With kids · Barcelona · Spain
Barcelona with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Thomas Ledl, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Barcelona is easy with children: lifeguarded city beaches, the Aquarium, CosmoCaixa's rainforest, the Tibidabo funfair and Gaudí buildings that look like fairy tales. Late meal times are the main adjustment, though most restaurants welcome children well into the evening. Top picks: Barceloneta beach, Aquarium of Barcelona and CosmoCaixa science museum. Families usually base themselves in Eixample.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 8
- Best area for families
- Eixample
- Rainy-day options
- 3
- Busiest months
- June–August
Best things to do with kids
Beach · Barceloneta
1.Barceloneta beach
The city's most central beach runs from the old fishing quarter towards Frank Gehry's copper fish sculpture at the Olympic Port, backed by a promenade of beach bars (chiringuitos) and seafood restaurants. It is lively, with volleyball nets and paddleboard hire, and very crowded on summer weekends.
For more space, walk 15 minutes north to Nova Icària or Bogatell, and never leave bags unattended on the sand.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Iconic
Aquarium · Port Vell
2.Aquarium of Barcelona
The aquarium on the Moll d'Espanya in Port Vell displays Mediterranean and tropical sea life, with a long underwater tunnel through the main oceanarium where sharks and rays glide overhead.
Walk there over the Rambla de Mar footbridge from the end of La Rambla, and go on a weekday morning to avoid school groups.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
Museum · Sant Gervasi
3.CosmoCaixa science museum
This large science museum below Tibidabo has a recreated flooded Amazon rainforest under glass, a geological wall of rock sections and a planetarium, with plenty of hands-on exhibits. It is one of the best rainy-day choices for families.
Pair it with Tibidabo on the same day, as both sit on the northern edge of the city.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Theme park · Tibidabo
4.Tibidabo
The 512-metre summit of the Collserola hills holds the Sagrat Cor church and an amusement park opened in 1901, with vintage rides such as a 1928 replica aeroplane that circles out over the slope. The views stretch across the whole city to the sea.
Reach the summit by FGC train and the Tibidabo funicular, or the Tibibus from Plaça de Catalunya, and check the park's operating days, which vary by season.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Views
- Outdoors
Park · El Born
5.Parc de la Ciutadella
Barcelona's central park, laid out on the site of an 18th-century citadel, has a monumental fountain, the Cascada, designed with help from a young Gaudí, a boating lake, palm-lined walks and the Catalan Parliament. Barcelona Zoo occupies its southern side, and the brick Arc de Triomf stands at the end of the promenade to the north.
Rent a rowing boat on the lake, then picnic on the lawns with supplies from the nearby Santa Caterina market.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Couples
Park · Gràcia
6.Park Güell
Gaudí's hillside park, built between 1900 and 1914 as a garden suburb that never sold, has the mosaic salamander on the main stairway, the Hypostyle Room's 86 columns and a serpentine bench covered in broken-tile trencadís overlooking the city. The Monumental Zone needs a timed ticket; much of the surrounding woodland is free to walk.
Take bus 24 towards the upper entrances to avoid the steep climb from Lesseps or Vallcarca Metro, and book the first or last slot of the day.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Book ahead
- Timed tickets for the Monumental Zone sell out in high season; book online.
- Iconic
- Architecture
- Views
- Outdoors
- Kids
Architecture · Eixample
7.Casa Batlló
Gaudí's 1904–1906 remodelling of a townhouse on Passeig de Gràcia produced bone-like balconies, a scaly dragon-back roof and a light well tiled in graded blues. The visit covers the main floor, the whitewashed arches of the attic and the rooftop chimneys, with an augmented-reality guide that children enjoy.
See the façade lit up after dark from across Passeig de Gràcia, and visit early in the morning for fewer people inside.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Expensive
- Book ahead
- Prices rise at peak times; booking online is cheaper than buying at the door.
- Architecture
- Iconic
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
Viewpoint · Montjuïc
8.Montjuïc
The hill above the port holds the 1992 Olympic Ring, the Fundació Joan Miró, terraced gardens and a hilltop castle with views over the harbour, reached by the Montjuïc cable car. The Poble Espanyol, an open-air museum of Spanish architecture, sits on its western slopes.
Ride the funicular from Paral·lel Metro, take the cable car up to the castle, then walk down through the gardens.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Views
- Outdoors
- Free
- Kids
- History
Rainy-day ideas
- Casa Batlló — See the façade lit up after dark from across Passeig de Gràcia, and visit early in the morning for fewer people inside.
- CosmoCaixa science museum — Pair it with Tibidabo on the same day, as both sit on the northern edge of the city.
- Aquarium of Barcelona — Walk there over the Rambla de Mar footbridge from the end of La Rambla, and go on a weekday morning to avoid school groups.
Where families should stay
$$$$ · Best for first-timers, families, luxury and shopping
Eixample
Ildefons Cerdà's 19th-century grid of chamfered blocks holds the Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, Casa Milà and much of the city's finest Modernista architecture. Passeig de Gràcia is the main luxury shopping avenue, and the area's hotels, restaurants and Metro lines make it the most practical base; the Dreta (right) side is grander, the Esquerra (left) more residential.
- Good
- Central, with excellent Metro links; Wide, calmer streets; Large choice of hotels
- Watch out
- Less atmospheric than the old town; Heavy traffic on the main avenues
- Nearby
- Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Sagrada Família, Passeig de Gràcia
Family travel tips
- Children under 4 travel free on TMB Metro and buses.
- Choose Nova Icària or Bogatell for calmer, roomier beaches than Barceloneta.
- Book the Sagrada Família, Park Güell and Casa Batlló ahead; queues are hard going with young children.
- Many restaurants open for dinner around 8pm; tapas bars serve small plates earlier for hungry children.
- Parc de la Ciutadella has a playground, rowing boats and the zoo in one place.
Day trips for families
- Montserrat (About 1 hour 15 minutes by train) — The jagged mountain ridge holds a Benedictine monastery and the basilica of the Black Madonna (La Moreneta), where the boys' choir, the Escolania, sings regularly.
- Tossa de Mar (About 1 hour 30 minutes by coach) — A Costa Brava village with a medieval walled town (Vila Vella) on a headland above a golden bay, plus quieter coves along the coastal path.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–June and September–October. June–August are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Barcelona good for kids?
Barcelona is easy with children: lifeguarded city beaches, the Aquarium, CosmoCaixa's rainforest, the Tibidabo funfair and Gaudí buildings that look like fairy tales. Late meal times are the main adjustment, though most restaurants welcome children well into the evening.
+What can kids do in Barcelona?
Barceloneta beach, Aquarium of Barcelona, CosmoCaixa science museum, Tibidabo and Parc de la Ciutadella.
+Where should families stay in Barcelona?
Eixample: Wide Modernista avenues, Passeig de Gràcia and Gaudí's houses.