5 days in Barcelona

[Blueboys2009]

So, I'm off to Barcelona for 5 nights at the end of October with 9yr old DS and my parents (mid 70's). Flights booked, but no accommodation yet and I'm annoying myself with my indecisiveness - spending hours trawling booking.com and airbnb and still not booking anything.

DM isn't particularly great at walking long distances, but is happy to be left having a drink in a cafe and time to read her book in peace whilst we go off sightseeing. DF and DS want to visit Nou Camp, and then we want to do the usual Las Ramblas, Sagrada Familia, Parx Guell, cable car to/from Montjuic, day trip to Montserrat etc.

Will probably get public transport from the airport and won't be hiring a car. If anyone has any good suggestions for areas to stay (ideally in an apartment rather than hotel) or things to do/places to see, then it would be much appreciated. Thank you

If you do a search there are quite a few recent threads on Barcelona...
www.mumsnet.com/info/search?q=Barcelona (sort by date)

Metro (tube) network is good so you can stay outside the very centre for better value - I stayed in an Airbnb in Gracia (Line 3) which was a nice area and very quick to get to to other places on the metro (get a T-10 ticket - 10 trips for around 10 euros).

Thanks buttermilkwaffles

Gracia is great, small town vibe, lovely squares for coffee (Placa del Sol, Rius i Taulet). Verdi street is an impirtant street up there, mostly pedestrianised. There are great Lebanese restaurants there You can window shop (or really shop!) as Gracia is full of boutiques, at decent prices.

Passeig de Gracia is where you'll find Gaudi's Casa Batlló and La Pedrera (has two tours: apartments or roof - i recommend the roof.), this street is v expensive with Chanel, Louis Vuitton etc, but has a massive H&M at the bottom.

I wouldn't recommend Las Ramblas, bit of a tourist trap. There is a fabulous market La Boqueria about halfway down, worth a visit, lots of fresh food, buy some lunch.

Parallel to Passeig de Gracia is Avinguda Catalunya, pedestrianised street with lots of trees, lots of cafes, very nice for people watching.

I'm afraid to say it but be hyper vigilent with bags/phones/money/cameras/wallets etc, Barcelona has a shocking reputation for theft.

The metro system is fabulous and easy to use. It isn't as 'underground' as London underground, so not such long escalators to get to platforms. Plenty of lifts, too.

The Bus Touristic can be caughy anywhere and drops you door-to-door of Nou Camp, Parc Guell etc, so very handy.

Enjoy!

Ooh, must go to Barcelona again, it's been ages and I love it. Last time we stayed in some cheap hotel on a sidestreet of Las Ramblas just up from the market and it was fab.

Quinto's done a great job of hitting the town highlights, and just wandering around the old quarter and the sea side is wonderful. I always loved the Gaudi stuff and you can make a full day or more just finding all those.

If you want an out of town trip go to Montserrat, it's astonishing.

Did you get anything booked, OP? We're looking for similar holiday accommodation & finding it all a bit overwhelming too.

I'd prefer an apartment, but Airbnb seems such a gamble, with lots of missing information eg no lift, no external photos of building etc.

But then I don't fancy all 4 of us in a hotel room. Would like to stay centrally but avoiding Las Ramblas.

Have searched through threads but not found anything within our price range that caters for families.

Good luck!!

Thanks everyone, particularly elQuinto.

Am still looking at apartments, and am starting to narrow down the areas thanks to advice. Prosecco I'm finding there's lots of quite reasonably priced apartments on booking.com but just need to work out where some of them are on a map. I don't mind being off the main drag, so long as there's decent public transport nearby, and preferably a nice square with cafe's for DM to relax if she's tired of walking

And yes, spoonblender Montserrat is on my list

www.booking.com/hotel/es/colon-building-barcelona.en-gb.html

I've just been and stayed here with 6 other ladies - very clean, very close to loads of stuff...can highly recommend.