Best Places in Spain to Take Teens

With palaces, castles, flamboyant flamenco dancing, beautiful Mediterranean beaches and the crazy architecture of Antonio Gaudi, Spain is sure to be a family travel hit, even with eye-rolling teens.

Barcelona

Begin with a bang in Barcelona and a trio of the fanciful places designed by the visionary Antonio Gaudi. The totally eye-boggling Basílica de la Sagrada Família is still unfinished, and you can ascend the tower to look down on the workers below.

See if your teens can find a straight line in the architecture of Gaudí’s Casa Milà, and be sure to go to the roof, where the chimneys are supposed to have inspired the looks of Darth Vader from Star Wars. Try to visit Gaudi’s even more fantastic Casa Batlló at night, when lights make its mask-shaped balconies and free-form façade even more spooky. For a break from sightseeing, spend some time on one of Barcelona’s Mediterranean beaches; they begin right in the city.

Granada

Picture stepping into the Arabian Nights — that’s what Grenada’s Alhambra feels like. The hilltop complex is made up of several buildings, towers, walls and gardens, but the highlight everyone will remember longest is the intricate, lace-like stone filigrees and the magnificent tile-lined ceilings of Nasrid Palace.

While in Granada, get lost in the colorful passageways of Albaicín, the medieval Moorish quarter, and explore Sacromonte quarter, where flamenco dancers perform in gypsy caves. That will be one for stories back home.

Seville

La Giralda tower (you can climb to the top on the ramped floor a king once ascended on horseback), the gold-washed cathedral and the splendid Alcazar are worth seeing. Teens will also want to see the Alcázar gardens used in Game of Thrones to see if they can spot the fountains from the Kingdom of Dorne’s Water Gardens.

Be sure to spend some time wandering the narrow lanes and secret corners of Seville’s old Barrio de Santa Cruz, a neighborhood of whitewashed houses, wrought-iron balconies and courtyards filled with flowers.

Wherever you go, stop for churros and hot chocolate; that will be their favorite part of the day.