World City Guide

Tours of the City

Official guides can be hired from the Barcelona Guide Bureau, Via Laietana 54 (tel: (93) 268 2422 or 310 7778; fax: (93) 268 2211; e-mail: bgb@bgb.es; website: www.bgb.es). Guides charge from ¬160, depending on the language required, for up to four hours Monday to Friday, increasing to ¬190 at weekends.

Walking Tours
La Ruta Modernista is a book containing a map and details of Modernista sights around the city, linking 50 key Art Nouveau buildings, including La Sagrada Família and sites not usually open to the general public. The self-guided tour departs from outside Palau Güell, Carrer Nou de la Rambla 3-5, and costs just ¬3. The time required to complete the walk depends on whether or not walkers chose to complete the whole walk or simply a section of it – the entire walk would take a day. The book also includes half-price entry to various sights en route, including the Palau de la Música, La Pedrera and the Sagrada Família. The Ruta Modernista pass is available from the Centre del Modernisme, inside Casa Amatller, Passeig de Gràcia 41, Monday to Saturday 1000-1900 and Sundays 1000-1400.

Bus Tours
Two companies run identical tours of the city. Julià Tours (tel: (93) 317 6454) departs from Ronda Universitat 5, while Pullmantur (tel: (93) 318 0241), sets off from Gran Viá de les Corts Catalanes 645. A morning tour concentrates on the Gothic Quarter and Montjuïc, while an afternoon tour includes visits to key examples of Barcelona’s architectural heritage and the Picasso Museum. Half-day tours cost around ¬32.

The Barcelona Bus Turístic, operated by TMB (tel: (93) 285 3832; website: www.tmb.net), allows visitors to hop on and off designated tourist buses, at the sites of their choice. The buses ply two routes at 30-minute intervals or every 10 minutes in peak season. The first buses for each route leave Plaça de Catalunya, daily at 0900. Tickets cost ¬17 for one-day validity or ¬21 for two days.

Boat Tours
There are boat trips around the harbour, offered by Golondrinas (tel: (93) 442 3106; website: www.lasgolondrinas.com). These depart regularly from the Port Olímpic, Monday to Friday 1100-1400 and Saturday to Sunday 1145-1700 (November to March); Monday to Friday 1100-1800 and Saturday to Sunday 1145-1900 (April to June); daily 1145-1930 (July to September); and daily 1100-1800 (October). A round trip of the harbour takes approximately 35 minutes and costs ¬3.70. Energetic visitors can opt for a one-way ticket and then walk the 4km (2 miles) back to Barceloneta, from the breakwater.