Are you thinking of visiting Barcelona but are short on time? This itinerary will show you how to make the most of your time while keeping in mind that you are travelling with kids!
It includes all the main sights, where to stay and places to eat. We only had 3 days in this beautiful city with our 6 and 8 year olds and this was totally doable!
We arrived in Barcelona on a Thursday morning. After an overnight flight from Toronto, we knew we were going to be tired, but decided our plan would be to see some of the sights as well as spend some time in our hotel pool to recover from the jetlag.
We made our way by taxi to our hotel which actually wasn’t our original plan! We planned on taking the train into Barcelona from the airport but since we only had 3 days, the train would take a lot longer and the price actually wasn’t that much more for a taxi since we would be buying 4 train tickets.
Day 1 in Barcelona
After checking into our hotel we headed out on foot to see what we could find! Barcelona is a busy city, with shops, restaurants and historic architecture everywhere!
We walked down La Rambla, a pedestrian friendly street, to see street performers and musicians. Next stop was at the Boqueria Market.
It is right in the middle of La Rambla. You can’t miss it because there were a ton of people coming in and out! It is busy, so hold onto your kids hands but still so much fun to walk around and check out all the local foods.
My kids’ favourite was the freshly squeezed fruit juices.
After that, if your kids are like ours, you’ll want to spend some time at the hotel pool. Silken Rambla had a nice size pool on the roof of the hotel where the kids got to swim and us parents got to enjoy the view!
After some time relaxing by the pool, we headed back out again. We spent some time getting lost among the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter and stopped for dinner at Guell Tapas for some traditional Spanish food. We enjoyed the paella!
Day 2 in Barcelona
The next morning we had a quick breakfast at 365 Cafe, nice fresh pastries and very affordable.
We walked to Plaça de Catalunya and caught a bus to Park Guell. Make sure you buy tickets online in advance for the park as they do book out!
We spent about 3 hours in the park walking around, checking out all the interesting Gaudi architecture and colours. The park only has one cafe to get food and drinks. It was busy and expensive so I recommend you bring your own! Unfortunately we didn’t know this so we were starving by the time we were done!
We stopped for lunch just outside the park on Carrer De Larrard, which was probably more expensive than others because of the location but it was still good.
After that we got back on the bus and went to Sagrada Familia. Again, make sure you book tickets online in advance so you don’t miss out!
This building was so impressive to look at from the outside. The detail is like nothing we’ve ever seen! The entrance to the church includes an audio tour. We listened to the first few segments but found it very long, especially with the kids so we skipped the rest of the tour and did our own thing.
The inside is equally as beautiful as the outside. The stained glass windows had so much colour. My favourite part was when the pipe organ started playing. Such a beautiful sound.
We paid the extra amount to go up one of the towers. We chose the Nativity Tower, I’m actually not even sure how we decided between that one and the Passion Tower, everyone on the internet seemed to have an opinion as to which one was better.
I loved the view, my kids loved climbing the narrow walkways and winding stairs. It was fun and I’m glad we paid the extra money to do it.
After visiting the cathedral we hopped on the metro and took it all the way to the waterfront and took some pictures with the lions at Monument a Colom and had a short walk looking at the boats.
We only spent a short amount of time at the waterfront then started getting hungry. We walked back up La Rambla to Plaça Reial, a large square in the gothic quarter full of restaurants and entertainment.
We actually ate dinner in an Irish Pub of all places (that’s what happens when you’re starving, hot and have kids!! It was called Irish Pub Temple Bar. It was air conditioned, had delicious burgers and was so affordable!
Day 3 in Barcelona
Our last day already! Our flight wasn’t until 9pm so we had a few hours left to explore. We checked out of our hotel early, the Silken Ramblas has free bag storage so we left our bags and grabbed a quick breakfast at 365 Cafe again.
From there we hopped on the train and then a bus to the Tibidabo Funicular and rode the mountain train to the top of Mount Tibidabo.
If you’re like us and are a huge fan of the TV show Friends, then you know why we wanted to go to Mount Tibidabo! If you’re not a fan, this is still a great place to visit.
The funicular was a fun, long ride up the side of the mountain and the views from the top were amazing. At the top you will find an amusement park. It looked really fun, lots of cool rides. Unfortunately they only sell day passes and we just didn’t have the time.
Perched at the very top of the hill is the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a large cathedral. You can walk around the inside, also climb the stairs to the balcony for even higher views of Barcelona. It was the perfect way to end our short time in Barcelona!
Where We Stayed
Since we only had 3 days to explore Barcelona without a car, we wanted to be amongst the action. Somewhere we could walk around easily to eat and take public transit, all while being conscious of our budget.
That’s why we decided on the Silken Ramblas Hotel. It was one block from the famous La Rambla and less than 10 minutes to Plaça de Catalunya to jump on a bus or subway. The hotel was clean, had a rooftop pool and 2 bedroom suites for our family. It was perfect for travelling families.
About Public Transit
This took us a bit of time to figure out, but once we did, it was easy and saved us money.
Transit in Barcelona includes buses and subways. You can only buy tickets in the metro stations (the subway) from a machine. They sell several different kinds of tickets but we found it was most cost effective to buy the family card.
For 10 Euro you get 8 trips shared between your family. With that ticket you also have free transfers as long as it’s less than 75 minutes from the start of your journey. For example, we got on a bus from Park Guell and used the same ticket to transfer from the bus to a subway to get to Sagrada Familia.
I hope you have a fabulous time in Barcelona and this itinerary helps you. It really showcases the best of Barcelona that you can fit into three days.
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