2 friends visiting Barcelona in fall

For a very nice experience closer to the old section of Barcelona, check with the Hotel Neri. It's lovely and in a very nicely redone (with a modern twist) historic building.

For a very nice hotel in the Eixample neighborhood (which is a rather modern neighborhood and within reasonable walking distance (if you are big walkers) of La Sagrada Familia and several of the popular Gaudi buildings, then check with The Alma Barcelona.

Or, you can do as we did, and stay two nights at each.

Since you mentioned loving food, check out the Food Lovers Tapas Tour

http://foodlovertour.com/tours/

We totally loved the tapas tour, which stops at three different places: two local tapas restaurants (that we would have never found on our own), and then the third local restaurant stop is an entire meal. The guide explains the food and drink (all included) that you experience at each stop. Warning: You will NOT go away hungry. In fact you will have that after-Thanksgiving feeling. While it is not inexpensive, we really got a great value, discovering the interesting places filled with locals, trying some very interesting and good food, learning about the food and dining traditions, and all adult beverages (or other choices, if someone does not drink) included, plus a fun guide to help you find your way around and back. Seems we had about 8-9 people on our tour, including the guide. I don't eat seafood (my husband loves it), so I just let them know when I booked and while there was plenty of seafood for those who loved it, there were also more than enough choices for me, too.

On our group, three were around age 40, but one maybe late 20s, and three around age 50-60. You can see photos posted on Trip Advisor that show some of the foods and some of the photos of the typical people who go on these tours. It really was a highlight of our trip to Spain, and it's a fun, casual evening with a group of interesting people who love food and love meeting others:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187497-d5953405-Reviews-Food_Lover_Tour-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

Have fun in Barcelona!! Three is a lot to see/do in just four days (which was exactly the amount of time we were there...we could have enjoyed more days).

I stay in apartments or aparthotels (hotels where the "rooms" are apartments but there are basic hotel amenities), so I can't recommend a specific hotel. However, my last visit I stayed towards the south end of the Eixample near the Tetouan metro station. This is a nice area. We are big walkers and from here you can walk to Sagrada Familia, several of the Gaudi sights and the old town. The Eixample in general is nice, modern, and in a great location.

However, my favorite neighborhood was El Born. Seemed ever so slightly less touristy than Barri Gotic, had lots of interesting and creative shops and restaurants, and just a good feel overall.

I would avoid staying too near the Ramblas. You kind of have to see it, but it's way too busy and full of rip-offs.

Public transit where reasonable. The metro system is good and goes fairly close to most places. Buy a 10-ticket card (the details are in Rick's book) and the price per-ride goes way down. I did use a cab a few times - there are times when it is more convenient. My advice - default to public transit but use a cab in an extenuating circumstance. For example, we had an 8:00AM reservation at Parc Guell. Getting there from the hotel requires a metro and a bus, and I just wasn't sure of the timing or the directions. Didn't want to mess up and miss the entry and didn't want to get up extra early to leave room. So...cab.

I second the food tour idea. I used Barcelona Taste and also had a good experience

One thing about the metro in Barcelona you may want to keep in mind is that many stations have lots of stairs and, unlike Madrid, no escalators, limited elevators--other than that I think they're great and connect well to most of the city, but since you say you don't want a hotel with lots of stairs I wanted to point that out!

I'm afraid I have to contest that last post... :)) The metro system in the city of Barcelona is one of the most "adapted" in Europe for disabled people. Almost all stations have either escalators and/or elevators -albeit not necessarily in all the exits of the station to the street, of course. In fact, it's easier and shorter to list those stations that aren't fully adapted for disabled people: this is an unofficial map http://bit.ly/BCNmetromap2016acc Also worth mentioning that all public buses are adapted for wheelchairs.

I know it's not Igalen case, but since it came up someone might have a use for this: http://www.barcelona-access.cat/

Enjoy!

Yet, there are indeed some stations to best avoid... like the transfer from L3 to L2 at Passeig de Gràcia, it's a never- ending corridor, or the up and down at stations like El Coll near Park Güell -which is on a hill-, it's like 6 or 7 escalators or if you take the elevator, a long journey down, pretty much like descending to a mine.... :))))

Interesting, Enric, thanks for the correction. Not sure if we just missed the accessible exits and transfers or picked the wrong stations, glad to know all the stairs we took carrying our suitcases aren't a given for everyone--we were wondering how the heck people in wheelchairs ever made that work!

Well reviewed 4 star Catalonia Square located by Placa Catalunya is central for many tourist sites.
http://m.hoteles-catalonia.com/en/our_hotels/spain/barcelona/hotel_catalonia_square/index.jsp

MANY THANKS TO ALL!

This is a great start! I'm off to the library to pick up Rick's Spain book!
Lisa