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Five for Families: Kid-Friendly Activities and Hotels in Barcelona

Locations in this article:  Barcelona, Spain Berlin, Germany London, England Paris, France Rome, Italy

If your family can’t agree on whether to do a city or resort vacation, then Barcelona is the destination for you. Correspondent Emily Goldfischer just returned from this northeastern Spanish city, part of the region known as Catalonia, and suggests five not-to-miss activities to do with your kids alongside family-friendly accommodations.

Barcelona is more than just a cosmopolitan metropolis on the Mediterranean. Families can take advantage of miles of beautiful beaches, hotels with fabulous pools and gardens, shopping, and a multitude of amazing restaurants where kids are welcome. It also has long and rich history in the arts―from the modernist architecture to Picasso and Miro―with plenty of choices to enrich minds young and old.

Barcelona is also the fourth most-visited city in Europe (after Paris, London and Rome) so expect lines at the major attractions. As family travelers, you have an advantage in this late night city: you’ll be up early with kids and can get to sites just before they open to avoid long waits.

Here are my five picks for family fun.

1. Gaudi―While parts of Barcelona date back to Roman times, the city is best known for its Catalan modernisme architecture (called modernist or Art Nouveau in the rest of Europe) built between 1885 and 1950. The most notable buildings were created in the early 1900s by the imaginative Antoni Gaudi. Children will love to look at these colorful, curving structures.

Casa Battlò and La Pedrera are two of Gaudi’s most remarkable creations, the first a tycoon’s mansion and the second an apartment building. Both buildings are conveniently located just a few blocks apart on the main shopping avenue, Passeg de Gracia. Casa Battlò includes an audio guide that is good for kids and that explains everything from the curved handrails and doorknobs to the whitewashed attic with arches that look like the bones of a dinosaur. La Pedrera is also worth a visit, if only for the rooftop of chimneys shaped like medieval warriors.

Parc Güell is high above the city, is one of the most delightful parks you’ll ever visit. Enter by the red and white mushroomed roof gatehouse, continue up along the staircases with multicolored battlements, pass the iconic mosaic lizard, and ramble through the palm tree pillared building to a terrace in the form of a sea serpent that offers spectacular city views. Play alert: Allow time for the kids to climb through rocky grottos along the way. The park is free and has is a small museum, which I recommend you can skip in favor of other Gaudi sights.

Sagrada Familia is a church like no other with dizzying spires, elaborate facades, a nave with tree-like columns that branch up to the ceiling and an apse adorned with lizards and serpents surrounded by intricate and colorful stained glass windows. Construction began in 1882, Gaudi took up the project a year later and worked on it for 40 more years. He died with it unfinished but his dream continues at incredible cost financed by over a million visitors per year with the hope of completion in 2030.

Tip: Skip the incredibly long lines and buy your entrance tickets either online or at the ServiCaxia ATM located across the street from the main entrance.

Play alert: There is a small but pleasant park across from the main entrance of the Sagrada Familia with slides and swings.

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