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Baby CanTravelTM

BARCELONA

A TRAVEL GUIDE MADE FOR PARENTSBy Celine and Dan Brewer

Jelena Aloskina / Shutterstock.com ©

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Baby Can Travel: Paris

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Baby Can Travel: Anywhere

OTHER BABY CAN TRAVEL EBOOKS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PLANNINGYOUR TRIP

© Casa Batlló, 2014

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One of the great things about travelling with an infant isthat you can pick the destination based on what youwant to see and do. Your baby will not have an opinionabout seeing the Empire State Building vs. the EiffelTower - they just want to be with you! That said, thereare still important things to consider for your infantwhen picking your destination:

þ Is it safe?þ Does it have access to good health care?þ Is the weather appropriate for your baby's health

(e.g., not too hot or too cold to be outside)?þ Does it have good transportation options?þ Is it a walkable city? Can you push a stroller on most

of the city streets?þ If your baby is breastfed, does the local culture accept

breastfeeding?

Fortunately, Barcelona is a great choice as a destinationfor travelling with a baby!

þ Barcelona is a safe city.þ They have a good first world health care system. Be

aware of your coverage or lack thereof before youleave home.

þ The weather in spring and fall is warm, but not toohot. Summer may be off-limits though.

þ It has a great public transportation system.þ It is a very walkable, stroller friendly city.þ Barcelona is baby & breastfeeding friendly.þ There are enough world-class attractions to fill a

week or two of your time.

There are still a few potential downsides to consider:► Petty theft can be troublesome (pickpockets, etc.).► Local meal times may not coincide with

nap/bedtimes for older babies.

BARCELONA IS A GREAT CHOICE

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The first step in planning your trip is to think about theneeds of all the travellers - including both the baby andthe parents. Having a solid idea of each of your needswill help you make thoughtful decisions about your trip.

It is fascinating to watch infants grow; their skills andpersonalities change so rapidly. For these reasons, youneed to spend a bit of time anticipating what your childwill be like on the date you travel, as they will certainly

change from the time you book your trip. Will they beeating solid food? How long will they nap each day? Willthey be crawling? The table below provides guidance onwhat your child may be like at the age of travel. Everybaby develops at their own pace, so treat these asguidelines only.

PREDICTING YOUR BABY’S NEEDS

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By considering what your child may be like at theproposed time of your trip, you can plan accordingly.The key elements to consider are sleeping and feeding:

Amount & location of sleepYour baby's need for sleep will be one of the biggestfactors in how much time you will have sightseeing atyour destination. Very young babies tend to have themost naps, but are generally able to fall asleepanywhere and anytime. As they become older, theybecome more aware of the world around them and mayhave more difficulty falling asleep on-the-go, especiallyif your destination is very stimulating. As they get evenolder, their need for multiple naps dwindles andbecomes less of a factor in your daily planning.

Feeding methodVery young babies are easy to travel with - you can feedthem on-the-go either by breastfeeding or by bottle. Asyour child transitions to solid food, feeding them takesup more of your day. The months after they start eatingsolids are especially slow going as they are just learningto eat - they play with their food, eat half, rub the otherhalf in their hair, clothes, the carpet, etc. As they getmore skilled at eating, the time it takes generallydecreases and will become less of a factor in your dailyplanning.

When planning your trip, factor this time into yoursightseeing aspirations. How will you feed them? Whatwill you feed them? Where will you feed them? And howlong will this all take?

Generically speaking, the most challenging age to travelwith an infant is between 6 - 11 months. They typicallyneed two naps per day and may have difficulty sleepingon-the-go due to the exciting world around them. Theirnewfound appreciation for, but lack of skills to eat solidfood may also slow you down.

TIP

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Barcelona is a world-class tourist destination. Whenplanning to take your infant there, you need to factor intwo main things:

► It is very easy to get around Barcelona, but it is big andtakes time to get places. It takes 15-20 minutes towalk from Plaça de Catalunya to the waterfront via LaRambla. A typical subway ride from Plaça de Catalunyato Park Guell will take approximately 25‐30 minuteseach way.

► Barcelona is a busy city filled with interesting sightsand hoards of people and as a result can be verystimulating for your baby. If your baby is just startingto become aware of the world around them, takingthem from their comfortable home to Barcelona, youare at risk of over stimulating them.

Despite some of the potential challenges you may face,you can take a baby of any age to Barcelona and have awonderful time. Just start with a clear set of expectationsto avoid being frustrated during your trip.

HOW DOES BARCELONA FIT?

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OUR EXPERIENCEOur daughter was three months old when webrought her to Barcelona. Before leaving forBarcelona she was sleeping around 12 hours pernight and was taking four naps per day (aroundthree hours total in duration). She was exclusivelybreastfed at this time.

We started our trip with the assumption that wewould have her in her stroller or baby wrap and shewould nap as needed while we went sightseeing. Wewere fairly accurate with our assumption, but wefound that it worked better for her to go back to thehotel in the mid-afternoon so she could have onedecent nap each day in an environment where itwas comfortable and quiet.

Being exclusively breastfed made it very easy for uson the food strategy. All we needed to do was find asuitable location to feed her and 15-20 minuteslater we were back on our way.

We found that travelling with a three month old wasa reasonably easy proposition. She was prettycontent, slept easily on-the-go and it was easy tofigure out where her food was coming from. It's agreat age to take your baby on their first trip!

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BARCELONA ATTRACTIONS:OUR ITINERARY

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LA RAMBLA“Once on La Rambla you

instantly get a feel for whyit is so popular…”

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La Rambla is a 1.2km/0.8 miles long street whichdivides the Gothic Quarter (to the east) and El Ravel (tothe west) and is the most popular pedestrian street inall of Barcelona.

EASE OF GETTING THERE

WalkingThe north end of the street begins in the southwestcorner of Plaça de Catalunya and is easily accessiblefrom anywhere in the touristy areas of Barcelona.

SubwayThere are multiple subway stops along the length of thestreet:

► North end: Catalunya on the L1 line (stops near Plaçade Catalunya).

► Center: Liceu on the L3 line.

► South end: Drassanes on the L3 line.

Ho HoThe north end of La Rambla begins at Plaça deCatalunya. Every Ho Ho bus from either company stopsin this popular plaza.

STROLLER ACCESSIBILITY

La Rambla is a wide, flat pedestrian street. Aside fromthe crowds, you will have no issues whatsoever withbringing your stroller.

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OTHER INFORMATION

Time & Money SaversThis attraction is free.

Nearby AttractionsMercat de la Boqueria,L'Aquarium, Museu d'ArtContemporani de Barcelona andMuseu Marıtim.

EATING NEARBY

Given the popularity of this pedestrian street, thereare numerous restaurants on the street. While you arein the area, why not try some tapas at the Mercat de laBoqueria?

PLACES TO BREASTFEED

As La Rambla is one of the most popular touristdestinations in Barcelona, you will find very littleprivacy here. There is a little park called Jardins del Dr.Fleming on the street called Carrer del Carme aboutone block west of the Mercat de la Boqueria that is anideal place to breastfeed. There are several parkbenches in this park, some of which offer a decentamount of privacy.

INTERESTING FOR INFANT

La Rambla offers plenty of stimulation for developingbabies. There are many great smells wafting fromrestaurants and many animated vendors trying toattract you to their stalls.

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Look down when you are just north of the Liceusubway station - there is a tiled mosaic on thestreet by renowned Barcelona artist Joan Miró.

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OUR EXPERIENCEOur well located hotel was not far from Plaçade Catalunya, which is where you find thenorth end of La Rambla. With this convenientlocation we were able to easily walk to thestart of La Rambla. Once on La Rambla youinstantly get a feel for why it is so popular; itis a wide, tree lined pedestrian street withbeautiful historic buildings on each side.Plenty of restaurants and street vendors willtempt you along the way.

For this day we brought both the stroller andthe wrap for our daughter. She loves peoplewatching, so we had her in the wrap as wewalked down La Rambla. The street is sobusy that we had to be careful not to run intosomeone with our stroller.

Photographer: Espai d'Imatge / Turisme de Barcelona ©