Weekend Trip To Barcelona In May
Barcelona is one of the most visited cities in the world, and for good reason! It offers incredible food, architecture, beaches nearby and is accessible by air, plane, train, and car. Since it’s pretty popular, going in with a plan is even more important. Here’s how we organized our weekend!
Thursday: Arriving in Barcelona
We flew in super early, dropped our bags at the hotel, and hit the ground running.
TKO Tacos 1€ tacos and 3€ quesadilla
We started with a free walking tour of the Gothic Quarter, which also took us through some of the newer streets and past some of Antoni Gaudí’s iconic houses. I highly recommend doing a walking tour on your first day in any city. It is the absolute best way to learn the history, get your bearings, and feel like you know the city a bit better right off the bat.
Since Gaudí’s very first house, Casa Vicens, wasn’t included in our tour, we walked over to check it out afterward. If you’re traveling with littles, they might be totally exhausted by this point. This is the perfect time to check into your hotel and let the family relax (bonus points if your hotel has a pool to splash in!).
PRO-TIP: Book any major attractions at least a month (at the absolute minimum) in advance. You need timed tickets for almost everything, and they will sell out. When we went in April, we barely snagged the last spots, and that wasn't even during peak busy season!
For dinner, we headed to TKO Tacos after seeing it all over TikTok. They have one euro tacos, and the vibe was so much fun! The food was amazing, but we got there at 6:45 PM and there was already a line. If you have young kids, this might not be the best dinner spot. It gets super crowded and the tables are very small, which isn't ideal for strollers or wiggly toddlers.
Friday: Gaudi’s Masterpieces
Inside of the Sagrada Família
We woke up early for a 9:30 AM guided tour of Park Güell. This is an absolute must-see, and I’m so glad we booked the early slot because it was way less crowded. After the tour, we spent some time just wandering around on our own. However, this park is at the top of a serious hill. If you take the metro, prepare for a steep uphill walk that little legs will not appreciate. We opted to Uber there and walk back down, which we thought was the smartest move!
On our walk back, we stumbled into a local restaurant for lunch. This is our go-to way to find our favorite food spots in any city. It was a bit expensive, but Barcelona has so many incredible food options just by walking around. We found that around lunchtime, local spots were rarely too crowded.
Our afternoon was reserved for a guided tour of the Sagrada Família. It is insanely beautiful and needs to be on your list if you visit the city. I literally just sat there for a while, staring up at the ceiling and the breathtaking stained glass. Doing a guided tour instead of just the entry ticket is great because it breaks down the history of Gaudí and all the cool carvings on the outside!
Next up, we hopped on the metro to grab some afternoon gelato while we waited for our timed tickets at the FC Barcelona Museum. Because the historic Camp Nou stadium is currently under construction, they have a temporary museum exhibition set up. We saw so many kids here, and any sports fans in your family will absolutely love it! For us, it was a bit disappointing for the price tag. It cost over €30 per adult for a museum experience that only took about 30 minutes to walk through.
By the time we finished, we were wiped and ready for some downtime. We stayed a bit outside the city center at the Hyatt Regency Tower, so we opted for dinner nearby. We ended up at a small local kebab spot that was delicious and super budget-friendly! Foodie families will definitely love how diverse the local food options are here.
PRO-TIP: Staying right in the city center (like the Gothic Quarter) is pricey. Looking just a bit outside the main areas can save you a ton of money, and as long as you're near a metro line, it’s incredibly accessible. Plus, it’s a nice break from the heavy tourist crowds!
Saturday: Ancient Ruins & Beautiful Parks
Foutain at Parc de la Ciutadella
We took the metro back to the Gothic Quarter to visit the Barcelona History Museum. We weren’t originally planning on doing this, but the tour guide from Thursday highly recommended it! We learned all about the history of Spain and the Catalonia region. The best part? The basement features beautifully preserved Roman ruins of the old city. Walking through the underground ruins is incredibly cool and bound to fascinate kids of any age.
For lunch, we hit up the famous Mercat de la Boqueria... and honestly? We wouldn’t recommend it. It was insanely crowded, and honestly, a lot of the food stalls felt exactly the same. After visiting the food market scene in London, we had much higher hopes for this one. The food we tried wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't live up to the social media hype (or the high price tag).
To escape the market crowds, we walked over to the Arc de Triomf for a quick photo op, which is right next to Parc de la Ciutadella. This park is stunning and was the perfect place to pause, sit on the grass, and relax after a busy couple of days of nonstop walking. There is tons of open space for kids to run around, and they even have rowboats you can rent on the pond!
We spent our last few hours exploring Barceloneta, the beach area. It wasn’t quite warm enough to swim, and we didn't want to get all wet and sandy right before our late-night flight home anyway. From what we've heard, the absolute best beaches are actually in Costa Brava, which is about a one-hour train ride outside the city. If we had more time, we would have loved to do a day trip there, as Barceloneta felt pretty crowded and the food on the main strip seemed overpriced. We just grabbed some quick snacks at a local bakery before heading to the airport.
We absolutely loved Barcelona and wished we could have spent more time there! The city itself is beautiful, vibrant, and packed with things to do. If your family is planning a trip and has more than just a few days, it makes the perfect base camp. There are so many amazing family-friendly day trips and coastal beach towns that are just a quick train ride away!