Hello to All in Barcelona. Finally after all the research and decisions, we are coming to Barcelona for the first time in June and will stay for two and half weeks. I don’t speak Spanish at all except Hola, Uno, etc. But my two children are conversational. This trip is for them to develop further their Spanish.

I read up two books on Barcelona by Lonely Planets besides having travelled much in other parts of Europe. We like to find a service apartment during our stay in Barcelona. We also want to find a expat Spanish speaking tour guide just to start in the first couple days of our visit. Normally I would not need a guide. But I have two young children, 12 and 14. Any suggestions? We speak Chinese as well.

cleansea welcome to the forum here , there few from he barca area fill you in , very nice city there , lots to do there , take half city day tour and there know where every thinks is , cam is must here photo city , so many get buildings like San Francisco . get parks walks and lots off places to see and walk around , hint , Metro is go way get around fast are the bus if you see the place
good link http://www.barcelona.com/barcelona_city_guide

jurdy

Thanks for the info. How come I did not think about this simple Barcelona.com site. It has many basic info that I need. Now I have searched and compared prices among different apartments. Still I think this thread can offer me great help. Looking at all the district, my main concern is safety since I am travelling with young children. We don’t mind to live like in Gracia or Exiample apartments, my question is how are these neighborhoods. If we live in Gracia and decide to walk ot take metro to the beach, is it safe? I am sorry to sound like a worried parent. And I am. Thanks for anyone’s input.

This would be the ol’ “Where to Live in Barcelona” question that comes up again and again. 😉 Check out the info on that page there.

Thanks. It is nice to read all the posts and then slowly figure out each person’s perspectives on where s/he lives and reasons behind. Although I have never been to Barcelona, this reminds me of Prague. I visited Prague no less than 6 times within two years since my discovery. I think I will read more on Gracia and I’Example. I think I will skip the beach areas since I could travel there by metro on a full day. Most tourist stay for a few days. But I am going to spend full 17 days in just one Barcelona.  If I fall in love with Barcelona, then I would want to return 5 times just like I did with Prague.  Thanks to those who post.