Welcome to Spain, the country that we begin to love 9 years ago, the country that both our kids consider home. Spain is rich in beautiful landscapes, mountains and seashores. Families love this country for the vast offer of beach coasts. Hikers love it for many trekking roads. Skiers love it for a great offer of mountain ski resorts. Which group belongs to you?
1) ANDALUCIA. Provinces: Cádiz, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Seville, Huelva, Jaén, Almeria
2) ARAGON. Provinces: Zaragoza, Huesca, Teruel
3) ASTURIAS. Provinces: A single province region
4) BALEARIC ISLANDS. Provinces: The islands count as a single province region. (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera)
5) BASQUE COUNTRY. Provinces: Vizcaya, Álava, Guipúzcua
6) CANARY ISLANDS. Provinces: Las Palmas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife. (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera)
7) CANTABRIA. Provinces: A single province region
8) CASTILLA LA MANCHA. Provinces: Guadalajara, Toledo, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Albacete
9) CASTILLA Y LÉON. Provinces: Léon, Palencia, Burgos, Zamora, Valladolid, Segovia, Soria, Salamanca, Avila
10) CATALONIA. Provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Tarragona.
11) EXTREMADURA. Provinces: Caceres, Badajoz
12) GALICIA. Provinces: A Coruña, Pontevedra, Lugo, Orense
13) LA RIOJA. Provinces: A single province region
14) MADRID. Provinces: A single province region
15) MURCIA. Provinces: A single province region
16) NAVARRA. Provinces: A single province region
17) VALENCIA. Provinces: Valencia, Castellon, Alicante.
Quick answer MNAC is the enormous domed palace at the top of the steps above Plaça d’Espanya that everyone photographs and almost nobody goes into. But during pandemics, with everything closed, once we were allowed…
Quick answer I went with our kids twice, once on the first Sunday of the month during pandemics, and the second time with kids and my parents who came to Barcelona. Both times we went…
Quick answer We visited this place during pandemics, when it was possible to move around Barcelona city. Here to mention, that the price was different then for us. On the other hand, this was our…
Quick answer The two tickets, and which one you want Ticket Over 120 cm 90–120 cm Over 60 Entrance (whole park) €39.00 €15.50 €11.70 Panoramic (emblematic rides + views) €21.50 €11.80 €9.10 Single ride, one…
Quick answer The ticket really is chocolate You pay, and you’re handed a bar of chocolate with the museum’s design on it. That’s your entry. Nobody scans it, nobody takes it back, and you can…
Quick answer What’s free at Park Güell and what isn’t This is the part almost nobody explains properly, because the sites explaining it are selling tickets. Needs a ticket (the Monumental Zone, about 12 hectares):…
Every winter we watch tourists walk down Passeig de Gràcia in t-shirts, and every winter I want to stop them. Barcelona in winter is mild compared to London, Oslo or Paris — it rarely drops…
La Molina is where Barcelona families go when the children want snow. It’s about 145 km and two hours from the city, it has a sledding area as well as 71 km of pistes, and…
Barcelona is one of the only major European cities where you can be on a beach in the morning and in real snow the same afternoon. La Molina, the closest proper ski resort, is about…
Barcelona has five Christmas markets and most guides cover two of them. That’s how people end up queuing at the Cathedral on a Saturday afternoon in December when the market they actually wanted was twenty…
We moved to Barcelona in 2010 and have raised two boys here. This is the guide I send people when they ask what to do, written from living here rather than visiting. It covers the…
Quick verdict Tamariu is where you go when Calella de Palafrugell has too many people in it. It is the third village of Palafrugell, tucked into a bay north of Llafranc, and it is the…
Quick verdict Llafranc, on the Costa Brava, is the village most people find by accident — they come for Calella de Palafrugell, walk round the headland because somebody told them to, and end up staying…
Key takeaways Where we stayedMontanyà Hotel & Lodge – Montseny, a nature base with kids, about an hour from Barcelona. Check prices & availability We didn’t book this hotel for a holiday. We booked it…
One of the things that surprised us most about Ibiza was how incredibly photogenic the island is. Every day seemed to reveal another picture-perfect beach, dramatic viewpoint, or charming village. Some of our favourite photos…
When people hear the word Ibiza, they usually think about beach clubs and nightlife. As parents of a 13-year-old basketball-loving teenager and a 10-year-old, we weren’t sure if Ibiza would offer enough to keep both…
When we started planning our Ibiza trip, one of the first questions we had was where should we actually stay? Ibiza isn’t a huge island, but the different areas can feel surprisingly different. The south…
When most people think of Ibiza, they picture beach clubs, nightlife, and famous sunsets. But after spending a week driving around the island, we discovered something completely different. Some of our favourite memories came from…
Before travelling to Ibiza, we often heard people talking about its nightlife, but after spending a week exploring the island with our 13 and 10-year-old children, we discovered something completely different. Ibiza is home to…
If you’re travelling to Ibiza with children, choosing the right hotel can make all the difference. While Ibiza is famous for its beautiful beaches, many family resorts also feature fantastic swimming pools, splash zones, and…