Spain with kids: the best places to go and where to stay

Last updated: October 2026.

Spain keeps pulling us back, and for good reason. We visited Barcelona and Madrid before R arrived, then took him to Mallorca at 6 months, Tenerife at 8 months and Seville at 14 months, and we know the Nerja area of Andalusia well from many trips staying in our family friend’s home. It’s one of the most consistently good countries for family travel we’ve found: short flights, an easy-going culture that’s warm towards kids, and food that’s easy to share with little ones at almost any restaurant.

This guide pulls together the parts of Spain we know best, with links through to our full itineraries.

Best places in Spain for families at a glance

If you just want the quick answer, this is where we’d go for different types of family trip. Trip lengths are a guide rather than a rule, and the right number of nights depends on the season, the heat and how your child copes with travelling. Mallorca, Tenerife, Seville and Nerja are based on trips with R, while Barcelona and Madrid draw on our visits before he arrived, plus research.

Destination	Best for	Trip length	Best time to go
Mallorca	A first beach holiday with a baby. Calm, shallow beaches and a short flight (we took R at 6 months)	5 to 7 nights	May, June, September and early October
Tenerife	Winter sun and family resorts. About four hours from the UK (we took R at 8 months)	7 nights	November to April
Seville	An easy city break with a pram. The old town is compact and almost entirely flat (we went with R at 14 months)	3 to 4 nights	Spring or autumn, as summer is very hot
Barcelona	City sights and a city beach in one trip, with Sitges or Tossa de Mar for extra beach time	4 to 5 nights	May, June and September
Nerja, Andalusia	A week at one base, with beaches on the doorstep and Frigiliana, Málaga and the Alhambra by car	7 to 10 nights	May, June, September and October
Madrid	Parks, museums and city sightseeing	3 to 4 nights	Spring or autumn
Seville, Cádiz, Sotogrande and Málaga	A road trip from the city to the coast, with Gibraltar as an optional stop and Nerja an easy add-on at the end	7 to 10 nights	Spring or autumn

Why Spain works so well for families with babies and toddlers

• Short flights from the UK: most places in this guide are roughly two to three hours from the UK, and Tenerife is around four, so you’re not losing a day to travel
• Child-friendly culture: prams are a common sight, high chairs are easy to find, and staff were consistently warm towards R wherever we went
• Easy food: tapas, tortilla, bread and shared plates all work well for little ones, though dinner runs late so a mid-afternoon snack helps bridge the gap
• Good value: flights, food and accommodation tend to cost less than in many other Western European countries
• Something for every trip: beaches, big cities, white hill villages and winter sun, so you can match the destination to your child’s age and your own energy levels

Spain with kids: the best places to go

1. Visiting Barcelona with kids

We’ve visited Barcelona a handful of times over the years and it works for families in a lot of ways: Gaudí’s buildings, a proper city beach, and enough good tapas that no one goes hungry. Eixample and El Born both work well as bases, and Sitges or Tossa de Mar make great day trips or an alternative coastal base if you fancy pairing the city with some beach time.

Read our full Barcelona guide, covering where to stay, toddler activities, family-friendly restaurants and day trips.

Things to do in Barcelona with kids:

• Park Güell: a mostly outdoor Gaudí site with space to wander. Entry is by timed ticket, so book ahead, and expect some uphill walking
• Sagrada Família: worth seeing even briefly, but book well in advance. The towers are separate and better saved for ages 6 or 7 and up
• Parc de la Ciutadella: a big central park with a lake, a zoo and plenty of room to run, which makes it a good reset for toddlers between sights
• Nova Icària beach: a calmer, shallower city beach with a playground nearby, which is why I’d shortlist it over busier Barceloneta for a toddler
• CosmoCaixa science museum: a good rainy-day option. Go before 10am to beat the queues
• Sitges day trip: about 35 minutes by train, with a gentle town beach at Platja de la Ribera

Pramability: Mixed. Eixample has wide pavements, but the Gothic Quarter is cobbled and busy, so a carrier is worth packing.

2. Family-friendly Madrid

We spent a short city break in Madrid before R came along, focused on culture, museums and food, and we did a Segway tour of the main sights, which showed us just how flat the centre is. It left us keen to go back with him one day. Madrid has a different feel to Barcelona and Seville: grander, more formal in places, but with the same wide boulevards and green spaces that make it easy to break up sightseeing with proper outdoor time.

Where to stay in Madrid with kids

Salamanca is the neighbourhood often recommended for families: calm, with wide smooth streets that make life easier with a pram. Las Letras (also called Huertas) is more central and puts you within easy walking distance of the Prado and Retiro Park. Chamberí is a good shout if you want a more residential, local feel with easy access to shops and pharmacies. Retiro, right by the park itself, is another solid option if green space is a priority.

Best things to do in Madrid with kids

• Retiro Park: the big park in the middle of Madrid, with a boating lake, the Crystal Palace, and enough space to let little legs run properly
• Temple of Debod: an ancient Egyptian temple gifted to Spain and rebuilt in Parque del Oeste, free to visit and a lovely spot just before sunset
• Prado Museum: free for under 18s, and easily combined with a walk in Retiro Park nearby if the art doesn’t hold their attention for long
• Royal Palace: impressive from the outside alone. Under 5s go in free and ages 5 to 16 pay a reduced rate, but check the official site for current prices and bag rules before you go
• Chocolate con churros at Chocolatería San Ginés: a Madrid institution, serving churros since 1894 and open 24 hours, so an easy win with a tired toddler at any time of day
• Madrid Zoo Aquarium: set within Casa de Campo, with a Little Farm area for younger visitors
• Mercado de San Miguel: a lively covered market right next to Plaza Mayor, good for a grazing lunch with plenty to look at

Pramability: Good, as far as we can tell. We did a Segway tour of the main sights before we had a pram and found the centre pretty flat, with wide boulevards and big parks. We haven’t pushed a pram round Madrid ourselves yet, so we’ll update this once we have.

3. How to make the most of Seville with kids

Seville was very nearly our babymoon destination, and we finally made it there with R at 14 months old. It became one of our favourite European cities. The old town is almost entirely flat and pram-friendly, the architecture is spectacular, and people were so warm towards R everywhere we went. The Alcázar, Plaza de España and a wander through Santa Cruz are the highlights, and Córdoba or Cádiz make easy day trips if you have more time.

Our favourite things to do in Seville with kids:

• Real Alcázar: the headline sight, with tiled courtyards, shaded arcades and gardens (including a maze that would be brilliant for older children). Book timed entry as soon as you have your dates, as it sold out the day we went. Allow at least 90 minutes, and note it’s mostly pram-friendly with ramps, though a few sections have steps
• Plaza de España: a huge semicircular building with a canal, tiled alcoves and boats to hire. It reminded me of Disneyland’s castle in places, and there’s plenty of space for a toddler to wander
• Santa Cruz walking route: winding lanes, orange trees and artisan shops, finishing at Patio de Banderas with the Giralda behind. The main routes are pram-friendly, though the narrower alleys are cobbled
• Convento de San Leandro: ring the bell and buy a bag of magdalenas through a revolving hatch, without ever seeing the nun who baked them. R loved them, and we got through around 12 for €5
• Triana: cross the Isabel II bridge to browse the ceramics shops on Calle Betis and the traditional market inside the old Castillo de San Jorge
• Real Maestranza bullring: a Baroque building dating from 1761 that’s easy with a pram, apart from the steps into the seating, so leave the pram at the bottom. Book ahead and read up first or take a guided tour, as the signage is sparse
• Las Setas and Torre del Oro: admire the giant wooden Metropol Parasol from below (we skipped the €16 walkway), then stroll along the flat riverside path to the 13th-century golden tower
• Family-friendly flamenco: we skipped it with R at 14 months, but Teatro Flamenco Sevilla runs shows from 5pm, and La Carbonería in Santa Cruz is a free, informal bar where you can leave if a toddler gets restless

Read our full Seville itinerary and guide, covering our full weekend plan, where to stay and where to eat.

Pramability: Good. The old town is almost entirely flat, with some cobbles around Santa Cruz.

4. Exploring Andalusia with kids: Nerja, Málaga and Granada

Beyond Seville, the Andalusian coast is the part of southern Spain we know best. We’ve visited the area around Nerja many times, and it works well as a base for a week: beaches on the doorstep, white villages like Frigiliana in the hills behind, and Málaga and Granada’s Alhambra within reach by car. Our time there was before R arrived, so our guide combines what we know of the area first-hand with the practical details that matter when you’re travelling with a baby or toddler, like which attractions don’t allow strollers.

Things to do around Nerja, Málaga and Granada with kids:

• Nerja Caves: huge caverns a short drive from Nerja, but there are 400+ steps and strollers aren’t allowed, so you’ll need a carrier
• Beach day at Torrox Costa: a long, flat seafront that suits cycling or a pram, with BaoBaB Beach House (formerly Chiki Beach) for lunch on the sand
• Balcón de Europa in Nerja: the clifftop viewpoint at the heart of the town, with plenty of places nearby for a long lunch
• Frigiliana: a pretty white village in the hills behind Nerja. The lanes are steep and cobbled, so I’d choose a carrier over a pram
• Málaga: an easy day out for coffee, a wander through the old town and a long lunch, with the city beaches close by
• The Alhambra in Granada: book timed entry well ahead. Strollers aren’t allowed inside, so bring a carrier (there’s a cloakroom at the Gate of Wine for prams), and children under 12 go free but still need a ticket

Read our full Andalusia guide, covering where to base yourselves, a flexible 7-day itinerary and what to know when travelling with a baby or toddler.

Pramability: Mixed. The coast is manageable, but Frigiliana and the other hill villages are steep, as is Granada’s Albaicín. A carrier is worth packing alongside a travel pram – see our recommendations.

5. Mallorca with kids

We took R to Mallorca at 6 months old and it quickly became one of our favourite family destinations. The beaches are shallow and calm, the flight is short, and there’s plenty for toddlers to do, from Port de Pollença to the Sóller train. That made it an easy first beach holiday abroad with a baby.

Where to stay in Mallorca with kids

• Port de Pollença (our pick for a first trip): we based ourselves in a villa between Pollença and Port de Pollença. The shaded beach, flat promenade with playgrounds and child-friendly bars, free street parking and good supermarkets made it the easiest base we could have asked for with a baby. The beach is narrow, so space gets tight in high season
• Alcúdia and Playa de Muro: busier and more touristy, with long, gently shelving beaches and big family hotels right on the sand. Playa de Muro felt too commercial for us, but it suits families who want a resort with everything in one place
• Port de Sóller: a sheltered bay with a flat, pushchair-friendly promenade, and the vintage tram is a toddler highlight. The beach is fairly unremarkable and parking is restrictive in peak summer
• Palma: we spent our first night here and would keep it to one or two nights with very young children. The waterfront is flat, but the old town has some cobbles and a carrier helps in the Arab Quarter
• The south-east (Portocolom, Porto Petro, Cala d’Or): quieter and more laid back, though you’ll want a car for almost everything

Whichever base you pick, hire a car, as most of the island is hard to reach otherwise. Nearly all the kids’ clubs we came across take children from four, so under-fours usually need a parent with them. It also gets very hot in peak summer, so late spring or early autumn is easier with a baby.

Our favourite things to do in Mallorca with kids:

• Port de Pollença beach and promenade: shallow, calm water with a flat seafront behind it, plus playgrounds and child-friendly bars within a short walk. Go early in high season, as the beach is narrow
• Sóller train and tram: the vintage train from Palma to Sóller, then the old wooden tram down to Port de Sóller. It’s a toddler highlight, and a lot less stressful than the mountain road
• Pollença old town: a pretty stop for lunch, but the steps up to the church are steep, so bring a carrier rather than the pram
• Palma old town and waterfront: the cathedral, the shady lanes and the flat seafront paths make an easy half day. One or two nights is plenty with very young children
• Platja de Formentor: a pine-fringed bay with calm water, worth the drive if you have a car. I’d bring a packed lunch and a beach tent for shade

Read our full Mallorca guide, covering the best beaches, where to stay and a month-by-month guide to visiting with a baby.

Pramability: Good in the resort areas, mixed elsewhere. Flat promenades like Port de Pollença are easy with a pram, but beaches can mean sand or steps, and hill towns such as Pollença (with its steep steps up to the church) and Valldemossa are easier with a carrier. You’ll drive to most places, so the pram can stay in the boot until you get there.

6. Tenerife with kids: the best winter sun

The island of Tenerife was our first week-long hotel holiday with R, when he was 8 months old, and it’s the one place in this guide we’d choose for winter sun due to its southerly location. We stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Abama on the south-west coast, and we’d been to the north of the island on an earlier trip. The flight is around four hours direct from most UK airports, the time difference is just one hour, and the south is sunnier and drier than the north, so it works well for a warm break in autumn or winter. If I were booking again with a baby or toddler, I’d start in the south-west, around Costa Adeje, Los Cristianos or Abama.

Our favourite things to do in Tenerife with kids:

• Whale and dolphin watching: one of the highlights of our whole trip, as resident pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins live in the waters off the south-west coast. We went with Whale Watch Tenerife, and tours are around two hours, so manageable with toddlers and older children, though perhaps less so with a baby
• Roques de García hike in El Teide National Park: flat-ish, easy underfoot and spectacular. We went early in the morning with R in a baby carrier, which worked perfectly. I’d skip the cable car up Teide itself with very young children because of the altitude
• Playa del Duque: our favourite beach on the trip, in Costa Adeje, with golden sand, calm water and good facilities
• Playa San Juan: a relaxed local fishing village a few miles from the Ritz, with a harbour, good fish restaurants and a buggy-friendly promenade. We walked along the harbour and had a long lunch here
• Lago Martiánez: a saltwater pool complex in Puerto de la Cruz in the north, with several pools, waterfalls and gardens, and very good value
• Siam Park: we visited this water park before R and loved it, and there are sections for younger children too. Book ahead, and check the current age and height rules for the slides you want

Read our full Tenerife guide, covering the best areas to stay, family hotels at every budget, beaches and whale watching, or our Ritz-Carlton Abama review for the detailed baby verdict.

Pramability: Good. The main resort areas in the south are very pram-friendly, but the older villages and hiking spots are easier with a carrier.

Practical tips for Spain with a baby or toddler

• Dinner runs late: most restaurants don’t get going until 8pm, so a mid-afternoon snack (merienda) helps bridge the gap for early eaters
• Pram vs carrier: old towns and historic centres tend to have cobbles, so bring both if you can, particularly for Seville’s Santa Cruz or Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter
• High chairs and kids’ menus: we found high chairs at every restaurant we tried in Seville and at most in Mallorca, and families are welcome out late, so there’s no need to rush a meal
• Book major sights ahead: the Alcázar in Seville and the Sagrada Família in Barcelona both sell out weeks in advance in peak season
• Best time to go: May, June and September give you warm weather without the peak summer heat, which is much easier with a baby
• Winter sun: from November to February the Spanish mainland is cool, so head to the south of Tenerife if you want reliable warmth

So, where should you go?

If I were choosing a first Spain holiday with a baby, I’d pick Mallorca for a beach week or Seville for a long weekend. Mallorca is the simplest: short flight, calm water, little planning. Seville is the one to choose if you’d rather have a city, because the old town is flat and people were so warm towards R.

If you want a bit of everything, Barcelona gives you city sights, a beach and easy day trips in one place, although it’s the one we’ve only visited before R. For a week at one base, Nerja works well, but the hill villages and the Alhambra are easier with a carrier. If you’re chasing winter sun, Tenerife is the one we’d book: the south stays warm outside summer and it’s only about four hours from the UK. And if you’re up for a road trip, Seville, Cádiz, Sotogrande and Málaga makes a great route, with Gibraltar as an optional stop and Nerja an easy add-on at the end.

The key is not trying to fit too much in. Pick one base per trip and let the beaches, tapas and late dinners set the pace.
Allie, Jack & R x

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Spain with kids: frequently asked questions