5-Day Barcelona Itinerary With Kids
Our Barcelona trip was so last minute that we really didn’t have anything in mind for our itinerary until we got there.
We also knew that after London, the kids (and probably us too!) would to want a slower-paced visit to Barcelona with more experiences and fewer museums and site-seeing.
We settled on a pretty great balance of things to see and things to do! In total we spent 4.5 days in Barcelona and filled it with lots of time outdoors and lots of Antonio Gaudí!
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Where we stayed and what we ate
We stayed at a small hotel in the Las Ramblas area because it was a relatively cheap, but nice hotel that we could find last minute. We stayed at the Leonardo Las Ramblas.
Las Ramblas ended up being a perfect area to stay in. There were so many great restaurants within a couple blocks of our hotel that we never had to go far to eat.
We were also just a 10 minute taxi ride from pretty much anywhere we wanted to go, whether it was Sagrada Familia or the beach. We also found taxis to be cheaper than the metro because we had to buy a ticket for Spencer on the metro and taxis were affordable compared to most places we have traveled in Europe.
As far as food is concerned, we are not foodies and you will very rarely see me write about food on the blog. But the one thing you can’t miss in Barcelona is churros and chocolate. There are little chocolate cafes all over the city selling churros and hot dipping chocolate and it’s just about the best thing ever.
Other than that, paella and tapas are all you need to eat all day every day! You can find a new tapas place on every corner and we don’t have any in particular to recommend.
So without further ado, our itinerary!
Day 1: Sagrada Familia and Hop-on-Hop-off Bus Line Red
There are a few things in Barcelona that you want to purchase in advance online and they all have to do with the architect Antonio Gaudí. The two largest attractions are Sagrada Familia and Park Güell, which are what we did. If you have more time or want to spend more museum-like time in Barcelona, there are also several Gaudí houses that you can tour.
However, Sagrada Familia and Park Güell are not to be missed. They are both super popular attractions and if you are going during a heavier tourist season they will definitely sell out.
We opted to do them on separate days, but you could definitely do one in the morning and one in the afternoon if you have fewer days to spend in Barcelona.
We ended up purchasing Hop-on Hop-off bus tickets for the first two days we were in Barcelona. It’s only a few Euros more to add the second day, so if you are purchasing one day, you might as well purchase two if you will use them.
It ended up being a great way to see a lot of the city and the things that we wouldn’t necessarily go out of our way to see. We also didn’t need to use the metro or taxis on those days either, because the bus could take us everywhere we needed to go.
There are two main routes. The red route sees most of the western and southern parts of the city, while the blue route takes in the northern parts of the city. There is also a third route that operates from April to September and goes along the coast.
You can purchase combined tickets to both attractions with the bus tickets as well.
One the first day, we rode the red route bus and saw some really cool sites: the Gothic Quarter, the ports, Montjuic (which has the Olympic venues from the 1992 Olympic games), and the shopping districts.
There are modern art sculptures almost everywhere you look in Barcelona. It gives the city so much character. The bus tour was a great way to see it all!
Then we headed toward Sagrada Familia. As a word of precaution: the bus was a slower than we thought it would be. There are a lot of stops and quite a bit of traffic in Barcelona. Give yourself plenty of time, 3-4 hours to go through, especially if you are getting off more than once.
After riding the red route, we took a taxi to Sagrada Familia. We had originally planned to just switch lines to the blue route, but were worried we would make it there in time to also grab a bite to eat. But it can be done!
Sagrada Familia
I suggest visiting Sagrada Familia in the afternoon as the afternoon light seeping through the stained glass windows is just absolutely dreamy.
There is a great park across the street from Sagrada Familia where we played while we ate some snacks and waited for our time to enter the cathedral.
Sagrada Familia is a huge, unfinished Catholic Cathedral that was designed and originally started by famed Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí. It has been under construction since the 1880s. It’s the tallest structure in Barelona and stands out from almost any vantage point. It’s going to be even taller when it’s complete.
The sections that Gaudí completed himself are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The most notable thing about Sagrada Familia are the stained glass windows that surround the entire main cathedral. each section has its own color scheme and it’s awe-inspiring.
There are benches that you can sit and take it all in, as well as a depiction of Christ on the cross. We were also lucky enough to hear an organist play on the organ and fill the stone building with beautiful music.
Instead of taking a tour, I recommend using a Rick Steves guidebook or otherwise and doing the educating yourself. This is always our preferred way of visiting historical or cultural sites. For our Barcelona trip we used Rick Steves Pocket Barcelona. It had great information and the boys’ loved listening to their dad or I tell them about what they were seeing instead of a tour guide.
As you exit the Sagrada Familia, make sure to take in the exterior from the rear side as well. Each section as such unique intricacies, you could spend an entire afternoon studying it.
Day 2: Park Güell, Cable Cars and the Magic Fountain
Park Güellwas the other must-see for us in visiting Barcelona. Park Güell a large municipal park in the northern part of Barcelona. It was designed by Gaudí originally as a housing development.
Most of the park is free and is beautiful to walk around in, as well as several playgrounds that our boys loved.
However, the main attraction and ticketed portion is called the monument portion. You can and should purchase tickets to this area in advance online. I recommend going in the morning before it gets too crowded. You’ll also definitely want to go in the morning if you are traveling in the summer, as there is little shade.
The monument area is quite large and there is a lot to see, including some extra tours that we did not participate in.
When Gaudí designed Park Güell, he wanted it to be reminiscent of transcending spirituality as you elevated yourself toward a chapel at the top. The chapel however was never built. Even so, it definitely feels as if you are rising up and out of the city and the worldly surroundings below.
As you climb the stairs, take your time. Each little alcove and planter has unique and fascinating pieces. Honestly, we were so stricken with it’s beauty that we both forgot to take many pictures. Blogger fail! But you’ll get the idea.
There are a few levels, each with different features. The middle level is a portico with beautiful doric columns and is one of the only areas with shade. The boys loved running through and playing peek-a-boo around the columns and I couldn’t stop staring at the tile mosaics in each ceiling enclave.
Then you ascend another level and you can see all of Barcelona, out to the sea. It is truly breathtaking. There are benches all around with the most beautiful mosaics.
There are so many fantastic mosaics to take in. All different colors, different scenes, different textures. It’s so hard to fathom so much intricacy and creativity all existing in one place.
If I could have even .001% of Gaudí’s imaginative vision, I can’t imagine what I might be able to accomplish.
There is a fourth level as well, which I presume is where the chapel was to be built. However, there was construction and maintenance going on while we were visiting.
From there, we took the long route down through the slanted columns. The path wrapped around what looked to be an elementary school and kids were out playing or doing physical education. We thought that was so cool and wondered what it would be like to tell people that you went to school inside Park Güell?
Simply gorgeous!
From the Park we took the bus the rest of the way around the blue route and our favorite site was the FC Barcelona Stadium and an old bull fighting arena.
My boys love the movie Ferdinand and were a bit sad that we weren’t going to get to meet Ferdinand while we were in Spain. So it was fun for the to at least see an old arena. Bull fighting is much less common in Spain these days, for good reason.
Cable Car
After Park Güell, we rode out the rest of the blue bus route to see the other sites and ended up back at Montjuic to ride the cable cars. This is totally unnecessary if your time in Barcelona is short, but we knew that our kids would love it and it gave a really fun panoramic view of the city.
You catch the cable car at the base of Montjuic and the hop-on hop-off bus stops right in front. You can purchase a one-way ticket and walk back down or purchase a round trip.
The cable car takes you up to the Montjuic Castle. You can got in and tour the castle or just walk around.
There are great views of the castle, the city and the port. We loved seeing the cruise ships and all of the cargo ships getting unloaded.
Then either hike down or take the cable car back down.
Magic Fountain
The Magic Fountain is something that I just happened upon the first day we were in Barcelona and we decided that we would go and check it out. After watching the show I can’t believe it wasn’t on more of the blogs and articles that I read researching for this trip because it was amazing!
The Magic Fountain is a fountain show in a huge plaza in front of the Catalonian Museum of National Art. The show starts at varying times depending on what season it is and happens only Thursday through Sunday in the off-season and all week long in the summer.
From everything we read, you should get there an hour before the show starts (which for us was 7 p.m. for an 8 p.m. show) in order to get seats on the steps up to the museum, which is the best view.
We grabbed some food, brought the iPads and get there at 7 p.m. There were already people starting to congregate and by 7:30, it was standing room only! I couldn’t believe it. By 8 p.m. the entire plaza was a sea of people.
Then the show started and it was probably the best fountain show I’ve ever seen. Even better than the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
The fountain gets incredibly high and changes color. The boys were entranced. The show goes for an hour, but we didn’t stay the whole time because both the boys started falling asleep. Around the halfway mark most people were heading out as well.
At least we got to watch it as we walked back toward our hotel!
Day 3: Mosaiccos and the Beach
After visiting Park Güell, we were so inspired by the mosaics. That morning as we left the park I looked up art classes or things we could do to learn more about Gaudí and his unique style. By lunch time I had booked us a family mosaic class with Mosaiccos.
All four of us were able to work on mosaics. The boys made plastic mosaic tiles and Jon and I got to make a ceramic picture frame that I am absolutely in love with.
You can read all about our experience here:
Mosaic Making Class in Barcelona: Souvenir Experience for the Whole FamilyMosaic Making Class in Barcelona: Souvenir Experience for the Whole Family
The Beach
The mosaic class took most of the morning and in the afternoon we decided to go to the beach. The weather was so nice and after a week in cold London and a long Colorado winter, we were dying for some relaxation in the sun.
We did quite a bit of research on which beaches were the most family-friendly and the one we settled on was Playa Nova Icaria. It’s located near Port Olimpic and is one of the quieter beaches in Barcelona. It was pretty packed for March so I can’t imagine what the more popular beaches look like!
Nova Icaria has a little bit of everything. There are lots of restaurants and an ice cream (our favorite!), showers and restrooms, volleyball courts, a playground (although we couldn’t pry the kids away from the water to even venture toward it), and in the summer you can rent umbrellas and even get Wifi.
We loved that the waves were small and our kids could easily play in the water!
Just remember that you are in Europe and even though this wasn’t one of the designated nudist beaches, we still saw our fair share of topless and nude beach goers. For concerned parents, I always say that as long as you aren’t weird about it, your kids won’t even notice. Ours didn’t. Even when it was right next to us.
Day 4: More Beach!
Our fourth day was Sunday. We were able to find a congregation for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to attend. We love attending church while traveling to bring some stability and familiarity to our children. We also always feel like it brings us closer to the people and more connected to everyday life in whatever country or city we are visiting.
Sunday was one of the few days we took the metro. We actually found that taxis were cheaper in Barcelona. Especially given that we had to pay for Spencer to ride the metro or take the bus because he was 4.
After church, we just couldn’t resist going back to the beach! It was even more crowded the next day, but just as fun!
Day 5 (Half Day): Bike Riding through Parc de la Ciutadella and Gothic Quarter
On our last day, we didn’t have to leave for the airport until the afternoon, so we knew we wanted to be out and active for the morning before we started our long trek back to Colorado.
We decided to rent bikes and check out Park de la Ciutadella and also ride through the Gothic Quarter and past a few of the Gaudí houses that we had seen from the bus on our first day.
We got bikes from Happy Rental Bike and you can read all about it here:
Biking in Barcelona: A Perfect Way to See the City
After riding bikes, we went back to Las Ramblas in the Gothic Quarter, which was where our hotel was. We had lunch at the Boqueria Market on Las Ramblas.
The market is incredible! You can get everything from candy shaped like pizza to organic vegan paella or the very best cuts of meat.
And from there we went to the airport. We loved taking a slower pace in Barcelona. It’s a perfect city to just follow your whimsy, stroll through the streets, relax at a park or on the beach and eat lots of churros and chocolate.
Have you been to Barcelona? What was your favorite part?
Make sure and save this for your next travel planning session or send it to a friend who is headed to Spain!
