Barcelona is a city with a lot to offer if you are planning to travel or live here with your kids. Behind its avantguard monuments, its original architecture and the amazing beaches it also hides a wide range of fun activities for the younger ones. It has some amazing amusement parks, museums, an amazing zoo and aquarium and a selection of natural parks. Here are our top picks of what to do in Barcelona with kids:
Parque Güell
More than 90 years ago Gaudí gave life to this amazing park. A place filled with amazing and colorful architecture that complement the natural surroundings. It’s not for nothing that this park is considered an icon of Barcelona and it’s a must for families with children.
On its surroundings architecture lovers can observe with their own eyes how Gaudí challenged the laws of physics with the “Pórtico de la Lavandera” to create an impresioning corridor in the shape of the waves with the inclined columns or the Escalinata de Dragón as well as the Sala Hipóstila. And if you don’t want to miss any detail you can always go for the organized tours offered by the park with an official guide.
El Pueblo Español (The Spanish Village)
Situated a few meters from the Montjuïc Fountains you can also find the so called Poble Espanyol, one of the most important attractions of the city where you can contemplate the architecture, craftsmanship, contemporary art, trade and gastronomy in an ideal environment to visit with the family. Built in 1929, it is a scale town with the replicas of 117 buildings from different Spanish territories, it offers an amazing opportunity for the kids to learn about some of the jewels of every region of the country without having to leave Barcelona.
In the same area you can discover a fragment of the Camino de Santiago, a typical andalucian neighborhood as well as the catalan architecture. To end the day on a high note you can then visit the Fran Daurel Museum, a space with over 300 pieces of contemporary artists like Dalí, Miró or Picasso.
Museu Blau
Also known as Museu Blau (or the Blue Museum), it represents the most modern part of the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona, a place where the children can learn by having fun. It’s installations, located on the parque del Fórum, have more than 3 million exemplars being a testament of the evolution of the Earth from the creation of the universe, the continents and up to the formation of nature as we know today.
The museum also offers a wide range of activities for families that include workshops, participation games and other educational activities to cultivate the interest and respect for nature in your kids. For the younger ones that might get bored it has the Cradle of Science, a space dedicated to under 6 year olds where they can learn to appreciate the different animals, rocks, minerals and fossilized plants.
Parque de atracciones Tibidabo
This amusement park is one of the oldest in the world and is definitely an icon of Barcelona. It’s located in the outskirts of the city, in the highest point of the Sierra de Collserola, more than 500 meters above sea level, where you can enjoy some of the most beautiful views of Barcelona on the Magic Mountain.
The kids can also enjoy the Panoramic Area of Tibidabo, an amusement park where they can get on the Carrousel, the Plane or play on the Crash Cars. The more daring young ones can also try the Tibidabo Express or the roller coaster to get the feeling of adrenaline.
As a way of ending an amazing day you can visit the Tibidabo Museum of Automata, a worldwide reference on its kind. The museum has over 40 automatons from the late XIX and early XX centuries and they are all functional!
Barcelona Zoo
The Barcelona Zoo is a must visit for families with kids. A space where they can get to know the different animals that live on 5 continents. They can visit the Terrario which has the largest collection of reptiles and amphibians in Europe or the Aviario, a space that’s home to more than 70 species of birds from different parts of the world. They can also enjoy the “La Tierra de Dragones” where the sparrows of Java the Komodo dragons live or the “Galeria de Titís” where there are exemplars of the smallest primates of the world, the south american marmosets.
The Aquarium of Barcelona
If you are in Barcelona you can not skip the Aquarium. It’s one of the most important Mediterranean themed aquariums of the world and it has an unique oceanarium with a underwater tunnel more than 80 meters long where the young ones will have the feeling of walking under the sea and see the stingrays, moray eels or even sharks and have an experience that they will never forget.
They can also discover the species of animals that live in different tematic zones such as the Tropical aquarium, the tropical coral’s aquarium, marine invertebrates, seahorses or even penguins.
Egyptian Museum of Barcelona
It is an incredible museum that will get the children to learn about the most well kept secrets of Tutankhamun. There the children can see some amazing ceramic artwork and egyptian jewelry and learn how some of the egyptian faraones ruled. They will also have the chance to learn about the Egyptians of the era and see with their own eyes some temples and praying shrines, a real jewel of antique architecture. The children will also have the chance to see a collection of mummies and sarcophagi at this museum.
Illa Fantasía
If you want to spend a fun day with the family, the Illa Fantasia park is the perfect destination. It’s an aquatic park located in Vilassar de Dalt, just about 30 minutes from Barcelona that you can go either by car or public transport. As soon as you enter you’ll find yourself in an incredible aquatic world with attractions for all ages from artificial wave pools, watersprings up to a lake with small waterfalls. It also has a wide range of water sliders, the Kamikaze, a closed slide and a spiral one among them.
Camp Nou and the Museo del Barça
Who wouldn’t like to step on the same pitch where legends such as Messi, Maradona, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho etc. have played and won all there is to win? At Camp Nou you will have this opportunity, to set foot on the pitch as well as the chance to go to the locker rooms or the tunnel where the players go through before every game.
Of course this and the rest of the museum where you can see all the trophies won by the team or the players and learn the more than 115 year old history of the team is an amazing experience on its own. The younger ones can also enjoy the “El Barça educa en valores” program where the kids take courses, workshops, guided tours and other activities.
CosmoCaixa Museum
The CosmoCaixa Museum is something that we think is one of the best options when it comes to things to do with kids. With its permanent and temporary expositions there is always something fun to do and no time to get bored. Your kids will love the workshops that they have since they are especially created having them in mind and they have the chance to interact and experiment so that they can learn by having fun about nature, science or technology.
In the Universe room they can learn the evolution of the cosmos from the Big Bang up until the current day on an interactive journey that will take them through the evolution of the species up to the secrets of the human brain.