We had so much fun in Barcelona (as you can see from the above video). Check out our family travel tips below, and read a bit about our trip. Check out some pics on our Instagram (@mattervideo) – www.instagram.com/mattervideo
In February we checked out Google flights and searched for the cheapest international nonstop flights from Oakland. Turns out Norwegian offers some amazing deals to Europe, so we booked 5 tickets to Barcelona. We spent a week eating our way through the Gothic Quarter and exploring the beautiful cityscape. We brought our 11, 9 and 4 year old and were also joined by our in-laws (parents, plus our brother and sister-in-law). If you are heading to Barcelona (solo or with your family), here are some things we would recommend:
Where to stay: Enjoy BCN – this property manager acted as a host and concierge(they arranged our transportation and helped us get football tickets). They were incredibly helpful and our apartment was amazing for 7+ people. They were super responsive to our emails and phone calls. We highly recommend them!
What to do: Go to a soccer/footbal/fútbol game. The FC Barcelona/Atl. Madrid match we saw (see video) will definitely go down as one of our favorite sports experiences ever. We paid around 185€ a ticket, and even though our seats were in the top deck we had an amazing view of the game. Plus, we got to see Messi (the goat) score a goal! Walk around a bunch. See the sites and be spontaneous.
Where to eat: Below is a list of some our favorite restaurants.
- Arcano – Amazing steak
- Tucco Real Food – Great Italian…you’re pretty close to Italy, once you’re there.
- Demaisé – Cinnamon rolls. So many amazing cinnamon rolls. Maybe our favorite place we found
- Mag by El Magnifico – Amazing coffee. Check this place out. Also, Nomad is worth checking out if you like hipster coffee.
- Restaurante Somorrostro – Amazing paella and a really fun space. Must visit place, if you’re looking for seafood near Barceloneta.
- Dux Bar – Incredible cocktails and housemade gin. One of the coolest bars I’ve ever been to.
- Polo Loco – amazing popsicles (try the piña colada…not for kids)
- Milk Bar – GO HERE FOR BREAKFAST! It opens at 9am and there’s usually a line. Order the Mediterranean toast.
- Tapeo – Amazing spot for tapas (not super kid friendly).
Tips: We made a list below.
- Use Yelp. We Yelped every restaurant and ate at the top rated places in our vicinity for each meal. It didn’t let us down.
- Don’t rent a car. The city is very walkable and public transit is super easy (even with kids). We did one of those super touristy on-and-off bus passes and use the metro for the football match.
- Spanish is helpful (though they speak Catalan), but you can get by easily with only English.
- Stay in the Gothic Quarter or the Born district. There’s nothing like it.