eeugeniad

We have 8 days break end of October and want to my son to start visiting Europe. We are living in London for 1 mo now, first European country to know.
We decided to visit Spain first.
He is fussy about everything. Doesn't like museums, doesnt like walking a lot. But if we don't push it will never happen and we also don't want to stay home on the break.
We chose Spain bc he enjoys Spanish and we feel it will empower him. But we cannot travel visiting castles and cathedrals...it has to be more fun for him.
Also, the less he hops around the better it is for him.
We thought Barcelona, but am a bit overwhelmed of how to make this work.
We dont like touristy places, unless it's a fabulous location...
Visiting the Statue of Liberty, as an example, was not our thing...even though it is impressive...we saw it from far...
Thanks.

nytraveler

It seems like a very picky 14 year old is getting to make a lot of decisions for the family.

I would plan a vacation with something for everyone = and I don't know how to do european cities without a lot of walking = and tell him he just has to go with the program

kellee

What are your interests?
Barcelona is a beautiful city and there is a lot to do.

Your son might find the quirky (genius) architecture of Gaudi interesting.

The Las Ramblas has lots of young people strolling around but I wouldn't let him go alone and speaking for myself, I wouldn't want to do it everyday.

I know when traveling with my teenage sons, they were required to study the area, at least a little, and share what they wanted to see and why. I got to choose too and also shared why we were going.
Admittedly some of the discussions weren't always pleasant but now in their 20's, they are grateful and appreciative of the opportunities.

Robert2533

Picky at 14? Have you considered tossing the little urchin out on his ear and starting anew?

KL467

I started traveling to Europe with my daughter when she was 10 (almost 11). I tried to do some fun things for her, but I made the decisions about what we did. Although she was bored at some of the places that we visited, she speaks of them fondly now.

Pegontheroad

My nephew made a deal with his 13 year old son--One soccer game for each museum.

nytraveler

Precisely - with kids that age compromise is key - but parents have to stay in charge.

When we went first with our 11 and 14 year olds they did a lot of the research and definitely got to pick out some sights and some restaurants - but there were also some things we loved that they were not sure about - that they ended up loving.

As for not doing much walking - unless a kid is handicapped - that just isn't an option.

cruiseluv

Seems like you would be wasting money in pursuing this kind of vacation. I took my son for his first trip to Spain when he was 13 (also because he liked Spanish), but he loved going to the Alcazar in Segovia, climbing La Giralda tower in Sevilla, and visiting imposing Cathedrals such as in Toledo and Santiago de Compostela. He laso found museums interesting for a couple of hours at a time ( specially Picasso's Guernica). But it sounds as if your son would be against 90% of what Spain has to offer. And not walking...

KTtravel

Hmmm, beaches in Spain? A bullfight? I am trying to think what would appeal...

Christina

This almost sounds like a joke to me. If you are serious, what do you do with this kid at home? All you mention are the things he won't do, but not what you are looking for, except you don't want castles or cathedrals or museums, a lot of walking, or touristy things. What do you do when traveling, anyway? Of course you can avoid all the museums and cathedrals in Barcelona, and just walk around a little bit if that's what you want to do. They have an aquarium down on the pier, even though I don't think its as good as some others I've seen (I see them everywhere, one of my interests), but it's kind of fun to walk around down there. I loved their maritime museum near it -- but whoops, that's a museum, so no go.

Christina

oh, you could take the train and funicular up to the Montserrat monestery as a day trip from barcelona. That wouldn't involve too much walking and you might enjoy the funicular. And then when you get up there, you don't have to walk around very much if you don't want to, or see any museum. It is a bit of logistics to figure out how to get there on your own, though (from placa Espana rail station).