10 Reasons Why Gràcia Barcelona Is The Perfect Place To Stay

If you don’t know where to stay in Barcelona, you have to stay in Gràcia.

Gràcia neighbourhood Barcelona is by far the best to stay. It’s just outside the city centre about a 20 minute walk from the Gothic Quarter. So you’re still in the heart of the action but you also get to discover a bit more of local Barcelona.

We lived in Gràcia Barcelona for about a month and could not have chosen a better place. We always felt safe, there’s unbeatable local shopping (to bring back the best souvenir from Barcelona), and even it’s own nightlife to explore.

So, here are the 10 reasons why you should consider staying in Gràcia when you’re looking for where to stay in Barcelona!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Where To Stay In Barcelona: Gràcia Vs. El Born

We stayed in Gràcia after our friends from Barcelona recommended it. Without them, I don’t know what we would’ve done. Full disclosure, they’re from Gràcia, so there may have been some bias to their recommendation. But nonetheless, we loved our stay in Gràcia Barcelona.

Along with Gràcia, they also suggested to stay in El Born. It’s a lot closer to the Gothic Quarter (only about a 5-minute walk) and apparently it’s a lot livelier at night.

After visiting El Born when we were there, it seemed like it’s a good alternative for shorter stays if you were looking at staying in the Gothic Quarter. But for longer stays (like us), Gràcia was a better fit.

I’ll be upfront with you, my opinions are solely based on my experience staying in Gràcia for a month. I haven’t stayed anywhere else in Barcelona, so I don’t know what other neighbourhoods are like.

Stay In Gràcia Barcelona

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Barcelona Best Places To Stay: Gràcia Wins!

1. Gràcia Neighbourhood Barcelona is Authentic

If you’re looking for the authentic Barcelona experience, then Gràcia is where you want to be. As a local, you can’t possibly live in the city centre it’s way too chaotic with all the tourists, so they come to Gràcia Barcelona instead. 

You’ll notice it right away when you visit, there isn’t one local in the Gothic Quarter. So, if you want a true authentic Barcelona experience you have to go to Gràcia. 

If you opt to stay in an Airbnb you might also have the authentic laundry experience where you get to hang your laundry out your window! I was ecstatic to find that we had a balcony to hang our clothes on! But I mean, how much more authentic can you get than that!

2. Gràcia Barcelona Is A Community

It’s not just where the locals are, but it’s a family-oriented community. Not only will you see tons of family walking around but that means that it’s a safe and relatively quiet neighbourhood.

There won’t be any unnecessary sketchy riff-raff happening. You’ll feel safe walking around during the day, and more importantly, at night too.

On top of that, because there aren’t any tourists getting lost here, there’s no need to worry about pickpockets.

Unlike if you’d have stayed in El Born, the Gràcia neighbourhood Barcelona is quiet. I don’t mean that it feels empty, it’s just not the party hub of the city.

There are actually always people on the streets (well maybe not early in the morning) but at night the streets are filled with people going for supper, walking their dogs, or shopping!

3. Gràcia Has Small Town Charm

I won’t lie, the best part about staying in Gràcia Barcelona is that you never have to leave. It’s like a small Spanish town (like Girona or Figueres), and that’s probably because at one point it actually was.

In Roman times, Barcelona was a walled city that encircled only the Gothic Quarter. Gràcia existed as its own town outside the walls, totally separate from Barcelona until 1897.

Because of that, it developed it’s own small town charm and it has everything you need! From it’s own markets, parks, countless grocery stores and shopping streets! 

This truly makes it one of Barcelona’s best places to stay!

4. Gràcia Neighbourhood Barcelona The Ultimate Tourist Escape

Gràcia is far enough from the city centre that you won’t have tourists randomly wander in. That’s what the Eixample (X = CH) neighbourhood is for, it acts as a buffer zone for tourists between Gràcia and the city centre. So locals can live in peace!

Trust me, if you’re travelling in high season, it’s nice knowing that you can leave the tourists behind if you want to.

Our first weekend in Barcelona was a Spanish holiday, so it was a mini high season in December. This was a total surprise to us. The hoards of people that met us on Passeig de Gràcia and the Gothic Quarter was total chaos.

We’d never been so happy with our decision to stay in Gràcia neighbourhood Barcelona as we were then.

5. Gràcia Is Actually Affordable

If you’re looking for where to stay in Barcelona that’s actually affordable, then Gràcia is definitely the best place for you! Because this is where the locals are, they can’t charge them insane prices (well I guess they could, but that would be mean).

Everything was very reasonably priced in Gràcia Barcelona, from groceries, shopping, to restaurants. We even found some of the cheapest priced coffee (they also had the cutest cafes here, see them my list!).

One that stood out was Biocini Bike Cafe for the deal of a lifetime. You could get a coffee and a slice of cake, or a sandwich for  €3- €4. La Pepita was also a hopping restaurant with delicious food and affordable prices.

I’d imagine the hotels would be cheaper in this area too. We stayed in an Airbnb to take full advantage of our home stay.

Barcelona is really expensive? See all the ways that I found to save during my stay!

6. You Can’t Get A Better Location Than Gràcia Neighbourhood Barcelona

If it’s not obvious, Gràcia isn’t in the heart of the Barcelona city centre, but it’s not too far from it. I thought this location was actually more convenient though and more centred than the city centre! We were in the middle of everything, it was never to far to walk to any of the main sites. 

The Gothic Quarter was 25 minutes, it was 20 minutes to the Sagrada Familia, and you can even walk to Park Güell in 30 minutes. As a bonus, we were closer to some of Gaudí’s more unknown works like Casa Vicens and Bellesguard. (P.S. Want to know everything Gaudí designed in Barcelona? Check out my guide to Gaudí’s Barcelona here!)

If you don’t want to walk, you’re also in the middle of two metro lines that you can easily jump on.

Where Is The Best Place To Stay In Barcelona?

7. Gràcia Barcelona Is The Perfect Place For A Shopping Spree!

This was my favourite shopping scene I’ve ever seen! I swear, I would move to Gràcia for the shopping alone!

The amount of stores that I wanted to walk into was unreal. It was also the perfect night time activity because the stores stayed open until 8:30. Depending if you’re accustomed to their schedule yet, you can go either before or after dinner.

The streets were always bustling with like-minded shoppers. The centre has more local boutiques, but if you walk to the edge you’ll hit the continuation of Passeig de Gracia with more mainstream stores.

It’s the perfect place to find that unique Barcelona souvenir you’ve been looking for. Just wander the streets of Gràcia Barcelona and you’re bound to find something.

8. Gràcia Is Home To The Best Churros in Barcelona

I still haven’t decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Xurreria Trebol was on our walk to from the Gothic Quarter and it’s pretty hard to resist.

The ones you have to try are their chocolate-filled churros. None of the other options are worth it, believe me, we tried them all. I still dream about them, the way they just melt in your mouth…

9. Hosts One of The Liveliest Barcelona Festivals

Every year from August 15 to August 21, the quaint streets of Gràcia Barcelona transform for the Festa Major de Gràcia. The community decorates the street, organizes activities, parades and concerts.

Over the years, it’s come to earn the title of one of Barcelona’s best festivals. But, if festivals aren’t up your alley you’ll want to make sure to avoid these dates (it’s the same every year).

Stay In Gràcia Barcelona

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10. Has (In)Famous Squares

If it’s one thing Gràcia has an abundance of, it’s squares. Every few streets there’s another square, and they all look the same (except for a few with noticeable landmarks) so you can very easily get lost.

It’s no surprise that out of all their square, two are famous. The most impressive one, Plaça del Diamant is where the novel La Plaça del Diamant (In Diamond Square) takes place.

Now there’s a statue in honour of the novel by Merce Rodoreda. It’s the most famous Catalan novel to date, translated into over 30 languages.

The second notable square is Sol Square. It’s simply the only square you can drink outside on the streets of Barcelona. It’s not even a hidden square, it’s quite known, it’s where everyone goes at night and apparently the cops will never (or very rarely) drive by.

The Downside To Staying in Gràcia Barcelona

It’s not a big deal, but it is something to be aware of because it caught us off guard. Because you’re far from the tourist centre, no one (and I mean NO ONE) spoke an ounce of English. It was hard to get by because we don’t know any Spanish or Catalan, especially when we first arrived.

So, if you do want to stay here, I recommend learning at least some important words in Catalan or Spanish. Especially if you have an allergy, or even a basic question like “where’s the bathroom!” 

Here’s a list of all the spots I mentioned and more!

Don’t Let The Grafitti Scare You!

I’ll be honest with you, when we first arrived in Gràcia it was night and its looks aren’t the most inviting. The buildings aren’t exactly new, so they’re look run down and there’s graffiti on them.

You might also stumble upon the old L’Abaceria Market which has definitely seen better days. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think that the neighbourhood is a wreck. As it turns out it only looks like that because they’re renovating it. They moved all the market stalls out to their temporary location on Passieg de Sant Joan and it looks spectacular. 

And all that graffiti? Well it’s just artwork. We weren’t used to seeing grates over store windows, but it seems like that’s a thing here in Europe. In North America you put a lock on the door and call it a day, you don’t shut in your entire shop in with a grate. So I guess to make them look a bit less terrifying, a lot of them are beautifully painted.

It’s a nice incentive to go out at night or early in the morning to scout out ones you haven’t seen. These are the true hidden gems of Barcelona because they really are hidden for most of the day!

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Last update on 2024-04-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API