Looking for help and advice for planning a holiday to Barcelona next summer...
Hi
First post here to I hope I get this right and that someone out there can help! 😊
I am looking to go to Barcelona for a holiday next year for a week but don't know the area at all and not sure where to start!
I will be going with my husband, my 11yr old daughter and a family friend.
We will be on a budget but still like comfort and nice places and don't mind paying for what we want/like...My daughter would like a villa with a pool but we are open to suggestions!
What we like from a holiday...
Good restaurants/bars
Supermarket to buy daily supplies (water, fruit etc)
2 bed accommodation with a pool
My friend and I will want to do some sight seeing..maybe in the mornings and then relaxing in the afternoon on a beach or by a pool...my husband and daughter aren't into sight seeing but will probably go and see the football stadium!
I'm not sure if a villa or small hotel outside the city is best or something in the centre....we like somewhere quite and don't want to be kept awake at night with 'city noise'..
Any ideas, suggestions or things to avoid would be great know!
Thank you!
Reply to this Hi, Barcelona is very beautiful city and according to me it is better to stay in the city. You can check online- there hundreds of websites offering discounted hotel rates. You should visit Gaudi's house. It is very beautiful building. If you don't want to spend much money on accommodation I can recommend you Hotel Colors. It is very cozy and comfortable,located in peaceful place and you can easy reach the city center by public transport. There is a metro station nearby.
[Edited: 2011 Sep 02 10:57 - Jabe:6222 - No URL drops on forums, please.]
Reply to this Definitely stay in the city itself. It's vibrant, colourful and architecturally pleasant, and everything you say you like from a holiday is there.
Only one word of caution: hold on to your wallet or take very little cash and no plastic or other valuables with you whenever you venture into tourist areas. My brother had his pocket picked in Las Ramblas five years or so ago. I warned my neighbour about the problem before he went just a few months ago - but he still had his wallet taken from a front trouser pocket in the same area!
That aside, it's a great place to visit. Enjoy.
Reply to this I was trying to remember the name of the hotel or even the beach we stayed on but unfortunatly my last trip to spain was 10 years ago. We did stay in an amazing hotel that was 20 min south east of the main city but we did end up finding we headed into town ALL the time to eat or do touristy stuff. So next time i would stay in the city but i guess it depends if you want the beach activities??? Las Ramblas is where it is all at and a great atmostphere for dinner and pubs etc and i think there was one of those double decker tourist buses that could take you tall all the hightlights....there is heaps of Gaudi stuff from the house mentined above, the park and the cathedral all which is a few days worth of viewing. There was quite a few galleries from memory like miro and picasso and some sporting things like the old olympic park and the home of fc barcelona soccer team. Plus of course if you head in to the old city area you'll have some amazing tapas...mmmmm
Hope you have a fantastic time!
Reply to this Hi Chris,
From reading your post I am not sure you really want to go to Barcelona. It is a big city and it is really great but first of all in the summer it is really very hot and although there is a beach right in the center it is not the best place for a beach vacation. I doubt you will find accomodation in villa style with a pool although the big 4 and 5 star hotels probably have pools. There are some towns outside Barcelona on commuting distance, for example Masnou, but they are more suburbs than beach resorts. Why don't you check out some of the resorts of Costa Brava (north of Barcelona), there are some beautiful villages where you can find the kind of accomodation that I think you are after. You could stay a couple of days in the city to see the sights, there are plenty of options as mentioned by others. Supermarkets and restaurants are "everywhere" so you need not worry about that. I fully agree iwht the comments on the pickpockets, be very careful, it is best not to carry any vauables while sightseeing in Barcelona.
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