Barcelona - Barri Gotic?

[zebra]

Is it worthwhile staying in a hotel in Barri Gotic? If so which one? we stayed on Las Ramblas last time and loved it, but were very dissappointed that we didn't have time to see the Barri Gotic area. So...we wondered if we should stay there this year and explore the area. Other than the Cathedral what else is a "must see" in that area? Also, are there lots of Tapas bars and restaurants there?

[Bruin Steve]

The Barrio Gotic--The Gothic Quarter--is virtually right next to Las Ramblas...You can walk off of Las Ramblas to the East and you're in the Gothic Quarter...

Most buildings in this area are fairly old...

I don't know which specific hotels you're thinking of, but, I generally avoid older, maybe less well-kept properties...

 

I'd stay either right on Las Ramblas again...or in the Eixample district near the Placa Catalunya...

 

You can walk from either right into the Barrio Gotic with little trouble...but you're bound to be in a nicer hotel--with air conditioning...

 

In the Barrio Gotic, there's the Cathedral, a major museum and the Palau de Musica (an intriguing theater building) plus lots of interesting shops and narrow streets...But, again, you can wander into this area easily from Las Ramblas or from the Eixample...

 

The most important rule in finding a hotel in Barcelona, to me, is to be near as possible to the Placa Catalunya--as it is the center of most things--nightlife, transportation systems, restaurants, etc.

[trvlnliz]

We just returned from Barcelona and 2 wonderful days at the Hotel Colon in the Gothic Quarter. It is right in the square the Cathedral is in. We had a fantastic room that overlooked the square. It was our first stay at the Colon, but it won't be our last we loved this Hotel and Barcelona.

[dkcruiser]

We stayed in the Barri Gotic too on Carrer Ferran, a 'main street' of the quarter...it's in between the Placa Jaume (where the Generalteriat buildings are and near where the Cathedral buildings are) and the Ramblas. It is only a 3 star and I'm not sure about air conditioning (we didn't need it as it was October) but we thought it had a lot of character, despite obviously being old, and a better price than many. I think our room had been renovated. Old is the point after all in the Barri Gotic. It is a great place with medieval buildings and narrow lanes, with the ruins of the Roman town below it (access is from a musem near the Cathedral). We spent much of our morning there just wandering around and really enjoyed that. Don't miss the cloisters or the little Bishop's garden (I think it is called) near the Bishop's bridge.

 

David

[Boreus]

I second Trvlinliz, the Hotel Colon http://www.hotelcolon.es is a great place to stay if you want to be in the Barri Gotic. But if you liked your hotel on Las Ramblas you could stay there again and just walk the few blocks to the Barri Gotic.

[Captain Canuck]

We stayed on Las Ramblas. forget the name of the hotel unfortunately. the playa cattalunya was a 5- 10 minutes one way and the column with Christopher columbus a few minutes the other. the catherdral was a short walk away too. Lots of bars, restaurants and even a McDonalds with a patio on Las Ramblas in the area. We stayed a few days at the end of a cruise so I needed a Big mac.

 

The metro system is very good. You can stay on Las Ramblas and venture out anywhere by Metro. There is also a hop on hop off bus that does all the sights. There is a ticket booth by the column of Christopher columbus.

 

Safe city but watch out for pickpockets. A young guy tried to pick mine on the metro. he dropped some keys at my feet as he started to get off the train expecting me to bend over to help him. he grabbed my leg to further distract me. I did not fall for the move and had my wallet in my front pocket. A local guy also saw what was going on and punched the bad guy in the back of the head and he ran off. Probably did not hurt that I was wearing a Barcelona soccer team shirt..........the local guy must have been a fan. I could only gesture my thanks as my spanish consists of asking for the cheque.

 

Have a great time in Barcelona.

[zebra]

Does Hotel Colon serve breakfast? Is it included in the room charge? If not, are there places close by where one can have breakfast?

[trvlnliz]

Our rate did not included breakfast, but there are many places near by. They do serve breakfast, but it is very expensive, 12-15 Euro. If you just want coffee and a sweet roll or coffee and a hot ham and cheese sandwich I recommend the Bocadillo. It is a fastfood sandwich chain but the prices are very good for a light breakfast. I think it was about 3 Euro.

[zebra]

Thanks trvlnliz for your replies. In September we stayed at Le Meridien and it was great but we thought that it might be good to have a change in hotel and a change in location in Sept 2005. The Colon looks good... the thing my DH judges a hotel by is the comfort of the bed - are theirs comfy? The Apsis is also a great hotel but many CC'ers have said that their beds are too hard - that won't be good after a 10 hour flight!!

 

Bari Gotic seems fascinating - how many blocks from Las Ramblas is the hotel? We spent a lot of time on Las Ramblas and Placa de Catalunya. The Tapas bars on the Ramblas are superb, especially the Paella (my absolute favorite!!!)

[trvlnliz]

The beds were very comfortable if I remember correctly. I know if they were uncomfortable I would remember for sure! :rolleyes:

It is only a short walk from the La Rambla. You can get there in less than 5 minutes, if you don't window shop. Also maybe a 10 munute walk to Placa de Catalunya. The staff was very nice and helpful. I can't wait to go back. We loved Barcelona and the Hotel Colon. :D

[Windjammergal]

We stayed at Hotel Colon in October 2003 and would highly recommend it. I chose this hotel because others had recommended it on these boards. We spent 3 nights there before our Mediterranean Cruise and 2 nights after the cruise. We also had a room with a balcony facing the Gothic Cathedral. The beds were very comfortable. We loved the location of the hotel. We enjoy walking and as the previous posters mentioned, it is not far at all to Las Ramblas and Placa de Catalunya. From there we went the rest of the way to the waterfront where you'll see the Christopher Columbus Monument. We also bought tickets for the Hop on Hop Off Bus and one of the stops is just steps away from Hotel Colon. If I ever return to Barcelona I would definitely book a room at Hotel Colon again. Barcelona is a great city to visit!