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 shapes of plants and flowers, 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, 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, trains, planes, pianos, and more. Also you’ll want to try hot chocolate (xocolata). Our favorite shops for hot chocolate are Chocolateria Valor (Carrer Tapineria 10), Chocolate Museum (Carrer del Comerc 36) Granja Viader (Carrer Xucla 4) and , but don't feel you need to rush to these shops, just sample the hot chocolate in your neighborhood.

Pastries are also a delight in Barcelona. In every Forn de pa (bakery) find wonderful pastries – ensaimadas (snail shaped), xuixo, xuxo (like a cream puff) , pa de pessic d'ametlles (almond sponge cake), rosquillas (sugar doughnut) and meringues.

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, Casa Batllo in chocoalte.

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.

Take a walking tour through Old City Barcelona, learning songs legends about the history and traditions of Barcelona, visit a toy workshop, and sample sweets along the way on this two and a half hour tour:

Kids learn the secret's of Gaudi's broken tile mosaics, trencadis, creating a design, picking colors, and making their own mosaic to take home as a souvenir. In the one and a half hour workshop, parents can participate too:

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.

Casa Battlo, the family house designed by Gaudi, is a "must see," but will require tickets for a specific day and time. Buy tickets online, cost savings and and skip the line: