Ideas for Spain in November with a teenager (14 yo boy)

I vote for Barcelona as I consider it to have a broader menu than Madrid. Keep in mind Madrid is the third largest city in europe and has a relatively small old town zone. Strongly suggest an assignment be given to the son to research and determine where he wants to go. Also, check the football schedule to determine if you can get tickets to a game.

Both are friendly for teenagers...especially if they enjoy history...Madrid with the Palacio Royal, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Prado....Barcenlona with its history as well.. Get some books and let your son express his choices. As you have seen Barcelona, I would suggest Madrid with side trips to Toledo and Segovia, Salamanca. Toledo over night at least..two if you can arrange your schedule. Toledo is likely the most historical city in Spain, and even Europe in many aspects....Let him do a bit of research....Moon Guide To Spain, while a guide book, is a good place to begin. And check the football schedule in both cities...likely to find at least one game...

Hi Kerry,
Both cities have their own sort of charm, nevertheless, as Barcelonian I'll make the case for my city of course :)

Firstly know that Barça is not the nickname of the city, it's only the nickname of the football team FC Barcelona. If you want to use a nickname for Barcelona say Barna -althought be warned, only local posh people uses it, LOL!

Barcelona is a city with 2 millenia of history, having been capital of a maritime empire in the early Middle Ages which extended thru the Mediterranean as far as Greece including half of today's Italy, Malta, the South of France... so it does really have plenty of historical sites, from Roman ruins to Middle Age palaces -many still in use-, the remains of the Old Jewish Quarter to bits of the walls that surrounded the city until the 18th century. As per football, well, we're not gonna quarrel about this but hey FC Barcelona is one of the best teams in the world and its stadium and museum is visited by 1.8 million tourists every year, I'm sure there's a reason for it, don't you think? As per art museums, while Madrid has great 16th to 18th century collections, Barcelona has the best Romanesque collection in the whole of Europe at the MNAC in Montjuïc, not forgetting the surrealists works of Dalí and Miró and the genious architecture of the great Art Nouveau masters which created our own world-renown version of such trend: the Modernisme. Buildings like La Pedrera, Casa Batlló, Hospital de Sant Pau, La Sagrada Família... created by Gaudí, Puig i Cadalfalch, Domènech i Montaner, etc. Food-wise, Barcelona has an enormous variety of offers in different cuisines. Not in vain, some the world's best restaurateurs -not my saying but the most prestigious food guides elsewhere- are from Catalonia, namely Ferràn Adrià or the Roca brothers. And last but not least... the sea and the beach, that's something that always bring an extra to any city. I've lived in different cities some of which were not near the coast and let me tell you, that's something you really miss.

Did I present the case for Barcelona all right? :)

Check http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/ , http://www.timeout.com/barcelona , http://www.infocatalonia.eu and
http://www.catalunya.com/ for more info and ideas.

We have this discussion in our house often -- which do you prefer Madrid or Barcelona. I'm on the Barcelona side. Don't get me wrong, I love both cities; and if you only see one, you'll miss some very impressive sights in the other. Here's my case for Barcelona. The city is laid out in a way that makes it feel very manageable - walkable. We like to stay in L'Exaimple, a few minutes walk to Placa de Catalunya. From there you can walk down the Ramblas to the water. You can also find the HoHo bus, if you want. I find it's easy to orient myself on foot around Barcelona. I get much more lost (not really lost, but have to rely on maps) in Madrid. Also any taxi ride is usually not very expensive around the city. Buen Viaje!!

I think a teenager would much prefer Barcelona. If he was really into art and history, then Madrid could work, but otherwise there isn't as much that might interest him. Even the architecture in Barcelona is wild enough to interest just about anyone. And a daytrip up to Figueres to see the Dali Museum might be crazy enough to keep his attention.

I'll also throw out there a different idea for late November when the weather will be iffy in much of Spain. Go south and spend your time in Andalucía: Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada.

When my sons were in that range, I took them to Europe. I asked what they wanted to see? "Castles." "Ruins or restored castles?" "Ruins."

Lots of great medieval castles to visit near Valladolid (La Mota, Coca, and Penafiel castles). Another really nice one is up near Pamplona in Olite.

Other than that, Barcelona is a much better choice. It has a real Medieval core, plus (man-made) beaches, and lots more.

Thanks everyone for your responses. We have booked our tickets for Barcelona 11/21-11/30. We've managed to get tickets to a FC Barcelona football game, a mosaic class, a segway ride (hey, its cheesy, but he will have fun) and of course our Art Ticket pass once again. I think we will also do a day trip to do some hiking or maybe to see the Roman ruins in Tarragona or over to Perpignon to see the French side of Catalunya. If anyone has further suggestions for side trips from Barcelona, please let me know. I must admit, I am thrilled to be going back to Barcelona. We were there for 5 days in 2012 but still didn't get to a ton of things on my list (any of the art museums except the Miro Foundation, which I'd love to see again), so I think it won't be hard to find things to keep us busy. Thanks again!

My young teens enjoyed casa batlo, it is so unexpectedly crazy architecturally that it captured their imaginations and the audio guide held their attention-- and gave them some independence, so appreciated by teens.

PS they also loved walking around on the beach (Mediterranean), simple pleasures.

PS they also loved walking around on the beach (Mediterranean), simple pleasures.