Only those who have been or are going to Barcelona please :)

Take a jacket since it'll get nippy in the wee hours (fourty or so), but will be pushing seventy during the day. Rain won't be much of a factor. It will be mostly sunny. Stay where you want, even in the Ramblas. The worst I ever experienced there was down toward the bottom when I had to nudge a drunk/drugged up hooker (sitting on the curb propped up against my tire) so I could get going. The place is like Key West - - more plain clothes cops than you can shake a stick at. The pickpocket business is probably over-exagerated, just like everywhere else.

Thanks so much !!! what do you think about doing a couple of days in barcelona and a couple in madrid

And what I forgot: I don't know what you mean by being spanish, but there's a lot of people in Spain with light hide and even blond hair. And a lot of Spanish citizens have ancestors from somewhere else and can look like anything. You're going to look like a tourist, if only by the way you act. Don't worry about it. A couple of days in each won't work for the amount of time you have. My preference would be all in Madrid, but who cares.

I am saying that because there is a sterotype with the american tourist in the way they dress and act while there on vacation. We do not like going to places where the tourists go we like to act like locals

Good luck. I grew up in Spain and speak spanish as well as I do english. Unless I'm using a phone, they have me pegged as a tourist in a heartbeat. The things you'll want to see are in the tourist areas - - the only people around are other tourists and people working in the tourist industry. You won't be going into the plumbing supply houses, home depots, etc. What I've found is that I can't tell an american from a local by the way they dress - - everybody dresses pretty much alike - - you can tell the visitors from the way they act, where they gawk, what they carry, etc - - and you can do it from a hundred yards away. And as far as tourists trying to act like locals, that's as goofey as me trying to pass as a chinese guy just because I speak that language also and have spent a lot of time wandering around China. Tourists trying to act like locals look just like.......tourists trying to act like locals.

We spent 4 days 3 nights in Barcelona last May. It is a beautiful and vibrant city and we enjoyed it very much. Passeig de Gracia is a great location. We were a few blocks from there but wandered up that way each night for dinner. We felt very safe walking around at night. Do not be concerned about looking like a tourist. What you do not want to look like is a target for pickpockets, but that is true in any city. If you have a full week, I would say you have time to see both Barcelona and Madrid if you want. They are only 2.5 hours apart by fast AVE train, city center to city center. Buy your train tickets on Renfe, the Spanish train website, 62 days in advance to get the discounted Web fares. If you plan to visit both, fly into one and home from the other. I cannot speak to the weather question as we were there in the spring, not winter. Madrid can be cold as it is in the interior and at some altitude.

I can't predict what the weather will be in February as I was there in September. Since it is south it should be warmer that other parts of Europe. The pickpocket experiences are real but as in any other city you must be aware of your surroundings. I would recommend going to Barcelona or Madrid but not both. I stayed across from the Cathedral which is near the Ramblas. It is a wonderful city and I am sure he will be happy with your choice of a
birthday gift.

We visited Barcelona several years ago with our then-12yo son; we all enjoyed the city very much, especially the architecture and the general feel of the city. (Though we were there in May, and much of what we loved was sitting at cafes; I don't know how much of that takes place in February.) We stayed in Barri Gothic, which we also enjoyed; it was lively (but not too noisy), with many little restaurants and cafes. It's an older part of the city than Eixample. There may be more younger people in that part of the city than in the Eixample area. I didn't feel that it was any more unsafe than any other big city, including NYC. I am a small-sized female, and felt comfortable when I went out on early-morning walks by myself, including down Las Ramblas and to the market. We were out, of course, when the sun was down, and again, felt safe. (We took the normal precautions against pickpockets, and as we've lived in big cities, are pretty city-wise.) Consider the surprise part of your plans - might your son be so excited and happy about a trip to Europe that he'd want to be involved in planning it? That way, he could weigh in on the destination. Vising Barcelona and Madrid would also work; we just returned from a trip to Madrid. While it's quite different from Barcelona, we loved Madrid as well. Not everyone looks totally like tourists - my husband is dark haired and skinned, as are our kids, and we're all short. People tend to not realize we're American; I tend to dress more European, but my husband dresses American (think royal blue REI jacket), but locals in Europe don't always seem to be able to figure out our nationality (despite our speaking mainly English). Some people blend in more than others, even if we're all tourists.

I was in Barcelona last year during that same time frame. We found it to be very cold - colder than we expected - early in the mornings. It took several hours until the sun started to warm things up. If it was a sunny day, we would end up carrying our jackets in the afternoon (but still had sweaters on). That time of year, it gets dark early, and the temperature falls quickly and the jackets went back on. Even though it is Spain, it is still winter and the possibility exists for freezing temperatures and even snow. When I was researching the weather prior to our trip, I discovered that it had snowed in Barcelona in March 2010. I was quite happy with the weather we had when we were there, but was prepared for colder. I think it's safe to walk after dark. Like I've mentioned, it gets dark early that time of year, so you will really have no choice but to go out after dark (but so will everyone else there).

Something no one else has mentioned - there is an annual mobile phone conference around that time in Barcelona every year and hotels are usually booked out well ahead, with inflated prices. We were there from 21st Feb for a week several years ago and didn't find it too cold at all - we live in Andalucia. We stayed in Eixample area and enjoyed it. Las Ramblas is prone to pickpockets - although we were not troubled and largely avoided it as it is very much a tourist trap. Barcelona is a great city but only you know what your son would like. We have been to the 3 cities you mention and would rank Rome #1 in terms of historical interest and sheer beauty. But we are not 17 yrs old. In terms of safefy, it is as safe as any other city and of course the spanish are out and about until the early hours of the morning.

Raphael. Do the "Fat Bike tour" of the city. Both you and your son will really enjoy it! It is a great overview of the city.

I am so pleased to hear the responses of all of you its making me feel I am chosing the right place I will book this weekend thanks guys !!!

My sister and I walked Las Ramblas until maybe one AM, both of us in fifties and did not feel uncomfortable at all, but then I am from NYC so not much bothers us. The only problem was the young gypsy girls running up to us by the cathedral and down by waterfront wanting us to sign petitions ( so we would be distracted while one would attempt to pickpocket) and that was during daylight. Just be VERY firm and wave them away and will have no problems. Be sure to take the cable car for a great view and go to the open air market. Rent Rick's video about Barcelona, it is worth it.

Going to Barcelona in August! So I am qualified to respond, even if its nothing about Barcelona! I was born and raised in Scotland, but lived in Canada for last 36 years. I have been mistaken for a German in both US and Austria. In fact in August a young lady stopped me in Vienna and asked (in German) for directions. Surprisingly, I was able to help her, but in English (with a Scottish accent!). You can fit in ike a local, even though I do feel like a tourist.

I was standing in a grocery store in Munchen with a liter of Coca Cola and someone walked up to me and asked me - in german - where in the store I had found the Coke. I'm not naive enough to assume I was mistaken for a local.
At most, I think we fool very few of the people and very little of the time.