Spain with Kids

When we zeroed down on Spain for our annual international travel, we had only football and bull fighting on our mind. Bull fighting we finally ditched because we had no idea that the bull is actually killed in the end and we didn’t want to promote such a sport. To our surprise, Spain with kids turned out to have many more interesting activities which was a treat for the whole family.

Like always, we booked serviced apartments throughout our trip. They are super convenient and gives us a feeling for space. You can order in if you don’t want to cook or eat out. Cleaning is done by the housekeeping so that’s not an issue at all. So in this post, I will share details of where we stayed and how we went around Spain.

Madrid- 3 nights- (Spain With Kids)

Accommodation Apartment: Casa Malasana

Location: Central. Restaurants at walking distance. Attractions 10 minutes away by Uber/cab. Free wifi.

Casa Malasana Madrid

Since we went in November, the weather wasn’t the best. It was cold and rained every second day. Madrid was a bit of a let down and while we visited the National history museum, the royal palace and the Prado museum, my kids didn’t enjoy it much. Of the three I will highly recommend the Prado museum. 

The Royal Palace Madrid

A visibly tired kid in Prado Museum

Tip: To keep them engaged do a bit of homework. Give them things they need to locate in the museum and talk about. Each one gets them two points and the winner gets a prize or choose where they can eat. I have finally, figured out this idea after years and years of trips to museums.

Digging into a gelato close to Plaza Mayor

You can also take the kids to Puerto de sol which is also known as zero kms and is always spurting with crowds and surrounded by restaurants as long as you hit the place before 7 pm in the night. Walk from here to Plaza Mayor to get the feel of the buzzing city.

Other things to try:

• Take the cable car, Teleferico to get to Madrid Rio and Casa de Campo. Also, get ariel views of the city from the top.
• Try a Hammam experience at Hamman Al Andalus
• Shop at Mercado de los Motores- located in a vintage train museum, you find furnitures, antiques, jewellery and gourmet food here.

While you can always fly the best and the easiest mode of transport from Madrid to Seville is the train. It takes just 2.30 minutes to travel in between the cities.

Seville- 2 nights (Spain With Kids)

Accommodation: Real de la  Carreteria

Real de la Carreteria

Transport- Where we stayed was pretty central and also it’s a small town. So all attractions were 500-700 mtrs away. It had free wifi.

Seville was a wonderful surprise. Unlike Madrid, Seville is a small pretty town. Cobbled streets, narrow lanes, stretch of narrow multicoloured row of townhouses make for a very pretty sight. The weather was warmer, the colours brighter and it is not doubt that I fell in love with the city at first sight. If you head here, do not miss to watch the Flamenco dance at the Flamenco museum( arrive early for better seats). 

Alcazar Palace is a must visit especially if you are a Game Of Thrones fan.  I would recommend hiring a guide to go deeper in it’s history. The intricate tile work and it’s beautiful gardens just mesmerise you.

Alcazar Seville

They also have a Game Of Thrones tour, which we didn’t try but sounds interesting.

The  Seville Cathedral, a Roman Catholic cathedral is a World Heritage and is the third-largest church in the world as well as the largest Gothic church.

Other things to do:

Visit the Triana neighbourhood. It is on the other side of the harbour and in the early days, this was the fishermen settlement. There is a different feel and culture to this part of the town and is famous for it’s painted ceramics and flamenco. Here you will also come across Plaza de Toros, the 250-year-old bullfighting arena.

Tip- The kids will find this place more interesting as it’s colourful and quaint but to make it

A 2 night stay in Seville is good enough, but if you want to soak in the culture a bit more then you can easily extend it.

Seville to Barcelona- By train it takes 5 hours.

Barcelona- 3 nights (Spain With Kids)

Accommodation- Vale Apartments

Vale Apartments Barcelona

Transportation: Vale apartments was in a lovely neighbourhood, surrounded by restaurants and shops and just 10-15 minutes cab ride away from all major attractions. They provide a free airport shuttle and free wifi.

Barcelona was a treat for all of us. The first day there, we went to the Chocolate museum which was exciting for the kids, but it was rather small but my younger one enjoyed himself. Here even the ticket is a chocolate.

Chocolate ticket for Chocolate museum Barcelona

Asterix and Obelix created with chocolate- Chocolate museum Barcelona

Tip: On Sundays they hold chocolate making workshops for kids. These need to be booked in advance on their site.

I finally decided to do things beyond the family and  booked myself to the Wine and Tapas tour. Since hubby is a vegetarian and kids were not interested they stayed back. It was a lovely tour. I got to meet a new set of people, all from different nationalities. The tour was a mix of learning the history of the Tapas and hopping from one tapas place to another.

Wine and tapas tour Barcelona

The affable group from the Wine and Tapas Tour

The other walking tours I would suggest is visiting the Gaudi’s marvels( Park Guella, Casa Vicen and more) and the Gothic city tour.

Casa Battlo by Gaudi

Barcelona, Madrid and Seville all offer Segway tours and they are great fun. You can combine it with any preferred tour.

Segway tours Barcelona

Sagrada Familia is one such marvel of Gaudi that you cannot miss. It has been under construction for over 150 years and still going on. He designed it to be the highest structure around and inspired by nature it almost is as tall as Mount Monteserrat. He believed that man should never surpass the creation of God.

Sagrada Familia

While in Barcelona you cannot be untouched by the football fever that runs around the city. It definitely calls for a tour at Camp Nou and if possible do catch a live match to see Messi playing. (We all absolutely love him)!! Needless to say we did both and the boys were thrilled. One of the days take a train to Mount Montserrat, home to the famous Black Virgin and boys choir La Escolania. You can take a tram right to the top and get the most scenic views. Both the train ride and tram to the top are recommended. You can buy tickets once you reach Monteserrat or book a tour.

Posing at Press Area in Camp Nou, Barcelona

Watching A Live Match in Barcelona

While we were there for 3 nights, you can easily extend it to a 4 night as there are just so many things to do in Barcelona.