I have been lurking around and dreaming of a trip to Spain. No actual plans yet. My children are 7 and 8. If we are able to go, we would probably try for about two weeks in late May this year or next. We watched a show on Barcelona last night and all thought the Gaudi sites looked like lots of fun (and the hot chocolate/churros).

Any ideas to help us decide where to go (cities or regions - I'll deal with apartments later in planning) and what the fun draws might be there.

We don't manage well with traditional museums. Our most fun in Italy tended to be places like the scene at the Plaza Signorelli (outside the Uffizi - once inside the kids were not as engaged) and Boboli Gardens in Florence (outdoors, places to be a kid and still see beauty) and in Sienna we saw the Tratta (picking of the horses for the Palio) in Il Campo and that was very festive and felt like a neat local experience (as opposed to a tourist experience).

Hello:

In another post I had mentioned some places in Barcelona children may like. They are Parc Guell for running about and enjoying open spaces and buskers, ditto for City park. Boat rides in City Parks pond would be on my grandson's agenda as would the rides at Tibidabo park overlooking the city. Street performers along the Ramblas can amuse. The fountains at Plaza Espana are lit at night and change colours and force with the accompanying music. We noticed advertisements for children's puppet theatre. The funicular ride across the harbour could be exciting.

If you travel to Valencia, the Turia river bed park provides ample opportunity to play. There is a giant Gulliver statue that is a piece of playground equipment. The city's aquarium is topnotch.

Wherever you decide to go, check to local tourist office for festivals. There will probably either be a local saint's day or neighbourhood fiesta somewhere nearby.

Dennis

I agree that the aquarium would be a good place to entertain the kids in BCN.
http://www.aquariumbcn.com/AQUARIUM/index.php
If an amusement park would also suit you for a day then the nearest one to BCN is
Portaventura, about an hours drive from the city.
http://www.portaventura.es/
In the Pyrenees you could do some horse riding?
It would depend on when you go but when you have fixed dated then look for a local fiesta too. But if they do not like loud bangs then rule this suggestion out as the Spanish like to let off a lot of fireworks.

Thank you! We all love fireworks so that would be lots of fun and also we'd enjoy being "part" of the local festivities.
Meanwhile, BCN is sort of a sure thing at this point but I wondered about maybe one other home base type location.
We saw some sort of park - not really amusement style - more like a historical park like Williamsburg, VA in the US - on Samantha Brown where they have lots of artisans and historical building styles. Does anyone know a website for that? (I'll make this a separate question if necessary b/c I know I changing topics). Thanks

HI:

You may be referring to Pople Espanole on Montjuic in Barcelona. It is a leftover from a world exposition early in the last century. It icorporates buildind styles from Spain's regions. Currently the buildingds house artisans, restaurants, and shops.

Many towns and cities hold medievil festivals.I aware of Caceres, Santiago de Compostela, Rubios de la Mora, Besalu. There are others. People dress in costume and there are staged events. Best to inquire through a local tourist office if there are any such activities while you are there. I've found most TIs respond to emails.

Dennis