Place to stay in Barcelona-safe-walking distance and breakfast?

I am going to Barcelona and I am in my 70's.

Your father is going to have to learn how to be safe in Barcelona. There are discussions about this on forum.

I will try to find some links for you

EDIT: Here is a link about pickpocketing in Barcelona

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/so-how-bad-is-the-pickpocketing-situation-in-barcelona

The Eixample is considered a very safe neighborhood and is where many of the mansions of the wealthy were built in the early 1900’s. Gaudi’s Casa Mila and Casa Battlo can be found in the Eixample. . It’s convenient for transit with the “Passeig de Gracia” transit center serving as a combined Metro, Renfe and Rodalies train station.
Rick Steves recommended “BacHome Galley B&B” in the Eixample district just a few blocks from many of the architectural attractions. BacHome Gallery B&B has both AC and an elevator.
We found BacHome Gallery B&B to be wonderfully located, and enjoyed staying there for five nights last September.

Even though we walked everywhere and took the Metro (never took a taxi) we experienced absolutely no problems with petty theft or pickpockets and, fortunately, never even sensed any threat of theft while in Barcelona. That was surprising, but then being forewarned is being prepared.

Casa Batllo and Casa Mila are both by Gaudi.

Acraven, Thanks for the heads up 🙂. It’s edited.

Some pointers,

• Everybody can, of course, have his/her own opinion, perception might vary greatly from one to the next person. However, by all rational accounts, Barcelona is a safe city -compared to many other major cities in Western countries of similar size: no guns, no gangs, negligible random violence. The level of crime is, overall, medium to low except for petty crime, such as pickpockets, which is statistically slightly higher than in Paris, Madrid or Rome -to name other popular destinations in Europe- due to the high concentration of both residents and visitors.
• It's important to understand that there's no "walking distance to sights". This is a living city, not a theme park, therefore one encounters potentially interesting "sights" scattered all over the city, from Monestir de Pedralbes in the northwest to the Natural History Museum in the southeast, or from Parc del Laberint in the northeast to Montjuïc in the southwest, to name a few. Having said that, as in many other popular cities, many of these tend to be in/around the "centre" of the city, but not all of them by any means.
• Public transportation in Barcelona is excellent -and safe!- (bus, metro, tramway, taxi) and, due to its relatively compact size, one can travel from one end to the other fairly quickly and easily (and cheaply too). In the centre though -especially in the Old Town neighbourhoods-, walking is the best way to move about since many streets are pedestrianized. This is to say that where to stay isn't that critical.

Hello Enric

I value your input.

When I first booked my cruise leaving from Barcelona, I was well aware of the problems with pickpockets but felt that i could handle the situation.

However, I have to say that I was frightened by some of the posts on this forum about the rising crime which includes some violence. I was frightened enough that I would have changed my cruise if I had not already booked air.

I have posted. a link to my discussion on this forum about pickpockets in Barcelona a few posts up. Perhaps if you have the time or the interest, you can read what others on this forum said to me.

Your post is comforting and reassuring. I feel that i know how to take care of myself and hope that i am right.

I am spending five nights in Barcelona and I plan to take the hop on hop off bus first thing so as to get acquainted with the city.

We stayed at the Hotel Denit. The breakfast there was good. We took taxis from the hotel to different areas with the sights for that day, and then walked in that area.

We have stayed at Hotel Granvia twice in the last four years and walked to most of the sites, some really close and some far (Park Guell) as Enric mentioned, its a living city and has great public transportation. I find Barcelona very safe and as with any city, be aware of your surroundings, use common sense and research where to go and where not to go. Issues and bad experiences can happen anywhere on planet Earth and the odds of having 'a great time with no issues' far outweigh the other side of that bet. The culture, history, food and people are fantastic. Adventure awaits!

@bostonphil7, thanks for your comment; as mentioned, the perception of "safety" is very personal so I try to avoid entering into arguments on this issue, instead, I tend to stick to stats and common sense reasoning. I have been fortunate to live -not visit, but live- in several major cities in Europe and beyond, thus, my perception of safety is likely different from those that haven't had the experience.

Yet some people, even in this forum, do not want to listen to reasons -more often than not without many valid arguments- thus, I stay away from certain posts, especially when they go down the drive of fearmongering.

But as @Paul from Philly eloquently put it "Issues and bad experiences can happen anywhere on planet Earth and the odds of having 'a great time with no issues' far outweigh the other side of that bet" so when I respond to posts about safety in my home city I try to inform without getting into discussion.

Hello, April,

My friends and I were in Barcelona in October and stayed in the Hotel Jazz, very close to Plaça Catalunya. It was very easy to walk to the square or to Plaça Universitat (a very close stop for the Aerobus from the airport) and connect to local transportation, as well as the Hop on Hop off bus. We felt very safe in the area ( four women, early 60s), and also very safe walking everywhere we went. The hotel has a lovely breakfast buffet, and there are plenty of decent restaurants closeby. There was also a rooftop bar that had a limited menu, but it was closing for the winter months while we were there.

I second the recommendation for Hotel Denit. Good location on a quiet side street. Breakfast is included if you book through their website.

https://www.majestichotelgroup.com/en/barcelona/hotel-denit

When I was first planning my trip to Barcelona, like yourself I asked about hotels.

Here is a link to my question and all the responses that I received.. It might be helpful in planning your trip. It was helpful to me.

Since my post, one other person recommended the HCC Montblanc in the Gothic Quarter to me.

I believe all the hotels mentioned serve breakfast. All are conveniently located .

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/hotel-location-in-barcelona

.

This thread was beginning to veer into an unproductive conversation. I’ve cleaned things up and left the comments that stick to the facts about the relative safety of Barcelona while remaining polite. Please keep in mind our Community Guideline #2 (New travelers should be shown extra patience) and #9 (Stick to the facts and strongly avoid any emotionally charged statements and broad generalizations). This thread is now locked. Thanks all!