Best place to visit before going to Spain - with teens

I suggest Malta. When I read your post and thought of teens Malta immediately came to mind. You and your kids will love it and 4 nights there is perfect. Its scenery is spectacular and in many places you feel like you have stepped back in time. Fortresses, beautiful churches, (do not miss St. John's co cathedral - impressive), pretty fishing villages, pretty houses with their colorful balconies. So much history there. The island is small so it is easy to get around and see a lot of it. Mdina is a must see. But if your trip is in summer, Malta will be very hot.

My second suggestion is Garmisch Partenkirchen in Germany, in Bavaria. Picturesque town surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery. The kids will like the Partnach gorge and you all can ride up to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain. Lots of mountain hiking or biking. A possible daytrip to Neuschwanstein or Linderhoff Palace to see one of King Ludwig's castles or royal residences. Fly in and out of Munich and take the train down to Garmisch

My third suggestion is either Krakow or Prague. You mentioned London and Paris so obviously you like cities. Weather should be fine in summer. Lovely cities with much to see. and do. So very different than Spain.

Spain is a wonderful destination, and a great place for kids or teens. Here are a few tips for Madrid. There is a brand new museum that just opened recently right across from the Royal Palace. It is called the Galleria de las Colecciones Reales, Royal Collection Gallery. I have not been there yet but it has caught my eye. Madrid makes a wonderful base for easy daytrips. Your teens would love either Toledo or Segovia and both are easy to get to.

There are so many possibilities for your 4 or 5 days. Enjoy tour trip.

Thank you! I can tell you are a very experience traveler. I greatly appreciate your ideas and will begin researching them.

Lisboa
We loved all 10 days there

My suggestion for somewhere other than Spain is.....more Spain. There are so many outstanding destinations 4-5 more nites will be easy to fill. Cordoba, Seville, Granada are some of the biggies in Andalusia. Reading between the lines it seems you are planing for summer. Basque Spain and the north coast are cool and fascinating. Just my €.02 worth. Brad

Thank you and Dave and Brad. I will look into Lisboa further. We want to leave Spain because we will be doing some day trips to Granada and elsewhere when we are there and we want to show our girls another place nearby for the other 4 days. Also, we have been there before (pre kids) and really struggled with the food. I know we aren't the norm :)

I had a great time in Malta because of the company I had. But the crowds and drunk trust fund brats were more than I could take. One of the best parts is the beaches and water.

I suggest you go to Ryanair and Wizzair and see where they go to from Barcelona. One thing to have ideas and another for them to be practical. I noticed Albania, Bucharest and Budapest are both less than 2 hours and less than $100. All truly different experiences than Spain and maybe more enjoyable food.

I am aware that this is not our question, but... if you are from California, Marbella might be a bit of a disappointment. The beaches aren't that great and a lot of the resorts are overdeveloped. It is a very nice place for a seaside holiday, but not one worth travelling 10,000 km for, I would say.
It is also surprisingly far from Granada for a day trip.
You could look into Nerja, as an alternative.
Now, if Marbella is set in stone, do not get me wrong: it is a nice place. I just want to avoid unrealistic expectations ;-)

I am also curious why you are going to Marbella. It is an upscale tourist destination for beach holidays. The whole Costa del Sol is developed for tourism and Marbella is the most expensive and flashiest resort.

Thank you! The Spain part of the trip has been planned by my father in law. There are 22 of us going to Spain. I completely agree with the Marbella comments and I am surprised we are going there as well. I have been to Marbella and disliked it so much that we check out of our hotel early and headed to Seville. I have no say in the Spain portion of the trip that is why I am focused on the 4 or 5 nights before we head to Spain so I can go somewhere special with just my husband and 2 kids. Thank you for helping me find a place to land with just my family before Spain. I’m still researching so any ideas are appreciated.

Also, we have been there before (pre kids) and really struggled with the food

What did you struggle with? (in order to help with recommendations)

Portugal is great, four days in Lisbon would work.