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Barcelona: City Sightseeing Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour
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The Barcelona Bus Turístic, or Barcelona Tourist Bus as it is known, is the hop on hop off tour of the Catalan city run by the city’s tourist office. A tour that started in 1987, it has been a huge success and is a real must for those who are in the city and don’t have much time. Wandering around Barcelona you will certainly see the iconic double-decker buses with their open roofs and red livery fading to blue; if you feel like taking one, in this article you will find all the information you need for a memorable experience.
TheBarcelona Bus Turistic is a hop on hop off bus, which means that by purchasing a ticket, lasting 1 or 2 days, you can hop on and off the bus at each stop, an unlimited number of times, or simply stay on board to enjoy Barcelona from the top of the bus. The stops are located in strategic places in Barcelona, the most interesting for tourists, which makes the bus tour a perfect alternative for discovering the city.
There are two routes available for you to discover, the blue and the red, which will take you to different parts of the city, from mainstream monuments such as the Sagrada Familia and the Casa Batlló, to the most hidden corners of Barcelona. What’s more, when you buy your ticket you also get anaudioguide in 16 languages, including Italian, as well as a city map and free wifi on board, a nice bonus.
As mentioned, there are two routes operated throughout the year by the Barcelona Bus Turìstic. But fear not, they are both accessible with a single ticket! Both routes start from Placa de Catalunya, but while the blue route heads north to Camp Nou, the red route veers east to the Ciutadella park.
The blue route of the Barcelona Bus Turistic is a bus trip from modernist Barcelona to gastronomic Barcelona, winding through the upper part of the city. Along the route you will be able to admire – and if you wish, even get off to enjoy them at your leisure – masterpieces such as the Casa Batllò, the Sagrada Familia, the modernist Recinte de Sant Pau, the Park Guell, the Monastery of Pedralbes and much more.
For those who like to travel off the beaten track, perhaps the most interesting stop is Tramvia Blau – Tibidabo, which is located in the upper part of Barcelona. After getting off the bus and walking through a residential area, you can ascend Tibidabo by taking two more means of transport: the Tramvia Blau, a truly remarkable vintage tramway dating back to 1901, and the Tibidabo funicular, which will take you to the top.
The red route is the more classic one, which we honestly recommend to those who are in the city for the first time, to get a truly unique overall view of Barcelona. You will be able to stop in front of the city’s main monuments, such as Casa Batllò, la Pedrera, Placa d’Espanya, the Olympic quarter with a stop at the MNAC, the Montjuic cable car, Port Vell and Port Olimpic.
Those who have already been to Barcelona will certainly have visited most of these landmarks, but taking a bus tour on the red route is a golden opportunity to refresh your memory, perhaps before changing buses and devoting yourself to the more niche and less touristy blue route.
It is possible to purchase two different variants of the ticket, one with 24-hour validity, the other with 48-hour validity. Buying the latter ticket will give you a very good cost advantage. Beware that the 24 hours are understood to be calendar days: in other words, the ticket expires at 23:59 on the day you validated it. It is therefore advisable to purchase it early in the morning! If, on the other hand, you purchase a 48-hour ticket, it is valid for 2 consecutive days, i.e. from the moment of validation until 23:59 of the following day.
Regarding the different price brackets, reductions are available for the over 65s, for those with a certified disability of more than 33%, and for children from 4 to 12 years of age. Children under the age of 4 are entitled to a free ticket.
The Barcelona Bus Turistic operates every day of the year except Christmas and New Year’s Day, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. Each route lasts approximately 2 hours, with buses running between 5 and 25 minutes, depending on the season.
During the summer Barcelona is even more special. From June to September (the exact dates vary from year to year) the Barcelona Bus Turístic extends its service with a bus tour to discover Barcelona’s nights, called the Barcelona Night Tour. Presented by the city’s official tourist guides in Spanish, Catalan and English, you will go on a guided tour to discover the Casa Batllò, the Pedrera, the Sagrada Familia, the Arc de Triomphe, the Columbus Monument, the Glories Tower, the modernist Recinto de Sant Pau and Placa d’Espanya: a series of monuments and landmarks not to be missed, which during the night are illuminated, making Barcelona more beautiful than ever.
The Barcelona Night Tour, during the months when it is available, runs from Monday to Sunday, departing at 21:30. The bus leaves from Placa de Catalunya and the duration of the tour is approximately one hour and 30 minutes.
Every year, from the end of November until 4 January, with the exception of 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January, a new line, the Barcelona Christmas Tour, is added to the classic Barcelona tourist bus routes. This allows visitors to see the main streets and squares of Barcelona illuminated by Christmas lights.
The tours leave Monday to Sunday, twice a day at 6.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m., with a guide on board who speaks Catalan, Spanish and English and who will tell you the story of typical Christmas traditions in and around Barcelona, such as the Christmas lottery, typical sweets and the traditional Home dels Nassos, or the man of the noses.
The tour takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes, and starts from Placa de Catalunya. During the Barcelona Christmas Tour you will have the opportunity to experience first-hand the Christmas celebrations in Barcelona, when the atmosphere becomes truly magical. You can enjoy the decorations and illumination of the city’s streets, crossing Passeig de Gracia, Passeig de Sant Joan, the Gran Via and Avinguda de Parallel, as well as making a stop at the Christmas fair at the Sagrada Familia and a series of stops at some of the monuments illuminated and decorated for Christmas, such as the Pedrera, Casa Batllò, the Modernist enclosure of Sant Pau and the Arc de Triomphe.
Without a doubt, the Barcelona sightseeing bus is a perfect way to visit as many things as possible in a short time. It is therefore ideal for those who are in the city for just a couple of days. But even if you are a hardcore do-it-yourselfer, getting on and off the bus as many times as you like on the one hand amortises costs by avoiding the purchase of public transport tickets, and on the other hand allows you to discover something new about Barcelona thanks to theaudio guide in Italian.
The Barcelona Bus Turistic is also great for those arriving in the city on a cruise ship. It allows you to save a lot of money compared to the excursions offered by the companies, without giving up anything, in fact with a touch more freedom. Consider that a bus stop is located near the Columbus monument, which can be easily reached from the cruise terminal on foot or with the shuttles provided by the shipping companies. Depending on where your ship stops, the World Trade Center stop could also be convenient.
Finally, the bus is also perfect for families: kids love to sit on the upper deck!
In addition to the official Bus Turistic, there is another company in Barcelona: Barcelona City Tour, which offers a similar service, also on open-top double-decker buses, and also in two ticket versions of 24 or 48 hours.
The differences, albeit minor, lie in the routes: those of Barcelona City Tour are identified by the colours green and orange; the former travels east of the city and passes the Barrio Gotico, the Aquarium, the Torre Agbar, the Sagrada Familia and the Parc Guell, while the latter travels west, and allows one to pass by La Rambla, the cruise terminal, Montjuic hill, Placa de Espanya and Camp Nou. Both routes take about two hours, and buses run daily from 9am to 7pm.
In addition to the standard 24- or 48-hour ticket, it is also possible to buy combination tickets that add a 60- or 90-minute eco-catamaran ride to the regular bus tour, to admire Barcelona from the sea with an on-board bar and wifi connection. Timetables for the catamaran vary depending on the date, so it is advisable to enquire in advance. The catamaran departs from Moll de les Drassanes, not far from the Columbus monument and Port Vell. Once you leave the dock, you will head towards the Olympic Port and return.
In addition, Barcelona City Tour offers the possibility of taking part in a free walking tour available in English or Spanish, through the streets of the Gothic Quarter and the centre of Barcelona, visiting important sites such as the Cathedral, the Born market and the Palau de la Música Catalana
City Card allow you to save on public transport and / or on the entrances to the main tourist attractions.
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