Marcel's place is a nicely outfitted unit in a beautiful building in a perfect, central location. We couldn't have asked for a better first experience in Barcelona.
The photos are accurate -- wonderful high ceilings and nicely outfitted bathrooms and kitchen with washer and dryer. It's a great place to kick back and relax, but of course there's so much to do right out the front door.
The unit is in a bustling location on Passeig de Gracia, just on the north side of the Gran Via. There's a Metro stop just outside the front door (extremely convenient for outings) and tons of foot traffic day and night due to a great restaurant and bar scene as well as several flagshop retail locations just steps away. However, the windows are pretty nicely insulated for sound, and we slept great every night. So when you want to let in the hubbub of the city, you can open the French doors to the terrace, and when you want quiet you can have that, too.
Location is in Eixample, but also really just steps away from the Gothic Quarter, La Rambla, and Mercat de la Boqueria -- all worth a visit although they can get sort of packed with tourists. Get a little further out into Eixample, El Born, and Barceloneta to find a better balance of local flavor with tourist comforts.
Marcel has good restaurant recommendations. Ca La Nuri on the beach at Barceloneta was kind of an unbeatable combination of setting, service and food quality. We actually really enjoyed going for drinks and tapas at El Nacional food hall right across Passeig de Gracia from the apartment -- a bit touristy, but a really nice space and lots of fun. We probably had the best time just rolling the dice on places in Eixample that seemed like they were popular with the locals -- Cellarer Wine Bar had a great little menu (and great wine recommedations!) and La Fabrica del Vermutillo was fun.
We'd gladly stay here again.
