Guided Tours of Barcelona on Double-decker Buses

Tours, Transport on September 6, 2010 1:41 pm

If you don’t want to wear out your feet trudging through Barcelona, but on the other hand you don’t want to miss any of the sites, I would recommend buying a ticket so that you can enjoy a tour of Barcelona on Barcelona’s Hop-on hop-off buses. These buses take you to the city’s most important monuments, whilst through the earphones a pleasant voice tells you everything you need to know.

Companies that offer these services

In Barcelona, there are two companies that offer this service: one being Barcelona City Tour, which is recognizable by its red buses with a green and yellow symbol of Barcelona; and the other Barcelona Bus Turístic, which has white and turquoise-blue buses with the symbol of a large eye on one side, in which you can distinguish one of the monuments.

Routes

Both of the companies take you around the most important tourist sites, such as for example the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, Las Ramblas and Montjuic. Barcelona City Tour offers you 2 routes: the eastern route (from the city centre to Tibidabo, passing by Camp Nou stadium)  & the western route (from the port to the Forum) The last of these routes is only available in Summer).

In order to get to the same sites, you could choose the services of Barcelona Bus Turístic

Red line: Placa Catalunya to Parc de la Ciutadella, via Passeig de Gracia, Diagonal, Estacio de Sants, Montjuic and Port Vell

Blue line: Placa Catalunya to the MACBA, through to Passeig de Gracia, Sagrada Familia, Gracia, Park Guell, Tibidabo and Camp Nou

Green line: Port Olimpic to Poblenou, via the Forum and going along the city’s beaches (this only runs during the summer)

For more information on the routes, click here

Where? When? How long does it last?

Of course, you can get off at each of the stations, have a walk around the area and later just take the next bus. Buses run, according to the time of year, between every 5 and every 25 minutes. Both of the routes begin at 9 o’clock in Plaza Catalunya and begin respectively a little later from the other stops. With the exception of Barcelona Bus Turístic’s green line, all of the routes last approximately 2 hours. Buses run every day of the year (excluding the Summer green route bus) and except the 25th December and the 1st January.

Prices

Validity: Day of purchase (and the following day if it is a 2 day ticket) for all routes offered by the two companies.

Includes: Earphones for the audio guide, discount booklet, map of the city.

Advice

• Buses tend to be very full during high season, so it is better to begin your journeys as early as possible. If you find a nice place, I would recommend that you first complete the route in order to gain a good idea of the full journey, and then decide where you want to get off.
• If you are staying in Barcelona for several days, it would be better to buy a 2-day ticket. This will allow you to enjoy at leisure, and for only an extra 6 euros, all of the routes offered by the company that you have chosen.
• Look after your discount booklets. They continue to be valid after your journey, and give you reduced price entry to, for example, Casa Batlló and the Aquarium.
• If you wish to take the route while it is raining, it is worth bearing in mind that it will be difficult to get the next bus. The number of seats on the interior of the bus is limited and as a result the bus gets very full. In the case of light rain, the Barcelona City Tour buses have a canvas with which the upper deck can be covered.
• Of course, you must keep hold of your tickets throughout the day or days for which it is valid, as you will need to show them every time you get on the bus.

Have you been on a bus tour of Barcelona? How did you find it? Would you like to go? Please leave us a comment below!

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