Places to Go and Things to See

Holidays by Destination Europe Spain Barcelona Places to Go and Things to See 

The main attraction of Barcelona is that it was not really prosperous enough in the '60s to suffer the planners' blight that wrecked other cities. Instead much of its turn of the century style has survived, along with buildings dating back almost to the middle ages (uncluttered by baroque additions). Breathing new life through this is fresh ‘90s fashion.

The 19th century Eixample, north of the Barri Gotic, has its own style and the boulevard cafes are good for sitting out at, but it does not feel unique. The more intriguing parts are those off the Ramblas, clearly once very very run down, now showing unmistakable signs of the revival which precedes gentrification. It's a good time to go, while the city is on a roll but before all local businesses get a makeover.

Note that some sights close for an extended lunch, others at 2pm on Sundays, and some all day Mondays.

Historical Sights

The Barri Gotic - a warren of medieval streets and squares.
La Seu (cathedral), a great gothic building, possibly best visited on a Sunday morning when there may be traditional Catalan bands and dancers on the square outside and there may be other children. A visit to the white geese in the cathedral cloister is considered an integral part of the experience.
Santa Maria del Mar in the old maritime district in pure Catalan gothic, is a rival to the cathedral, simpler and considered by many the more attractive.
Castell de Montjuic (now Museu Militar) offers archetypal castle thick walls and moat.

Art and Architecture

Children primed to do so might enjoy locating buildings like the one with umbrellas on the west side of the Ramblas, or the animals projecting from the roof at the back of the cathedral.
Fundacio Joan Miro set in gardens with an impressive collection of work by the great Catalan artist plus others.
La Sagrada Familia Gaudi's strangely compelling fantasy of a cathedral.
Museu Picasso The city's most popular museum offers earlier works including drawings, indicating how the artist arrived at his own style, plus a good collection of prints. This is a bit low-key/subtle for most children.
La Pedrera a Gaudi-designed apartment block. Only the attic rooms and roof with giant chimney pots are open to the public. While the exhibition on architectural innovations might be a little too sophisticated, children who would be safe on the (fenced) roof might enjoy the chimneypots and decorations.
Palau Guell in Parc Guell (see below) houses a theatre museum and is one of the few Gaudi buildings open to the public.

Museums

Museu de la Ciencia is designed to give insight into sciences with sections on light, lenses, optical illusions, zoom lenses to look at reptiles, and more. However, there are no explanations in English so knowledge of basic science or Spanish would be required in a parent. (Best reached from the tram to Tibidabo.)
Museu Maritim in old shipyards includes a life size copy of a 17th century Royal Galley, smaller models of ships and exhibits designed to give near firsthand experiences, say of a sailing ship in a storm or an early submarine.
Museu d'Historia de Catalunya includes a knight's armour to test the weight of, and mock-ups of Catalan houses through the ages. The museum offers sheets in English but some Spanish would again be useful.
Museo del Futbol Club Barcelona a must for serious football fans, includes lots of cups, an audio-visual show of great goals, English language photo history plus view of the Camp Nou stadium from the directors' box.
Also worth considering are the rotating modern art exhibitions eg at the Contemporary Art Museum.

Outdoors

La Rambla Spain's best known street, a tree-lined boulevard with buskers, cafes, mimes, bird stalls and portraitists. Children may enjoy having their portrait done - around Pta3,000 for black and white. On Sundays is a coin and stamp market. The city's main food market is Mercat Sant Josep with piles of fresh food in giant 19th century halls - a place to entertain children with the sight of live seafood and pigs ears.
Placa del Pi in the Barri Gotic is another area with buskers and artists' selling work at weekends. Placa de Sant Jaume on the site of the old roman forum is a venue for weekly Catalan folk dancing (ask at the tourist office for details). Placa Sant Josep Oriol is an artists' market at weekends, often with buskers and street performers.
The Golondrines are boats which take half-hour rides to the harbour breakwater.
Cable Cars operate between Montjuic, the hill west of Barcelona, across the harbour to Barceloneta, the waterfront area east of the harbour with views over the city. A funicular connects with the Montjuic cable car.
Port Vell - Moll d'Espanya, the old port, developed with walkways and swing bridge to a shopping, restaurant and cinema complex.
As some of the parks are difficult to get to the best thing to do is to pick one which offers parents something as well. Parc Guell, is a hike from the nearest metro stop (helped by escalators) but includes a section designed by Gaudi and Palau Guell (see above). There are also play areas, some with shade; Parc de la Ciutadella, the main city park and relatively close to the centre is easier to get to, busy on Sundays for example, with bicycles for hire opposite the main gate (Pta300 per hour), and a children's cycling area.

Activities

Barcelona's own beaches are sandy, cleaned, and considered reasonably safe for swimming (the Mar Bella one has a blue flag). In summer there are showers and boardwalks to protect bare feet on the hot sand to the water's edge. The promenade around the top and cafes are used most of the year. The beaches to the east of the Port Olimpic are in better shape than those closer in which are currently being refurbished.
However, with children you might prefer to go further afield with Sitges (with several blue flags) usually the place of choice. This one-time fishing village with attractive narrow streets, is considered the best option on the Costa Daurada by the Rough Guide and is the hang-out of young Barcelonans. This means nightlife may be livelier than you might hope.
In the city there are various swimming pools. At some apparently you may be required to show your passport. Obviously impressive is the Olympic one at Montjuic but others include Club Natacio in Ciutadella, Aiguajocs metro Sant Anton, an indoor water park.

Animals

The Zoo is in Parc de la Ciutadella, open daily with an albino gorilla a particular draw and performances by dolphins and parrots. It is relatively small but quite well organised. There is a small petting zoo, a good adventure playground for younger children, electric buggies for hire, and a tourist train.
L'Aquarium is reputed the largest in Europe with more than 21 aquaria of Mediterranean fish and marine animals including sharks.

For Children

Tibidabo - known as the the Magic Mountain, is a funfair, closed Jan, Feb, March and sometimes the autumn too, considered best for younger children though rides have been added for teens. You get there by train, connecting with a tram and the funicular. The Museu d'Automatas features old fairground machines.
Poble Espanyol a collection of buildings in styles from all over Spain, free for under 7s with Sunday children's entertainment.
New Park on la Rambla is a giant amusement arcade with lots of rides and games.

Further Afield

Port Aventura Europe's second-largest theme park, at Salou on the Costa Daurada, with its own train station around 1 hour and 40 minutes south of Barcelona. It offers 30 rides and a reported 100 daily shows. Now part-owned by Universal Studios, more developments are planned, including on-site hotels and a movie theme park. Entrance is around £18 per adult. Open mid March to end Oct.