We are planning a trip to Barcelona in May of net year. It would be my wife, myself, my 5 year old son and my mother. Looking for 3 bedroom apartments for a about a week stay. I have been looking at vrbo.com and they seem like a good web site, first: Can anyone vouch for the rental units on this site? We've used it domestically and have had success. Second, I have a few places tagged from this web site and was wondering if anyone could offer their two cents on whether the locations of these places would be a good fit for myself and my family. We will not have a car, plan on walking or taking public transportation most places, we really enjoy shopping at local markets for food to cook ourselves. Don't need a big night life, and since we have our son with us, want a safe neighborhood and might even have some other kids around ...
The 1st rental seems a little far from the center. The 2nd rental seems to be in Born, which would be wonderful and central. The interior looks good too. Near all kinds of monuments, markets, the hop-on-hop-off tourist bus route; also great for walks. Bon voyage.
So, is far from center really a good thing or a bad thing? Seeing as how we will be staying put in Barcelona for at least 7 days, and we are interested when we travel in "going native". We like to shop where locals shop, eat where they eat. Seeing the great sites of Barcelona is important too, but we are not adverse to hopping on a bus or walking around.
We stayed in the Born area in March this year and it was a great part of Barcelona to stay in. Yes there were tourists visiting the area, but we felt there were many more locals living there too. It is easy walking to other parts of Barcelona and there are many restaurants and bars you can eat in. Santa Caterina Market is close, interesting to visit, but wonderful to shop for a few meals.
We didn't use trains but the stations are close. We used the hop on hop off bus for 2 days. The first day we mostly stayed on the bus to get orientated, see as much as we could, and plan the second day. The next day we visited the sites we couldn't walk to. For the remainder of the weeks stay we walked, saw the closer places of interest, stopped in cafes and generally enjoyed the feel of the place. You will have a great time.
We spent a week in Barcelona in February. We would always choose to stay as centrally as possible in any city in Europe. People live in their cities much more than they do in (say) UK or Australia. There is the most food wonderful market in central Barcelona.
We did not use vrbo there but have done in other places without a problem. I guess you can be unlucky as you are dealing with individual owners but if someone has been listed for a while, I would have few concerns.
Does anyone have any more advice about apartment rentals for an apartment the Born Neighborhood. Need a three bed room. Also would just love to hear anyone else's experiences about this part of Barcelona and Barcelona in general. Will be traveling there in May (any good festivals or events?) and will have my wife, mother, and my 5 year old son with me.
Is there a map? I recall when I was looking for an apartment in BCN being advised to stay above Princesa in the Born area - would want to know where this is.
Does your friend mean north of Princesa by "above"? I would advise the opposite. South of Princesa around Passeig del Born is the most fashionable part of Barcelona now. Moreover I would not even call the area north of Princesa around the Santa Caterina market or Palau de musica El Born, even though all the real estate agents with rentals there try to graft onto El Born.
The vrbo advert indicates the rental is near the Santa Maria del Mar church. If so, that's Born and Born Again...
1) Is "south of Princesa" a good thing? Not that I even know what Princesa is, I will be googling that next.
2) Does it look like the Apartment I have picked out in vrbo look like its in a good place? I am going to request an actual map address, and the maybe I will post again and ya'll can tell me what you think.
Just came back from Barcelona. As usual we stayed near the Passeig del Born, which is a 5-minute walk to Princesa. This time we passed by it many times on our way to and from the marvelous Mercat Santa Caterina. I have good news to report: the area in general has pursued its gentrification and is looking better and better, with more and more boutique hotels and trendy tapas bars and boutiques, although I am starting to miss the neighborhood stores. The northeastern part of Princesa is esp nice and well renovated, with lots of "new old" squares, by which I mean the area within Carrer d'Allada Vermell, Carrer dels Tiradors, Carrer del Comerç and Princesa.
Chrisstein, I don't know the agencies; maybe others can help you.
Re location:
The 1st apartment you listed is more in the Sant Pere-Palau de la musica neighborhood. Even though I would not call it El Born, it is a neighborhood that is getting nicer all the time. You are near the Catedral and also the great Mercat Santa Caterina. The Passeig del Born is about a 10 minute walk away.
The 2nd apartment is sort of far from center, near Park Guell. Many do not mind. I personally like to walk and not take the metro every time I go out.
The 3rd apartment is in a rather sleepy neighborhood. Again, others find much to like. It's not IT; it's me. Even though I love the modernist buildings in Eixample and love the neighborhood's secret side - the inner courtyards hidden away within the blocks, - I find the grid-like blocks very boring. In the daytime it is somewhat better when the shops and restaurants are open. Sometimes at night when I am walking to some of my fave eateries in Eixample, - like Paco Meralgo, - those blocks seem Kafkaesque unending.
I repeat: Many visitors have loved their stay in those neighborhoods of your rentals. All depends on what you expect from your stay. Maybe you should tell us more about what you are looking for...
My traveling party will be myself, my wife, my mother and my 5 year old son. Most of our traveling and exploring will be done during the day. Plus I really liked the look of Jardines de La Ciudadela. Also, we love to cook, and would like to be near a really nice market to get local goods and produce. I think the area near the park and the Mercat santa caterina looked good. thoughts?
Jardines de La Ciudadela. Also, we love to cook, and would like to be near a really nice market to get local goods and produce. I think the area near the park and the Mercat santa caterina looked good. thoughts?
Yes yes yes ! Ciutadella great for adults and kids. I go to Barcelona often but never have the luck to see the beautiful Hivernacle in Ciutadella open, except nearly 10 years ago when we had afternoon tea and I got hooked forever.
Since you like to cook, don't miss these addresses nearby:
- La Botifarreria de Santa María; Santa María 4. Excellent butcher's outside the Santa Maria del Mar church.
- La Ribera on Plaça Comercial 11. A magnum opus canned food store. Can you believe this? Barcelona is famous for its sophisticated canned food. Just the 3 words together look so weird. An excellent buy there - and not canned - is saffron. Not that expensive either. But you must ask the staff, it is not on display.
- Casa Gispert, C/Sombrerers 23, Barcelona. Wonderful spice store behind Santa Maria del Mar. Also has wonderful chocolate, candies, ice cream in summer, horchata (nut milk), -- in case your little one gets impatient...
- tapas My fave in the old town is Bilbao Berria on plaza de la Catedral. Euskal Etxea on Montcarda is still good but used to be excellent. I think the problem is with the street. That whole street is ruined by the Picasso museum and caters to tourists. It is the one street in otherwise hip Born to have such a concentration of geegaw shops.
Whether you choose the rental near the Palau de la musica or not, do join a tour to see the Palau interior, or go to a concert there. Modernist architecture does not get more splendid than that.
So folks, I am finding some of my first choices for Apartments are not available, so now I am looking again, and I starting to freak out a little bit about whether I can trust the online web places that I am looking at. One of the weird things is that I appear to be seeing the same apartments for rent under many different web sites.
Anyways, here are a few I have book marked, if anyone has any opinions, comments, tips, about how to know to trust a site, what to look for in terms of whether an apartment is on a good street, etc.
Apartments n°2, 5 and 7 seem to be the same. It is well located anyway. The street is very small but has wonderful "secret" shops and bars. I love it. But because the street is small, natural light is precious. The rental advertised has large windows.
Doesn't N°6 look cramped to you, even though the location is ace?
Anyway, n°1 and 2 look best, interior wise and location wise. Some home owners use several agencies to represent their properties, hence the multiple appearances, nothing to freak out about. I don't know the agencies. Have you searched Slowtrav's reviews to see if they or their rentals have been reviewed? That may give you the best perception on their reliability.
Lastly, if you give us a long list to look at again, could you please number them? It would be easier for both you and for us to remember who is who. Example: "behind door numbber one..."
Americana in Parigi, you are really awesome for helping me with this!
Anyways, if I find more, I will definitely number them when i post them, but I am getting the feeling that I have almost looked at all there is within the requirements I have, as I am now starting to see the same apartment over and over again on different websites.
I will comb through the Slowtrav review section to see if any of these pop up. Thanx again! Chris.
Apartments near to Las Ramblas excellent in terms of location. Near to marina, beach and all the tourist restuarants and bars etc. Disadvantage is it can be noisier and a little more expensive. Exiample a very good area all things considered i.e. central still and as long as not to far to the metro station then very good. Sagrada Familia a good place for rentals. Also very central.
OK guys, thank you all for your great tips and advice. I am nearing the home stretch. I have already purchased the plane tickets (British Airways) and now my wife and I have whittled it down to three apartments. We welcome any and all opinions on these even if its just a "guy feeling" based on the website . . .
So here they are in the current order that we are leaning towards them . . .
All 3 are great locations, esp n°3 on Flassanders.
I have actually stayed in several of the group of apartments of which apartment # 2 is a part. Very well run, well located; extremely well soundproof. Make certain you are in one of the larger apartments, such as the one you indicated which is 80 m2. Perfect for you: one double room, 2 single room. My one minor complaint is that the kitchen is somewhat on the minimalist side for us who are very keen about cooking. My two friends who stayed with us thought it was fine as they spent most of their time on a tapas crawl all over Born...
Although I am faithful to the #2 apartment group (just stayed there over xmas-new year), I must say apartment # 3 looks really good. Flassaders is one of the most charming and hippest streets even for Born. Can you mother handle 3rd flr without lift? Is it a Spanish 3rd floor or our kind of 3rd flr?
