Barcelona with Kids

September 1st - September 30th, 2014

Our Story

We have always wanted to travel to Spain, and we knew from the onset of our planning that Spain would be a definite stop on our trip around the world, we just didn't know where or for how long. While figuring out locations in Europe to spend our 90 days allowed by the Schengen Visa, Spain quickly began looking more and more appealing because prices are relatively low compared to the rest of Western Europe and the weather remains very warm and beach friendly even in September. Barcelona wasn't exactly a city on our bucket list, probably just because we hadn't had many friends or family that had been there, but as we looked into it and talked to had been and loved it, it began to climb up on our list of cities to travel to. Using AirBNB, we discovered a perfect apartment for us close to the Camp Nou football stadium (link to AirBNB listing), and that decided it for us: we were going to spend a month living in Barcelona!

Although our apartment was located a bit outside the center of town, the metro (which is wonderful by the way) was nearby and it was very quick to get most any place in the city. During our month in Barcelona, we really grew to love it. Language was a bit of an issue, as the limited Spanish we knew did not provide much help in a Catalan speaking country, but most everyone spoke enough English for us to get by. The architecture in the city is amazing, thanks in a large part to the beautiful works of Antoni Gaudi, such as Sagradia Familia, Casa Batllo, and La Padrera. The beaches, though crowded and a little dirty with litter, are still very beautiful considering they are located in the middle of such a major metropolis. The weather in September was perfect, hot and sunny most every day, though by the end of the month we could feel Fall trying to push out Summer. As far as traveling in Barcelona with kids, it was a great experience and the kids loved it. The people are very friendly, and unlike France there were no shortages of playgrounds full of friendly kids that did not mind the language barrier one bit. The cherry on the top for us was that we visited during La Merce festival, where for a week the city is full of great festivals, carnivals, fireworks, and all kinds of free events, many even tailored specifically for kids! For all these reasons and so many more, Barcelona was our favorite city that we stayed in during our trip around the world.