Barcelona, Spania

The family: we are a couple, in our forties and fifties, with three adult children.

We both work mainly from home and run our own company. Our family languages are English, Catalan and Spanish.
We enjoy trecking, cycling, swimming, music, films, theater plays, baking, DIY projects...

The accomodation is a 95 square meter house in Horta i Guinardó neighbourhood, in Sant Genís dels Agudells, which is 12 minutes walking to the Mercat de Vall d'Hebron, the main in-door food market in the area, and a 12 minute walk to the metro stop in Vall d'hebron that takes you to Plaça Catalunya in about 15 minutes, the centre of the city. The Barcelona beach is about 20 minutes drive, and the closest shopping center is La Maquinista, which is 12 minutes drive.
The house is in working condition and has a massive wild garden with fruit trees (grapes, oranges, lemons, figs, olives,...) and palm trees, with some private space to have some quiet time. It also has a terrace to sit down and have meals, barbaques, parties..., although the terrace flooring, fences and facades need repair, since the house is old and we have been renovating it bit by bit.

The temperature in this area of the city is a few degrees lower than in the center, since the house is in the mountain, so summers are moderate and confortable. The area is well communicated, so there is no need for a car since there is a local bus running every 15 minutes. If you prefer to walk to the Vall d'hebron services, like supermarkets, hospitals, pharmacies, banks... is a short walk.
The area and street is fairly quiet and has a nice public park 2 minutes away. In this park there are basketball court, swings for children and a nice pick-nick point. The atmosphere is very relax. There is access to walk through the mountains very close by, and to a route call Carretera de les Aigües, which has fenomenal views over the whole city.

The Costa Brava is one and a half hour drive, and the views are espectacular. Our prefered places are Cadaqués, l'Escala, Llafranc, Calella, La Conca beach next to Platja d'Aro, the beach of S'Atuna near Begur, S'Agaró, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Tossa de Mar. Those places are not too big, although they can be crowded on the summer weekends. There are also other types of beaches, the big long ones. Barcelona has many of them, with plenty of coffee shops, tapa bars, discos, cinemas...and one can cycle there through the cycle path. There are also other beautiful cities to visit, like Girona and Tarragona within an hours travel.

A very exciting city, well communicated, with loads of culture, fun, activities and wonderful meals. Highly recommended!!