Barcelona for xmas with a kid?

March 10, 2017 6:17 AM

I'm thinking about going to Barcelona with my husband and our 11-year-old at Christmas time. We're interested in architecture, museums, food, and some low-key chilling out over the holiday. I'm concerned, though, that most stuff will be closed or extra-expensive because of the holiday.

I've always liked the idea of going somewhere over Christmas but I worry that it will be boring or super expensive. I speak decent Spanish and can look for good deals, but I'm wondering how reasonable it is to expect to find stuff to do while we're there from, say, the 22nd to the 28th Dec this year. Any kid-friendly suggestions much appreciated.

posted by stinker to Travel & Transportation around Barcelona, Spain (1 answer total)

Best answer: December 25 is a national holiday and December 26 (St Stephen: eat canelons) is a regional holiday in Catalonia, so things might be mostly closed from evening Dec 24 when shops close a bit earlier for the Christmas Eve family dinner to Dec 27 morning. I guess you can still see the Sagrada Familia or Parc Güell or walk around the Gothic Quarter, but take this into account.

There are a bunch of Christmas markets and your kid will probably enjoy the tiós and caganers, and there's all sorts of Christmas food you have to eat, particularly all the torrons (nougat-ish bars) and neules (rolled up wafers).

My favourite Barcelona museums are the MNAC and the MUHBA, but there are also the Picasso Museum, the Museu Marítim just by the Rambla, and so on, apart from the usual destinations. When I was a kid we'd go on excursions to the Museu de Ciències Naturals, but it's been many years since I went. It used to be mostly interactive kid-friendly exhibitions with science experiments.

A shortish walk from the MNAC in Montjuïc is the Poble Espanyol, a sort of architectural theme park in which something like a hundred traditional-style houses from all of Spain were reproduced. Half the houses are either crafts shops or restaurants, and it's another kid-friendly option.
posted by sukeban at 12:52 AM on March 11, 2017