After spending a month living in Barcelona, it’s no secret that both my partner and I have fallen head over heels in love with this city. In fact, it is one of the only places where we didn’t really want to leave!
Having been to Barcelona before, this instant infatuation really surprised me because we aren’t massive city people however, as soon as we walked into our Airbnb to settle in, we both instantly knew we would love it.
Visited by over 32 million tourists each year, it is no surprise that the tourism industry here is booming. It is one of those cities that has a little bit of something for everyone. A bustling nightlife, a beautiful beach, amazing food, and a multitude of attractions, this is one of those cities where you will never run out of things to do.
Because we had a lot of time in the city, we spaced out our sightseeing with working which allowed us to really enjoy and get to know the city really well. If you are looking for the top tours to help you discover Barcelona, take a look at a few of our top picks.
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Free Walking Tour
As always, we love starting off our stay in any city with a free walking tour. It allows us to briefly get an overview of the place (plus you can ask your guide for local restaurant recommendations!). In Barcelona, there are loads of different walking tours but the most famous one is the walking tour around the Gothic Quarter. After strolling around the “Barrio Gótico”, you will also get the chance to visit other places like Plaça Sant Jaume, El Born, and more.
While most walking tours are advertised as free, please know that you are recommended to give a tip afterwards based on how much you liked the tour.
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Sagrada Familia Tour
If there was one tour that I recommend that you do while in Barcelona, it is a guided tour of Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. Honestly, it is one of those must-dos while in the city! Funny enough, when I first visited Barcelona when I was solo backpacking, I was broke and too cheap to fork out for this tour, thinking that I could get a feel of the church from the outside. It was one of those things that I regret not doing so on this trip, it was one of those tours I booked right away.
From the moment I stepped inside the church, I was absolutely dumbfounded by what I saw. Gaudi was truly a genius who not only changed the rules of architecture but also dedicated his life towards building things that were unique.
Our guided tour was incredible as it explained every little detail from the pillars of the church to the unique and intricate carvings and Gaudi symbolisms spread all over the church. I joke around that when in Europe, you get “churched-out” but this is one that is a MUST see and is something that I’m glad we did.
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Barcelona Full Day Tour
If you’re running short on time and would like to see all the top attractions at one go, you can also opt to do a Barcelona Full Day Tour which takes you around various destinations by bus. You literally visit everywhere from Barceloneta Beach, a cable car ride in Monjüic all the way to a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter.
While guided bus tours are usually not our thing, it is a good way to see the highlights of a city and is worth doing if you only have a couple of days in Barcelona.
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Girona Game of Thrones Tour
Apart from local tours within Barcelona, there are also loads of day tours that I recommend you do while in the city. If you are a big movie/TV series buff, a trip to the charming town of Girona is definitely worth doing.
We went on a Girona Game of Thrones day tour from Barcelona which took us all around the old city where scenes from Game of Thrones were shot. It was pretty cool seeing what these places from the TV series looked like in real life and although there were a few that looked so different thanks to Photoshop, it was still a pretty cool tour.
The town of Girona itself is beautiful and worth visiting regardless if you’re a big film buff or not. It has charming riverside views, a beautiful cathedral, and an overall small-town vibe which is a good break from the business of Barcelona.
Civitatis Barcelona Review Conclusion
In order to see the highlights of Barcelona, we teamed up with the guys over at Civitatis and was happy with the services that we got. It was great being able to see all the tours available listed in one place, making it easier to decide on what to do.
Their web platform is super user-friendly and easy to navigate. However, the best part, I think was the ease of communication. We had to cancel the date of our Sagrada Familia church tour as Tom was feeling ill and all I had to do was retrieve the booking confirmation, click reschedule and I was instantly presented with other date options.
For someone who is constantly on the go, I loved the user experience! Within five minutes, I was able to reschedule a tour. Compared to other companies who require you to call or email, this was a welcomed surprise. Civitatis teams up with local providers to run the activities and tours all while making the entire process a lot easier!
Overall, we would definitely recommend checking them out to see if there are any tours within Barcelona (or in their other locations) that interest you!