Custom Itinerary – Trip to Spain

Q – Lauren L. of New York City writes: We are traveling with our 7 and 9-year-old boys to Spain in June and need help with kid-friendly cultural activities in Barcelona, the Costa Brava and over the French border into the Pyrenees.

School-age kids will find plenty of entertainment as well as learning activities on a visit to Spain, including a chance to practice their Spanish language skills.  You can start your trip planning by reading FTF’s Barcelona account, written by a member who visited recently: “Barcelona: Ciudad Sagrada“  Although she did not travel with children, it certainly sounds like kids would have plenty to enjoy, so you’ll want to decide soon how much time to spend in the city.

In addition to her ideas, you might consider the Museu de la Ciencia (Science Museum) which offers “Clik del Nens,” a playground of science designed specifically for children, in addition to a wide variety of interesting hands-on exhibits to interest the whole family. There is also a great Zoo and a Maritime Museum.

The Poble Espanyol in the Parc de Montjuic was built for the 1929 World’s Fair and is a recreation of a Spanish village containing over 100 reproductions of monuments and buildings beginning from the 10th century. It sounds something like Williamsburg, Virginia, with artisans demonstrating their crafts. Several restaurants and cafes are available within the complex. Also in the Parc de Montjuic, you can find amusement park rides, outdoor music concerts and other festivities during the days and the evenings.

The Costa Brava can be quite crowded during July and August, but your travel dates in June means you may avoid this. The medieval city of Girona is the capital of this region. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes so that you can climb almost 100 steep steps to reach the fabulous Cathedral which dates from the 14th century. Tapestries, paintings an manuscripts are viewed amidst the incredible architecture, including a trapezoidial-shaped cloister.

If your family are museum lovers, you can choose between an art museum, a history museum and an archeological museum. Restored 12th century Arab baths can be visited in the old quarter of the city, with examples of both hot and cold pools, and the history of the Jewish community, which was expelled in 1492, can be explored.

In Tossa de Mar, be sure to visit the walled neightborhood Vila Vella, and relax on the beach es Mar Gran and La Bauma. This town is still vey charming despite the popularity of the region, unlike Lloret de Mar which has grown into an overgrown resort town.

Just before crossing over the France, quiet, pristine and unspoiled Cadaques offers spectacular scenery and beaches. If your family is at all interesed in Salvator Dali’s life and surrealist art, spend some time exploring Figueres where he was born and died in 1989, and where there is a museum dedicated to his work.

The kids migh enjoy Terra Mitica, an amusement park near Valencia. Look at FTF for “Spain’s Mythical Place“ for more info.