Firming Up Plans For Fall

I have the feeling you might not quite like to "stay" in El Raval.... visiting yes, strolling its narrow streets yes, eating in its restaurants yes, but staying.... certain parts of El Raval (the southern edge, where the Red Light District) can be a bit seedy at night. Although, of course, that's in the eye of the beholder :))

Thanks for that tip regarding El Raval, Enric. Your opinion and insights on all things Barcelona is greatly appreciated. (I recently read your multiple part guidance on Montserrat and we may try to get up there one of our days in Barcelona.)

Glad to be of help. I would like to point out though that advice on location is always very personal... what's ok or not depends a lot on one's own expectations as well as on one's own experiences (ie. where you live back home). As a traveller myself, I try to be empathic when talking about my own city, but always take my thoughts with a pinch of salt please :))

In any case.... in Barcelona there are over 23000 apts on offer just on Airbnb, plus a few other thousands in other platforms (HomeAway, Booking, etc). If, after choosing some candidates, your 'dream' apt was listed as located in El Raval, check its exact location on a map... I wouldn't necessarily discard something north of, say, Carrer del Carme or Carrer Pintor Fortuny... that's an OK area to stay (to me, anyway). This is the map of districts and its neighbourhoods, so you can filter the apts in Airbnb and the others.

One last thing, you might come across some websites naming "El Born" as a district or a neighbourhood... but you won't find that on any official map. That's because El Born is neither, it's merely a short 300-yard boulevard located in the neighbourhood of La Ribera, in the district of Ciutat Vella.... but some morons out there are too lazy to do their due diligence before publishing online. Very unprofessional!

... I see you're flying in to Barcelona on Sep 14th... is that set already? could you move it to the 10th?

Tickets are already purchased and the dates firm. We have flights non-stop to Barcelona from Oakland (California, across the Bay from San Francisco) now on Norwegian and the date choices and prices for the flights (as well as the return) dictated our dates to some degree. Probably more demand for the earlier dates?

too bad... you're missing our 4th of July, the "Diada" -the National Day of Catalonia- for just three days, the 11th of September. For those, like yourself, that list among their interests "getting to know a place/people", this is a very special day, alongside our Valentine's on April 23rd, Sant Jordi (St. George's), to really get to understand Catalonia and the Catalans.

On Sept 11th we remember a very special date in our history, the day we lost our freedom and independence to the Spanish in 1714. Lots of family activities, cultural events and marches are organised throughout Catalonia, especially in Barcelona. Everybody is welcome and invited to participate, local or not, and despite being a day in which we demand to the Spanish our rights as a nation to be respected, everything happens in a very cheerful and festive mood. Those foreign visitors that have been able to experience it say it's unforgettable. This is a video from 2014. This year is particularly interesting because there's an ongoing challenge to the Spanish government to celebrate a referendum later in September for Catalans to decide on Catalonia's independence.

On April 23rd, here in Catalonia we celebrate our saint patron, Sant Jordi -which is also the patron of a number of other countries, from England to Russia, Portugal, Hungary, Lithuanian, Greece..... That day is also our Valentine's, the day of love and we have some traditions that these days have been exported to other countries around the world, the most well known is the "books and roses". The atmosphere in many of our cities is magic. This is a video of an April 23rd in Barcelona.

I have never been Valencia, but it's quite a large city, so I would question going there for just one night unless it was sort of a forced overnight in the middle of a long drive. In any case, ViaMichelin (thought to be a good source of driving-time estimates, though a bit too optimistic), says that drive would take 5 hr. 40 min. So not a good idea. Should you decide Valencia has a lot to recommend it, you should take the AVE from Madrid. It's less than 2 hours one-way, and with advance purchase, the ticket cost should be pretty reasonable. Midway on that ride is the charming hill town of Cuenca, which looks quite different from the white Andalucian hill towns and has a couple of good modern-art museums. Cuenca is worth an overnight for folks who want to visit the museums, but it's probably more doable as a day-trip from Madrid than Valencia, just because of the difference in size. However, the AVE station in Cuenca is pretty far from town. I think the bus runs infrequently, if at all, on Sundays, so a cab would be necessary. As with Valencia, the only affordable and practical way to make this trip is to buy non-refundable/non-changeable AVE tickets well in advance. The other trains are far too slow.

I like Ronda, but you could probably get by with one night there if, as you continue developing your itinerary, you need another day somewhere else. It will make that segment of the trip feel rushed, though, so you need to decide whether the benefit is worth it.

I highly, highly recommend Toledo. It would be a real shame to miss it on a trip as long as yours. In addition to Cuenca, mentioned above, Segovia is another very good day-trip possibility from Madrid.

I'm with Enric on staying in El Raval. You would want to check with him on the precise address or walk the streets on Google Earth. I was comfortable walking through there in the daytime, but I think some of the streets would have felt iffy late at night if there weren't a bunch of people around (though I'm not sure there is such a time in Barcelona).

I would make Cordoba a single night so you have a night in Malaga prior to your departure.

September
14 Arrive Barcelona (5N)
19 Train to Madrid (4N)
23 Train to Cordoba (1N)
24 Train to Sevilla (3N)
27 Pick up car. Drive to Cadiz (1N)
28 Drive via Arcos to Ronda (2N)
30 Drive to Granada (2N)
October
02 Drive to Nerja (2N)
04 Drive to Malaga (1N)
05 Drop off car. Depart Malaga

Enric and acraven, you both have me re-thinking my "where to stay" plans for Barcelona. Do you have any specific areas you think are more worthwhile? As we will not have a car in Barcelona, I was thinking in terms of proximity to various "sights" (for want of a better term) transit hubs and restaurants. But I have never been to Barcelona (or Spain for that matter) and any thoughts are appreciated.

David, is Nerja in early October some place with a lot to recommend? Because I want to be sure to have time for the Mezquita in Cordoba.

Hi bnelson20,

In Barcelona, as in most European cities, a car is rather a useless nuisance (traffic, lack of parking space, cost -no free parking anywhere in Barcelona!, etc...) The city has an excellent public transport network (bus, metro, tramway and train) which is inexpensive, clean, safe and efficient. That's how most Barcelonians move about. If you're planning to make day escapades, some are perfectly doable also on public transport (bus/train) while others are better done by car. If necessary you can always rent one for the day, right?

As per "proximity" to sights, I'm afraid that's not possible... since the city is not a theme-park but a functioning city (LOL!), the sights are not "placed" but located, therefore they are spread across the city. No matter where you choose to be, you'll be moving around to other parts of the city anyway. Having said that, the city centre is considered to be Plaça Catalunya.

I would also like to point out that contrary to newer cities, Barcelona hasn't grown radially but absorbing existing old towns and villages near the current city centre. These had their own "centres" so to speak -with their own social life, restaurants, shops, etc. These are now districts and neighbourhoods of the city. Thus, staying almost anywhere you'll find yourself surrounded by shops, restaurants, etc. We hardly have any "residential-only" area in the city.

As per where to stay, I tend to recommend this, but it's only one option of course.

For starters, familiarise yourself with the maps I posted above: districts and neighbourhoods.

We stayed as a couple in L’Eixample four years ago at http://www.hotelgranvia.com/en/ and found the location convenient. They had just gone through a major renovation and prices were much, much lower (I think they were trying to lure people back).

This June we are taking the family (3 kids) and are staying fairly nearby at one of these apartments: https://www.aspasios.com/apartments-barcelona/rambla-catalunya-suites/