6 things to see and do in Barcelona with kids

We recently got to spend about 48 hours in Barcelona with the kids. A little less than 2 days was enough to experience a little bit of Barcelona and know that we want to go back. These are our recommendations on things to see and do with kids in Barcelona. If you are looking for a place to stay on your trip to Barcelona, we recommend the fabulous Cathedral Bas Apartments.

1. 1. Barri Gotic and walking around the old quarter. It is easy to get lost in the old small streets. It is filled with people and there is tons to see in the little outdoor streets and squares. The kids liked picking which direction we would go next on the street corners and getting lost. They also enjoyed using their iPods to take pictures of interesting (to them) things.  I now have lots of pictures of unrecognizable landmarks.

1. 1. Barcelona cathedral is a perfect place to show your kids some Gothic architecture. The stained glass inside is wonderful and will inspire their imaginations. It is free and easy to walk around. However, there are pick pockets inside the church, so watch your things carefully. My mother found her purse opened after leaving. Fortunately, nothing was missing.  The square outside the cathedral is also lovely with quite a few bars and restaurants in walking distance.

1. 1. Gaudi Architecture is all over Barcelona and so fantastically wild. As we were walking towards the Sagrada Familia, my youngest was looking at the ground as we were walking and he decided to look up. The yelled “Woah!” pretty loud. Loud enough that other tourists turned to look at him and see what was the big deal. The big deal was the Sagrada Familia and he was just astounded by it. Other great examples of Gaudi Architecture in Barcelona are Park Guell, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera and Finca Guell.

1. MontJuic and Funicular de Montjuic. The funicular, which is a fancy word for cable cars, was a big hit with the boys. Who doesn’t love to fly through the air and see everything around you in every direction? It was especially wonderful that there was a Castle at the end of the funicular ride. Walking around the full perimeter of the castle takes about 20-30 minutes. It has wonderful views of the park, castle, port of Barcelona and Mediterranean. While we were there, we got to see a group of archers practicing on the Castle grounds. Both boys patiently watched the archers until we hurried them along. Also on MontJuic there is a botanical garden, Joan Miro Art Museum (modern art), a few museums, and a cemetery.
2. Tapas – Tapas are a great way to experience Spanish food. We have two children who are picky eaters and this was a great way to order some familiar foods and some unfamiliar ones to get them to try some new things. Also sharing lots of things as a family makes for good conversation and a pretty fun meal time. Even more so if mom and dad are having some Sangria.  We highly recommend Tosca Tapas y Vino.  The food was excellent and the Sangria was amazing.  It is right across from the opera house and was very accommodating to the kids.
3. Plazas and playgrounds: We loved that Barcelona had lots of parks and open plaza spaces. This allowed for us to let the kids have a break a few times a day and a little playtime. Sometimes it was only for a few minutes and sometimes for an hour, but we found little parks all over the city. And even in the open plaza spaces the boys found a way to play, soccer with an acorn kicking it across the empty plaza space early in the morning one day.

A bonus things to do in Barcelona is take your kids to Camp Nou, also known as the FC Barcelona Stadium.  I hear they have a pretty great tour.  We had wanted to do this, but ran out of time.  Next time, we will time our visit so we can go to a soccer game and do the tour.