Guided Tours in Barcelona

[Christyvoltron]

Has anyone had any experience with guided tours in Barcelona? If so would you please let us know any information you may have regarding this -- thanks!!

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Has anyone had any experience with guided tours in Barcelona? If so would you please let us know any information you may have regarding this -- thanks!!

Do the Hop on hop off Bus touristic from Placa Catalunya, there are three routes and they all go to the sights with international community on tape.

You can get a two day ticket, I would go right around each route first without getting off, to orientate yourself, then hop on off the second time around.

Getting out of town this is nice, its by rail and no guide but great!

Barcelona To Montserrat by Train
Instructions on how to travel from Barcelona to Montserrat by train. care there are different ticket types including the options for the cable car or rack railway up to the top of the mountain. Book the right one!
How to Travel by Train to Montserrat

You can travel to Montserrat by train which you catch from Espanya rail station.The Espanya rail station is on the green and red metro lines making it very accessible from any part of Barcelona city centre that has a metro stop.
Once at Espanya look for Line R5 headed towards Manresa. It's advisable to arrive at Espanya station in plenty of time as it can be a little confusing to find R5 track. The Espanya rail station is quite large and the directions to the R5 track could be clearer. Its sub level, like a underground train, two platforms at the end of the line.
Placa Espanya station is huge and has many surface entrances to the station below ground. It can be very confusing for tourists to find their way around especially as each entrance only has partial information about the lines that you will access from any particular entrance. The best advice here is just to ignore the line information displayed as you enter a surface entrance to the underground station and just enter the nearest surface entrance you can find. Once you are underground look for signs for the R5 track. You may have to walk around a little but you will find it eventually!
________________________________________
Train Timetable Barcelona To Montserrat
This train timetable information was last updated on January 2009. Timetable information can change without our notice and we therefore recommend that you check this timetable information at the Montserrat information desk at Placa Espanya at the entrance to R5 railway line.
Barcelona Montserrat-Aeri Montserrat
8:36 9:40 9:47
9:36 10:40 10:47
10:36 11:40 11:47
11:36 12:40 12:47
12:36 13:40 13:47
13:36 14:40 14:47
14:36 15:40 15:47
15:36 16:40 16:47
16:36 17:40 17:47
17:36 18:40 18:47
Train Timetable Montserrat to Barcelona
Montserrat Montserrat-Aeri Barcelona
9:40 9:48 10:51
10:40 10:48 11:51
11:40 11:48 12:51
12:40 12:48 13:51
13:40 13:48 14:51
14:40 14:48 15:51
15:40 15:48 16:51
16:40 16:48 17:51
17:40 17:48 18:51
18:40 18:48 19:51

Train Tickets To Montserrat With Tickets Offering Optional Extras.
Tickets are purchased at Placa Espanya station from ticket booths just in front of Line R5 to Manresa. You will find attendants there that will explain the ticket prices to you. They speak English, Spanish and Catalan. There are automated machines, these are easy to use, but mainly in Spainish
Make sure you buy the right tickets!
First you need to decide do you want the Cable Ride (Aeri ticket version) to the Monastery after the train journey from Barcelona or do you want the Cremallera Funicular ride to the Monastery (Cremallera ticket version) . Just to explain the train from Espanya station takes you to the foot of Montserrat mountain then you have these two options Cable car or Cremallera Funicular to actually go up the mountain to the Monastery. You will see below you also need to get off the train at different stops depending on which one you decide to take.
When you purchase your tickets to travel to Montserrat at Espanya Station you need to ensure to purchase the correct type of ticket. There are two versions of all the tickets listed in the table below. There is one ticket for the route with the Cable Car (Aeri) to the Monastery and the other ticket type is to go up to the Monastery by the Cremallera Funicular. Although all the tickets listed below have the same name and the same prices there are these two versions of ticket and you will need to specify which one you want when you purchase the ticket at the station. They are not interchangeable and you cannot change your mind and use the other route once you have purchased the ticket.
e.g. for the "Trans Montserrat Ticket" you will need to specify if you want the Cable Car version or if you want the Cremallera funicular version of that ticket. The prices are the same and the names of the tickets are also the same which has led to some confusion with tourists. If you buy a cable car version of the tickets below you cannot use it on the Cremallera funicular and vice versa.
Ticket Name Description Price (Euros)
Adult Single Single journey to Montserrat. Includes train fare from Barcelona Espanya to Montserrat . You have the option of buying a ticket for either the cable car ride up to the monastery (Get off at train stop Montserrat Aeri) or the Track Train ride up to Montserrat Cremallera funicular (Get off at train stop Monistrol) 8.85
Adult Return The same ticket as above however a return ticket. 15.50
Child Single As for adult single above however for children 6.55
Child Return As for adult return above however for children 12.00
Pensioners Single As for adult single but for pensioners 8.35
Pensioners Return As for adult return but for pensioners 14.80

Trans Montserrat Ticket This special combined ticket includes several different return train fares all in the one ticket. It could save you money if you want to not only see the monastery at Montserrat but also if you want to take the funicular mountain trains from the monastery to different parts of the mountain. The ticket includes the following:
1. Return train fare from Barcelona to Montserrat, either with the Cable car ride option to the monastery, or if you prefer the Track Train mountain train ride - but remember you need to specify which when you buy this ticket because they are not interchangeable. You either buy a Cable Car version or you buy the Cremallera version of this ticket. Once you have selected your ticket version you cannot use the other method.
2. The ticket also includes 2 return journeys on 2 different funicular rides (funicular is a mountain train that goes up steep slopes). You catch these funicular rides once you arrive at the monastery and not to be confused with the funicular ride to the Monastery from the train from Barcelona which is called the cremallera funicular. These funicular rides give you access to different parts of the mountain and you will be able to visit the very top of Montserrat mountain as well as visit Santa Cova cave. You will also be able to go on some mountain walks with amazing views. Normally you would have to purchase the funicular tickets separately once you arrive at Montserrat but with this ticket the two funicular return rides are included in the price.
3. You also have 2 free metro rides with this ticket worth 2.60 euros.
There are no discounts for pensioners or children with this ticket because the ticket already offers a discount for the fares. e.g. if you purchased the funicular rides separately (once you arrived at Montserrat monastery) you would need to pay an additional 6.60 euros return or 4.15 euros single for the funicular from the Monastery to the top of Montserrat mountain and/or another 2.70 euros return or 1.70 euros single for the funicular ride to Santa Cova Cave from the Monastery.
4.Access to the audio visual area on Montserrat.
Although it is possible to walk both of these destinations from the Monastery it is not recommended because it is pretty steep and not an easy walk.
22.50
ToT Montserrat Ticket This literally means "All Montserrat" This ticket includes everything that the Trans Montserrat ticket mentioned above and in addition you have free entry into the Montserrat museum (entry price to museum is 6.50 euros for adult or 5.50 euros for pensioners) plus an included lunch at the restaurant at Montserrat. The restaurant offers a buffet lunch. Standard lunch free, things like large size, or drinks extra.Limited hours say 12 noon to 2pm, check! 36.95

Journey Times To Montserrat From Barcelona And Train Stops To Get Off At.
The Journey time to Montserrat from Barcelona Espanya station is approximately one hour by train.
You have two options to reach the Monastery once you have taken the train ride. The first is a cable car ride (Aeri) up to the Monastery the second is the Funicular Cremallera Train. As stated above you need to select which ticket you buy at the station.
Cable Car (Aeri de Montserrat)
The cable car ride from the train stop Aeri de Montserrat is only a 5 minute ride. You will have breathtaking views on the cable car ride up to the monastery however you will need to stand for the journey.
We did this and found it connects with the train, as soon as there are people there they ran it.
Cremallera Funicular - Rack Train
If you don´t feel comfortable taking the cable car ride you can choose to take the Rack Train instead. For the Rack Train ride you will need to get off one stop after Aeri de Montserrat called Monistrol. The Rack Train ride will take 15 minutes to the Monastery and is a more comfortable ride than the cable car offers however you wont have as good views as you would from the cable car. The other advantage to taking the Cremallera Funicular is that you can sit down during the journey and the train is also suitable for those with wheelchairs.
I recommend that you arrive in plenty of time at Espanya rail station because there are often queues to buy the tickets and the trains to Montserrat leave on time.

Espanya Station Montserrat Tourist Information Help

Look out for the helpful Montserrat tourist information people at the stands just at the entrance to the Montserrat trains at Espanya station. We recommend you say hello to Cluny when you are there. He and his collegues are there to help you and they say it really makes their day when the tourists appreciate their help. We would like to say a big thanks to Cluny for helping us put the information together on this page.

Montserrat Museum
There is no entrance fee to the Monastery however if you wish to visit the museum the entrance fee would cost 6.50 euros for adults or 5.50 euros for pensioners.

 

[Christyvoltron]

Thank you so much!! You should write a guidebook!

 

[pjpoohbear]

This seems to be a good site to buy the hop-on/hop-off tickets and other tours is http://www.viator.com/tours/Barcelona/Barcelona-City-Hop-on-Hop-off-Tour/d562-2512BBUS and for more tours http://www.viator.com/Barcelona/d562-ttd?activities=all

Pj

 

[lmb]

I'd check trip advisor and read up on the bus. There are many mixed reviews. Some love it, some hate it. We booked a gothic walking tour from the barcelona tourism site for a very reasonable amount and also the segway tour (#1 on trip advisor) which we are looking forward to. I can't remember the name but it's on trip advisor.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

We did the bus turistic (hop on, hop off) back in 2007 after our 11 night cruise and it met our expectations. Is is the greatest tour? No, but it's a hop on, hop off bus. The price is reasonable and includes a coupon book for many of the stops the bus takes you to. Additionally, we found the frequency of the buses to be good such that we didn't have to wait more than 10 minutes at any stop.

 

[shushh]

There are actually more than 1 company providing HO-HO buses (about 3 I think) and they are priced differently. I can't remember the details (I found the thread on cruisecritic) but someone actually did a comparison of the companies (price, stops etc). I'll see if I can find the info again and post it here.

 

[pjpoohbear]

shushh, that would be great. I had wondered since they don't really label themselves as being different.

pj

 

[Anal Annie]

There are some other sites as well:

This is one considered the official tourism site for the city of Barcelona

http://www.barcelonaturisme.com

There are more available thru:

http://www.barcelona.com

and

http://www.okspain.org

(I got all of these from a Frommer's tour book on Barcelona so I would consider them reputable.)

 

[calmpets]

This may be a foolish question, but how can you tell which tours are in English? I don't speak a word of Spanish, unfortunately, so I'll need to make sure my tour guide speaks English.

 

[Jeff Spencer]

This may be a foolish question, but how can you tell which tours are in English? I don't speak a word of Spanish, unfortunately, so I'll need to make sure my tour guide speaks English.

On the Bus Turistic, the audio guides are recorded in several languages. You specify what language you want when you board the bus and pay the fee. Can't say for other HOHO bus tours in Barcelona.

 

[ldo]

We booked a bike tour thru viator.com, which uses Fat Tire bikes, so you could book/email them directly, as well. You have to get yourself to the meeting spot--easy in a cab and it's right at the main area, Las Ramblas, so you can go early and walk around.
We LOVED it--it was one of our top things we did in Europe. They have kids' bikes and bike seats, as well. FYI--we had a number of 50+ persons who had not rode a bike for 20 years on our tour--all had a great time. Elaine

 

[DisneyTrek]

My DW and I reserved a GoCar. It looks to be a very unique way to visit the city. Plus, we can do it at our own pace and stop wherever we want. Here's the link:

http://www.gocartours.es/

You will probably need an International Driving Permit for it. I am getting mine through AAA.

 

[clten]

My DW and I reserved a GoCar. It looks to be a very unique way to visit the city. Plus, we can do it at our own pace and stop wherever we want. Here's the link:

http://www.gocartours.es/

You will probably need an International Driving Permit for it. I am getting mine through AAA.

This does look like a very interesting way to see the city. Thanks for the link.

Did you find somewhere that you would need and Internat'l driver's license? If not, I wouldn't pay to get one. (An International Driver's license is just a translation of your US drivers license info. We've rented cars in Europe on several occasions and never needed one.)

 

[shushh]

shushh, that would be great. I had wondered since they don't really label themselves as being different.

pj

Of course now I can't find the thread! ARRGHHH!!! I found this one though with details on 2 of the companies. I'll keep looking.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1060119&highlight=bus+turistic

 

[DisneyTrek]

This does look like a very interesting way to see the city. Thanks for the link.

Did you find somewhere that you would need and Internat'l driver's license? If not, I wouldn't pay to get one. (An International Driver's license is just a translation of your US drivers license info. We've rented cars in Europe on several occasions and never needed one.)

I can't remember where I saw it or even if its really required. But it is only $15 through AAA and I just thought it may be a good idea. But then again, $15 can get me about 3 drinks on the Disney Magic....

 

[KermitRocks]

Thanks to you all for such great info!!!!