placa Tetuan. Would that be a decent area?

marazul · August 28, 2019

Check out the Aspasios Rambla Catalunya apartments. We stayed there in July. The apartments are large and well appointed. The area could not be better - one block from the Passeig the Gracia and a couple of blocks from the Placa Catalunya. Very safe neighborhood, lots of restaurants and three small grocery stores. Check it out.

The 20-yos would love to walk around the fabulous shops of the Passeig the Gracia, the Casa Batllo (2 blocks), La Pedrera (5 blocks).

Edited August 28, 2019 by marazul

hkto · August 28, 2019

CASP74 has good reviews. Gran Via is safe however park behind Arc De Triomf is full of homeless and other certain shady characters so I would avoid at night. Barcelona Nord bus station is pickpocket magnet but just the station.

pjfnme · August 28, 2019

Thanks so much for that information!

CruiseDigits · August 29, 2019

8 hours ago, pjfnme said:

Has anyone ever stayed at the Casp74 apartments? They have a really high rating, but when I searched the forum I didn't see any reference to them.

7 hours ago, hkto said:

CASP74 has good reviews. Gran Via is safe however park behind Arc De Triomf is full of homeless and other certain shady characters so I would avoid at night. Barcelona Nord bus station is pickpocket magnet but just the station.

Agree that reviewers give the CASP74 great ratings, especially the high marks and comments about the location. I wouldn't have any concerns, especially when you keep in mind things like comments made by @hkto, which are spot on.

I'll be near that area late this afternoon (Thursday, Barcelona time, it's super early now) and will walk by to take some pictures for you. Not because I have concerns, I'm just curious!

CruiseDigits · August 29, 2019

We've also gone to the park near Arc de Triomf during the day, we were there last week, it's huge and where the zoo is located. I wouldn't go if I only had limited time in Barcelona but there were families and children there.

pjfnme · August 29, 2019

9 hours ago, CruiseDigits said:

Agree that reviewers give the CASP74 great ratings, especially the high marks and comments about the location. I wouldn't have any concerns, especially when you keep in mind things like comments made by @hkto, which are spot on.

I'll be near that area late this afternoon (Thursday, Barcelona time, it's super early now) and will walk by to take some pictures for you. Not because I have concerns, I'm just curious!

Thanks so much and the pictures were awesome! Very beautiful!

CruiseDigits · August 29, 2019

@pjfnme I have 14 photos for you that I'll upload here tonight, I need to figure out the best way to get them here for you!

The neighborhood seems like most of the other Barcelona neighborhoods with restaurants on the corner, the small local grocery, and mix of shops below living areas. It's a nice way to live. I had a nice stroll, it took me just under 16 minutes to walk from the Barcelona Cathedral (I had a meeting near there this afternoon) to Casp 74. I started taking pictures just before I made the right turn on to the street with Casp 74 and then I took pictures for the next three or so blocks until I arrived.

Let me know if you've previously been to Barcelona, I'll include brief comments with the pictures and will share more context if this is your first trip.

More to follow.

pjfnme · August 29, 2019

15 minutes ago, CruiseDigits said:

@pjfnme I have 14 photos for you that I'll upload here tonight, I need to figure out the best way to get them here for you!

The neighborhood seems like most of the other Barcelona neighborhoods with restaurants on the corner, the small local grocery, and mix of shops below living areas. It's a nice way to live. I had a nice stroll, it took me just under 16 minutes to walk from the Barcelona Cathedral (I had a meeting near there this afternoon) to Casp 74. I started taking pictures just before I made the right turn on to the street with Casp 74 and then I took pictures for the next three or so blocks until I arrived.

Let me know if you've previously been to Barcelona, I'll include brief comments with the pictures and will share more context if this is your first trip.

More to follow.

That sounds wonderful! I can't tell you how much I appreciate how helpful you've been. It is indeed our first trip to Barcelona so any information that you can provide would definitely be useful and appreciated!

CruiseDigits · August 29, 2019

Here we go, the pictures are in chronological order as I walked. I had fun investigating, it's my job and I love it. We've been here doing hands on research :)

1. Walking North on Carrer de Roger de Lluria just before I turned right on to Carrer de Casp.

2. Right after the turn -- handful of people though if you were to go two blocks in the other direction it would be packed with people at Placa Catalunya.

3. Shops are on the first floor of most buildings. If you look at the shop just past the white car you see the rolled gate -- many of the shops are still closed through the end of this week for the summer break. When the shops close at night they roll down the metal gates and they are all pretty much spray painted. We have a car dealership just down the street from where we are staying and I didn't realize it until this week.

4. I love the bakeries here. Love them. I walk every morning down the street to buy croissants and bread. The bakeries are all over the place and this one looked particularly spectacular. Just about every few blocks you can find a bakery, a pharmacy, a small food market (some open 24 hours), and a fruit stand. Small restaurants are everywhere.

5. Look across to the back of the photo for the corner restaurant. Also note that all of the street corners except in the Gothic Quarter and neighboring areas are octogan shaped, I'll let you learn why when you're here!

6. The dress store was the nicest store I saw :) Right next to a cash machine.

7. More people. Notice the dog crossing the street. Dogs rule Barcelona, they are everywhere and very well behaved. Dogs are so prevalent that many stores have a place for you to leave your dog when you go in to shop.

8. Another closed shop. Moped parking. Motorcycles and mopeds are everywhere too and they accelerate quickly when the signal changes. Be careful when crossing the street because if their light is flashing yellow then they can proceed if there are no pedestrians. So even if you have a green walk sign just double check before walking. And when the walk sign starts to flash green you shouldn't even try to cross the street because it flashes for such a short period of time. When the walk sign turns red the traffic signal immediately turns green and then the motorycles are off to the races so look out!!! Also the trash cans, they are about every block or so too -- you bring your trash down to these bins and sort trash/recycling by the appropriately colored bin on the street. Step on the foot lever to open the lid.

9. This is the closest market to Casp 74. The markets are about the size of a United States convenience store, they are tiny. You won't find 14 differet types of spaghetti sauce but they have the essentials and they probably have gazpacho and boquerones.

10. Almost there! The yellow stucture is the closest bus stop to Casp 74. The larger bus stops have small digital displays under the canopies to tell you when the next bus is arriving.

11. Here you are, Casp 74!

12. Looking down the street from the building entrance.

13. There is a separate reception door.

14. Small restaurant, literally right next to the reception door.

I'd say this is a pretty typical neighborhood. Carrer de Casp has cars but it didn't seem like a major thoroughfare, though it may still get loud if people come out at night or when the trash or other trucks roll through.

Please do come back to let everyone know how your trip and your lodging turn out. Safe travels and enjoy Barcelona!!!