Where to Stay in Barcelona ? - The Best Zones for the Hotel

If you don’t know Barcelona and you have no idea in which zone to stay, this page is for you. This page will help you to recognise some potential areas in which you can book a hotel. You can then read opinions of travellers about specific Hotels in Barcelona.
Click on the following Map, to enlarge :

See also Barcelona Interactive maps in the Maps page.

The very Central Zones

1. The Ghotic quarter

gotico bcn The Ghotic is the most beautiful and interesting quarter of Barcelona. A medieval area with narrow streets, churches, museums and the municipality square. Plenty of cafés and bars. Very central : close to La Rambla, plaza Cataluña and a walking distance to the Barceloneta beach. Many nearby Metro stations.
There are many small hotels in the Gothic quarter and also a lot of tourists who want to stay here.

See Hotels in the Gótico and read opinion of travelers.

Since I usually stay in the Ghotic quarter, I can recommend some economic hotels which are very central. These hotels are small, so there is not always availability.

Ramblas by Pillow – Hotel – Guest House

The first thing you will note is that the hotel is situated right on the Rambla avenue! (if you are lucky and receive a room on that side). There are soundproof windows so I didn’t suffer from the street noise.

The room was simple and clean. Couldn’t ask for more.

Casa Lirio – Hotel – Guest House

The hotel is situated very close to la Rambla, in a quiet, narrow street.

The room was big enough and modern

And very clean

See All the Hotels in the Gótico and read opinion of travellers.

2. El Born

born bcn El Born is adjacent to the Barrio Gótico and is beautiful and old as well. A very elegant zone to stay. Parc de la Ciutadela is here. A hot zone for cocktail bars at night.
Also, not far from la Barceloneta, the first beach.
5 minutes walk to the yellow metro line.

See Hotels in El Born and read opinion of travellers.

Also in this area, I can recommend a cost effective hotel :

Hotel Ciutat de Barcelona

This hotel has a small swimming pool at the roof, but im my case it was too cold to enjoy it (November). My room was very big and modern and I got it at a bargain price (prices are constantly changing). This hotel is very popular but it has many rooms, so you have some chance to get one. The hotel is located very, very close to “Paseo del Born”, which is the most central area of El Born.

See All the Hotels in El Born and read opinion of travellers.

3. El Raval

raval bcn El Raval is on the opposite side of the Gothic quarter (La Rambla avenue separates them). The south part of El Raval (the closest to the sea) is inhabited by immigrants and there is some prostitution activity at night, but the neigborhood is not dangerous at all. The north part, closer to plaza Cataluña is more elegant. It is a very central zone, of course, close to La Rambla. The streets are medieval and beautiful. Hotels are cheaper here compared to the Ghotic quarter.

See Hotels in El Raval and read opinion of travellers.

4. Around Plaza de Cataluña + Eixample

plaza catalunya bcn Plaza de Cataluña is the most central square of Barcelona and the beginning of la Rambla avenue. Big shops like “El Corte Ingles”, “Apple store” and Fnac are right in the square. The square has the most central metro station and the Airport Bus.
Your hotel will probably not be in the square itself but near. It could be in “plaza de la Universidad” or Urquinaona or in the large and horizontal avenue Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes.

See Hotels around Plaza de Cataluña and read opinion of travellers.

The zone above “Plaza de Cataluña” and below the Diagonal avenue is called Eixample.
There are many dancing clubs in this zone, including the two most famous Salsa clubs : Mojito and Antilla.

See Hotels in Eixample and read opinion of travellers.

5. La Barceloneta

La Barceloneta is the first beach of Barcelona, the most animated beach and the closest to town center. It is also a residential neighborhood and it has a very special spirit at day and night. You can walk from here 10 minutes to El Born, 15 minutes to the Barrio Gótico and 20 minutes to “la Rambla”. It has a metro station called “La Barceloneta”, with the yellow line. There are not plenty of Hotels in the Barceloneta itself, but rather at the edge, towards the “El Born” neigborhood.

See Hotels at the Barceloneta zone and read opinion of travellers.

Close to the Center (4 Metro stations, 30 min walk)

6. Plaza de España + Central Train (and Bus) Station “Sants”

plaza españa bcn Plaza de España is a beautiful and interesting square which is not located in town center but is also not far from it, just 4 metro stations from plaza Cataluña, you can even walk that distance (about 30 minutes).
At “plaza de España” there is the beginning of the Montjuic hill and the magic fountains at night. It has also the nice mall “Arenas”, built inside an old toro stadium. The airport bus has a stop at plaza de España, very convenient.

See Hotels near Plaza de España and read opinion of travellers.

I can recommend a Hotel near Plaza de España. It is called Chi Hotel. The hotel is very modern and clean. My room was comfortable and quiet (rear side of the building).

There is even a (tiny) swimming pool on the roof.

The hotel is located on the main avenue of “Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes”, near the metro station : “Rocafort” (and also near the Metro station “España”)

Sants – The main railway (and Bus) station is at a 10 minutes walking distance from plaza de España . Of course that hotels are less expensive here compared to “El Gótico”. The area has a spirit of a normal residential neigborhood, including the part close to the railway station.

See Hotels near “Sants” Central Train (and Bus) station and read opinion of travellers.

7. Gracia

Gracia is a wonderful neighborhood with student spirit, very special at night. many nice squares and excellent street food.
It is located just 3 metro stations north from plaza Cataluña, a walk takes 20 minutes. Gracia is also relatively not far from park Guell (the famous Gaudi Gardens).
The center of Gracia is located at the right of “Fontana” metro station (the green line) and till “Joanic” metro station (the yellow line). “Plaza del Sol” is very central.

See Hotels around Gracia neighborhood and read opinion of travellers.

8. La Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia church is very famous of course, but the streets around it are regular and it is not the center of Barcelona. In order to arrive to plaza Cataluña, you will need to walk 30 minutes or take the metro for 4 stations, (with a line change). There is a nice walking street from la Sagrada familia and till the museum-hospital Sant Pao.
Prices of hotels are usually lower here, compared to the very center of Barcelona.

See Hotels near La Sagrada Familia and read opinion of travellers.

9. Poblenou

Poblenou is a quiet residential area, there are no tourists here. It is located on the beaches north of La Barceloneta. Many expatriates who work in the nearby high-tech zone of Diagonal Mar, choose to live here. There is the yellow metro line that takes to the Gothic and the Born neigborhoods, in just 3 or 4 stations travel.

You can choose to live here, if you cannot find hotels in the center, or if you don’t want to be with tourists.

See Hotels in Poblenou and read opinion of travellers.

Far from the Center

Near the Airport

In some cases you may prefer to sleep near the airport. For example if you arrive with a flight late at night and you don’t want to take a taxi to town. Otherwise, you should realise that it is really fast and easy to reach Plaza de Cataluña in the center of Barcelona. Just 30 minutes with the Aerobus.
There are hotels near the airport and there is also a good “capsule hotel”.

See Hotels near the airport and read opinion of travellers.

Sitges

Sitges is a small city, on the beach, south of Barcelona. It happened to me a few times, that I could not find an hotel in the center of Barcelona at a reasonable price, because it was a feast (la Mercé…).
Sitges is a wondeful alternative option. It is a beautiful and pleasant place and there is a suburban train than connects Sitges and Barcelona in just 30 minutes.

See Hotels in Sitges and read opinion of travellers.

Anywhere in Barcelona, close to a Metro station

Your hotel could be anywhere in Barcelona. You may prefer to get better hotel prices and just travel a little bit with the metro or bus. The metro service in Barcelona is very good, it is reliable and it comes in high frequency.
At night there are special lines of buses (N1, N2…) they start from plaza Cataluña.
There is always a metro or bus that reach La Rambla…

See Hotels in Barcelona and read opinion of travellers.

I recommend to search the hotel in Barcelona with the Map :
1. Visit Booking.com for Barcelona.
2. Fill the date of your stay.
3. Find the icon “Map View“. Click on it.
4. Each point on the Map, represents an Hotel. Click on it to see the price and the score given by visitors. When you zoom on the Map, you see more hotels.
5. On the menu, on the left, you can filter by price.
6. You can also change the currency (and the language), with the menu on the top.

Low Cost Hotels + Hostels + Dormitory

sant jordi hostel bcn If you are looking for a dormitory hostel, this kind of offer has significantly improved recently. There are now chains of Hostels operating in town, some of them have an impressive lobby, even with fluorescent floor.
One famous hostel is St Christopher’s Inn which is quite big and almost on Cataluña square itself. Another chain is Sant Jordi (here in the photo), they have several hostels in Barcelona.
If you are looking for an individual cheap room, not dormitory, these places are usually called “Pension” in Barcelona or “Hostal” or “Hostel” or “Guest House”. There are quite a lot of them in the center zones : Gotico, Born and Raval. For example : Guesthouse Barcelona Gotic

See All the Hostels in Barcelona.

More on Barcelona :

If you have specific questions about Barcelona, you can ask them in this TripAdvisor Forum.

On Thailand :

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What to Pack ? the visual list that will help you prepare the suitcase.
Visit my Vegetarian Page. Why be Vegetarian ? What to eat ?
Visit my Salsa Dance Page. Salsa main Styles. Why Dance Salsa ?
See City Information about 2 more cool cities: Barcelona and Tel-Aviv.
Listen to nice Songs with translation in French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew.
Listen to basic Words In Spanish, French, Hebrew

If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

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A Visit in Barcelona

Where to Stay in Barcelona ? – The Best Zones for the Hotel