Europe Hostels Home »  Spain Hostels »  Barcelona Hostels

The country of Spain is generally fairly inexpensive compared to most of the rest of Western Europe, but unfortunately Barcelona is a bit of an exception. Hotels in Barcelona are relatively expensive, but the good news is there are plenty of Barcelona hostels to help make budget travel possible.

This is a city of over 1.5 million people and it’s quite spread out. Some European cities, like Paris or Berlin for example, have interesting pockets all over town, but the fun in Barcelona tends to be concentrated in one area. It’s a large area and it’s also got the greatest density of Barcelona hostels so finding a bed there shouldn’t be a problem.

Generally speaking, the area surrounding the collection of streets known as Las Ramblas is where the action is. It runs through the oldest part of the city, known as the Gothic Quarter, and most of the city’s most famous sights and its best nightlife are within a five-minute walk of one part of this 1.2 kilometer-long stretch.

The monstrous Centric Point Hostel is fairly new and well-located within this district. They have around 400 beds spread over large dorm rooms, as well as single and double rooms for people who want a bit of privacy with their hostel experience. They also have various group activities such as pub-crawls for their guests, and they can be especially appealing in this city. People in Barcelona speak more English than they do elsewhere in Spain, but it’s still a bit of a challenge if you don’t speak Spanish (or Catalan). These group outings can be an excellent way to see the sights without struggling against the language barrier.

One word of warning though, as fun as the Gothic Quarter can be, late in the evening the portion of it closest to the port gets quite seedy. Many of the cooler bars and pubs in the city are located in this area, so being on a pub-crawl can actually provide some safety. The area fills up not only with harmless prostitutes, but also with pickpockets and other thieves. Purse-snatchings and camera thefts are sadly common late at night, so have fun but be careful.

There are fascinating architectural sights in other parts of Barcelona, and you’ll want to check those out during your days there, but booking yourself into a Barcelona hostel in the outer districts could make for a boring or complicated trip. The nightlife is famously late-starting and goes all night, so having to find your way back 5 kilometers at 6 in the morning is a lousy way to end your night of fun. It’s better to pay a bit more to be near the center, and specifically near the Gothic Quarter, than to try to save a bit of money causing you to spend an hour or two per day going back and forth.

Not all the listings in the hostels category are for actual hostels so be sure you know what you are looking for. Some place might offer a private room for the same price as a central hostel, but be careful as that private room might boast a location that is 10-minutes by public transportation to Las Ramblas, which is not a good location at all.

Hostels in Spain (Barcelona)