Barcelona Bus Tour - Barcelona Tourist Bus.
A.K.A The "Hop on Hop off " Tourist Bus

On this page you will find information about the Barcelona bus tour. Some people also refer to this bus as the "hop on hop off bus" because you can do just that. You will find information on its prices, tickets, timetables and the routes it takes around the city.

If you are coming to Barcelona for the first time, or if you are planning to stay in the city for a short time, this is one way of getting to quickly see the city’s monuments and most important tourist sights of interest. The Bus Turistic (as it's officially known) offers you an easy and quick way to start your visit to Barcelona and gives you an easy way to "find your feet" so that you can gain an overview of the main sights and then go back more depth later if you wish.

How the Barcelona Bus Tour works

Barcelona Tourist Bus covers 2 different city tour routes:

North Barcelona, South Barcelona

The Barcelona tourist bus stops at 42 places, all of them important sights of interest. From these stops you will have quick access to museums, monuments and important landmarks. You can stay at each sight of interest as long as you want, and when you are finished you just have to wait for the next tourist bus to take you to the next sight of interest

Depending on the season, the frequency of the Barcelona bus tour service calling at the stops is between 6 and 20 minutes. However in reality this is not the case. But the reality is you can often end up waiting longer than this and then have 2 or 3 buses turn up at the same time. This can lead to wasted time standing at stops for up to 30 minutes. On the plus side you won’t have to walk far to see each sight as many of the stops are right outside the sight of interest.

With a single ticket you can get on or off the Bus Turistic as many times as you want and you will only need one ticket for the two routes mentioned above. Some of the stops are common to all routes, which makes it quite easy to change routes if you wish.

Every tourist bus has a guide who will give you a brief introduction in several languages to what you can find in each stop. This is useful when choosing what to see at each stop and will make the trip more fun. However the information given is somewhat basic and is only a brief introduction to each sight. With the ticket you will get a guidebook with information on what to see at each stop.

The Barcelona Bus Tour Routes

Barcelona Bus tour has two different city routes interconnected at some of the stops.

Northern Route

This route starts at Placa Catalunya and travels along the Passeig de Gracia, stopping at some of the most important modernist buildings created by Gaudi; La Pedrera and Casa Battlo. It continues to the top part of the city, stopping at places like Parc Guell and Tibidabo. It comes back into town stopping at some of the royal and aristocratic palaces. This route includes a trip to Barcelona’s Football Club stadium and the modern Art Museum of Barcelona (MACBA), two places worth visiting when you come to Barcelona.
This tour takes 2 hours if you don’t get off the bus.

Southern Route

This bus route also starts at Placa Catalunya, and continues along Passeig de Gracia. There are connections with the Northern Route at Casa Battlo and La Pedrera. Then the Bus Turistic heads to Placa Espanya, from where you will have access to the Caixaforum and the National Art Museum of Catalunya (MNAC), with its impressing building and views over the northern part of the city.

The Touristic Bus will then take you up to Montjuic, stopping at the Olympic stadium and the Montjuic´s Castle from where you will have an amazing view of the coastline. Then you will go down to the seaside. Barcelona has an excellent marina, and the seaside is full of places to eat or have a drink. Remember that at night this is also an important clubbing area.
This tour takes 2 hours if you don’t get off the bus.

Tickets for the Barcelona Bus Tour.

Adults can purchase a one-day ticket for 20 euros, or a ticket valid for two consecutive days for 26 euros. Children’s prices (4 to 12 years) are 12 euros for one day and 16 for two days. If you opt for the two day ticket it will cost you an additional 4 Euros. Children under three get free tickets. You may wish to do this if you want to see all the main sights without rushing. Remember that holidays are supposed to be relaxing!

Where to buy your Barcelona Bus Tickets

Tickets are available on the bus, or in any tourist information office. You can get them as well in metro stations with customer service offices. These stations are: Sagrada Familia, Diagonal, Sants Estacio and Universitat. You can also buy them in advance online at the Barcelona Bus Tour Official Website, which could save you having to queue at the busy tourist information office.

Discounts for the Barcelona Tourist Bus

When you buy a Barcelona Bus Tour ticket you will also receive a discount in many museums, monuments, and leisure activities in Barcelona. This discount is from 10 to 20 %. There are also ongoing promotions. You will find updated information on discounts and promotions on www.busturistic.com.

Timetable

Both the Northern and Southern routes start between 9 and 9:30 everyday from Placa Catalunya. The service runs all year. The last bus leaves at 19:00 in the winter season (November to March), and 20.00 in the summer season ( April to October). Officially the frequency on all routes is between 5 to 25 minutes, but remember that sometimes you might have to wait longer.

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