Category Archives: Apartment For Rent

Fashionistas guide to Barcelona

Antiques & Boutiques offers an ‘insider’s guide’ to Barcelona, and will help you find some of the city`s hidden gems including their favourite eateries, exciting fashion boutiques and antique furniture stores. They can also help you deck out your new home with some of Barcelona`s latest designs. Antiques & Boutiques are collaborating with Lucas Fox, in particular with property investors new to the city who need a bit of orientation.

We caught up with founders Lisa & Niki recently to ask them what the business is all about….

What is Antiques & Boutiques and when & why was it set up?

Antiques and Boutiques is a bespoke tour and style consultancy service which we set up over 3 years ago now . Initially we began doing the tours for friends in the design industry looking for inspiration, from there the idea grew from our own experiences of travelling to other countries and cities we were always looking to find something inspiring and unique to the places we visited.   We created Antiques and Boutiques with the aim to offer a stylish, personal and insider guide to like-minded people visiting the city. Connecting visitors to the best of Barcelona’s fashion and design scene, introducing clients to local designers , ateliers and bespoke products unique to Barcelona. It’s also a really lovely day out and a great way to meet with and feel like a local.

Who are the people behind it?

We are Lisa Richardson and Niki Robinson, two fashion designers that moved here from Milan and London over 6 years ago. We met through mutual designer friends and soon discovered that we had a lot of shared interests, in art and design, a love of vintage  and a shared passion for travel.

In broad terms, where would you place Barcelona in the world of design and fashion?

Barcelona is fast becoming  one of the most interesting design cities in Europe rivaling London and Paris, it has the right mixture of high end design, independent boutiques, showrooms, concept stores and ateliers. It is a creative city with a strong heritage of craft that is being nurtured. Shopping trends are focusing towards quality in well designed products and Barcelona is becoming an important platform in offering this. When we visit a city we want to find things that are unique to that place and that is what Barcelona can offer.

In what specific creative areas do you think the city excels in?

For us it is that craftmanship as well as bespoke high-end products that makes Barcelona excel, this helps us offer our customers a truly unique shopping experience

Vintage fashion seems to be becoming increasingly popular in Barcelona, why do you think that is and which areas, shops or markets would you suggest lovers of vintage clothes  should head to?

Barcelona has a lot of vintage stores all around the city, from Born, to Raval , Eixample and Gracia. You can find everything from fun retro boutiques and amazing costumiers to private showrooms or beautiful lifestyle boutiques. One of our favourites is Magnolia Antic,  a very beautiful and atmospheric store showcasing a hand picked collection of high end accessories, objects and homewares.

For those looking for a more upmarket/designer look, where are the main hotspots?

The main hotspots for upmarket designer shopping are the Eixample área and around Turó park.  You can find a great selection of international luxury brands around the upper end of Passeig de Gracia and the streets  leading off it are scattered with high end local designers and specialist boutiques.

And for high street fashion?

For high Street shopping head to Portal del Angel and Carrer Portaferrissa. You’ll find all of the Spanish and international high street brands and younger fashion outlets. It’s also a good area for Street style, sportswear and urban fashion.

As well as offering personalized shopping tours of Barcelona, you can also help those new to the city design and furnish their new home, how do you go about this?

We offer a consultancy and interior styling service which helps people to source, style and select fantastic  pieces for their home. This is aimed at people who have their own design ideas and like to be involved in the decorating process.

We start with an initial consultation in the client’s home then make appointments to introduce them to the best interior design stores for their taste. We have a great directory of all the city’s best interior design and decoration stores, private galleries and showrooms.

We also offer a bespoke introduction to Barcelona, for people who are moving here. When you’re new to a city finding your way around can be a daunting experience so we are here to give you the inside local knowledge and make the experience fun and easy.

For those interested in purchasing Antique furniture, in which areas of the city should people be looking?

Our favorite Antique shops are scattered all around the city , but there are a good selection in Eixample and in the Gotico. Some of the small shops are showcases for huge almacens, so there’s a lot more on offer behind the scenes. There is also great Antique shopping outside of Barcelona and you can find monthly Antique markets in some small towns and villages.

What types of antique furniture can be found in the shops and markets?

You can find just about anything at the markets and auction houses in Barcelona and beyond. There are great antique and restoration studios specializing in everything from British Colonial furniture, to art nouveau lighting or mid century Italian Design .

What do you think the most common mistakes are when people embark on a decorating project?

Not thinking it through. Having a good idea about the space and how you see the finished project is important, so planning is vital. For us the feeling and atmosphere is very important so we like to créate mood and concept boards as a good starting point.

We offer help with this as part of our service.

What would you advise people to before  embarking on a decorating project?

Research, start collecting images and inspiration from interior magazines, books, travels, textiles and exhibitions.  Pinterest  is also  great inspiration resource for creating quick and easy mood boards. This will let you see how everything works together and what direction you want to head in.  Alongside that start creating a colour palette that works for you, and always try them out before comitting. We love Farrow and Ball for paint and wallpaper, every colour and design comes in a sample pot or strip so you can try it out at home.

Many properties in parts of the Old Town lack natural daylight, what advice would you give to a homeowner looking to brighten up their home?

We would suggest keeping floors and surfaces light to reflect any light you may have as well as accessorising the walls with mirrors, you could consider using large mirrors or a wall of picture sized mirrors to reflect light whilst making it into a feature for the wall.

The right lighting is essential for dark apartments, try  adding  back lights behind plants that will bounce off the walls and invest in some great lamps, we love Biosca and Botey  for all the latest in lighting trends.

Where do you think the most exciting up-and-coming properties are located in the city? What are the stand-out features?

The San Antoni area is becoming the new trendy area of the city, with  cool bars and cafes such as Federal  opening up it is attracting a new younger crowd. We love the tree-lined avenues and you can find beautiful Modernista apartments in this area, it is within easy access to Montjuic and charming San Antoni market which is now under renovation.

For us it is a choice between the Modernista buildings in the eixample, with their high ceilings and patterned tiled floors to re-working an old industrial space in the Poble Nou area to create an ultimate urban open-plan home.

For space and grandeur we’d head uptown towards the Tibidabo to one of the beautiful old Masias or Palaces with majestic views over the city.

If people are interested in your services how should they contact you?

You can get in touch with us via our website www.antiquesandboutiques.com or send an email to Lisa or Niki at info@antiquesandboutiques.com and we will get back to you!

 

New short term rental Apartments available for Mobile World Congress In Barcelona

Despite lack of availability in the city we have last minute new apartments available in great locations with the highest comfort:

- Calle muntaner 1 bedroom, max 2 people, 300 per night minimum 3 nights
- Diagonal mar, max 6 people, 660 EUR per night, minimum 3 nights.
- Sarria-San Gervasi max 4 people 360 per day minimum 4 nights
- Plaza Sanllehy max 3 people 360 euros minimum 4 nights

For further informations and photos please feel free to contact our Short Term Rental Agent Ms. Monica Nahas: monica@lucasfox.com or call her (+34) 933 562 989

Where Is The Best Car Parking In Barcelona?

While the luxury apartments available in Barcelona for short and long-term accommodation are bound to impress, the daily chase for a car park can feel like a nightmare.

Barcelona Car Parking Advice

Parking spaces indicated with a blue painted outline are free: good luck finding one of those.

If you are staying in a Barcelona luxury apartment and have your own car transport with you, you do have a few options when it comes to car parking in Barcelona. You can register with the local ayuntamiento (Town Hall) – where you applied for an empadronamiento (local district residency) – and request a parking sticker. With neighborhood parking rights, you are entitled to park in any green coloured zone for the required time length: if you can find a spot.

You can also pay a quarterly fee to use the green-coded car parking spaces continually for up to 8 days at a time. The quarterly dates are calendar-set, with the next cycle period starting on 20 September. You pay up to €13 per quarter which allows you to buy voucher parking when using green car parking spaces. Show your voucher on your car dashboard and you can park continuously in the one spot for up to 8 days at a time.

The best times to be searching for a vacant space are around 8 pm of an evening when workers move off and spots open up. It’s also when the days’ green zone period ends. In Eixample, keeping an eye out at the hexagonal junction-street corners around 8 pm and a car park should come up fairly fatefully, especially on a Friday night and on Sundays. This can hold true for everywhere in the district between Gran Via and Avenida from Plaza Espana to Paseig Sant Joan.

Using your parking card can be a problem if you need to access the telephone support and only speak Castellano or your home tongue. Ask a Catalan friend to help you navigate the phone assistance options or check in with your Lucas Fox contact to be linked up with a Catalan speaker in the office if you do need to update your registration details or check on your access rights.

There are a number of classified ad outlets that now sell and rent car parking spaces. Sites like habitaclia and idealista offer listings for classified car parking rental spaces. An increasing number of street posters around the city also offer a similar deal. These may be a great bargain and miracle solution just outside your Barcelona apartment… or they could be a nightmare of regularly renegotiated arrangements or mysterious car damages for which no one takes responsibility. Like you would in any city, do your homework thoroughly before entering into these arrangements.

Share your car parking experiences on our interactive map

A private car parking bay with long-term monthly rental options may be the most convenient arrangement, with a covered space, 24-hour security and the freedom to come and go as you choose. Fees can range from 70 to 190 a month. The brilliant web resource parkopedia is your number one support for locating car parking spaces.

We have linked their Barcelona map to this blog post. If you do use any of these services, please revisit this blog post, click through to the site and add your review to the car parking in Barcelona directory listings so that your experience can be shared with other Lucas Fox blog readers.

If you have any secret car parking spaces that you are feeling magnanimous enough to share, or a tip about how to navigate finding a spot for your car in a city where spaces are at a premium, share your wisdom in the comments so other readers can avoid the car parking in Barcelona stress.

 

Top 10 Tips For Attending The World Mobile Congress in 2012

It’s not on until February 2012, but it’s already time to start planning your attendance at the next World Mobile Congress (being hosted in Barcelona from 27 February to 1 March). Participants face a fast-paced mix of business networking and lead generating. These 10 tips aim to help you get the most out of your World Mobile Congress attendance while also getting a chance to see Barcelona at its best.

1. Plan your networking in advance: regularly check the WMC website and download a copy of registered participants, and programmed speakers. Use LinkedIn to see who you to network with and meet while here. Make contact before the event and plan arrangements to meet.

2. Give some thought to your elevator script: you want a one or two line sentence that explains who you are, where you work and why people will want to network with you.

3. Pack business cards! It’s the little things that count and everyone counts on getting one of these when you introduce yourself.

4. Make use of twitter: Tweet live updates to your followers and business contacts back home throughout the conference. Share a few reflections on your exploration of Barcelona, not just the work stuff. Your contacts will be curious about the city as well as the event.

World Mobile Congress accommodation

Properties like this Eixample apartment are ideally located close to the World Mobile Congress venue

5. Stay within walking distance to the venue: While Barcelona is an accessible city with conveniently placed metro stations and a worldclass, safe, clean and efficient subway system, Lucas Fox has a range of luxury apartments near Fira de Barcelona that will let you recharge just like your phone. You can also host meetings in comfort and show your business colleagues your level of success.

6. Choose one Barcelona sight to fit in to your agenda: It is easy enough to get back on a plane and realise you didn’t see anything of the city. Make a plan to go to Parc Guell, Casa Pedrera or La Boqueria and do it when you first arrive before the time gets swallowed up.

7. Eat at a quality Barcelona restaurant: Barcelona is deservedly recognised for its gastronomic credentials so see why it’s a culinary city on everyone’s tongues and in everyone’s stomachs.

8. Squeeze in some gift shopping: Visit La Boqueria or pop across from Fira de Barcelona to Arenas de Barcelona and buy a vacuum sealed ham, a gaudi cup, or a FC Barcelona scarf for a loved one or the work colleague who got left at the office.

9. Get a view: At Fira de Barcelona’s Montjuich venue, you can choose between the rooftop panorama of Arenas de Barcelona or climb the outdoor escalators to the Catalunyan National Museum of Art to see stunning vistas of this most cosmopolitan and vibrant of European cities.

10. Upload a photo: Cement new industry contacts and share your event experience by posting a few photos on your work Facebook page. Don’t forget to send us a link so we can also post it to our pages!

An insight into La Boqueria; Barcelona’s fantastic food market.

 

When visiting Barcelona, a must is ‘La Boqueria’; a food market…just an average food market? no. La Boqueria is heaven for the foodies amongst us; or quite simply those who enjoy the sight and smell of fresh market produce with a variety that is sure to trump anything previously caught sight of. This is a market that engulfs you upon entering and before long you are wrapped up in its ‘spell’. You must not get mistaken, this so called ‘spell’ is no bad thing; this is that feeling of having buzzing, excited people surrounding you; pointing to that incredible display of strawberries they have never before seen displayed in such a manner; or that mound of dried Porcini mushrooms that scream ‘wild mushroom risotto for supper tonight!’.

short term rent in barcelona, barcelona real estateDive deeper and you walk passed one of the tapas bars that are dispersed throughout the market dishing up the freshest tapas; priding themselves on their usage of market produce, dishes are past to the customers and the power of smell entices you. One to try is El Quim; a family run ‘restaurant’ usually seen with people waiting, lingering impatiently behind the tall stools of the current customers. It is the place to enjoy a light bite whilst soaking up the atmosphere of this food ‘haven’. Whilst waiting for a place at the bar; a strategic plan must be adopted….come early and beat the locals or accept the idea of waiting patiently yet maintaining ‘eyes peeled’ at all times! Having recently been approached by a customer just finished eating saying “we are done whenever these ladies accompanying me decide they’ve had enough Cava!!”…in my mind this says it all; a place to enjoy good food, amongst a place that screams fresh food, hustle and bustle; no better place for people watching!

The display of food that is available in this infamous market really is vast; sip a freshly made fruit smoothie whilst strolling around the different stalls. Catch site of the expanse of fresh fish and shellfish filling you with an element of excitement. The fishmongers stand expectantly; eager to help with any means of preparation you so wish; from the pin-boning and filleting of the tinniest herring to the filleting and gutting of that whole turbot. From the feeling of being immersed within the seafood section, a few steps away you a graced with the smell of freshly cooked pizza to order by the slice; whose smell has the ability to persuade you that eating pizza for a snack is a necessary indulgence! Stroll on by and you are welcomed by the fresh bakery, the expanse of dried fruits, nuts, fresh herbs, dried herbs, cheeses as well as much more; you just so wish you could walk away with it all.

La Boqueria is in a prime position in Barcelona; along La Rambla in the Old Town this really is a must on anyone’s to do list whilst in Barcelona. A true delight is the feeling of getting to the market early; the market stall owners having just finished setting up for the day and keen for another days business. So sit down for breakfast and set yourself up for the day surrounded by such animation and life.
To make this easy, why not stay in this lovely 3 bedroom penthouse or this fantastic 1 bedroom apartment; both of which will allow for that short stroll to breakfast.

Please contact Lucas Fox for more information about where to stay when visiting Barcelona and we will be more than happy to help.

Spain Still The Hottest Place To Stay In Europe 2011

 

Lucas Fox read a recent report from Eurostat that suggests that tourists making Spain their country of choice! This is backed up by statistics that state that around 268 million hotel room nights were booked in Spain in 2010. This is up by a nice 6.4 % from 2009.

Among the Member States, the highest numbers of nights spent in hotels in 2010 were recorded in Spain (268 million nights, +6.4% compared with 2009), Italy (245 mln, -0.8%), Germany (229 mln, +5.8%), France (196 mln, +2.4%) and the United Kingdom (166 mln, -2.1%). These five countries accounted for more than 70% of the total number of hotel nights spent in the EU27.

Despite the economic slowdown, “In the two years of slowdown, resident guests – i.e. visitors traveling in their own country – became more crucial to the sector, but 2010 showed a stronger revival in the number of nights spent by non-residents (+5.1 %) compared with residents (+1.1%)“. [Source Athen's News]

At Lucas Fox… we never doubted it!

Experience El Bulli style dining in the heart of Barcelona; Ferran Adrià’s latest project.


The recent news of Ferran Adrià taking the decision to call a stop to the world’s number 1 restaurant this year in July, caused much stir and worry that this was the end of his spectacular and creative approach to cooking that was so perfectly located within close reach of Barcelona city. El Bulli, this world renowned 3 Michelin star restaurant priding itself on its creativeness and molecular gastronomy, is something of a one off; with its idyllic location overlooking a bay in Catalonia’s Costa Brava coastline and simple sea side restaurant appearance, this gastronomical vision receives a flood of more than 2 million reservation requests each season. Its popularity and pristine reputation amongst the high-end yet adventurous or simply inquisitive gastronomic minded is clear through the pure over indulgence of reservations with the restaurant only accepting a mere 8,000 of these vast requests.

The closing of El Bulli needn’t be the grounds to cross Barcelona off your top foodie destination to visit; last month Ferran Adrià, brother Albert and the three Iglesias brothers have successfully opened ‘Tickets Restaurant’ in Barcelona’s theatre district at 164 Avenida del Paral.lel. This will allow the continual portrayal of his fascination with the gastronomic creative capabilities that the world has to offer, by offering an evolution in traditional tapas.

Next door to this prime ‘foodie’ destination is their other latest project, 41 degrees; primarily the ‘cocktail bar’ of the two destinations; however, maintaing that infamous gastronomic quality that Ferran Adria does best it also offers a prime selection of snacks and small tapas to enjoy.

These new additions to the restaurant and eatery world only opened their doors last month and the news is spreading, people are getting inquisitive as to what the latest gem following on from El Bulli really is and what it has to offer. It is certainly in a fantastic location in Barcelona and should feature in prime position in amongst the other gastronomic experiences that the city has to offer. A definite place to experience; even solely through sheer inquisitiveness and intrigue. Why not stay in the Old Town of Barcelona with everything on your doorstep allowing you to put aside one evening to really enjoy what the Adrià brothers have accomplished here in Barcelona or perhaps stay further towards the area of El Borne in this fantastic 2 bedroom stylish apartment with a terrace.

Contact us for more information.