We stayed in a 2-bedroom Airbnb near La Sagrada Familia and had a wonderful week-long stay with our three kids, aged 7, 5, and 2 in February, 2023. We rented a car for the week.
Day 1: Palau de la Musica Catalunya - beautiful place for photos of the stained glass ceiling and the mosaic balcony.
Dinner: Bellako Street Kebab - delicious sandwiches
Day 2: Gothic Cathedral - one of the highlights for our family
Lunch: Taverna del Bisbe - convenient, but not very memorable
Steps of the MUHBA (where Columbus met King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella) for our daughter who was studying Columbus
El Pont del Bisbe - a little too crowded for a good photo op
Basilica Santa Maria del Mar - beautiful church with nice stained glass
Dinner: La Barra del 7 Portes - we weren't too impressed with the paella, as it disagreed with the kids
Day 3: attended a Sunday service at Montserrat. Our favorite day of the trip! Outstanding views of the local scenery and a beautiful cathedral. The boy's choir sang during the service and they were magnificent. We packed lunch and ate some of the monks' cheese and honey from the market stalls.
Dinner: Asador de Aranda near Tibidabao - inside a modernista house, we loved the ambiance, the service and the food. We had salads, sushi and lamb chops, and all were delicious. Very popular restaurant - reservations recommended.
Day 4: My husband had a conference, so I took the kids to the science museum Museu de la Ciència CosmoCaixa. It had a mini aquarium inside as well as interesting exhibits. We ate a good all-you-can-eat lunch at the museum's restaurant. Was a really fun day for the kids.
Dinner: Restaurant Zed: nice ambience and service. Food was delicious... BUT we got food poisoning that night! Augh
Day 5: recovering from food poisoning. In the afternoon, I took the girls to the Picasso Museum, which was wonderful.
Dinner: Kamasot - phenomenal korean food. The soup was perfect for our recovery
Day 6: Aquarium and the playground just outside Sagrada Familia. Really fun day for the kids. Keeping things lowkey as we recover. Evening stroll by the modernista buildings
Dinner: soup from Kamasot
Day 7: day trip to Girona. We enjoyed the Cathedral and the baths.
Dinner: Pizzeria Marghe 1889 - mind-blowing pizza. We shared one at the restaurant and took two pizzas to go. Best dining experience of our trip. Thankful to Rick Steves for the recommendation.
Day 8: La Sagrada Familia - beautiful stained glass. We had to purchase the tickets in advance
Montjuic Castle - so much fun taking the cable cars up and down the mountain. Amazing views from the top. Nice lunch at the castle cafe
Camp Nou Barca Soccer stadium - a must-see for my husband
Sunset at Bunkers el Carmel - the best place to catch the sunset. Our best photo from the trip. Lots of teens here having a good time.
Day 9: Back to the gothic quarter
Visit to the MUHBA roman history museum - my husband and I could spend much more time here than the kids. We loved it
Checked out the roman columns
Visited Market Santa Catarina and had lunch at Bar Joan - good tapas, but nothing mind-blowing.
Saw the outside of Park Guell, but were not able to get tickets at the door. Reservations required
Dinner: Lady Dumpling - really fantastic dumplings. We ate here multiple times throughout the trip.
With more time, we would have loved to see the hospital of Sant Pau, the inside of Park Guell, and the zoo at the Parc de la Ciutadella.
My favorite photos of the trip were from the Bunkers del Carmel, Montserrat, Montjuic castle and the Palau de la Music Catalunya.
If we could do the trip again, we would only rent a car for the day trips to Montserrat and Girona. The car was not easy to maneuver in the city. We preferred using Uber and public transit. It was a great trip and a wonderful length of stay.