Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Europe
Reload this Page >

Seville/Granada or Porto/Guim/Braga/Evora to impress 9 year old?

Seville/Granada or Porto/Guim/Braga/Evora to impress 9 year old?

Old Jan 21st, 2017, 04:01 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Seville/Granada or Porto/Guim/Braga/Evora to impress 9 year old?

I am planning to bring my nine and a half year old to Portugal and maybe Portugal/Spain in late March, for 12 days. We will start off in Lisbon, then go to Sintra, and then stay at the castle in Obidos. From there, we have two choices. Fly at night(9:45PM-11:55PM) to Seville(to drive would incur an extra $500 drop off fee, though I suppose that is an option), stay for 3 nights, then take the train and stay in Alhambra's hotel for 2 nights, and then take a train and fly home from Madrid. Alternatively, we could stay in Portugal and drive up to Porto and stay there, and maybe one night each in Braga and Guimares, then heading to Evora before driving back to Lisbon to fly home.

As I want to make a positive impression with him. I feel like there are some pretty cool things to see in Seville and to stay in Alhambra itself, but it does entail travelling via airplane again and taking 2 trains.

What do you all think? Which set of locations is most likely to impress him?

So, Seville(3 nights, though we get in at midnight first night) and Granada(2 nights at the hotel inside Alhambra), with one night in Madrid or Porto/Braga/guimares/evora? Which would impress a 9 and a half year old the most?
shadow9d9 is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2017, 06:23 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
IMHO it's either/or! This is usually two trips.

Either Portugal or Spain.

However, try this

Fly into Lisbon & do this!

Lisbon - Evora - Seville(via Serpa) - Merida(Spain) - Coimbra via(- Portalegre/Tomar) - Porto - Obidos (Sintra-day trip) - Lisbon

Braga & Guimarães can be done in day trips from Porto.

Bear in mind that there is no direct train at present between Sevilla,Cordoba & Granada! The new AVE system may be operational by then but commissioning dates have been slipping.

See: http://www.granadadigital.es/fomento...ave-a-granada/

At present, the best public transport connection for Sevilla to Granada is by bus.

Parking & driving in Granada is the pits!
barlaventoexpert is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2017, 07:34 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Can you say more about the 9-year-old?

To me the advantage of Porto is that it's compact and has lots of quirky sights and fun tram rides and cable car rides (and is the child a Harry Potter fan by any chance) plus it's got the nearness of beaches and boat rides. I didn't find Braga terribly interesting, and while Guimaraes has charm and good food, I'm not sure I'd bother to take a child there.

I think the Alhambra is a gamble. Lot of effort to get there and then if it is way too hot or very crowded, or it rains -- or it does click with this youngster for some reason -- not a lot of opt-outs nearby to make up for it. As for Sevilla, a 9-year-old with a keen appreciation of history and art might find it a joy, but others might be impatient.

Normally I wouldn't recommend this to anybody traveling with a child in Europe, but if you go to Porto, it has got one of the most unusual MacDonald's I have ever seen! I didn't eat there and not recommending you do, but if the 9 year old has familiarity with MCDonald's where you live, taking a peek inside to see the difference might be amusing.
frencharmoire is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2017, 08:57 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 371
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
He might be either fascinated or freaked out by the Chapel of Bones in Evora.
baladeuse is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2017, 12:55 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,963
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I can sense an overload here. That much more traveling for what? What can possibly impress a 9-year old in Seville? The Calatrava bridge? A flamenco show (the pretty mellow "Sevillana" version, not the hardcore style à la Cadiz...)? Is that worth the trouble of getting there?

And the Alhambra would have done nothing for me as a 9-year old, traipsing all over some old-looking same-old same-old until my legs fall off... Booooring!

After what you describe in Portugal, you'll have done all you could to "impress" the lad. Leave well enough alone. Not let him have some fun!

Stay in Lisbon, you haven't done the half of it yet. Ride the elevators - http://www.lisbon-tourism.com/en/lis...of-lisbon.html

Go to the hub of Cais do Sodré or to the station in Belém, take the train to Cascais and walk to the "hell's mouth". http://www.cascais-portugal.com/Attr...o-Cascais.html

Take him to the coaches museum in Belém - http://museudoscoches.pt/en/homepage/
and to the maritime museum with real boats and seaplanes - see http://www.golisbon.com/sight-seeing...me-museum.html

Take the small bus 727 from Praça Figueira up to the castelo - the crazy uphill and back-down ride will amuse him more than the castle, but it's cool if you don't try to walk all over, a castle is a castle is a castle...

If he has a yen for the arts, don't miss the Gulbenkian, it's collection is absolutely mind-blowingly exquisite, with masterpieces of all kinds in all styles from all over the world.

Now you have not told us anything about the lad. If this trip is supposed to be for him and about him, tell us more and we may come up with more.
michelhuebeli is offline  
Old Jan 21st, 2017, 07:11 PM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 17,948
Received 22 Likes on 4 Posts
For a nine year old, I would go to Seville and Spain. I loved Porto, Guimares and Braga but think Seville has more to appeal to a child. We stayed in the Pousada in Obidos, the castle. You can have a room in the tower if you'd like that. We actually turned it down but a child might be thrilled with it. Eat in their dining room with beautiful views over the countryside.
HappyTrvlr is online now  
Old Jan 21st, 2017, 11:12 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I enjoy all the things mentioned about Lisbon, but with a child -- or at least a child with certain interests -- I would go to Parque das Naciones.

I do think it's possible that a 9-year-old would "click" with either Sevilla or the Alhambra. A child whose imagination was engaged by Christopher Columbus stories or anything about the "Age of Exploration" would find the Lisbon-Seville combo very impressive. A kid who likes engineering or gardening or 1001 Nights-type tales would find plenty of wows in Granada. When I was a kid, I thought flamenco was amazing.

But I am certain at least one young boy in my family would get very restless sightseeing, and only sporadically get engaged. If I wanted him to appreciate travel and other cultures, I'd be looking for different angles of approach, mainly centered on having fun outdoors. His idea of something awesome to write home about would be the giant waves in Nazare and a boat ride up the Douro. Maybe eating a Francesinha or huge grilled sardines. I'd just be lucky if he got fascinated by tiles or history tales. Could happen. Wouldn't push it.
frencharmoire is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 10:51 AM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I can't even imagine planning a trip to "impress" a 9-year-old. Sounds like YOU need something out of this experience, not the 9-year-old. Maybe if you told us more about this young one, we'd be able to comment, but otherwise, plan a trip, take him along, and see what interests him. Might be nothing, might be everything, but focusing on "impressing" him seems a bit odd.
StCirq is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 11:08 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 22,939
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
This might impress aq 9 year old:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623788386374/
Michael is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 12:44 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Agree with Cirq. I certainly wouldn't plan any trip around impressing a kid unless it was a tour of amusement parks ( and I wouldn't do that because I wouldn't be amused).
Bedar is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 01:58 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I've planned trips to give children an experience of foreign travel, different children at different ages. I travel often mainly for my own pleasure but have the luxury of being able to also travel when it is primarily for someone else's enjoyment -- although with children I have gotten a lot of enjoyment seeing them discover new things.

I think it is important to introduce children to many what I consider important things in life in the right way, tailored to who they are. Many people never really recover from some early bad experiences of art, travel outings, food experimentation.

In planning travel with children, I might not think of it as "impressing" them, or use that word, but I am very much looking for an itinerary and activities that will leave them with a great impression of what means to pack up and travel away from home.
frencharmoire is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 02:05 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 624
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
By the way, I know very little about musci and opera, and I have sometimes asked friends of mine who do to help me introduce children to new experiences of music, challenging ones, but that will give them a good impression of the new and unfamiliar. Never had anyone tell me they found it odd I was hoping to impress the child. I don't see anything odd about asking people who know about Spain or Portugal for ideas for child-oriented itinerary, and would definitely consider advice about destinations and amusements that I might not choose were I going without a child.

I don't know about you, but StCirq and Bedar have made me curious about where they've been in Portugal and Spain. Maybe they can give links to their trip reports and see if they are trying to keep their favorite spots to themselves! How often do you go?
frencharmoire is offline  
Old Jan 22nd, 2017, 08:22 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,642
Likes: 0
Received 12 Likes on 1 Post
I believe the OP mistakenly used the word, impress, in his/her thread. Most likely meant to keep the child entertained and enjoying the trip with appropriate activities.
joannyc is online now  
Old Jan 23rd, 2017, 03:14 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,038
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
No TRs. We lived in Spain, Europe, for 20 yrs. We took my daughter everywhere we went - restaurants, museums, plays in London, etc. from a very early age. No "kid-friendly" spots because they didn't exist. No Disney, no dolphins, no other such junky spots. Grown-up sights can damage children ? Hardly. One of my daughter's favorite paintings in the Prado was Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son at age 5. She's now an art history teacher. No, I wouldn't take a kid to see a cencentration camp, catacombs, or in Spain the Valley of the Fallen but otherwise ... most anything goes. You can't tell in advance what will tickle his fancy.
Bedar is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
EmJayZee
Europe
8
Nov 4th, 2017 01:32 PM
ToriElizabeth
Europe
2
Apr 22nd, 2016 02:39 AM
daba78
Europe
7
Sep 12th, 2014 02:06 AM
CATravelBug
Europe
10
May 25th, 2011 03:19 PM
montrealvic
Europe
11
Jan 16th, 2010 05:29 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -