Rent an apartment in which Barcelona neighborhood?

It will be cold and dark comes early during the time you will be there so unsure staying near the water will have as much significance (both areas we enjoy). You might consider staying near the Sagrada or the Eixample to obtain a more local in nature experience. Keep in mind Barcelona has a wonderful extensive subway system enabling the ability to stay in many locations throughout the city.

Gracia is a popular, still local feeling neighborhood. Skip the Olympic Village area, especially that time of year. Anywhere in the Eixample will be nice. The Born would be nice, but perhaps more noisy and crowded. The younger ones would certainly love it.

A great area to stay is Eixample, close to Plaza Universidad: very central, close to pretty much everything, popular with locals and you'll find a great offer of restaurants, cafés, modernist architecture, etc. I particularly like the street Enric Granados, great atmosphere but not as noisy or 'touristy' (or expensive) as the Born or Gothic quarters. Avoid the Olympic areas -there's nothing there, specially in winter. Barceloneta is nice, good balance between local people (originally a fishermen neighborhood) and visitors. Barcelona doesn't get that cold in winter, so you can always enjoy walking on the beach or along the Paseo Maritimo.

Hi Vicky,

I'd recommend either the Eixample or the Barceloneta neighborhoods. For apartment rentals, check out www.tournights.com, www.vrbo.com or www.airbnb.com. Buen Viaje!

Not an expert on Barcelona but just got back from 7 days there and stayed right in the thick of it, it was fantastic. Walked everywhere and tried hard to get a sense of the neighborhoods and plan to return next year and will stay in the Gracia for exactly the reasons you mention.
Would absolutely not stay in the Olympic area, it's more of a destination than a community.

My wife and I just spent two weeks in the Eixample (L'Esquerra d'Eixample specifically). A wonderful neighborhood, very few tourists, friendly locals, and frankly, felt much safer and more secure than anywhere in the Ciutat Vella (Catalan for Old City). Certainly a way different vibe than anywhere in Barcelona. Personally, as much as we enjoyed visiting the Barri, Born, Raval, etc. neighborhoods, we always looked forward to returning to L'Eixample when the day was done. As far as Barceloneta, it's a way different vibe there as well. May not be so much as issue during the winter, but the neighborhood as a reputation as pretty tourist rowdy during the summer. In fact the Barceloneta residents have pushed the city to crack down on the noise and lewd public behavior.

BTW, another issue to keep in mind (actually brought to the forefront by the Barceloneta 'revolt') is the Catalan government has begun enforcing the ban on unlicensed/unregulated rentals and the first wave of closures apparently took place in the Barceloneta neighborhood this summer/fall. Unfortunately, very few of the 'rental apartments' are currently licensed, so there's always some risk that your travel plans could be disrupted by future closure efforts.

Thanks so much everyone for your help! I'll be looking for an apartment in the Eixample and Gracia areas, based on your recommendations. If you have any other tips for what to look for, please let me know!

Just two Vicky:

1.) There's an issue going on in the city with the proliferation of illegal tourist apartments. 'Illegal' means they don't have the proper authorisation (license) which, in case you run into any problem, will be needed for you to place a complaint to the ombudsman or the police. Not that you couldn't anyway even if there was no license, but it'd be much more difficult to successfully claim your money back. The Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan government) has recently issued strict regulations on the registration and licensing of tourist apartments (http://bit.ly/1sP7rbt). Owners of apartments that are not properly licensed are subject to penalty. Currently, not all rental agencies and rental websites are already complying with government regulations. Many of the international rental websites (eg Tripadvisor Vacation Rentals, homeaway, VRBO and airbnb) are NOT in compliance. It is not clear how and when the government will enforce the regulations. To be safe, a renter could choose a rental agency that is in compliance and further select a rental apartment that is properly registered. An illegal apartment is not necessarily a scam, some owners are simply trying to make an extra buck in these times of crisis. In fact, I know many people that have visited Barcelona and stayed in an airbnb or booking.com apartment that had no license and spoke wonders of the apartment and the owners. Still it's something to consider. For info, the license is called HUTB (shortname for Habitatge d'Us Turístic, roughly: 'property for tourism usage'). Here two random apartments I looked up for you so you can see one is showing the license http://bit.ly/1sP61xq while the other is not http://bit.ly/1sP5U50 , yet both seem totally legit and professional ads to me. If you want to check whether an apt has a license either the HUTB is published in the ad somewhere or you can browse the official database of the government registry here: http://bit.ly/1sP7C6C

2.) For short stays I also recommend either l'Eixample or Gràcia, or the area around el Born, in La Ribera. To have a glimpse on what the areas look like check out these videos:

L'EIXAMPLE: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/IE0qN
EL BORN: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/xTEtn
GRÀCIA: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/9OM8W

L'Eixample is classy and elegant, a large district with wide streets and avenues
El Born is historical with little streets and alleys, may get a bit rowdy at times
Gràcia is like a homy little town within the city with a life of its own, slightly farther (15' by metro) but worth considering.

I just had a cancellation of my reservation at Marina View B and B for May. After reading this site, I suspect they do not have the HUTB license. I am looking at tour nights.com and cross-pollinate.com suggested in Rick's Barcelona book. Would these apartments or B n B's be licensed? Any thoughts?

Kathy

To kdblatt
For Cross-Pollinate.com, they are very responsive to questions. Steve is the owner and has always gotten back to me at the beginning of office hours. He would know the answer to your questions.

I would always recommend an apartment in Eixample for the best example (excuse the pun) of what it's like living in Barcelona.
Around metro stop 'Girona' is a quiet neighbourhood with some great restaurants.
However, with young adults perhaps interested in night life, somewhere closer to Universitat may be preferable.
This is a good article...
http://www.expatica.com/es/housing/where-to-live/Where-to-live-in-Barcelona_101435.html

If you are still and will look for an apartment to rent in Spain especially Barcelona, i suggest you visit Yazoo Property, they offer a range of apartment for rent service in Spain and they have good deals and packages. You can visit their site and check the full information about it at http://www.yazooproperty.com/property-in-spain.html