I am considering Barcelona as a possible spring break destination. The trip would be between March 10-18th - no leeweay for stretching it, as the schools typically plan tests to make those who leave early suffer. Due to connections, it is possible that we would not arrive until Sunday morning, and we would have to depart by the next Sunday morning. Would that be enough time to add another city, or would it be best to stick with only Barcelona? (The flights from Dallas all seem to connect in Madrid, so that would be the logical choice.) The kids will be 16, 14 and 11.

My wife and I spent Spring Break (from her MBA program) in March this year for a total of 11 nights (5 nights in Barcelona, 3 in Seville, and 3 in Madrid). While we loved Seville and Madrid, we both agree that we could have easily spent all 11 nights in Barcelona. We loved the city, and were sad to leave.

That's good to hear. When I look at the travel books/sites and the longest "itinerary" they give is for 4 days, I get a bit worried.

There are several good day trips from Barcelona and lots to do in the city itself. I think you could easily spend the entire trip in that city - I think if try to add another you would feel you missed something (but I'm a slow traveler! lots of time for cafe sitting).

Four of the five of us are confirmed Slow Travelers. My husband has to See Everything That May Be Seen and Climb Everything That May Be Climbed. The rest of us like a bit of down time.

So long as you can waste a little bit of time on a beach, I think you'll be perfectly happy sticking with Barcelona

In March, I would think it would be only a tiny bit of time on the beach.

I recommend both Madrid and Barcelona; I had a week between them and found that to be enough time, including a day trip at each place. I'm not that crazy about Barcelona, but I'm in the minority here. I think those two cities will provide an interesting contrast for your sons.

Personally unless you want to see a bullfight you could skip Madrid. Head to Sevilla or Valencia instead. Grab the RickSteves travel guide... he has some good thoughts on Spain.