Barcelona is a perfect place for traveling with children for several reasons:
- Family-friendly attractions: Barcelona offers a wide range of family-friendly attractions that are sure to keep children entertained. The city has an excellent zoo, the Barcelona Aquarium, and several amusement parks such as Port Aventura and Tibidabo Park. These attractions cater specifically to children and ensure they have a fun and enjoyable experience.
- Beaches: Barcelona is known for its beautiful golden sandy beaches, which are perfect for families to relax and enjoy. Children can build sandcastles, play in the shallow waters, or even try out water sports such as paddleboarding and kayaking. The beaches are easily accessible from the city center, making it convenient for families to spend a day by the sea.
- Parks and green spaces: Barcelona boasts numerous parks and green spaces where children can run, play, and enjoy nature. Park Guell, Parc de la Ciutadella, and Montjuic Park offer playgrounds, picnic areas, and open spaces for families to engage in outdoor activities. These parks also provide a great opportunity for kids to connect with nature and learn about different plants and species.
- Food options: Barcelona is known for its delicious and diverse food culture. The city offers a range of kid-friendly food options, including tapas, fresh seafood, and authentic Catalan dishes. Many restaurants in Barcelona also have kids’ menus or offer child-friendly portions, ensuring there is something to suit every child’s taste.
- Cultural experiences: Barcelona is rich in culture and history, and it offers educational and enriching experiences for children. Kids can visit iconic landmarks such as the Sagrada Familia or explore the Gothic Quarter, where they can learn about the city’s fascinating past. The city also hosts several interactive museums and exhibitions that are specifically designed for children, such as the CosmoCaixa Science Museum and the Chocolate Museum.
- Public transportation: Barcelona has an efficient and extensive public transportation system, which makes it easy for families to navigate the city with children. The metro, buses, and trams are all stroller-friendly, and many stations have elevators or ramps for easy access. This makes it convenient for families to explore different parts of the city without the hassle of driving or finding parking spaces.
Overall, Barcelona offers a perfect balance of entertainment, culture, and convenience, making it an ideal destination for a family vacation with children.
Baggage
On our flight, luggage was paid, so we limited ourselves to free hand luggage (10 kg, up to 55x40x20 cm). For a couple of days in Barcelona, we took a few things with us that fit perfectly into a small suitcase. We also had the Babyzen YoYo stroller with us: it folds easily and passes like hand luggage. In order to find a place for your stroller in the hand luggage compartment, it is better to be among the first to board the plane.
Hotel
Photo: ericvokel.com
Eric Vökel Bcn Suites
Why an apartment and not a hotel?
- Balconies
- Plenty of space to run and play
- There is a kitchen and all appliances
Why these apartments?
- Fits into the budget
- Spacious – as much as 55 sq.m
- Quiet sleeping area
- Near 2 metro stations: Sagrada Familia and Verdaguer, convenient to move around the city
- Quiet sleeping area
- Walking distance from Sagrada Familia
- 2 open balconies
- Kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine, iron, stable Wi-Fi with good speed
Getting Around the City
In the off-season, moving around the city is comfortable: there are very few tourists.
We traveled mainly by metro, buses and on foot. There are elevators in the metro, so it is very convenient with a stroller. Buses run on schedule (always used google maps). Taxi was used only once.
Renting a bike with a child seat: a great opportunity to quickly see the city and recharge with a great mood.
Connection
We bought a SIM card at the airport. Vodafone 2Gb cost 20 euros.
Where to walk
Barceloneta beach
Photo: @niinakristiinan
Barceloneta is the most famous beach in Barcelona. The easiest way to get there is by subway on the yellow line. Walking from the city takes about 20 minutes. Along the entire beach there is a promenade, along which it is very pleasant to walk overlooking the sea. In the off-season, the sea in Barcelona is cool, but the child can play enough in the sand on the beach.
Park Guell
Photo: Shutterstock.com
The famous park, created by Antonio Gaudi, looks more like a fairyland. Houses of bizarre shapes, colorful turrets, lawns and flower beds take you straight to the fairy tale about Alice in Wonderland. Children here will love the famous mosaics, live music from street musicians and parrots hovering overhead. And parents can relax, looking at the lush greenery, palm trees and enjoying the view of the city.
Price: 7 euro
La Ramblas
Photo: PitK / Shutterstock.com
A pedestrian street in the center of Barcelona that leads from the city center directly to the port. This boulevard is called the soul of Barcelona – from morning until late at night life is in full swing here: street vendors sell flowers and sweets, locals dine on the open terraces of restaurants, and musicians play popular tunes. Feel the real Barcelona here!
Sagrada Familia
Photo: @dorpell
The famous cathedral has been under construction for 120 years. You can look at the monumental building for hours, walking around with a glass of coffee, or go inside and admire the stained-glass windows, huge columns and sculptures. Near the cathedral there is a square with a playground, where the child will spend half an hour or an hour with pleasure.
Location: Carrer de Mallorca, 401
Mount Montjuic
Photo: Shutterstock.com
Montjuïc is home to Barcelona’s best museums, the Olympic venues built for the 1992 Games, and plenty of parks to stroll around with great views of the city. In the evening, magical singing fountains turn on on the mountain: jets of water shining with all colors fly into the air to the famous melodies. A bewitching spectacle!
Price:
Barceloneta – Montjuic funicular: €4.10 with park entry, €7.70 without entry
Parc de la Ciutadella
Photo: PitK / Shutterstock.com
Very beautiful green park with fountains and statues. In warm weather, you can rent a boat and swim in the reservoirs, in cold weather, look into the greenhouse with tropical plants. There are benches everywhere in the park, and between them ducks and swans walk from lawn to lawn. Parc de la Ciutadella is a great place to relax in the midst of a sunny day.
Location: Passeig de Picasso, 21
Price: Free
Where to go
La Boqueria Market
Photo: Tupungato / Shutterstock.com
Perhaps one of the most famous markets in the world is the Boquería market in Barcelona. Mountains of fruits and vegetables, from which colorful smoothies are prepared right here, cheeses and jamons of all varieties, sweets and food courts with national cuisine, run by smiling noisy Spaniards. They go to the Boqueria market for color and a joyful fussy mood. And the children here will be delighted with the colorful stalls and kind sellers who strive to treat the kids with something tasty.
Location: La Rambla, 91
Norma Comics Store
Photo: normacomics.com
Norma Comics is one of the largest comic book stores in Europe. School-age children (and adults, what can we hide!) will be incredibly interesting. The two-story 700 square meter store is divided into three departments: European comics, American comics and manga. There are departments for children’s comics, literature, illustrated books, gifts and souvenirs, and even a separate area dedicated to Tintin, the protagonist of the comic book series “The Adventures of Tintin”.
Location: Passeig Sant Joan, 9
Website: www.normacomics.com
Confectionery Escriba
Photo: Viktor Forgacs / Unsplash.com
Escriba has been making the best sweets in town since 1906. Here you can try Catalan desserts, sweets in the form of various animals and enjoy a cup of coffee.
Location: Rambla de les Flors 83
Aquarium de Barcelona
Photo: Craig Lovelidge / Unsplash.com
Barcelona Aquarium is the largest aquarium in Europe. More than 11 thousand sea creatures live here. The main feature of the oceanarium is a tunnel under water 80 meters long. A walk through the tunnel will take you to a fabulous underwater kingdom, where exotic fish of tropical colors, huge toothy sharks and funny stingrays swim around. Usually kids love the aquarium so much that they just refuse to leave.
Location: Moll d’Espanya del Port Vell
Price:
children 3-4 years old – 7 euros, children 5-10 years old – 15 euros, adults (from 11 years old) – 20 euros.
diving with sharks – 300 euros
Chocolate Museum
The Chocolate Museum in Barcelona is every child’s dream. Here he will be told and shown the history of chocolate, the ancient methods of its preparation and will be treated to chocolate delicacies in a coffee shop. Chocolate is everywhere here, from an entrance ticket in the form of a chocolate bar to huge statues and figures of fairy tale characters.
Location: Carrer del Comerç, 36
Price: children under 7 free, adults €6.
Amusement Park Tibidabo
Photo: @simonabadu
Tibidabo is the oldest amusement park in Spain. It is located on a mountain at an altitude of 512 meters, so there are only two ways to get here: by tram and then by funicular, or by a special Tibi Bus shuttle that departs regularly from Plaza Catalunya. Attractions in the park – roller coasters, Ferris wheel and carousels – will amuse not only children, but also parents. The only restriction is that during the off-season the park is open only on weekends.
Adults on the mountain will be interested to see the magnificent Temple of the Sacred Heart, which seems to shoot straight up. The best view of all of Barcelona is from the Tibidabo mountain.
Location: Plaça Tibidabo, 3-4
Price:
- tram fare one way – 3 euros
- a two-way funicular ride – 7.5 euros
- visit to the observation deck – 5.60 euros
- entrance to the park for the whole day: adults and children above 1 m 20 cm – 28.20 euros, children from 90 cm to 1 m 20 cm – 10 euros.
Barcelona Zoo
Photo: Carlota Vidal / Unsplash.com
The zoo is located almost in the center of the city, in the Parc de la Ciutadella. The zoo is very cozy: a child can see live lions, tigers, gorillas, fur seals and other wild animals here – more than 2 thousand of them live here! There is also a real farm on the territory of the zoo, where children can feed and play with rabbits, goats, sheep, horses and even hamsters.
Location: Parc de la Ciutadella
Price:
Adult ticket – 19.00 euros
Children under 12 years old – 11.40 euros
Rope park Bosc Urbà
The rope park is perfect fun for older kids. Bosc Urbà is organized like a panda park: there are tracks of three difficulty levels, where you need to overcome various obstacles. Each child is fastened with reliable insurance, so that a fall is excluded here. The park closes the roof, this allows you to have fun here even on a rainy day.
Location: Parc del Forum
Price:
orange run €11, red or blue run €17, all-piste ticket €24
Food in Barcelona
Photo: Cel Lisboa / Unsplash.com
Barcelona is a coastal city, so almost all catering establishments here serve amazingly delicious seafood. And also paella and tortilla – the very Spanish national dishes that are definitely worth a try in Barcelona!
my way
Great place for a leisurely lunch or family dinner. A varied menu, delicious meats and desserts, as well as national Spanish cuisine.
Location: Carrer de les Heures 4-10
Teoric Taverna Gastronomica
A good place to get acquainted with Catalan cuisine. Delicious ravioli, unusual tapas and rare types of seafood are prepared here. Elegant presentation and not too high prices attract locals who appreciate the service and intimate atmosphere.
Location: Carrer de Bailen, 117
OGGI Officina Gelato Gusto Italiano
Photo:
Igor Ovsyannykov / Unsplash.com
What kid would say no to ice cream? All lovers of this magical delicacy should definitely visit OGGI gelateria. There is ice cream in all possible flavors and colors, as well as options for vegans and allergy sufferers based on plant-based milk.
Location: Carrer Comtal 15
Faborit Casa Amatller
Faborit Casa Amatller will definitely appeal to all adherents of a healthy lifestyle. Here you can find a huge selection of fruit and vegetable smoothies, healthy salads and soups, gluten-free pastries and other healthy goodies.
Location: Paseo De Gracia, 41
Blavis
Unusual variations of Mediterranean cuisine, a large selection of excellent wines and an incredible chamber atmosphere make this restaurant stand out on the gastronomic map of Barcelona. This restaurant has only 16 seats, so it is better to book a table in advance. It’s worth it, believe me!
Location: Carrer Saragossa, 85
Viana
One of the most popular restaurants in Barcelona. Tourists and locals come here for delicious sangria, desserts and extraordinary main courses. Book a table in advance to make sure you get in.
Location: Carrer del Vidre, 7
Bodega Biarritz 1881
This restaurant specializes in traditional Spanish tapas. Here you can taste sweet, salty, large, small, meat and vegetarian tapas for every taste. What you need after a long walk along the Rambla is the restaurant is located on one of the neighboring streets.
Location: Calle Vidre, 8
