Teenage City Break

As a family with a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old, most of the communication with them is via technology. To get them away from the Xbox or Snapchat is hard, which is something that I am sure most of you will understand. It can be frustrating especially when you know that when they are unplugged they are inquisitive and engaging people.

We have always travelled with them and tried to teach them that there is a world to explore and now that they are older we decided that it was time to introduce the short city break. Most people think of adults only when they think of a city break, but with a little planning and a slightly slower pace, we discovered what lovely young adults we were nurturing.

We chose carefully for our first city break and went for Barcelona. It ticked the boxes that we all wanted, a bit of culture, shops, nice food and most importantly for our family, a football game.

We flew out of Manchester with EasyJet in April 2017, leaving behind rainy Manchester for sunny Barcelona, preparing the kids for a four-day trip of exploring. Barcelona is a fantastic city in which to immerse yourself and so easy to get around either by bus, underground or walk. We agreed that the easiest way for us to see the city in a short space of time was by the hop on and hop off bus. What we didn’t know was that there were two different companies running these bus services. Make sure you know which tickets apply to which stops, as we spent a hot 20 minutes at the wrong stop and tried to get the wrong bus…doh!

You can buy a two-day pass that lets you travel on any bus or you can buy for the line you want. The two-day was great value. My son loved sitting there with his headphones on listening to the commentary as we went around the city. He listened a lot more of that than he would to me talking about it! He also discovered an interest in architecture and in Gaudi, especially the Casa Mila. He loved telling us all about the history and the small details on buildings. The bus also gave us a great idea of where things were for the days we were exploring on foot, especially the location of every teenage girls dream, Sephora.

Some of the highlights of the sightseeing were Parc Guell, Montjic and the Olympic Stadium, The Port and the Gothic Quarter. A hint is to book the Parc Guell if you want to visit it fully as it gets booked up very quickly. The Aquarium at the port is good to escape the weather. It is large with some good exhibits and lots of hands on things to do.

The Sagrada Familia was breath-taking. Again, try and book online to avoid the queues, and try and go early in the morning before the coach parties arrive, although even when busy you can still find space to yourself to reflect and take in the way the light comes in. Every church we have visited since is compared to this by the kids.

The main reason for the trip was a visit to the Nou Camp Stadium and the chance to watch Barcelona in action. Even if you are not a massive football fan, you cannot fail to be impressed by the stadium and the tour. I would not like the job of cleaning all the silverware.

It is a self-guided tour and so can be done at your own pace, although give yourself a few hours, as well as a bit of spare cash for the shop at the end! We were lucky to be able to secure tickets for the Barcelona v Sevilla game, which was an amazing experience. Just be prepared for an open stadium with no roof, which is great apart from those few days when it rains in Barcelona, which is what happened to us, although being Mancunians we were okay with it.

We did allow the kids phones during the trip, so they were still engaged in the world, however the conversations we had over tapas and the opinions they shared were what made this trip extra special. Life is fast these days and a lot of the time we think of just sitting on a sunbed with kids in the pool or kids club as a holiday, but a city break gives you chance to connect on every level and share some wonderful experiences.

Would we do it again…yes! And we have since, Malaga and Venice and working on the next one.

If you want any information on Barcelona or just city breaks in general, please give me a call or drop me a line.

Hints and Tips:

Book Parc Guell and Sagrada Familia so as not to miss out Get bus tour tickets, but make sure you get the right ones. Find a small tapas bar and people watch in the Gothic Quarter. Visit the Camp Nou...the tour buses also stop there. Sit and enjoy the boats and people at the harbour.