Hop On Bus - Bus Touristic, Barcelona

A nice quick way to see the city. For first timers looking to see the city, large families, folks with mobility impaired conditions, a way to hit the landmarks and come for more détails later on;all fit the city bus hop on hop off popular in many cities

We bought tickets for 2 days,wasn't too expensive (like 22 euros) the buses rides 2 different circles around Barcelona and stops on every important thing,on the bus you get a headset and you can choose your language so during the ride you'll have a completely and full descriptions (audio commentary) of the things you'll see ...If you want you can make a closer look to the things you like most because the bus we'll be back on the station he left you every 20 minutes.

This is a definate 'must do' when visiting Barcelona. I would buy the 48hrs ticket. There are 3 bus routes - red, blue and green, and each is well worth it. You can travel on all 3 when you buy your ticket and you can puchase tickets on the bus or at a stand at the Placa de Catalunya.

We had 2 full days in Barcelona.... not enough. The red bus route was my favourite - check out my travelogue. The blue one is good for visiting Sagrada Familia and Parc de Guell. We didn't have time to check out the green bus route.

Make sure you get to the starting point (Placa de Catalunya) early so that you get a good seat on the top level of the bus (middle right hand side is the best). If you get there too late the lines are long!...check out my video - to be uploaded.

2nd pic is funny - the taxi, or the bus?... I'll take the bus thanks :o)

There are a number of double decker buses that a person can take to see the sites around the city. A lot of the bus rides are 1/2 day, or 4 hours worth for 25-30 Euro normally. If you took a full day on/off ride on the bus, it may range around 30-40 Euro. If you were to choose a third option of guided tour to sites for a 1/2 day, the price is about 60 Euro. They stop at approximately 10 stops for 5-15 minutes each, and the guide describes the site history and information.

When I visit a city for the first time I like to take a city tour to familiarize myself with the layout of the city. I highly recommend Barcelona Tours, they are one of several double decker busses offering a "Loop" tour going to most of the tourist attractions in Barcelona. You can pick up the bus anywhere on their route, you can purchase a 1 or 2 day pass and get on and off the bus as many times as you like within the purchased time. The tour is narrated in many languages; with your tour ticket you will be given a map and earphones which plug into the busses audio system.
My suggestion is to purchase a 2 day pass and spend one day touring all of Barcelona, take notes of what you want to see then on the second day go back to visit the places that interest you.
Look for the orange busses.

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

Against my usual habits, here in Barcelona, in my short visit I did take this one day bus tour ticket. I found it very useful in such larger city where not to every place you want to walk during July hot weather. There are few operators where you can but a daily ticket where you can jump of and off the bus when ever you feel like. The only down side is that is some popular stops you might need to wait a bit in the queue till you get space in the next bus, but all those were not too much of a problem, the buses came every few minutes anyway.

These two storey buses take you all around the city and stop near the main attractions. They cover two routes and stops at 42 places. On every bus there is a guide who will give you a short description in several languages on what you will find at each stop.

You can get off and on these buses as many times as you like.

You can buy your ticket on the bus or at any tourist information office. There are also tickets valid for more than one day on sale. Once you bought your ticket you are given a guide book and a leaftlet with many discount coupons you can use at some museums, restaurants and at some other attractions.

I enjoyed using the Barcelona Bus Turistic since I prefer to find out about a city on my own. The audio guide is helpful although you are not getting any in-depth information. But it is entertaining while passing by some places.
The biggest plus for me was the fact that you can relax in the sun on the bus deck while getting from place to place. The metro might be quicker, but you dont see anything on the way.

Hi Johnny,

for the Gaudi Tour you have got a couple of options:

The most comprehensive one for sure is the Gaudi Combo which is accompanied by a guide and lasts the whole day: http://www.barcelonaguidebureau.com/tours.php?idTour=15&tour=The-Gaudi-Combo-Offer

If you prefer to do a bit of exploring on your own, try the Barcelona Bus Turistic: www.barcelona-bus-turistic.com
The routes cover all Gaudi places in Barcelona, so you can check them out on your own. An audio guide on board gives you some background information as well.

Hope that helps,
Luke

If the person just wants an overview of the city, an option is to use the Bus Turistic bus in Barcelona.

http://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat
http://www.barcelonaturisme.com

It's a hop on, hop off tourist bus that goes around the major attractions of the city. Your ticket lasts the whole day so you can rides all 3 routes that you can choose from. The bus attendants speak English. Headphones are provided so you can hear about the major city attractions in various languages. Also provided is a discount coupon book.

You can go to the Tourist Information Center or the Bus Touristic kiosk at Plaza Catalunya for info and tickets since Plz Catalunya is the hub for the tourist bus service companies. 1 day: €14-€22; 2 days: €18-€29

This is an easy way to get around to see the main sights of Barcelona for yourself. Many tourists miss out some of the most stunning attractions simply because they did not know about them! With this service you will be able to see all the main attractions Barcelona has to offer. You can simply hop on the bus, and hop off to see the sight and then, well, hop back on another bus again to go to the next sight. Sights covered are all the main attractions in Barcelona including: Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Gothic Quarter Olympic Village, Poble Espanyol. Commentary is given in 10 different languages. Ideal for those who want to see an overview to the city without the planning.

Once you know where all the main attractions are you can then always go back and see the main sights of interest in more detail. This service is also an excellent service for elderly people or those who want to minimize the walking required to visit the sights. The hop on hop off tourist bus is an excellent service for anyone that is new to Barcelona and does not want to miss a thing.

Our last afternoon in Barcelona was spent viewing the city by bus. We selected the Barcelona Bus Turistic which covered three routes and up to 44 stops* with one ticket: costing 21 euros per adults; 13 euros per child.

After some discussion, my husband and I decided to take the blue route which traveled to most of the sights we wanted to visit, such as La Sagrada Familia and other Gaudi architectural gems, Catalunya Square, Park Guell, passing through the old neighborhoods of Gra'cia and Sarria' and by Barcelona's 'futbol'stadium and other city districts.

At any point, one could jump off and sightsee then reboard at a specified bus stop. If you stay on the bus, you'll have about a two hour trip for the blue and red route, 40 minutes for the green route.

We loved the fact that this was a double decker bus--great for picture taking! Although at first we had to settle on the lower level (air conditioned), but in no time at all we were free to take the steps up to the top where we enjoyed an unobstructed view of each highlighted stop.

*There are 6 transfer points along the three routes and you can change from any route to the other. This tour was a fantastic way to see Barcelona and made it so easy to see the sights of the city!

The bus departs between 9-9:30 am from any stop with a 5-25 minute wait possible. We bought our tickets near the waterfront by the Columbus Statue, near Las Ramblas.

The Bus Turístic allows you to discover and know Barcelona on board a two floor bus, with three different routes included in one ticket and 44 stops at interesting places.

The Northern route and the Southern Route are two hours long, while the Forum route is 40 minutes long.

You can hop on and off at whatever destinations you have chosen to reach and can rest assured that the bus will take you to all of the must-see tourist hot spots. Alternatively, you may just choose to experience the full tour in one go, gaining an overview of what the city has to offer and taking note of particular places of interest to return to.

Fantastic 3 hour trip around the main sights in Barcelona. Approx 21 Euro. You can get on and off as many times as you like during the day. Great way to see the city, we would never had seen so much if we hadnt decided to take this trip. Exellent.