# Overnighting in central Barcelona



## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

This may be useful for some people who want to visit Barcelona.

There are two car parks in Barcelona city which accept motorhomes, and in which you can sleep overnight in your motorhome.
(There used to be 3, but the multi-storey one doesn't accept motorhomes any longer).

The one down by the port (Garcia Faria) is in our opinion pretty rough; essentially a lorry park. It's also a long way from the city centre.
But the other one, "Parking Llacuna" is, in our view, very very good indeed.
It is at 41.4031°N 2.1961°E

We've just spent a couple of nights there in order to visit Barca on our way back from a tour of Germany & France to our home to the Costa Blanca.

It's just to the East side of central Barca, in the Poblenou region of the city, about 300 metres walk from a metro line that takes you right to the heart of the city centre in literally just 5 minutes.

It's just a simple, big, surface (not multi storey) tarmac car park, but it's very secure: it's fully fenced in, with barrier entry and exit, and 24 hour manned security and CCTV. 
Because it's in a residential quarter it's also surprisingly really quiet at night.

There are no motorhome services in the car park so arrive ideally with full freshwater and empty greywater and empty poo cassette if possible; but there are toilets (locked) there and you can ask the gatehouse attendant for the key to them if you need to to do a cassette-empty on the quiet.

The cost is only 20 euros per 24 hours (each 24 hour period starts at 10am), which for central Barcelona really is incredibly cheap.

You do need to pre-book (and pre-pay) on-line via their website BEFORE you arrive.
You can pre-book to stay for a maximum of three nights under this motorhome parking scheme.
When you book/pay on line, you get a proof of payment receipt which you need to print off an advance and hand in to the gateman when you arrive.

Officially there's a 7 metre limit, but I wouldn't worry at all about that. We're 7.5 metres inc scooter rack and had no problems,; also a big German tag axle jobbie that must be 8.5 metres or more came in on our second night without a problem too. 
There were a total of maybe 6 other vans there whilst we were there.
There's no defined motorhome spaces, but the staff have a row of spaces bollarded off close to the gatehouse which they use for motorhomers, and they just show you to one of them, and don't care at all if your rear sticks out over the end of the marked space.
Again, "officially" the website rules say no levelling ramps (and the car park is nice and flat and level anyway), but I did notice that one the vans there was one of the new Fiat Ducato jobbies that naturally sat at a nose-down angle on the flat, and he was parked up on levellers without any hassle from the staff.

Even more amazingly, the staff are really nice. Not your usual fascist jobsworths at all!
The guy who is on the gate in afternoons/evenings is called Fransisco. He is a REALLY helpful and polite chap! He'll help you park, give you advice about the city/where local shops/metro station is. It's well worth slipping him a bit of cake/can of beer or two etc as a thankyou when you leave.

It won't suit everyone, as it ain't a campsite or an aire, it's just a car park. But it's a brilliant, cheap, way of staying right in the city for a few days.

Here's a link to the website for bookings:

http://www.aparcamentsbsm.cat/index.php/bsm-car-parks/aparcamentcaravanes


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Excellent link. Thank you very much. Please would you copy and paste your post into the MHF campsite database ? It would be a shame if such a useful post were lost.

G


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

I've just tried to add it to the sites review thingy, but ain't sure if it uploaded properly, as despite the instructions above the map, there is no zoom function bar to the left of the map showing sites/locations (at least none that is visible to me using Chrome).

So when I try to view the map, all of Spain is tiny and totally clogged with hundreds of POI's, and I can't zoom in to expand it.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

TheNomad said:


> I've just tried to add it to the sites review thingy, but ain't sure if it uploaded properly, as despite the instructions above the map, there is no zoom function bar to the left of the map showing sites/locations (at least none that is visible to me using Chrome).
> 
> So when I try to view the map, all of Spain is tiny and totally clogged with hundreds of POI's, and I can't zoom in to expand it.


It used to be that it took a while for the newly added site to appear as the powers-that-be checked it first before publishing it. You should- or did anyway- get an e-mail notification when it had been published.

G


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## TheNomad (Aug 12, 2013)

Well, I've had a go at transferring the data into a "campsite review", and what a long-winded and complicated process. 

Still no idea if it's been accepted, and it doesn't show if I do a site search, so maybe a waste of time anyway.
Not impressed.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

> TheNomad.....Well, I've had a go at transferring the data into a "campsite review", and what a long-winded and complicated process.
> 
> Still no idea if it's been accepted, and it doesn't show if I do a site search, so maybe a waste of time anyway.
> Not impressed.


Yep, it's like walking through treacle.

The database WAS a good idea but no longer worth the effort. Without maintenance it's just not worth using. For example - the CS & CL entries are a total waste of time - mostly auto-loaded, only postcode co-ordinates and never been updated with sites added/updated or removed since.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Yep, gave up on it ages ago. Around the time people were hired in to load all sorts which couldn't be trusted because they hadn't been visited and reviewed by members.

Similarly gave up on contributing to or using the once excellent LPG database when the maps developed a glitch and stopped supporting close ups to identify the locations. 

Pity, but there it is. No point fixing them now. The first is polluted with untrustworthy entries and the second has been superseded by sites that work properly and are up to date, Alan.


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## mamndadto3 (Jan 2, 2015)

i was told it wasnt safe to park around Barcelona so always tried to avoid


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

mamndadto3 said:


> i was told it wasnt safe to park around Barcelona so always tried to avoid


That's a pity cos it's a gorgeous city. So much to see. I stayed in a campsite on the coast near the end of the airport runway - can't remember the name right now. Bus stop to city just 200m (?) from the gate. An ACSI site I think so no more expensive than the E20, and the bus fare wasn't all that much.

Open top bus a great way to see the entire city in a day. Then you can do the hop on/hop off bit when you've sassed out what to visit. Will definitely go again. Ditto Valencia.


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Many thanks for the Barca location I am sure we will use it. It think there is great scope for city center secure parking. We discovered a great one in Palermo last year http://www.campercontact.com/campersite/detail/id/7892/photoupload/false

Dick


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## JollyJack (Aug 14, 2005)

Excellent post thank you.
Couple of years ago we stayed on a campsite at Mataró just north of Barcelona - free daily coach to and from Barcelona. Also free local site shuttle bus

http://www.campingbarcelona.com/transporte.asp?idlengua=3


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