Barcelona

Barcelona has a creative, playful spirit that kids will soak up when you travel to the city. Gaudi’s fantastical houses and architectural creations, his tiled mosaics in the shape of dragons, chimneys with people faces are timeless marvels of imagination. Barcelona is also an old city – in Roman times it was called Barcino. And wherever you go in Barcelona with kids, whether it’s running along on the ramparts of the Montjuic castle, riding in a cable car across the harbor, or just playing in the sand, the blue Mediterranean is always at your feet.

Fun food –

There’s no shortage of fun food for kids in Barcelona. Anyone with a taste for chocolate will be in seventh heaven. The chocolate shops, bomboneria, are filled with chocolate in imaginative shapes – sailing ships, mushroom houses, ferris wheels, old fashioned trains, and more. Also you’ll want to try hot chocolate and churros (xocolata amb xurros). Our favorite shops for hot chocolate are Granja Viader (Calle Xucla 4) and Chocolateria Valor (Calle Tapineria 10), but don't feel you need to rush to these shops in particular, just sample the hot chocolate in your neighborhood.

Pastries are also a delight in Barcelona. In every Forn de pa (bakery) there wonderful pastries - estrellas, madalenas, ensaimadas and buñelas.

Shopping –

Kids can't bring back a Gaudi house, but they will enjoy reminders of this remarkable artist – stuffed animals of the Parc Guell dragon, mosaics and tiles, miniature mosaic houses.

Tip: There are reports of pickpockets in Barcelona. We didn't have any problems, but in the high tourist areas, such as Las Ramblas, keep an eye on your belongings.

Travel for Kids has so many fun things to do with kids in Barcelona, but you'll need a fun place to stay.

Here's our own Travel for Kids hand-picked list of family hotels and apartments rentals, all styles and price ranges, in neighborhoods comfortable for families, and near to places you'll want to explore.

Gaudi's dragon is Barcelona's most famous, but dragons have been in the Old City Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) for centuries. Take a private family walking tour around old city Barcelona, as you discover history and hidden treasures, and find dragons along the way.

To make it easy to get to the Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, Gaudi houses, Montjuic Park, and the waterfront, ride the the Barcelona Bus Turistic hop on hop off bus. Three different routes, 44 different stops, audio commentary in 10 languages, board the bus anywhere on the route: