My Honest Tourist Bus Barcelona Hop On Hop Off Tour Bus Review

The best way to explore a new city is to walk around. But after a few hours of walking your feet might start to protest and you want to take a break. On my recent visit with my mom to Barcelona, we had little time and wanted to see as much as possible. We decided to try the Barcelona tourist bus and see what the Barcelona hop-on hop-off bus tour would be like. Read my honest experience-based review and stick around for my pros and cons list of the Barcelona bus tour!

This post is meant for everyone who wants to learn about the hop-on-hop-off bus in Barcelona. I’ll share my experiences, provide tips to make the best use of these tourist buses, and some information about prices and practicalities.

I was invited by Barcelona Turisme Office to try out their tourist bus Barcelona with my mom. All the opinions are my own and those of my mother as mentioned.

Probe around the Globe uses affiliate links. If you decide to purchase your tourist bus tickets for Barcelona via one of my links, I’ll earn a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you.

This post was updated and verified in July 2024 to reflect current prices and data. If you see any mistakes or have updates, let me know in the comment section below.

Barcelona Bus Turistic

There are two hop-on-hop-off tourist buses in Barcelona. I used the official Barcelona tour bus: the Barcelona Bus Turístic. They are blue/turquoise buses with open rooftops that follow 2 routes around the city of Barcelona and will stop at all the major tourist sights.

On board the Barcelona tourist bus, you’ll find a knowledgeable guide from the tourist office who can help you with everything around Barcelona. They all speak flawless English.

Onboard, you can listen to commentary and information in 16 different languages. We sat on the top deck and enjoyed the sunshine and the views of Barcelona, or sat downstairs when we only had to ride for 1 stop.

Barcelona Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus

The hop-on-hop-off concept of the Barcelona tourist bus is perfect for people with little time who want to see a lot of the city. You can purchase a 24h pass or a 48-h pass and you can use the bus as much as you like.

For example; you can hop on at the central stop and ride the whole route in one go or get off at the next stop, walk around, and hop back on the tourist bus again.

You can spend as much time as you like between hopping on and off, as busses ride between 5 and 20 minutes (depending on season’s times). So you never have to wait long and nearly all major tourist attractions in Barcelona have a tourist bus stop nearby.

Purchase your Barcelona Bus Turístic pass in advance online here.

Barcelona Tourist Bus Routes and Map

The Barcelona tourist bus has 2 routes that run along the city and you can follow one route or mix the 2 routes together:

Red Route: Stops at the main tourist sites in the heart of Barcelona and turns westward to Mont Juïc to return to the harbor front.

Blue Route: Stops at the main tourist sites in the heart of Barcelona and turns eastwards to the Sagrada Familia and then goes north to Park Güell and Northwest to Mount Tibidabo and Camp Nou.

You can see the map below or download a map here.

Barcelona Hop-on-Hop-off Bus Review

After walking over 22,000 steps on our first day in Barcelona, we needed to give our feet a break.

We decided to use the Barcelona tour bus for the next two days of our stay in Barcelona. On the first day, we hopped on the Barcelona Bus Turístic at Plaça de Cataluyna and took the blue route to the Sagrada Familia.

Barcelona Bus Tour: Blue Route

We passed the Casa Batlló and the Casa Milà to turn towards the Sagrada Familia. On previous visits, I had walked (40 min) and used the metro (2 changes) so I was happy to get to the famous Gaudí Cathedral so quickly and easily.

After spending some time at the Sagrada Familia and the Hospital de Pau, we hopped back on the tourist bus and went north to Park Güell.

We enjoyed the sunset at the park and after a refreshing drink, we returned to the bus stop and hopped back on the bus. We continued our blue route on the tourist bus and enjoyed some of the great avenues in Barcelona.

As it was already dark, we didn’t hop off again but I now know some more great places I want to visit on my next visit to Barcelona.

Barcelona Bus Tour: Red Route

The next day, the sun was shining brightly and we hopped on the red line of the Barcelona Bus Turístic at Plaça de Cataluyna. We passed the Casa Batlló and Casa Milà again and took some great pictures from the upper deck of the bus.

We really enjoyed our visit to the Plaça d’Espanya and snapped some pictures at the viewpoints of Mont Juïc. I really liked the commentary of the audio guide that told me some random facts about Barcelona that I didn’t know or realized before.

We went back down to the city again and enjoyed the beachfront stops and returned to the city center where we hopped off again to explore the Gothic Quarter on foot.

Although we didn’t hop off at every stop, we did get a great view of the city. From the posh avenues and great shopping streets to the green hills of Mont Juïc. We could see the harbor front and the new and modern architecture of Port Olympic.

Sitting on the top deck of the tourist bus gave us great uninterrupted views of the city that we would have missed sitting on a normal bus or riding the metro.

Overall review of the Barcelona tourist bus

Obviously, I really enjoyed the tour bus of Barcelona. It was easy to use, it saved us a ton of walking and money in public transport tickets and it was great to get off at all the major tourist sites in Barcelona.

We were really close to the Plaça de Cataluyna were the two biggest routes started and finished. We enjoyed just driving around Barcelona and seeing a lot of different sights of the city in a short period of time.

Downside of the Bus Turístic Barcelona

So was it all glitter and glory? Almost. You do have to be aware the bus drives in a loop and doesn’t run the route in two directions.

This means, that if you want to take the bus to, for example, the Park Güell all the way in the north of the city, you either have to take public transport back or continue the route of the Barcelona tourist bus.

Not a big problem for us as we wanted to see the rest of the route but this might be a problem if you want to go to sights quickly and then return.

The Barcelona tourist bus doesn’t service the airport, but you can read my budget guide on how to get from El Prat Barcelona Airport to the city for a little over 1 Euro.

Pro’s about the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus of Barcelona

I did really like that the tourist bus also services a bit of lesser-known areas of the city or parts where it is a bit more difficult to get to by public transport.

For example, you can get to Mont Juïc by bus or cable cart but the buses don’t run that often. And you have to wait for the next bus if you want to get off at more stops.

During our two days on the Tourist Bus Barcelona, we never had to wait more than a few minutes before the next bus arrived. So either we were extremely lucky, or it shows how easy the tour bus is when you have little time.

The tourist routes do service all the major train stations in Barcelona, for example, the Passeig de Gracía where you can take the train to the airport, the train station at Plaça d’Espanya where you can take the train to Montserrat Monastery, and the Sants train station for national and international trains.

Practical information: Barcelona Hop-on-Hop-off Bus Tour

The tourist bus runs from 9 am to 7 pm (summer and winter). It doesn’t drive later in the evening, but you can check the first and last times on the signpost.

You can listen to the audio guide in 16 different languages. My mom really liked that she could listen to it in Dutch. But the audio guide also comes in: English, Catalan, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Arabic, Hebrew, and Turkish. Wow! That is a lot!

There is free Wi-Fi on the bus that you can use and you can scan the QR codes at the stops for more information about Barcelona.

What does the Hop-On-Hop-Off Tourist Bus Barcelona Cost?

So what does all this quick hoppin’ on and off at tourist sites in Barcelona cost? The tourist bus Barcelona is not free; otherwise, it would be true gold.

24-hour Barcelona Tour Bus Ticket (Adult): €33
48-hour Barcelona Tour Bus Ticket (Adult): €44
24-h and 48-h Tourist Bus Barcelona Tickets for Children (4-12 years): €18 and €23
24-h and 48-h Bus Tour Tickets (reduced -65+ and disabled): €28 and €39

Included in the price is a Barcelona bus tour ticket that you can use as much as you like during your chosen time frame. But you’ll also get a booklet with a discount voucher to use in Barcelona up to €250 (think of discounts to museums and attractions, luggage storage, and restaurants.) For more information check here.

Buy Barcelona Tourist Bus Tickets Online in advance here

When you buy your tourist bus tour online you’ll get save the hassle of dealing with street vendors and you can hit the ground running. Your booking has a free cancellation policy until the end of the year. Who doesn’t like that?

For who is the Barcelona Hop On Hop Off Bus?

If you have little time and wish to explore and see a lot of Barcelona, the tourist bus is a perfect fit for you. You can follow the route and get off to explore an area of the city in depth.

The tourist bus of Barcelona is a perfect fit for families with children as it has enough room for strollers and is easily accessible for people in wheelchairs. Most of the time, there is enough room to get on and off the bus and you do not need to rush to take a seat.

Overall Value For Money

I have to admit, if you’re a true budget-style backpacker, the price of the Barcelona tourist bus tickets can be a bit steep.

However, you do have to keep in mind that when you use public transport you pay €2,55 every time you use the bus or metro. In case you wish to get off at certain stops you need to buy a new ticket every time.

Bus stops are everywhere but it does take time to find the most efficient route and multiple changes to get to your desired destination.

If you want to know if this tourist bus offers enough value for money for you, you would have to put together a list of places you’d like to visit by public transport and weigh off the investment.

Recap of my review

As I mentioned, I loved to take this bus and highly recommend it. Here are my pros and cons:

Pros:

• Sightseeing while giving your feet a rest
• Bus stops at all major tourist attractions in Barcelona
• Discover new places and learn new things with the audio guide
• Great views from the open-top deck
• Pick one of two routes that cover almost all of Barcelona
• Choice of 16 different languages for the audio guide
• Flexibility with 24h and 48h passes and free cancellation
• Additional discounts for museums and monuments
• Easy to book online in advance here

Cons:

• The price is quite steep for a transport ticket, but as mentioned above, it is more than just transport
• The routes only go one-way, so you need to ride the bus longer to return to the center
• Routes run from 9 am to 7 pm, especially in summer, it stops running quite early
• The bus doesn’t service the airport

All in all, there are more pros to the hop-on-hop-off bus than cons and the cons are just minor inconveniences versus mega gains on the advantages. So to recap my review: great choice if you’d like to see a lot of the city, without walking too much. And discover new sights, ease of use, and learn new things!

Have you tried the Barcelona tour bus to explore the city? What did you think? Let me know in the comment section below, I’d love to read your stories.