Spain with 2 kids next June, Barca or Sevilla?

Barcelona has it's own beach...Barceloneta. No need to travel to a beach town. The Camp Nou tour is awesome. We did that this past July. I am sure your kids will love it.

I think I'd do longer in Barcelona. There are beaches right in town, and I'm sure there are beach towns within a short hop (Seville is a couple hours from the coast). Kids may also like the Gaudi architecture - it's so distinctive, and there's just more to do, since it is bigger. Seville is wonderful, and you can do it justice in 3 nights. Obviously you'd see more if you stayed longer, and you certainly wouldn't be bored with 5, but given the choice...Barcelona.

Other towns to consider - I'd research beach towns near Barcelona (I haven't traveled in that region outside of the city itself), Granada, and some of the Algarve beaches south of Lisbon. If you are doing longer in Seville, a drive through the white hill towns in the region would be fun.

Have you looked into your car plans? Getting a car in Lisbon and returning it in Spain will likely be very expensive.

Barceloneta is just one of the eleven beaches (+2.8 km) "in" the city of Barcelona (http://barcelonaturisme.com/imgfiles/web/pdf/Barcelona_Beach_City.pdf) yet if you want to do an escapade, there are plenty other coastal towns with nice beaches (ie. Sitges: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/ibDWG which is at merely 35' on a commuting train)

Yes I just looked into driving from Portugal to Spain and apparently that's not going to be an economic feasibility, so we will likely fly. Maybe we will train between Seville and Barcelona.

Four ideas from me ...

Option (A)
Fly to Lisbon - 3 nights
Fly to Seville - 3 nights
Train to Barcelona - 5 nights (approx 6 hrs)
Fly to Paris - 3 nights

Option (B)
Fly to Lisbon - 3 nights
Train to Porto - 3 nights (approx 2hrs 45mins)
Fly to Barcelona - 5 nights
Fly to Paris - 3 nights

Option (C)
Fly to Lisbon - 4 nights
Fly to Barcelona - 6 nights
Fly to Paris - 4 nights

Option (D)
Fly to Lisbon - 3 nights
Fly to Madrid - 3 nights
Train to Barcelona - 5 nights (approx 2hrs 45mins)
Fly to Paris - 3 nights

Whilst in Barcelona definitely schedule 2 beach days for the boys, one in the city (Barceloneta) and one by train to Sitges.

I'll just throw in that Seville in June can be blistering hot. I was there some years ago, mid-June, when the temps reached 104 every day. Be sure to book a place with ac. Also, I think Barcelona offers more to interest kids than does Seville.

Rosalyn makes some good points to consider.

I have been to Barcelona and also Seville and the Andalucia area. I also often travel with kids and from what you stated about big cities I would suggest less time in Barcelona and more time some place else. I enjoyed it for 3 days, but I could have spent weeks in the south of Spain and been happy. I would stay where I could have a car and do some days trips in the south... one of the white hill towns, Jerez with the horses, Granada, Sevilla. I know my grandkids would much prefer this experience than days in a big city. You are already doing Lisbon and Paris so someplace not as busy as Barcelona might be nice. I also enjoyed Antequerra as well as Malaga. I dont remember the name but we also visited a wonderful national park never Malaga. Lots of hiking and great for kids.

Remember that flying takes a lot of time - airports are far from city centers and you need lots of lead time, plus you'll probably have to check luggage. Fly into Madrid or Seville and home from Paris. Take a train from Seville (5.5 hrs) or from Madrid (2.5 hrs) to Barcelona. Take the TGV from Barcelona to Paris - 6.5 hours and everyone will be more comfortable on the train. You can save a lot by buying no-refund tickets, which usually go on sale 4 months in advance (per the SNCF website) and 2 months in advance for Spain, though it's not as organized.

Seville can be brutally hot and there are no easy day trips except to Cordoba and Jerez, no beaches and not much to interest young boys. Flying into Malaga may be a good alternative. Then train to Barcelona.

I would spend at least 5 nights in Barcelona. There is plenty to see and do, including beaches and sports activities. There are many day trip possibilities (Roman Tarragona, medieval Girona, futuristic Dali in Figueres are just examples) and the climate is generally better.

Maybe add 1-2 nights to Portugal and visit Porto and/or elsewhere, then fly to Barcelona for 6 nights or more and add at least a night to Paris.

Yes, indeed there is lots of flying on this trip. The train from Barcelona to Paris may be an antidote for airport stress/fatigue. Option (B) would be my preference too Chani.

Ok I'm even more concerned about Barcelona now that I've looked at the teen travel guide we got our oldest. We are very fortunate to live right outside of San fran and spend a lot of time taking advantage of our location. The recommendations are zoos, aquariums, museums, iMax, cable cars, boat ride, and gardens. All are things we have and do here....

We for sure want to do the soccer stadium, but the guidebooks seem to have a lot of the stuff that every major city has. Am I off base here? The boys don't really enjoy museums and we have great zoos/aquariums here. We want them to see and do things very different than they've ever experienced.

Maybe we should just day trip to Barcelona for the camp tour and stay elsewhere? Granada? Or a beach town?

Maybe Sitges?

I have to say again that if I traveled to Barcelona with my teen grandkids (who love travel and some museums), they would have more fun in smaller towns... All kids are different, but 3 big cities is not a trip I would choose. I would do a few days in Barcelona to give them a taste of it. I would rather leave a place wanting more than wishing I was someplace else.... And should they love it and
want more it will be a reason to return.
While I do use the train when necessary, I do a lot of car travel and we love the spontaneity it allows.... Most of my most memorable experiences were unplanned and unexpected, you really can't get off the beaten path without some freedom....

I also look at these trips as an experience as a family to be together and enjoy another culture.... It does not have to be a checklist of sights... But rather a special time to talk and hang out.
Edit.... I would haul them off to Morocco for a day or two for a different cultural experience!

Thanks Terry. I appreciate the input and am leaning towards agreeing with you on the kids. I started looking at Faro Portugal and Thought about maybe cutting something else and doing a few beach days there. It's so hard bc I'm approaching this like I would for me and my husband and we don't like major cities for long...but I also don't want bored kids. We've been to Paris before and are really only going because we can fly home direct. We will take the kids to the Eiffel, Notre Dame, and maybe Paris Disney (that's a big maybe). Lisbon will be let the kids recover and some site seeing. Also chosen because it's an easier flight for us. The kids really want to see the FC Barcelona stadium. Otherwise I guess the central part of the trip is up for negotiation. We stay in apartments and my husband does not like changing locations a lot (the hassle of packing and unpacking with kids is a pain plus defeats the purpose of being able to buy groceries). I love historical sights, great views, beautiful architrcture and good food. The kids don't know what they like Europe wise because they have never been. I've given them travel guides and the teenager gives us "I don't know" and the little one loses focus. I think it's hard to pick what you want with having no experience traveling to similar places. I'm going to look into the other towns you have suggested. I also looked at driving between faro and Seville and there was no surcharge which I thought odd...as you can all tell I'm a bit all over the place right now. Sorry! Just nothing seems to be jumping out at me as logical/a good fit yet....

Museums aside, the main attraction in Barcelona is the modernist architecture (see links below), so unless that interests you then I wouldn't bother. The food, the beaches, the relaxed outdoor lifestyle, and an interesting history are added bonuses.

http://www.sagradafamilia.org/en/
https://www.casabatllo.es/en/
https://www.lapedrera.com/en/home
http://palauguell.cat/en
http://www.parkguell.es/en/portada
http://www.amatller.org/
http://www.palaumusica.cat/en
https://www.santpaubarcelona.org/en

I spent a few days in Faro and drove there from Sevilla.... It was a nice beach area but it was not as intriguing or culturally unique as I thought it would be. However the beach was beautiful and great for relaxing... We did see a few sites around there. There were more large American style hotels than I envisioned... But it was also at the end of an incredible few weeks in Spain and 3 days in Morocco...I would not take away from southern Spain to go to Portugal for more than a few days. I think there was a nice beach near Malaga. Did you look at the white hill towns? We stayed at Arcos de la frontera (sp) and loved that. The horses In Jerez were interesting and one day we wound up going to Carmen at the bullfighting ring in Antequerra... Open air, full moon, great experience. There was also a crazy, local festival going on there and we hung out with a family for a while.

Is there a way to incorporate anything else soccer related? Know my grandsons would love that as well.
Make sure each one has their own camera... Helps them engage a little more.

Any opinions on either a day trip to Gibraltar from Sevilla (and adding an extra night to Sevilla) or replacing Sevilla with Gibraltar?

I just want to mention that in Barcelona you can actually go in the water.

You say that the boys are great travelers, but you seem to indicate that they wouldn't be interested in most historical and cultural sights. Would they like the Roman ruins in Tarragona? Would they enjoy the "weirdness" of the Dali Museum in Figueres? The Gaudi buildings in Barcelona?

You started another thread "Granada or Seville" - would the boys like the Alhambra? It's "old" Moorish buildings with beautifully intricated interior designs and a lot of gardens. If they'd be bored with that . . . . On the other hand, Seville in summer is like Central Valley in a heat wave. The Alcazar is similar to the Alhambra, but much smaller.

I would let the boys do a little research on the internet and see what appeals to them. The Spanish cities have very informative websites.

Thank you all. In the end I decided to do 4 nights in Seville and cut a day off Barcelona. We found an apartment in Old Town Sevilla with a pool. On our extra day in Sevilla we are going to take a tour down to Gibraltor for a whole different experience. I've balanced tours with beach/pool/explore days to give them a break or allow for flexibility. Thank you again! You guys are awesome!