Tours, Barcelona

Here we go......

- La Rambla - a tree lined street with street performers, cafes, restaurants, bars. Here is home to loads of hostels and hotels and the main tourist area of the city. At one end of the street is one of the citys busiest squares, at the other....the beach! perfect! Also at the beach end is a huge statue of Columbus.

- Barri Gothic, the cathedral. near the Rambla, one of the citys best known buildings.

- Segrada Familia, probably Gaudi's most famous work, still being built after he died in 1926! one of europes most amazing pieces of architecture.

- La Pedrera, another Gaudi masterpiece.

- Park Guell - more Gaudi work, this time in a park with strange benches, buildings,mosaics, with fantastic views of the city.

- Olympic village - on the beach is the olympic village, now restaurants and bars.

- Olympic stadium - go see where it all happened.

- Nou camp stadium, 90,000 spectator stadium for the home of Barcelona football club!

-El Raval, west of the Rambla, a cool but edgy, dark and seedy district with some old atmospheric bars and restaurants.

I recently traveled to Barcelona. Not having been to Spain before and not speaking any spanish I decided to take a walking tour to explore the city. I was looking for something a bit different from your standard tour so decided to give taste barcelona http://www.taste-barcelona.com a go as they promised not just a tour of the sights but of the wine and food as well. Our friendly knowledgable guide took is to a number of districts which really set us up for the rest of our time in the city. We had a small intimate group (only 4 in ours) which was a fantastic way to explore the sights and food of the city. What was really surprising about the tour was that all food and wine was included and the guide even made sure we got a cab back to our hotel at the end of the tour. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone wanting to explore the city beyond the tourist filled areas and enjoy authentic tapas and lots of wine!

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I'm not big on booking tours when we go on our various trips, but every once in a while I will run across a tour that does sound interesting. Besides the strange name of Runner Bean Tours (still don't know why they called it that) this was a very unique tour of the Old Town section of Barcelona.

I had found out about the tour through a another review here on VT and contacted that person to see how they enjoyed it. They replied back that they did enjoy it and so I thought this would be a good way to get a little history and see some sights that we might miss.

The tour is about 3 hours long and you pay what you feel the tour is worth. We had a group of about 20 people and our tour guide Laura did have a microphone so that you could hear what she had to say even if you were not in the front of the group. She led us into the Barri Gotic section and gave us enough little exploring breaks and bathroom breaks to make the time really fly by.

We went back during the day to explore more in depth a number of the sights we had passed during the tour.

It was well worth the 15 Euros each we ended up as our contribution for the tour.

Culinary Adventures in Barcelona was without doubt one of the highlights of my long weekend in Barcelona. I had visited Barcelona several times but it was on this trip that I felt I got a true sense of what Barcelona is about - the people, food and culture. We began with a tour of La Boqueria (greeted with Cava!) where we purchased a few fresh ingredients. Then we walked to the apartment next to the market, which was a very relaxed space and met with the chef - a young guy who was really welcoming and very passionate about Spanish and Catalan food. The food we cooked was some of the best i've tried in Barcelona. A real gazpacho, stuffed peppers, chorizo in cider and pears with saffron cream. It was just so fresh and the perfect representation of Spanish food and very different from what you will find on Las Ramblas! We had a great time and tasted four wines from different parts of Spain. I would highly recommend this place for anyone wanting a unique and memorable experience in Barcelona. I found the information on the website www.papaserra.com

I was in Barcelona with my family last October, we really enjoyed! The weather was fantastic, no rain and 20º, but not much people on the beach at that time!
I recommend you a centric hotel, near las Ramblas or Paseo de Gracia.
You should take the "hop on-hop off" bus to have an overview of all touristic sites. I recommend visit Miro Foundation, Tapias Foundation and of course taste the excellent tapas in any bar of the Gothic Quarter.
Don't miss all Gaudi Builidings, as Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Park Guell...
During three days we have visited all Barcelona, after we took some tours outside Barcelona and we really enjoy and hardly recommend, the company was Barcelona Holiday and we go to Costa Brava and Pyrenees, we discovered the amazing coast line and such a beautiful valley on the Mountain called Nuria Valley.
His web page is www.barcelonaholiday.es

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Runner Bean Tours offers tours of the Old City (Gothic Quarter) and of Gaudi's Works. Both tours meet and start at the same place: next to the the water fountain in Plaza Real, off of Las Ramblas.
Tours start every day at 11AM and 4:30PM. Tours are about 2.5 hours in length. Tours are advertised as free but it is their belief you will make a donation at the end of the tour for an amount you value it at.

We went on a city tour with BCN Travel in Barcelona when I first came to Barcelona with my parents to go on a cruise. They picked us up right on the airport and since we only got some 5 hours to get to our boat our guide and driver gave us a brief tour of the highlights of the city.

I especially liked the views from the Montjuic castle where we even could see our cruise ship the first time. The driver had a very fun way of talking about all the sights and he got us to some awesome spots to get out and take pictures (which was not always easy due to the traffic).

So since we only got limited time and we had to get from the airport to the port anyway it was a great way to see the city and it was also worth the money.

[from my Barcelona forum tip]
[http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussion-567348-1-1-Travel-0-0-Barcelona-discussion.html]

When I was in Barcelona, I saw lots of ads from the Travel Bar giving free walking tours. 2.5 hours
http://www.travelbar.com/es/free-walking-tour/

A quick search also brought up free walking tours from Runner Bean Tours. 2.5 hours. Lets you choose between Gaudi Tour or Old City Tour.
http://www.runnerbeantours.com

Tours are "free" meaning the guide operates on a tip system.

Enjoy exploring Barcelona on foot.

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BUS TURISTICT is a HOP ON/OFF BUS in Barcelona. Excellent value, and I saved myself some extra money by booking and paying for it online. This was very easy and I picked up our tickets at the Airport information booth, simple!

The open top Buses follow three different routes, stopping by the most important, must see tourist area’s and sight’s. We found we didn’t have to wait any longer than 15mins, and this only happened once, the rest of the time they were coming much closer together.

THE SYSTEM……………..I thought was excellent. Of course, nearly everybody wants to sit up the top except for in the evening when it is too cold.
When the Bus arrives, they leave the Entrance door shut, and the people exit the Bus using the middle door. We were then allowed on the Bus through the front door where we showed our ticket, [or you could buy one,] then we were given Head phones, Map & Booklet and allowed up the top if there was room.
There is a Bus Driver and Steward on board. The Steward knows how many seats are available upstairs. When we had to sit downstairs, at the next stop when people were off loaded, then we were given the option of going upstairs before the new batch of people got on the Bus. A very fair system. The views were good, as was the commentary, and it was available in a multitude of languages.
We did all three routes, RED, BLUE & GREEN.

The Green one in my opinion is not worth doing. It goes past Beaches and through the modern part of Barcelona, so if pressed for time, this is the one to leave out. It only runs during the Summer months.

We saw nearly everything on the route over two long days, but we didn’t go into lots because of queues. We did get off and on and had a good look around though. We both agreed that this was a very easy way to see Barcelona, and believe me, there is a lot more to see here.

If you don't have much time in Barcelona, the Bus Turistic is a great way to explore the city. There are 3 lines red, blue and green, the red line being my favourite with Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, the Temple de la Sagrada Famiglia and Parc Guell on its line. The Blue stop has the aquarium, it also has Casa Mila, Casa Battlo and Barri Gotic. You can easily make the switch from the blue and the red line at Placa de Catalunya. The green line is good for shopping destinations so my wife was happy with that. The pass is good for 24 hrs and if you make a couple of passes on both lines that same day so you get a feel for the layout of the city and you can get around to the different sites much easier, it's also good for taking a tan with its open rooftop. You also get discounts to the sites and the discounts are good for the rest of your stay, the year if you plan on returning. Beware of the other tour line, Barcelona Tours. It costs 20 euros and does not offer what the Bus Turistic offers.

Bus Turistic operating hours: from 9 to 19hrs in winter and until 20hrs in summer

Prices 2011: Adults - 23€/30€ (1day/2days), Children - 14€/18€ (1day/2days)
Child discounts apply from 4-12 years.
4 and under - free