[Captain Ahab Jr]

I've flown into Barcelona a couple of times, didn't do any sight seeing as my loop was airport, race circuit, hotel, repeat a few times and then back to airport.

I've done quite a few road trip all over Europe and have got quite good at working out a travel plan formula that the whole family enjoys.

A hard days driving is +5 hrs, medium 3-5 hrs and an easy day is under 3 hrs. You don't want to race through the countryside and allow time for getting lost as you'll never know what you'll find. We take a road map, proper old fashioned paper version as a SAT-NAV is very good at telling you where you are but doesn't tell you what the name of the village/town in the distance that looks too interesting to drive by without having a look.

We stay at a mix of small family run hotels up to luxury spec., we try to get a pool on the longer days of driving and tend use Booking.com when choosing hotels.

As for things to do we look for stuff the kids will enjoy and they do their own research to come up with suggestions, World UNESCO Heritage sites (best of the best natural, historical and cultural places the world has to offer), buy lunch from a market/super market and do a picnic lunch or eat where the locals eat not in the hotel we are staying at.

Europe has more varied history per square inch than anywhere else I've been to in the world and despite the headlines your read in the papers it's still one of the safest places in world to explore on your own at your own leisure.

We are also turn into Victorian parents and take the kids electronic devices off them to make them look around, you can't see a country if you don't look out the window, after a day or two they forget they ever had a Kindle, IPad etc.

Hope this helps