Barcelona Guide
Getting Around
City tours
The number of available tours grows at a bewildering pace, and you can now see the city on anything from a Segway to a hot-air balloon. Bike tours in particular are hugely popular — at times it seems as if every tourist in the city is playing follow-my-leader down the same old-town alley — while other operators offer tapas-bar crawls, party nights and out-of-town excursions. Highest profile are the open-top sightseeing bus tours, whose board-at-will services can drop you outside every attraction in the city. Otherwise, Barcelona has some particularly good walking tours, showing you parts of the old town you might not find otherwise, while sightseeing boats offer a different view of the city.
1 Bike Tours Barcelona 
932 682 105 
www.biketoursbarcelona.com Opening time: Daily 11am, plus April– Sept Fri– Mon 4.30pmPrice: €22 Find the red-T-shirted guides in Plaça de Sant Jaume in the Barri Gòtic, outside the tourist office (top of c/de la Ciutat) – tours last three hours, no reservations required.
2 Fat Tire Bike Tours 933 013 612 www.fattirebiketoursbarcelona.com Opening time: twice daily mid-April to mid-Sept, once daily rest of the year; no tours mid-Dec to end of FebPrice: €22 Four-hour bike tours with genial guides to the old town, Sagrada Família, port area and beach – where there's time for a swim and a drink. Tours meet at the c/de Ferran side of Plaça de Sant Jaume, Barri Gòtic. Reservations not required, but you can check details at the rental shop at c/Escudellers 48. No credit cards.
3 Barcelona Tours www.barcelonatours.es The orange-coloured rival to Bus Turístic; buses make twenty stops on a circular three-hour sweep through the city from Plaça. de Catalunya. Opening time: Daily: 9am–8pm, May– Sept 9am–9pm; departures every 10–20minPrice: One-day €21, two-day €25 (under-14s €13/16 respectively); No credit cards
4 Bus Turístic www.tmb.net www.barcelonaturisme.com Sightseeing service (departures every 5–25min) with over forty stops on three combined routes, linking all the main tourist sights. Northern (red) and southern (blue) routes depart from Plaça de Catalunya, and a full circuit on either route takes two hours. The green Forùm route runs from Port Olímpic to the Forùm site at Diagonal Mar and back, via the beaches. The ticket also gives discounts at various sights, attractions, shops and restaurants. Buy online, or on board the bus, at any tourist office, Sants station and TMB customer centres. Opening time: Northern (red) and southern (blue) routes Oct– March 9am–7pm, April– Sept 9am–8pm; green Forùm route daily April– Sept 9.30am–8pmPrice: Tickets (valid for all routes) cost €20 for one day, €26 for two days (ages 4–12 €12/16 respectively)
5 Barcelona Walks 932 853 832 www.barcelonaturisme.com The Pl. de Catalunya tourist office coordinates a popular series of walks and tours, including a 90min historical walking tour of the Barri Gòtic (daily 10am; €11). There are also 90min Picasso walking tours (Tues– Sun 10.30am; €13.50, includes entry to Picasso Museum), a two-hour Modernisme tour (Fri & Sat 4pm; €11) and two-hour Gourmet and Cuisine tour (Fri & Sat 11am; €15, includes tastings). Times given are for the current English-language tours, advance booking essential (discount for online bookings).
6 Follow the Baldie www.followthebaldie.com Follow erudite, self-professed baldie tour guide and longtime Barcelona resident, Trevor, on walks around anarchist Barcelona or over the hills to Tibidabo, tracking tarantulas near Sitges, or staggering from bar to bar in rural Catalunya. These are not your normal tours, as a perusal of the website soon shows. Price: From €35 per person
7 My Favourite Things 637 265 405 www.myft.net Price: €26 Highly individual tours which reveal the city in a new light – whether it's bohemian Barcelona, where and what the locals eat, or the signature tour, My Favourite Fusion, which gives an insider's view of the city. Tours (in English) last around four hours, and there's always time for anecdotes, diversions, workshop visits and café visits. Tour numbers are limited to ten, and departures are flexible, so call or email for latest information or tailor-made requests.
8 Catamaran Orsom 934 410 537 www.barcelona-orsom.com Opening time: Afternoon trips Easter week & June– Sept daily, May & Oct daily except Tues & Thurs; evening cruises daily June– AugPrice: Afternoon €12.50; evening €14.90 Afternoon catamaran trips around the port in season, and evening jazz cruises in summer. There's a ticket kiosk at the quayside opposite the Columbus statue, at the bottom of the Ramblas, but call in advance to be certain of departures.
9 Las Golondrinas 934 423 106 www.lasgolondrinas.com Daily sightseeing boats depart from Pl. Portal de la Pau, behind the Columbus monument – trips are either around the port (35min), or port and coast including the Port Olímpic and Diagonal Mar (90min). Opening time: At least hourly June– Sept; less frequently Oct– May, but still dailyPrice: Port €5.50; port and coast €11.50