Hey Lauren..

Become a Couch Surfing member and register U'rself. den you can surf for a couch if U r alone or even if its for two ppl..and den you can stay at the members place who has a couch for either free for a night or two or even for a small amount...say 25-30 Euros per night..

ATB..

The central street is La Ramblas and I'd recommend anywhere near there. Alot of the booking websites show you hotels on a map making it easy to make a choice ... depending on what you like.  Obviously there is tripadvisor and hotels.com to help too.

Along La Ramblas are lots of squares with restaurants and hotels. I've previously just walked in and booked. 

Enjoy the trip ... the bus tours are worthwhile and make sure you check out the evening foundation display with lights.

We booked at HCC Taber. But they transferred us to HCC St. Mortiz. It was pretty nice. Cheap too. And near the main streets/ plaza, near a Gaudi building, etc.

I remember coz we just walked around.

Thanks for the helpful tips!

When I went, I stayed in a hostel called Hello Barcelona (HelloBCN). It's clean, have decent lockers and I met some awesome people there! But that depends on who's there when you are I suppose. Have fun, Barcelona is rad :)

Note: La Rambla, the main 'tourist' street in Barcelona, is nice during the day but becomes unpleasant and unsafe at night. If you pick a hotel there, make sure you're close to Placa Catalunya because that's the more pleasant side. 

But frankly anywhere in the center you'll be fine (meaning anything between the sea and Avinguda Diagonal). Everything is within walking distance and the metro system works very smoothly. 

One final thing: watch out for pickpockets. Barcelona has one of the highest crime rates in Europe (yes, higher than Geneva even). Groups of eastern-european children and teenagers operate mainly around La Rambla and at the access of metro stations. Their common method is for one of them to distract you, e.g. as you enter the metro, and for others to take something from your bag. 

But don't let that discourage you. Barcelona is beautiful and energetic, and one of my favorite cities in the world.

Sheesh! Thanks for the heads up!

As I said, I don't want to discourage you, just be alert.

On a more positive note, try this Tapas place for lunch: Tapas 24. The chef used to work at El Bulli (often called the most innovative restaurant in the world), and the tapas are amazing. And not expensive.

It's centrally located (2 minutes from Placa de Catalunya. Make sure you're on time to get a table (they don't accept reservations); I think around 12:30 is fine but I can't quite remember.