I have looked at some previous threads and they have been very helpful especially LizS's blog with the wonderful photos.

We haven't been to Barcelona and look forward to sightseeing and particularly visiting the markets and the tapas bars.

There are some wonderful apartments however we will have had 5 weeks in South America beforehand and afterwards 3 weeks in France so the budget is a bit tight.

These apartments are in our budget and any advice would be gratefully received.

http://www.habitatapartments.com/ppi.htm

http://www.habitatapartments.com/princesa17.htm

THE Princesa photos aren't very helpful and I'm not sure if the street they show is in the area or the apartments are on it.
The agency recommended it when I enquired about the Placa del Pi apartment.

Our flight arrives in the evening and we will have to pay an out of hours fee which I see several agencies charge.
They also only record your credit card number and you pay when you arrive which appeals to us after being ripped off by a bank when making a deposit by bank transfer on an apartment in Beaune.

Thanks
Jill

Hi Jill - if you've seen our blog you'll know we spent a lot of time at Bar Pi so know Placa de Pi well

We loved that location - our apartment was only about 50 metres away - I would have a slight concern about noise as Bar Pi (and others) do have outdoor tables but it's still cool at night in March. We walked around that area often at night and I don't remember it being particularly noisy (other than the 2am garbage removal which is everywhere).

The Princessa location is a little further away but still appealing - is there a big price difference?

Now I want to go back! I miss Sammy at Bar Pi!

Both locations are nice. I do prefer the Princesa location because I love the Born area for its food, bars-cafés-restaurants, the San Caterina market, museums, hip fashion stores…, especially for the corner that the rental ad's map indicates…
(Not that the Plaza de Pi were for dorks. )

One thing that first-timers should know about Barcelona is that it is an extremely dynamic new city with very old buildings (especially the old town). It frightens some visitors while others take to it immediately. I belong to the latter, and how !

We stayed on Princesa and loved it - lots of wine shops, cheese shops, bakeries, and restaurants all around. We walked everywhere - with the exception of one cab ride to Parc Guell.

We found eating out in Barcelona to be quite a bit more expensive than other cities we visited in Spain - so be sure to check out the reviews here on slowtrav. Liz sent in quite a few from her last trip.

Barcelona restaurant reviews

Having said that - we could have lived quite happily on bread, cheese, wine and chocolate.

Thanks everyone. We have booked the Princesa apartment.
Now to do some more research for our Europe leg.
We are looking forward to our time in Barcelona and know it won't be long enough. Will just have to return for a longer stay

Jill