How to spend 7 days in Barcelona (with a 6 yr old and 3 yr old:)

When are you going?

Personally I wouldn't take a 6 and a 3 year old to Barcelona and I wouldn't be taking them to Sagrada Familia. They're too young to appreciate it and the crowds and queues make it a daunting and frustrating atmosphere for children so young.

Depending on the time of year I would get out of Bacelona and head for a nicer beach resort. Yes there is a beach in Barcelona but there are far better ones elsewhere along the coast.

Beach time

Obviously, everybody has his own preferences and opinions, but I disagree with JC. And not because I am born and bred in the city, and I could be biased, but because objectively the city has plenty of things to do with children which DO NOT involve "flocks of tourists".

A couple of things though I agree:

• 3 and 6 are very young for really appreciating much, especially the younger one and they could equally have as much fun going practically anywhere, Barcelona or the next town around the corner at your hometown. Thus, I would consider planning this trip around "your" preferences instead, including an activity here and there which can amuse the young ones.
• As per Sagrada Familia, note that you cannot take the option to visit a tower because under 6yo and people with mobility difficulties are not allowed up -for safety reasons, in case an evacuation was deemed necessary- therefore do choose any type of ticket but the "Top Views"... or if you do, plan for one of you staying behind with the children.

Another thing I would question is the "need" for doing too many day escapades when you're barely staying a week in the city. There are far too many things to do already in Barcelona for the need to plan so many escapades. I can understand the allure and, frankly, I am also in favour to mix "urban days" with "country-side days", but I wouldn't include more than 2 in a week. As per going to Sitges for 3 days, despite it's indeed a very nice town, I am not sure I would do that. You can easily take the train there for the day, it's barely a 35' ride in a commuting line with plenty of trains every hour. Maybe you could swap some of Sitges's "stays" with more day escapades from Barcelona instead?

Did you mention "driving"?.... think twice!.... why? I bet you can do most everything you have in mind on public transportation. Finding parking spots is always difficult, it's expensive -especially in Barcelona, where you pay everywhere, even in the street. And then moving about in the city does NOT require a vehicle, there's an excellent public transportation network. Note as well that some parts, especially the narrow streets of the Old City or any of the other old neighbourhoods, are either pedestrianized or semi-pedestrianized. Same goes for most of Sitges.

PS Don't know where you come from, but in case you wonder, safety is not really a major issue here, you can go anywhere and take any public transport without much worrying. Still, it's a city, so basic precautions are always in order, of course.

Among the many things that come to mind to which I would take children the age of yours are:

MUSEU DE CIÈNCIA (COSMOCAIXA): an interactive science museum, lots to touch and play with, and also, among other highlights it has an exhibition named the Bosc Inundat (Flooded Forest), which recreates 10,000 sq.ft of an Amazonian rainforest ecosystem and features piranhas, crocodiles and other animal and plant species typical to the zone.

PARC DEL LABERINT D'HORTA: the oldest garden in Barcelona, dating from 1792, which was part of a marquis's estate, and for which the main jewel is an outdoor garden labyrinth (maze)

An Old City walking tour for children, like http://bit.ly/BCNkids-RB or https://realbarcelonatours.com/tour/kids-walking-tour-small-group_196 for example

An activity with your kids, say like http://bit.ly/BCNkids_trencadis -a fun activity learning Gaudí's technique (there's a version for kids)

ZOO DE BARCELONA, over 7,000 animals from 400 different species live in Zoo de Barcelona.

L'AQUARIUM home to 11,000 animals representing 450 species, and an 80-meter (260 ft) underwater tunnel. It has an immense Oceanarium, the only one in Europe, where you’ll find such diverse species as giltheads, morays, ocean sunfish, rays, and sharks.

Outside the city, but very easily reachable on a commuting ride, the MINIATURE CATALONIA PARK, a miniature theme park where you will find the exhibition of scale models 1:25 of Catalonia's main buildings (Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, etc) and a number of well known other European landmarks (Tour Eiffel, Big Ben, etc) and also, literally next door, there is another site called el BOSC ANIMAT, a forest adventure park, which also has a childrens' circuit

TIBIDABO, the oldest still functioning funfair in Europe. Opened in 1898. Although it also has a modern roller coaster and the like, many of its attractions are rather more fun fair-type than amusement park-type, and there are plenty of them aimed at young children. As a couple of "pluses", it's located in Tibidabo mountain, with magnificent views overlooking the whole city of Barcelona and it has an impressive small church on top, Temple del Sagrat Cor, which might be worth visiting.

There are plenty more, these are some ideas.

And yes, the beach too :)

PS: Note that while I suggested some of this places might not be "overrun by tourists", we locals also do vacations, so this means these sites won't be empty, thus it's always recommended to pre-book -especially for those located in the Old City (Zoo, Aquarium...) as these will "also" be visited by tourists :)

whoa! thank you to all who responded! @JC we will be in Barcelona from June 21st- 29th. 7 full days.
I think the idea of doing day trips was that everyone has been recommending Girona and Montserrat as
2 must see places. Are those 2 trips too much you think in a week? too hectic maybe? Sitges came up as an idea as we thought that the kids may not enjoy all the architecture and museums etc that the parents will:) so then we can just go hang out at the beach and if we are living right there, may be easier access . If we do 2 day trips to the beach , lugging around all our stuff in the train, that may become too tiring as well for the littles?

@Enric, THANK YOU for all those options you sent!! oh my goodness, that's just awesome, I had no idea of quite a few and they just feel like things that the kids will totally enjoy , so big thank you for that! We aren't planning to drive at all , public transport for sure! Is the Eixample neighborhood a good choice you think? I checked out another place in Rambla Catalunya I believe but distances to many of the spots I was wanting to visit seemed greater from there.

I know we have to travel differently with kids, exploring a city also has to be done differently. At the same time, I want them to come back home with a taste of what Spain is , get a feel of the culture and ambience, the architecture ...maybe I'm asking for too much:). but I definitely

Nah, a couple of escapades is all right, and you'll enjoy both Girona and Montserrat. The escapade to Girona could include a visit to the medieval enclave of Besalú as well, which is barely an hour from Girona.

Yep Eixample is a classy area. And no, distances aren't that great -well, if you guys are couch potatoes even the corner will seem far too long, but I suspect you're not, right? LOL!

Not going to go into the debate "which beach is best" -cause it's absurd, the best beach is always the one more convenient at that moment, isn' it? Well, if you're in Barcelona, why not go to one of the ten beaches of the city? Regardless one's preferences, they were voted Best Urban Beach by National Geographic, I guess they aren't that bad, huh?

Barcelona is a very stimulating city , a visual feast. Most sights are extremely appealing for kids, MNAC perhaps the exception. My outline for seven days in Barcelona ...

Day 1
•Sagrada Familia (BOOK a first up visit)
•Hospital Sant Pau
•Eixample - Passeig de Gracia, Casa Mila & Casa Batllo

Day 2
Girona (& Figueres perhaps for Dali Museum)

Day 3
•Palau de la Musica Catalana (BOOK a first up visit)
•Las Ramblas - La Boqueria, Placa Real
•Bari Gotico - Cathedral

Day 4
Montserrat

Day 5
•Picasso Museum (BOOK a first up visit)
•La Ribera - Basilica Santa Maria del Mar
•Parc de la Ciutadella & Barceloneta

Day 6
Sitges

Day 7
•Park Guell (BOOK a first up visit)
•Plaça Espanya - Las Arenas, MNAC
•Montjuic - Olympic Ring, Castello, Miro Museum

NOTE:
Picasso Museum is closed Mon
Joan Miro is closed Mon
Antoni Tapies is closed Mon
MNAC is closed Mon
CCCB is closed Mon
MACBA is closed Tue

@Bill, your comment made me so emotional! If I can achieve half of that, I would think the trip is successful. That's all we want at the end of the day. Bond as a family and create some beautiful memories! Their memory of the ice cream they at may be more vivid than the Sagrada Familia ;) but that's ok by me.

@djp_syd, you don't know how much you just helped me . it's exactly what I needed . someone to suggest just what to do each day of the week...haha...I'm definitely a little planning challenged. So big thank you!!

I have one last question - is there any tour company you would suggest to do the Girona and Montserrat day trips?

No.... DIY... it's more fun, ridiculously easy and, obviously far cheaper.

There are trains to both destinations.

Montserrat: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/a-visit-to-montserrat-the-holy-mountain-near-barcelona-in-catalonia
Girona: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/girona-and-tarragona

Enric is the guru of the ‘can do’ !!

nah! rather very independent, bit stubborn, a whole lot of "let-me, I'll-figure-how-to" and sometimes even a tad cheap when it comes to absurdly wasting money, LOL!

Besides, planning is half the fun and adventure when traveling.

Thumbs up Bill. Cheers.