Barcelona in the Catalonia region of Spain is somewhere I’ve visited in the past. Do you remember those heady days without children, when you could go anywhere without worrying about school attendance, or how to keep little ones entertained, or having to pack for more than just yourself? It seems like a lifetime ago for me, but I’d love to revisit some of the places I’ve seen in the past with my children, though I suspect the activities once we were there would be a bit different! I would hope so anyway.
As a family you could discover Barcelona with HCC hotels – there are some great suggestions of things to do in Barcelona on their website. It is the perfect place to discover Barcelona as its hotels are located in the centre of the city, near the main tourist attractions accommodation.
Here are three more ideas for things to do with children in Barcelona
Visit the Sagrada Familia. Probably the world’s most recognisable church, the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, to give it its full name, has been under construction since 1882. Designed by Gaudi, the church is a work in progress and draws thousands of visitors a year. You can pay to go inside and look at the beautiful interior, or just pop the children in front of it and take some photos. They may not care two hoots about the history or significance of the building but one day they will look back at the photos and understand, and appreciate that they’ve been there and seen it. A tourist must-see.
Image source: Wikipedia
Visit Camp Nou. The Nou Camp to us Brits, the football stadium of one of Europe’s biggest football teams FC Barcelona is a must if you have football fans in your family. Advisable to book ahead as it is a working stadium and they only do tours on certain days, Camp Nou is highly popular. I came here several years ago without children but with a much bigger football fan and it went down a treat. Lots of photo opportunities, a museum, and a closer look behind the scenes, it’s a treat for football fans of all ages.
Image source: Wikipedia
Have a run around Ciutadella Park. A new one for me, this park sounds fantastic for children. The 70 acre Ciutadella Park is home to Barcelona Zoo (extra charges), The Museum of Natural Science (extra charges), and the Cascada which was built to rival Rome’s Trevi Fountain. I think this would be a fabulous place to let them have a run around in the Spanish sunshine.
By Hotcreation (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 es (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/es/d
eed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons
With flights of around two hours from London, Barcelona is a serious option even for a long weekend.
Have you visited Barcelona with children? What would you recommend to other families?
Disclosure – this is a sponsored post
I’ve taken our children to Barcelona a couple of times and one of my favourite photographs is of Heidi (aged 1) toddling down Las Ramblas. We enjoyed the sights of La Sagrada Familia, looking at the fountains and boats at the harbour, taking a tour around Camp Nou and of course a visit to Barcelona Zoo. The metro system is easy to navigate too.