Three weeks in Catalonia in June

Bump since the anti-spam system was holding my message hostage for two days :-(

If Gaudi is of appeal, then most likely you will be interested in visiting other modernist sites. I would suggest a few more nights I’m Barcelona.

My suggestion for time after would be a circuit including Zaragoza and Valencia, by train or car.

June
5. Barcelona (5nts)
10. Montserrat for hiking (3nts)
13. Costa Brava (7nts)
20. Zaragoza (2nts)
22. Teruel (1nt)
23. Valencia (3nts)
26. Tarragona (1nt)
27. Fly out of Barcelona

I think 3 nights in Monserrat is one night too many. I'd only do two. You can hike to most of the sites in a day.
Also, does your son like the beach? He could go to the beach at Barceloneta while you tour the Bari Gotic
Or he could rent a bicycle and bicycle up and down the beach
Also, have you considered Figueres to visit the Dali Museum? Or Cadaques for the beach?

Hi Henry,
To be honest, this sounds like a plan for two middle aged parents and not one for a 16yo boy. What does he like to do? What on this trip has he expressed interest in? I have kids that age, and my 14yo boy does not enjoy traveling as much as the rest of us and so, as you describe, spends time watching a movie/playing videos games in the accommodations part of some days, but I try to gear as much as I can toward all of our interests so that he is excited for some of it. I have some thoughts, but can you tell me a bit about his interests? :)

I agree with Jessica, sometimes those quaint little villages just don't cut it. If he is interested in Game of Thrones, a portion of the series was filmed nearby Barcelona, maybe take a GOT walking location tour in Girona, or visit the Knights Templar castle in Peñíscola (between Barcelona and Valencia) which was also a GOT filming sight. Include your son in the planning process too, who knows he may just surprise you guys! ;)

Thanks for all the input so far everyone. Much appreciated!
I will look into the GR10 hiking trail.
We are not very interested in the visual arts, and the few times that we have been to art museums I did not care much for it. So Gaudi, Dali, etc. is probably a pass for us. I also don't like crowds and standing in long lines. We do like history museums, especially outdoor ones. I would love to see some castles and a palace. I have never been to a castle, and the palace we visited in 1992 when I was in Toledo (it was a short drive from there I recall) was impressive. So the castle in Peniscola looks exciting.
The circuit including Zaragoza and Valencia looks interesting and I will research it some.
I agree now that three nights in Montserrat will be too much. Two sounds good :)
Cadaques is definitely one of the towns on the Costa Brava we would like to visit.
I thought that restaurants with live spanish guitar or Flamenco would be common, since some of the Spanish restuarants we go to here in the US have it, but talking to my pen pal in Barna that doesn't seem to be the case :-(

Thanks for the input regarding our son, and I will definitely try to find out more which part of the trip interests him. Last year we went to South Africe, since that is where I am from, and he happily stayed with his grandparents in San Diego. But this time we decided he should come with us, and he will likely enjoy it more that he thinks he will.
He watched GOT with me, so he might like Girona and a GOT walking tour. He loves basketball, and is a good student. Maybe some of the things he learned in history or geography will be interesting. He did mention that Montserrat looked cool, and will probably like the hike there with the views. I also thought of renting some bikes for us maybe in the Costa Brava/Girona area. I think he will like that.

I agree with the others, spend one less night in Montserrat and use that for another night in Barcelona. There are bike tours in Barcelona that show you the central portion and also Barceloneta the beach. I really enjoyed the beach area and for a 16 year old, I think the city and the beach would be a bigger draw then small town sightseeing.

There are tapas bars in Barcelona itself and a few in Girona. Flamenco is not that big in Catalonia but fyi one of the great flamenco dancers Carmen Amaya was born in Barcelona. I have to laugh at kids nowadays who don't want to go to Europe with their parents. In my day, European flights were expensive so the two times my parents went to Europe we were dropped off at my grandma's and sent postcards of Italy and the UK. They didn't even ask if us kids wanted to go.

Although I should mention that what is thought of as "Spanish" cuisine, like the country, is actually a composite of different regional cuisines, Gazpacho from Andalucia, Paella from Valencia, Pan con tomate from Catalonia. As in any major city in Spain, in Barcelona you will find great Basque and Galician tapas, Paella and Fideuà, seafood and freidurías. Once you venture out more in the countryside, you will find restaurants focused more on the regional cuisines. p.s. I'm a Catalan, and I love going out for tapas with friends! :)

Also, if castles may be of interest, here's a few of my picks close to the places you may be visiting:

Cardona Castle (with a Parador hotel) - eastern Catalonia
D'en Plaja Castle - Costa Brava
Tossa de Mar Castle (fortified town) - Costa Brava
Peñíscola Castle - Northern Valencia
Albarracín (fortified town) - southern Aragon
Aljafería Palace - Zaragoza
Olite Royal Castle - Navarra
Loarre Castle (one of the oldest in Spain) - northern Aragon

Hope this gives a few ideas!

Carlos mentioned several places I thought of (for context, my family is going to Spain this summer, mainly Catalonia and north, 3 kids; 11, 14, 16, so I have been researching a lot of similar places and how to appease my kids and get what I want too ;). One thought I had is if you drive west of Costa Brava into the northern Aragon region, you can visit Castillo Loare (and possibly go as far as Olite), but en route you can stop in Alquézar, which is supposed to be one of the "most beautiful villages in Spain". but also happens to have canyoneering on the river next to town (this is an idea I had but that we dont have time for). Also, next to Alquézar is one of the best "wild swimming" places, where it looks like cliff jumping is possible (a big plus for my 14yo son):

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Salto+De+Bierge/@42.1734069,-0.2219344,11z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x51c90dbd648e0620!8m2!3d42.1733791!4d-0.0906107

So you could stay in Alquézar perhaps, do some of the activities around there, see some castles, and then loop south to Peñiscola as someone suggested. That way you get the village/castle itch scratched, but also have a kid-oriented outlet like canyoneering or cliff jumping. There is also supposed to be good "wild swimming" near Besalu, which is another beautiful village near Girona. Here's the list of swimming spots I found (bc I have found that water goes a long way to appeasing my kids when we travel, but beaches get boring fast). The place I linked above is described here as "best for waterfalls":
https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-places-to-swim-spain

Lastly, for what its worth, my son, who is the complainer, has said, a few months AFTER every trip, "that was so cool, I dont know why I dont appreciate it when Im there". And Im like "yeah! do you think you could appreciate it this time?" ;p Point is, its hard to travel with kids, but I do think the experience is so worthwhile and does resonate with them even if they cant connect with it in the moment

We are doing a Pyrenees and Costa Brava hiking trip with REI Adventures in May. Our base for the Costa Brava hiking will be Cadaqués, so I assume it is a good location. It appears the coastal paths go both directions from the village. I know one day we are walking from the hotel to a lighthouse ( Faro Calanens) that can only be reached on foot or by boat.

I am looking forward to lots of seafood.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me input.
I certainly have much to learn about the regional cuisines of Spain. Exciting!
I am looking forward to visiting some of the castles in the area.
A good chunk of this weekend I will spend learning about the places and things you have mentioned, and I will definitely involve our son in it (as much as is possible).