Planning a spring trip with our 2.5 year old for a week in early - mid June.
No particular objective for us, just need a place with good food, preferable some international food ( for the kid, so that we do not have to cook regularly for her). Walking at this age is pretty unpredictable, and I'm not sure if it is a good idea to go with a stroller. A city where we can hang out at squares, walk around a bit would be great.
I would like to avoid large crowds, so I'm not sure which one is better in this regard, Rome or Barcelona.
As for Rome, we do not have to go to all the attractions, since I have been earlier to Rome. If we decide to go to Italy, we could spend about 2 days in Rome. Any suggestions on where we could spend 4-5 days outside Rome, basing ourselves in a smaller city that's less crowded and we could enjoy a slower pace of life. I would have liked to go to Amalfi, but that seems to be too much hassle with changing trains and using buses to commute around with the crowds. I'm just not sure if June is a good time to visit Rome, although flights and hotels seem to be cheaper than Barcelona.
If it were Barcelona, we would base ourselves for the entire week in Barcelona, visit most of the major attractions, maybe a couple of day trips. Plus this would be a new city for us to explore. Are there enough in and around the city where we could avoid large crowds for a good part of the day ? Medium crowds are great, but I would definitely want to avoid the large crowds. Any particular neighborhoods to stay in? Is commute across parts of the city easy, especially if we're carrying a stroller?
Any suggestions outside these two cities would be great as well.

Why not stay in Girona and commute to Barcelona

Stroller!!!!!! Yes. Saved our lives many times with each of our kids.

Siena is a great smaller city to hang out. Comprised of 17 contrade (neighborhoods) that each have their own flag, colors, songs, museum, costume, etc. They compete in a famous bareback horse race twice a year (both times in the summer).

Barcelona, imo
There are areas near the beach that are not crowded , easily connected to attractions by metro. Take a look at
El Poblenou

I love Siena but wouldn't recommend attending the Palio with a 2.5 year old. Rome will likely already be quite warm in June. I think Barcelona would be a better choice.

Sorry if I misled the OP in thinking that going during the race was a good idea. Just trying to provide context. I was in Siena the week after the Palio, and there was a lot of activity surrounding the winning contrade, including a parade. So I got the best of both worlds: colorful activity with singing and pageantry, minus the crowds.

Fly to Rome but base yourselves In the town of Fiumicino,near the airport....beaches, great restaurants, lots of room to stroll around. And you could take day trip to Rome by train in less than an hour.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Although Rome does sound great, looks like we are likely going with Barcelona , a new place, easy day trips and a beach.
Any suggestions on neighborhoods to stay?

Eixampe is where I stay , it is elegant and near attractions , shops etc
but with a child I would look for less touristy
area close to the beach
We once stayed in El Poblenou. it was very nice.

I agree with folks assessment re Barcelona (slower pace of life, less crowded) and if you are up for a day trip, go out to Sitges - it's a lovely, small beach town with friendly people, beautiful beaches, and really pretty architecture.

Thanks everyone, we've decided to go to Barcelona for 7 D/8 N.
I don't want to plan much, since the pace would be relaxed. However, it does seem you need to book tickets with timelines for various Gaudi's masterpieces.
How about I book 1 sight per day ( Sagrada Basilica, Casa Battlo, Park Guell, Casa Milla), spend the other half of the day walking about streets, maybe some beach time, and then 2-3 day trips ( Montserrat, Girona, maybe Sitges).
Does that sound too much for 7 days? If I had to pick only 3 sights instead of 4, any recommendations on which three ? Any particular time of the day to book, to encounter less crowds?
Any other must visits ? Also any other day trip suggestions?

IMO, the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau and the glorious Palau de la Musica are "must-sees" in Barcelona.

I'm afraid I can't comment on how your time will play out -- I've never travelled with a little one! But if it helps, I'd note that Parc Guell can be a nice place to stroll in the early evening, and so is not necessarily a place to prioritize for otherwise busy daytime hours. And while I greatly enjoyed Casa Mila (which I visited during it's interesting evening time with a "light show" on the roof), I didn't find the architecture as awesome as the other Gaudi buildings I visited.

If you haven't already seen it, you might take a look at my trip report -- see post # 12, day 23 (for Montserrat) and following (for Barcelona. My pace would be WAY too fast for you, but you might still get some ideas from it. Four Awesome Weeks in the North of Spain and Catalunya

Have fun!

This is a kindly reminder to be very aware of pickpockets in Barcelona. In addition, dinners are offered much later in the evening.

Having said that, the Spanish love children!

Italians love children, too.

I missed this thread earlier, and I see you've decided on Barcelona. I would second bilboburgler's suggestion of staying outside of Barcelona if you want to avoid large crowds. Girona is lovely.

If Rome/Italy is still a possibility, I'd stay in Frascati.

I don't think a little one would enjoy Montserrat much. Barcelona does have a subway system that was pretty easy to use. I like your idea of one sight a day with the rest of the time being low-key. I found this website which might be helpful: https://bridgesandballoons.com/thing...lona-with-kids.

Agree don't go to Monserrat with a 2 year old as you will be taking a small (if I recall) cable car up. Even in June, Barcelona can be hot although not as hot as it was in July for my daughter and her boyfriend. A trip to Parc Guell in the morning required sticking to the shade in late morning.

The Palio is in mid-August.

I agree that Nξmes would be a good idea for two weeks with a toddler. We enjoyed our stay there and took several nice day trips by train or bus, including to Avignon. The Pont du Gard is nearby, and shouldn't be missed.

I would suggest a lightweight collapsible stroller that can easily be carried for a short distance (steps, narrow passageways) or taken on a bus. It's great if the back folds down so the child can rest or nap when you're at a restaurant.

When traveling with my granddaughter, we also had a cloth sling, which was great for distributing the weight when we had to carry her. Something like this:

https://www.etsy.com/it/listing/1638329732/toddler-hip-carrier-winter-gift-for-new
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@ashwinb

Bits and pieces only a local knows... especially for your kid

Google for more info on these:

> Casa dels Entremesos
Small exhibition. Free entrance. A glimpse into the fantastic world of the "bestiari catalΰ": https://www.barcelona.cat/culturapop...agery/bestiari

> Cosmocaixa
CosmoCaixa is Barcelona’s science museum, offering interactive exhibits, a planetarium, and a tropical rainforest. It features hands-on experiments, displays on physics, biology, and astronomy, and a stunning geological wall. Ideal for all ages, it combines education and entertainment, making science accessible and fun through engaging exhibitions.

> Corpus Christi and "L’ou com balla" (variable date, June 2024: May 30 - June 2). A traditional celebration with processions and the unique tradition of "L’ou com balla" (The Dancing Egg), where an egg is placed on a fountain’s water jet and appears to dance atop the stream in various historic courtyards: https://www.barcelona.cat/culturapop...s/ou-com-balla

> Festa Major de la Dreta de l’Eixample: Music, children's activities, and traditions around Passeig de Sant Joan.
https://www.barcelona.cat/culturapop...a-de-leixample
What is a festa major? Incidently... no tickets; everything is free. just show up. The program will be published a few weeks before the event. This was last year's: https://beteve.cat/agenda/festa-majo...mple-programa/

> Tren de l'Oreneta
https://en.trenoreneta.com/

> Some fun museums for kids: Big Fun Museum, Paradox...
https://barcelonacolours.com/en/the-...-in-barcelona/

> Llum de la Vila
https://lallumdelavila.com/blog/sample-page/

> Granja La Nena
https://culinarybackstreets.com/citi.../2012/la-nena/

Enjoy!