We spent a week in October at Sven's comfortable and well located flat in Gracia. The second floor flat was as he described it, the rear windows look over the neighbors garden spaces and the sun pours into the kitchen and dining space in the morning. It features a well equipped kitchen and comfortable bath. Both bedrooms are very comfortable. There were only two of us but plenty of space for two couples or a family. Sven pointed us in the direction of some good places to eat out.

As Sven told us, the front bedroom opens onto a street on the corner of a busy square, close the french doors if you have trouble sleeping with the sound of people talking. The locals are literally out all night at the cafe's. They close at 4:00 AM. If you have ever been in New York the neighborhood is a cross between the East Village and Park Slope in the 1990's. Many young people and young families, all kinds of different styles of food, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese, vegetarian and of course Catalan. You could even get Thai takeaway! Small shops of all kinds + artists studios. My wife found a yoga studio two blocks away and their were dance studio's, two of them, offering lessons in everything from tango to flamenco to swing within a couple of blocks. The big difference, for the better, is the lack of cars. The streets are very narrow and pedestrians rule. Bikes and scooters are the preferred transportation for the locals. The streets are full of pedestrians and many streets are closed to cars completely. Hanging out in an outdoor cafe, more of them than you can count, is worth the visit to Gracia.

The metro is 5-10 minute walk down a pedestrian friendly street filled with shops and cafe's. From their you are a few minutes on the subway from all the museums, tourist sites and the beach. One day we took the commuter rail down the coast to a beach town. We left the flat at 10:00 spent five hours on the beach and were back in time for the jazz jam session at the bar just down the street from the flat.

From the flat we were able to walk to La Sagrada Familia, see the inside if you must, but be prepared for massive lines. We skipped the inside and walked a few blocks up to Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau. A much less visited site, built by another modernist architect. The tour guide was knowledgeable and enthusiastic. At six euro's each this was by far the best value of the tourist sites we visited. And we were home in Gracia for an afternoon coffee at the cafe across the street.

If you go to Barcelona, don't miss Gracia. And if you can stay in Sven's flat.