My husband and I are thinking of going to Spain with our daughter for a week to ten days in August. We're thinking a beach town with some cultural things (museums, etc.) would be ideal. We've already spent time in Barcelona, so we're thinking Seville and Marbella. Would appreciate your ideas and advice!

I would never do this with a 3 year old in August. You're going to have an incredibly hot, uncomfortable and cranky child on your hands - since temps routinely hit 100 that time of year.

If you do, make sure your hotels have good AC and nice pools - since you won;t be able to do much in the afternoons - except siesta or sit in a shady pool.

Also - make sure you get hotels with mini-bars so you can figure out something to do for dinner - very rarely served beofre 9pm - unless you want to do just tapas bars.

Sevilla will be hot and Marbella crowded.
Sevilla has a lot of art and museums to offer, but I doubt a three year old will enjoy.
What about the north coast? San Sebastian or Santander, nice beaches good weather and lots of inland options.

Sevilla cannot be considered as being a "beach town with cultural things". The closest beach is Huelva, which will take an hour's drive.

Give a thought to Cadiz. There are some museums and a bit of cultural items but the beachs are great. You can take a small boat across the bay to El Puerto de Santa Maria. The boat ride will give your daughter a smile and visiting this village is great to check. Both of these cities are about 3,000 years old, so there are a few things to review. You can take a visit to one of the bodegas (winery)in Puerto. The small girl might like this visit. It's quick and it's interesting.

Both Cadiz and Puerto have true Spanish cooking. The tourists in that area are mostly Spanish.

Nearby is another place which might be fun. Sanlucar de la Barrameda (sp??) in on the mouth of the Guadaliverra (sp??) which is where Columbus left from there. They're great beaches there and you can take a small ferry across the river to a large nature park. You can visit the park and see all of the wild animals. There are flamingos, wild horses, birds of many different types, wild pigs, and a bunch of other animals. You daughter would love this trip.

Marbella, well it's mostly a tourist trap. Certainly you can find things for your daughter there too. But, the food will be traditional European dishes, and the beaches are full.

The Cadiz region is a lot cooler in August than Sevilla.

Blackduff

August is TOO hot in southern Spain for a kid. I suggest Asturias in northern Spain; Gijón has a large beach and is 1/2 hour by bus from Oviedo (gothic cathedral and pre-romanic churches).
Check these sites:
www.deasturias.com
www.infoasturias.com

There are forty million people in Spain and oddly enough they all started out as children. So I don't think you can necessarily say that Spain is to hot for children. For sure, you need to protect from the possibility of sunburn and heatstroke, but that's just common sense. Spain is an incredibly child-friendly place. There is no problem with taking your child to a restaurant when you go out to dinner: just make sure he/she has had a good nap in the afternoon so everyone can enjoy the experience.

OK, but Asturias is less hot.

Mary,

May I ask in chich city you currently live? How hot is it there in the summer?

Exactly - most people ineurope live without AC. to most Americans (including me) this is unthinkable. Our AC goes on in May and stays on until Oct - but I HATE hot weather - and can;t sleep if the room is over 72.

I know some people don;t mind heat (I have a friend who doesn;t turn her AC on until it hits 90) - but once you're used to it, it's very hard to adapt to getting along without it - since it means changing so many habits.

I cannot remember a hotel without AC (3 stars or more, I don´t go to "pensiones&quot. But, out of big cities (as Barcelona, Madrid...) many bars, cafeterías, even restaurants, have no AC...

Seville is the oven of Spain, and not very confortable for an August trip. Cadiz, instead of it, is not as hot, and may be an option, this is due to the North Atlantic ocean that refreshes the area. U can go to Zahara de los Atunes, nice beach besides Doñana National Park.

Anyway, in summer I always go to the north, Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia, Basque Country... (when I don't travel abroad)

I managed to live in Cadis/Puerto without any A/C. I didn't use my A/C car very often neither. Life lived along fine.

When I lived in Sevilla, live lived fine without the A/C.

Since I came from southern California, I found a way without A/C. I could ride a bike in the months of August in Andalucia, the weather was warm but supportable.

The beaches in Sweden are fine in the months of August too. But if you're visiting Spain in August, it will be warm and lovely. It's summer in Spain, at it's best.

Blackduff

Asturias is Spain also.

Revulgo
Heh, Heh, Heh!
Yes, Asturia is part of Spain and it's a good part of Spain but it's not the warmest part of Spain in the summer months.

I flew from Stockholm to Madrid in the high summer once. It was like a Finnish sauna. Then I got onto another airplane and flew to Jerez. It was an even hotter sauna when the Jerez Airport welcomed me. I loved the high temps of that area.

And the Andalucia kids loved it hot too.

Blackduff