Barcelona - Family friendly accomm

[AliFar]

DH, DD (21months) & I are planning a trip to Barcelona in Sept.

Has anyone been previously and discovered suitable family accomm. We really don't want to stay in a hotel room and be on top of each other. I was thinking about an apartment or something self contained with kitchen etc.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

AliFar - we stayed at the ApartHotel Atanea this February half term. It is a hotel (4*) but the rooms have a little kitchen and there is a partition between the living area and the bedroom. It was great. 3 minutes from a Metro station. With Barcelona, you'll be out most of the time anyway but if you do want to come back for a rest there is a little more room than a conventional hotel. There are a few AprtHotels in Barcelona - found ours on lastminute (cheap, that's why we stayed there ) Barcelona is fantastic, my 'want to live here' place.

We stayed in an appartment on the ramblas- very convenient but quiet. We had a separate bedroom, living area with double sofa bed , kitchenette, dining area and bathroom. There was a restaurant but we tended to eat out. Great food market nearby. Also cable tv-lots of Tom and Jerry!. It was a french chain www.citadines.com

We rented an apartment just by the Sagrada Familia. It was great as it's a nice neighbourhood, easy bus/metro/walking access to the centre and main sites. They also had travel cot, toys etc. and the owners' parents would pick you up and take you back to the airport.

Here's the address:
www.barcelonaapartmentrentals.co.uk/aboutus.htm

Should add, the prices were very reasonable compared to the citadines places and there was a washer/drier, iron etc. Her parents babysat for us and were fab when DH went into hospital (would recommend taht too!)

homebird - my 6 year old really liked "all the friendly people, the big Barcelona football ground (Nou Camp), the funiculars and the tapas" - just asked her. Easily pleased. There is a beach (we didn't go) and a huge aquarium at the port (again didn't go). She also liked "that big church with the tree" (Sagrada Familia). But basically, staying up late to eat, being given sweets by shop and bar owners and pretty much everything really. There is just so (too?) much to see in Barcelona. A 2 year old would just go with the flow, no?

There is a big zoo - near the port area I think. Plus loads of parks and play areas everywhere.

we stayed in the flat that Marialuisa recommended too and it was great with 2 kids, much better than a hotel!
For slightly older kids the tour of the FC Barcelona stadium (neucamp) is fantastic - our son who was 5 at the time just loved it and got to sit on the press conference chair and hold a huge trophy! My kids loved the aquarium and the zoo but both are quite expensive - tbh they also loved much simpler things like taking the bus from one end of the city to the other and the play area near Sagrada Familia (near the apartment Marialuisa recommends)

Thanks a million everyone, will get onto these straight away.

Zoo is pretty horrible. I'd recommend the aquarium though. DD liked all the local playgrounds, Parc Guell and the dancing on the Placa de Espana.