If you have every visited Barcelona, you know it is a place best experienced over a few months instead of a few days. Fortunately, the people of Barcelona know it as well. Staying in Barcelona for Extended Periods Like a fine wine, drinking in Barcelona shouldn't be rushed. Visit the city for two or three days and you will get only a small, rushed taste of the flavor of Barcelona. If you have time to spend weeks or months in Barcelona, you should do it. Staying in a hotel, however, isn't particularly attractive. Don't worry, Barcelona has a solution for you. One of the biggest problem with staying anywhere for an extended period is the lack of accommodation. This is hardly the case in Barcelona. The city has a monstrous apartment rental industry devoted to visitors looking to stay for weeks, months or even a year. As you might imagine, the apartments come in a variety of styles and prices. Almost universally, they come fully furnished with furniture, linen, towels and so on. Most, however, do not include cleaning, laundry, cooking and so on. Depending on how much you are willing to pay, you can get all of these. The first step to finding weekly or monthly accommodation in Barcelona is to figure out where you want to stay. While your first thought may be to head to the most attractive, busy section of the city, you need to give it some thought. Yes, it is good to be close to everything, but Barcelona is a late night, bustling place. If you want to take a break from the fun madness, you might find the noise associated with living in the middle of the city is a bit much. The most popular area of Barcelona is Ciutat Vella, also known as the old city. This is where the action is with nightlife and the exotic tastes of Barcelona. It has an old Roman feel, but never really seems to shut down. The old city is the central tourist destination, so finding accommodations is simple since they are very plentiful. Costs depend on quality, but you can expect to pay $100 to as much as you can splurge per night. Extremely nice places can be had for $150 to $200 a night, which isn't a bad deal if you bring a second person with you. Barcelona is best experienced over time. Pick up weekly or monthly accommodations and you will enjoy yourself immensely. |
