Barcelona is a city that seems to have it all – captivating culture, sport, fascinating history, and a welcoming vibe that makes it perfect for families. For the recent October half-term, we were looking at last minute holidays and booked a city break to Barcelona with Jet2holidays.
Barcelona, the gorgeous and historical capital of Spain’s Catalonia region has always been one of our bucket list destinations to visit and after an action-packed few days, I can now see why this gem of a city makes for the perfect city break destination.
We had Flights to Barcelona with Jet2, and during our 4 days here we discovered that Barcelona is a destination that I would recommend for families with children of any age, including teenagers like ours. To put it simply, Barcelona was everything we had hoped for and more.
Read on to find out how to do Barcelona in 4 days that will keep all of the family entertained.
Where to Stay
We spent time researching hotels in Barcelona, and I have to say we did choose well with our choice of the Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona. If you are planning a stay in Barcelona, you won’t be disappointed with this hotel – not only are the rooms fantastic, what really stood out was the five-star service from the attentive and helpful staff.
Located in Barcelona’s business district, we also loved its location in the Diagonal Mar area which was largely residential with a huge shopping mall opposite.
We were lucky enough to have an incredibly spacious interconnecting family room on their executive floor level on the 22nd floor which was perfect for a family with teenagers for our 4 night stay Our rooms were not only modern and stylish with all of the amenities that you would expect from a leading 4 star hotel we also had incredible views of the coastline and city from the large windows in each of our rooms.
To return home to our gorgeous rooms each day was a real treat after our busy days experiencing tourist life in Barcelona. Unfortunately we didn’t have the weather to take advantage of the hotels rooftop pool at Purobeach, but I could well imagine how wonderful it would be to escape the city heat here in spring or summer.
But this wasn’t the only spot for catching a good view in the hotel, its 15th floor executive lounge – another bonus of staying here if you are in an executive level room is that we had access to one of the best executive lounges that you’ll find anywhere in the Hilton network in Europe.
The highlight was its outdoor terrace which looks out over the city, with views of the coastline, Sagrada Familia, Mount Tibidabo and beyond. It wasn’t just a really stylish setting to relax with evening drinks and canapes it was the perfect place for us to chill and unwind after racking up thousands of steps each day exploring this incredible city.
The staff here were as just as impressive as its rooms and facilities, every member of staff that we met was helpful, answering any questions we had, giving us endless recommendations, and tips to get around the city – they really made our stay.
What to do in Barcelona
Day 1
Basing ourselves at the Hilton Diagonal Mar, meant we were just a 20 minute tube, tram or taxi ride away from the centre of Barcelona – so we were close enough to everything that Barcelona had to offer but what I loved was being far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the city so we could relax and switch off in the evening.
After a long travel day we first enjoyed hot drinks and snacks in the executive lounge of the hotel before taking the metro for the first time – I must admit I was a little apprehensive of using the metro here before we came as you hear so many stories of pickpockets but we found it safe, clean and the best way to get around the city.
We used T-mobilitat and their t-Familiar cards each day, think of them like the Oyster card in London which was great value at approx. 10 euro per day which was enough for the four of us to get back and forth to the city.
Barcelona is well known for its incredible shopping, and I can now see why. We took the six or seven stops on the yellow metro to Passeig de Gràcia, home to the incredible high end stores of one of the main shopping streets in Barcelona – for me this was a far more impressive shopping experience than anything you’ll find in London or Paris. The girls eyes lit up as they spotted many of their favourite stores Zara, H&M, Sephora and more.
What I didn’t realise was that on Sunday virtually every store was closed so we headed for lunch at one of the most aesthetic food halls anywhere in the world and very much reminded me of a Spanish version of Eataly called El Nacional. This was such a beautiful setting and where you could try anything from meat, seafood, tapas and drinks at the various concessions here.
A short walk away on Passeig de Gràcia we came across the incredible skeletal balconies of Casa Batlló considered one of Antoni Gaudi’s masterpieces before visiting Casa Mila, the last private residence designed by Gaudi. Both buildings are architectural wonders and well worth stopping by, but the queues to get in can be really long so book tickets in advance.
Barcelona is a very walkable city so we made our way through the Eixample district on our way to Gaudi’s and Barcelona’s most iconic landmark La Sagrada Familia, the legendary unfinished cathedral which started in 1883 and is due to be completed in 2026.
As we booked this trip at the last minute we were unable to get tickets to go inside as it draws in millions of visitors each year, but the exterior was just a stunning experience and left us speechless so the interior must be something else. For the best photos away from the crowds head to the back of the cathedral.
We took a quick peek at the La Monumental, the last bullfighting arena in Catalonia before stopping off at incredible Arc de Triomf, it’s not just Paris that has one of these. I loved its classical shape and is another one of the city’s iconic landmarks, originally built as an access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair that was held at the gorgeous Parc de la Ciutadella nearby.
There are so many interesting neighbourhoods to explore and we enjoyed meandering through the narrow streets of El Born where we came across Luigi, a lovely little Italian restaurant serving really good pizza and pasta, so the girls were happy.
After dinner we wandered into my favourite area of Barcelona, the historic Gothic Quarter for the first time. We loved exploring its winding narrow streets, where we came across independent stores – a personal recommendation is Torrons Vicens for their traditional nugget sweet treats. We stopped for photos at one of the Gothic Quarters most famous landmarks the Pont del Bisbe bridge before checking out the 15th-century neo-Gothic cathedral.
After a busy day and thousands of steps exploring, we headed back to the hotel and its executive lounge for drinks and canapes (between 5 and 9) which was the perfect way to end our first full day in Barcelona.
Day 2
Waking up on day two was a challenge as the beds at the Hilton Diagonal Mar were so comfortable but we were excited to get up early to explore more of Barcelona. First up was breakfast which was included as part of our Jet2 CityBreak, an extensive buffet selection served at the hotels Indigo restaurant which set us up each morning for the busy days ahead.
With a morning of heavy rain forecast, we called into the gigantic Diagonal Mar shopping mall just across the road from our hotel. With it being one of the largest malls in the country, it was a dream shopping destination for the girls.
We spent the morning here which kept the girls more than occupied as they checked out some of the 200 stores here including some of their favourites including Primark, H&M and Zara to Bershka, Stradivarius and Pull and Bear. If you are looking for a Spanish supermarket fix (yes please for Lays and Milka), the two level Alcampo supermarket here is cavernous.
After a brief lunch stop at the hotel and with the weather improving, we took the metro down into Paral-lel in the city ready for our next adventure on the Montjuic Funicular Railway, which is a hidden gem. The beauty of the T-Familiar cards is that because the funicular is part of the integrated fare system in Barcelona our ticket was included as part of our same journey on the metro.
The 2 minute journey takes you up from the centre of Barcelona to Montjuïc , home to our next stop the Estadi Olímpic. This iconic sporting venue was home to the 1992 Olympics so its full of history and its also the current home of FC Barcelona whilst the Camp Nou is under construction. Ian and Holly are big football fans so this was real highlight for them and its also free to enter.
There are lots of other venues from the Olympic games here, such as its Olympic swimming and diving pools. Barcelona has great art museums, and one of its most spectacular was Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya or ‘MNAC’ set on the hilltop at Montjuïc overlooking the city.
I can now see why this is one of the most popular vistas of the city as the views from here were incredible and although the famous magic fountains of Montjuic are still offline because of water shortages the backdrop and views of the city and the MNAC made for Instagram worthy-photos.
On the way to our next stop, which was what the girls in particular were really looking forward to, we walked down the hillside toward Placa d’Espanya past the Venetian Towers, modelled on the Campanile of St Mark’s Basilica in Venice.
If you are in this area, it’s worth calling into Las Arenas de Barcelona, which was once a bullfighting ring but is now a large shopping centre. The reason for our stop off here were its glass lifts which take you to the top of the building, providing us with views of this part of the city and where we had walked down from Montjuic.
One word of advice, don’t make the mistake we did of paying for the lift to the top, what we later found out that in the shopping centre are escalators that also take you to the rooftop for free.
By the time we had arrived here we had each already racked up more than 10,000 steps, so we were glad of the taxi ride which took us to the outskirts of the city for our final stop of the day, Pixar Mundo – that has just recently opened next to the spawling Westfield La Maquinista, the largest shopping mall in Barcelona.
If you are a Disney fan, and are visiting Barcelona in the next few months then this needs to be on your itinerary, it was such a great experience. Pixar Mundo is Pixar’s largest immersive exhibition and we were all immediately awestruck.
This was the girls favourite part of our day as we walked through many of their favourite Pixar movies, which included being in Andy’s room in Toy Story and strolling the streets of Santa Cecilia from Coco to visiting the essential memory warehouse from Inside Out.
We spent the rest of our evening shopping at Westfield La Maquinista, which kept our two teenagers more than happy with big brands like Apple, Urban Outfitters and Hollister some of its many stores.
I particularly loved its open air walkways, so its like walking outside with every store imaginable here and really does put our shopping malls in the UK to shame. On the top floor are its 50 different restaurants, from fast food to luxury restaurants and we tried out Udon, a teen friendly chain of Asian restaurants for the first time.
Day 3
After a busy day, we had a slower start and whilst the girls enjoyed a well needed lay-in, Ian and I enjoyed breakfast on the outdoor terrace of the executive lounge, before deciding on a stroll along the beachfront which was no more than a 5 minute walk away. Even early in the morning the promenade here was bustling with people exercising or enjoying the surf – it was a great way to start our day.
Overnight the hotel had been transformed into a Pandora jewellery themed wonderland for a conference that was taking place that left the kids open-mouthed when they came down into the lobby. They are big Pandora fans and this was aptly timed given that Chloe had bought a La Sagrada Familia Pandora charm the day before and provided them with some photo opportunities.
We started our third day hopping on the metro, to take us back to Montujic, there is so much to see and do at this sprawling hillside park that hugs the south of the city. I was keen to visit as many of the major sights as possible so we used a Go City: All-Inclusive Pass for 2 days, which was a really cost effective and provided inspiration on things to see and do in Barcelona, away from the main headline attractions.
We decided to begin our day at the Montjuïc Cable Car, that runs between the funicular station and the top of Montjuïc mountain, taking us on a 750-metre-long trip high above the city and giving us a birds eye view of Barcelona on our trip to the 17th-century fortress, Montjuïc Castle.
At 173 meters above sea level at the summit of Montjuïc Mountain we had panoramicviews of the city below before heading back to base taking the cable car.
No trip to a new city would be complete without taking a hop on hop off bus and this is what we did to get back to the city. I was a little apprehensive about how long we would wait at each stop for the bus but they were really frequent and it was a fun way to get around the city and learn more about specific landmarks on-route, so I’m glad that we took the girls on this.
Our next stop was Barcelona Zoo, just a short walk from where we had got off the bus at Port Olímpic. We added a few more thousand steps to our daily tally as we walked around the zoo, admiring the animals.
Our favourites were the elephants or maybe the orangutan’s – which were fascinating to watch. I didn’t expect the zoo to be as large and impressive as it was, you could easily spend the entire day here, and this was the highlight of the day for Holly who particularly loved the Californian sea lions and the tapir. Just outside of the zoo, Parc de la Ciutadella is also worth exploring.
We refuelled with drinks and snacks at Chok near El Born, there are several of these around the city all dedicated to chocolate and they make the most amazing cakes.
We found that the best way to discover hidden gems and cover the main attractions of the city is on foot, and its by wandering through the streets of the Gothic Quarter that we found one of my personal favourites, MOCO Barcelona.
It was modern, bright and fun showcasing works by Banksy, KAWS and even Robbie Williams – yep, I also never knew that the pop star is also an artist! Along with the incredible art on display the light room by Yayoi Kusama was a particular highlight, the kids loved this section and it brought back memories of our visit to the exhibition at WNDR Boston.
After a quick pitstop at the nearby Ale Hop, a Spanish chain of stores that is a hit with tweens and teens we made our way to one of the most famous streets in Barcelona, La Rambla for the first time.
Along the way we stopped off at some of the most iconic cobbled squares in Barcelona, Plaça Sant Jaume which is the administrative heart of both the city and Catalonia and the incredible Plaça Reial, complete with its Gaudi designed lampposts. We didn’t stop at La Rambla for long, it’s busy and a tourist hotspot, but we did have a quick peek at La Boqueria, arguably the cities most famous and most hectic market.
For the rest of our time on La Rambla, we visited three attractions using our GoCity pass that our teenage kids loved. We met our favourite celebrities at the Barcelona Wax Musuem, got lost in the mirror maze at the Big Fun museum before creating some fun photo opportunities at the quirky Museum of Illusions.
We had planned to take the metro back to our hotel, but the lure of the flagship stores of H&M, Primark and Zara here were too hard to walk past on Passeig de Gràcia. The Zara store in particular is not only one of the biggest in the world but also one of the most spectacular, as was the new H&M store which provided a unique immersive and innovative experience like we have not encountered anywhere else such as interactive social fitting rooms and virtual mannequins!
One of the most fun was at Sephora. We have been to many around the world but what makes this location stand out was its twisty slide entrance to the store, much to the delight of the kids.
After a busy day we had worked up an appetite but trying to get a restaurant walk-in the tourist heavy parts of Barcelona was difficult, so we returned to the calm of Diagnonal Mar where we had dinner opposite the hotel at La Tagliatella. This was another hit for the kids and was one of the many restaurants to choose from within walking distance of the Hilton.
Day 4
As this was our first time in Barcelona, we were keen to visit as many of the major sights as possible so we had another action packed day lined up using our GoCity pass. We headed to Mirador Torre Glories, an observation deck on the 30th floor of this iconic skyscraper offering 360 degree views of the city including arguably one of the best aerial views of the La Sagrada Familia.
From this vantage point, we really got to see a sense of place and allowed us to see many of the locations that we had already visited in Barcelona. It’s a little hidden gem and was an amazing experience, added to by the immersive exhibits at the Hyperview Barcelona experience on the ground floor.
It’s a short taxi ride away to the Gracia district which is home to Casa Vicens, the first house designed by Antoni Gaudi. Most visitors overlook this for his more commercialised attractions at Casa Batlló and Casa Mila but this incredible home is a hidden gem, where you can escape the crowds and long lines.
It really felt like an oasis away from the busy streets, with many of the rooms now restored – my favourite being the incredible blue smoking room or Sala de Fumar and also its gorgeous courtyard garden. Another part not to miss here is exploring the rooftop terrace with its colourfully tiled chimney rooftops and seating areas.
One of our favourite attractions was at the CosmoCaixa Museum of Science, hidden away slightly at the edge of Barcelona. This museum is incredible and one of the best in Europe, with 30,000 m² of space featuring many hands on opportunities and displays about the natural environment, the story of evolution, and space.
The highlight along with its gigantic glass-enclosed spiral ramp that winds around a tropical tree from the Amazon region down an impressive six floors was its flooded forest. Being able to walk through an actual rainforest where it actually rains every 15 minutes was such a unique experience – it’s also home to 100 different animal species, including piranhas and capybaras.
Given that my husband and daughter are obsessed with football, no trip to Barcelona is complete with a visit to the home of FC Barcelona. The Spotify Camp Nou is basically a huge construction site at the moment so a tour of the stadium was off the agenda, but what had recently opened was their brand new immersive museum and huge club shop.
The highlight for Holly was virtually meeting her favourite Barcelona player Lamine Yamal and getting up close to the trophies that the club has won over the decades from championships to champions league was incredible to see.
We end our day back at the seaside, walking past the Christopher Columbus monument toward Port Vell, and its stunning marina. Also down here is the distinctive W hotel and the Maremagnum shopping centre that sits out onto the water surrounded by wooden boardwalks.
Not that we needed any more retail therapy, Maremagnum had more of our favourite stores and is also home to one of our favourite food halls, Time Out Barcelona – they really need to open one in the UK!
After a late lunch, a short walk away is the largest Mediterranean-themed aquarium in the world, L’Aquàrium Barcelona. Home to more than 11,000 animals representing 450 species, there were plenty of hands on things to see and do here, to keep us all entertained. The main attraction was is its 80m-long underwater tunnel with turtles, sharks and rays swimming overhead.
We had planned to head back to the hotel after a gentle stroll around the marina, but Barcelona is such a beautiful city to continue to explore we ended up wandering the stunning streets of Cuitat Vella.
History is everywhere in Barcelona – and nowhere is that more evident than the Gothic Quarter, where we came across surviving portions of its ancient city wall built by the Romans as we walked through its labyrinthine streets.
Invigorated but exhausted from a day of exploring, we returned to the hotel to the comfort of the executive lounge. This was our home from home in the evenings, before ordering room service to eat in the comfort of our rooms, to the delight of the girls whilst they watched Netflix on their huge flatscreen TV.
Flights with Jet2
Flights with Jet2Our flights from Birmingham Airport to Barcelona were with Jet2 and the experience and customer service from Jet2 Holidays was excellent. Our journey began at Birmingham International airport, where we made use of Jet2’s Twilight Check-in.
We never travel light so it was good to know that we each had a 23kg hold and 10kg cabin allowance included even on a city break with our Jet2 Holiday package. Jet2’s Twilight Check-in is available for flights departing before noon, and lets travellers check in their bags the night before. It was a huge timesaver for our early 7 a.m. flight, allowing us to bypass the morning check-in lines and head straight to security.
Flight to and from the UK were excellent and with a flight time to Barcelona of just under 2 hours so its an easy destination to reach, making it a perfect city break destination for families. Another area where I feel that Jet2 really stand out in terms of customer service compared to many of the other travel companies, is their levels of customer service.
Arriving at Barcelona, we were met with a warm welcome from a group of Jet2 holidays staff members who were available to guide us to the taxi rank to get into the city, which took around 30 minutes (approx. 35 euro )
Our flights back to Birmingham were just as impressive, starting with the incredible levels of customer service at check-in. We booked this trip really late so we were all sitting apart but the Jet2 staff members went above and beyond to make sure we were sitting together on the flight.
We flew on Halloween and we loved the theming that the Jet2 staff had decorated the desks with and the fun photo ops. Boarding the plane back to Birmingham we were welcomed onboard by a group of attentive and friendly flight attendants who catered to our every need during the flight home.
Overall
We loved our city break to Barcelona, it has become one of our favourite cities that we have visited. It really is the perfect city break destination to keep all the family entertained, we can’t wait to return.
Take me there
Inspired to visit Barcelona but yet to book your trip? Here are the best packages from Jet2 holidays who fly to Barcelona from Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and Manchester.
*Disclosure: This was a press trip organised by Jet2 Holidays but all opinions are entirely my own.