Where Should Fit Couples Stay in Barcelona?
Fun Fact: La Sagrada Familia isn't for fitness
Barcelona is a massive, well-developed city, and we definitely haven't even started scratching the surface of the fitness world in this city. Marathons, cycling, Crossfit, HIIT, Yoga- this city has it all, PLUS it has some amazing tourist attractions. Allow me to tell you what we did when we visited Barcelona, and what I would do differently now.
When we started researching lodging options in Barcelona I was blown away at how expensive the Air Bnbs were. Were they offering some sort of Spanish gold upon arrival? Was a perfectly cooked paella waiting in the oven in a skillet of platinum? Alas, none of those things were true. It's just an expensive city.
I tried to book us a shared room 45 min by metro to the east of the city. We showed up and I immediately knew I was about to get the dreaded look of "unacceptable" from Ana. I went ahead and started calling Air Bnb to cancel the room. However, I want to recommend to you that the metro ride into the city is actually very functional. IF you find a good price (less than $100 euro) for a nice room and you're staying only for a few days, I think this is a great option. However, the metro ride will get old after a few days so I wouldn't recommend staying that far from the city if you're commuting in daily for sightseeing for more than a week.
We then moved within a 5 minute walk to La Sagrada Familia- the famous church and one of the most iconic sights in Barcelona. For a shared apartment we still paid $100 euro per night. The host was very nice but he didn't allow guests to use the stove which means we had to eat out for lunch and dinner, increasing our costs and/or reducing our healthiness. IF you'd like to stay in this part of the city I'd suggest getting a hotel with a gym as there are many options, and focusing eating out on restaurants that are known for healthier food.
To answer the preliminary question, as I'm so grateful you've stuck around until now, is I would stay next to the beach area of Barcelona. The reason being is that you have an AMAZING calisthenics area (pictured below) along with a beach-side sidewalk for running. There are also multiple hotels in the area with gyms and if you choose the Air Bnb route there is an Anytime Fitness within walking distance from the beach. I would rather stay in an area to take in Vitamin D, exercise, and then venture out for sightseeing from there to places in the city center. The public transportation is very good and you won't regret the constant view right outside your room.