Where to go after Barcelona in February with our 5 year old
 

We are traveling to Barcelona in the end of February (22nd to the 28th) for a conference and would like to turn it into a family vacation and bring our 5 year old along. We can't decide where to go after Barcelona? We have about 1 week of travel time post Barcelona. Should we venture deeper into Spain, head towards the South of France or Andulasia. My 5 year old son loves castles and knights and loves a good train and metro ride; but also has limited walking stamina (wondering if poor weather this time of year also may limit our walking/ outdoors time)? We are looking for the perfect medium of great activities for a 5 year old as well as enjoyable grown up stuff.

Any advice on where to go, what to see in/ around and after Barcelona would be much appreciated!

Because of the weather, I would ahead to Andalucia. Get on the train and go to Granada, Cordoba, and Seville. Be sure to purchase train tickets in advance. Otherwise they are expensive.

No knowing where you are from or what you might enjoy, I would take advantage of the weather and the season and head up to the Val d'Aran for the skiing and great cuisine.

We are from Seattle, so I am assuming it will be a similar winter climate. We are pretty good at walking around in the rain! We like to have a home base so thinking maybe one or two other spots from which we can take day trips. Thanks for the advice!

There is also the Costa Brava, just 1h30 from Barcelona, you could stay there, visit the cost, Cadaqués, Besalú, and also go to France, Figueres with the Museum Dalí is just 30 minut from the border.
TGV train it´s perfect !

Castles? Sunshine?

Andalucia, including the Alhambra.

If you do google searches for "best castles in Andalucia" you can get a good idea of an excellent itinerary for both a kid and an adult.

(By the way, the province of Jaen actually has the most dense concentration of castles in Europe, but it would be a more adventurous trip and I don't know what the weather is like there in February).

One thought would be to do a triangle of Granada(alHambra) + Jaen + Cordoba, so you could spend the night in the castle parador in Jaen.

"My 5 year old son loves castles and knights and loves a good train and metro ride"

In Barcelona, you could take the Teleferic (cable car) up to the castell at the top of Montjuich almost right in the city center. The castell has got a dramatic history, and there are excellent views of both the city and the sea from up here: http://www.telefericdemontjuic.cat/en/
The Castell: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...-montjuic.html

Walk around in the medieval Born District. Carrer Montcada just behind the fabulous Gothic Santa Maria del Mar Church, was the most important street in the city from the 12th century on, and you'll find some fabulous palaces and tapas places here that are great fun for both kids and grown ups alike: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...-montjuic.html

Three excellent and very different tapas bars within 20 meters at the start of Carrer Montcada:
Xampanyet: http://www.worldsbestbars.com/bar/ba...r/el-xampanyet
Tapeo: http://www.tapeoborn.cat/
Euskal Etxea (serves Basque pintxos): http://www.euskaletxeataberna.com/co...etxea/?l=en_en

About the medieval and vibrant El Born: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...s/el-born.html

And perhaps go and see the archeological site of Barcelona anno 1700 in El Born Cultural Center, 200 meters from Carrer Montcada: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...-cultural.html
http://elborncentrecultural.barcelona.cat/

Close by you also find the Plaça del Rei where queen Isabella and king Ferdinand is believed to have greeted Columbus when he returned after the "discovery" of America: http://www.aviewoncities.com/barcelona/placadelrei.htm
Here is also a fabulous History museum with excavations of the more than 2000 year old Roman city Barcino: http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/s...-ciutat-164627

And take both a train, a tram and a funicular up to the city's famous and old world Tibidabo amusement park: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...barcelona.html
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/page/618/.html

And the weather need not be that bad. Statistics for last half of February in Barcelona says average highs at 59F, rainfall one in four days and average 6 hours sun pr. day (wetteronline.de)

... and here's the correct link to the narrow Carrer Montcada in the Born district, the most important street in the city from the 12th century on: http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/...-montcada.html

And late February is an excellent time of year to go to Barcelona, long before the tourist hordes hit town in April/May. Had a fantastic trip here in early March this year, and El Born has never been so laid-back and local atmosphere on my many previous trips to Barcelona.

And the Museo de Xocolata is also very close to El Born:
http://www.museuxocolata.cat/?lang=en
http://www.barcelona.de/en/barcelona...te-museum.html

You could sleep in a castle in Cardona -

http://www.parador.es/en/paradores/parador-de-cardona

But it would be better to rent a car to go there.

February in Barcelona won't be as cold as in Seattle, the temperature range probably more like 45 (night) to 65 (afternoon), which I think is about 10 degrees warmer than Seattle. And it won't rain as much.

Thank you for all the wonderful advice! I appreciate all the input and Barcelona tips as well. We are leaning towards heading south to seville and possibly granada (I think our son would love the Alhambra, and would be thrilled at an opportunity to stay in a 'cave' apartment!)

I am wondering advice on timing and transportation if we wanted to go from Barcelona to Granada, then Seville, end in Madrid where we will fly back to Seattle. I am a little concerned since I usually prefer trips where I stay in a city for a week or so to really get to explore. Is this packing too much into one trip? How many days would you recommend in Granda/ Seville/ Madrid? We will be in Barcelona for a week and can probably travel 10 or 11 days after.

thank you!