In this post we discuss the best Barcelona tours for adults in the city. Barcelona offers the perfect blend of culture and relaxation. Those who are craving a soothing sun holiday will have no problem finding it in the city.
Likewise, visitors won’t have to look far to find art, music, and cuisine to immerse themselves in. Even thrill-seeking adventures will be able to satisfy their lust for adrenaline in Barcelona.
Regardless of which of these categories you fall into, this list will have something for you.
1. Sagrada Familia Guided Tour with Tower Access
As famous for its on-going construction as it is for its beauty, Sagrada Familia was designed by the legendary Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. Even with years left until its completion, it is considered his masterpiece.
The heart of Sagrada Familia is, of course, its breathtaking basilica. There, you will see mesmerizing works of art and quintessential Catholic iconography. While tourists are permitted to venture inside Sagrada Familia and explore the basilica at their own pace, we highly recommend going with one of the many tour options offered by local guides.
With a professional historian guiding you through the building, you will see Sagrada Familia through a whole new lens. Your guide will take you on a journey exploring the history and construction of the basilica, as well as the life of Gaudi himself.
There are multiple Sagrada Familia tours to choose from, but none can compare to the Tower Access tour. This includes not only a tour of the basilica itself, but also of its towers, which are off limits to those not accompanied by a guide.
The Sagrada Familia guided tour with tower access will provide you with the full Sagrada Familia experience and will grant you a bragging right most visitors to Barcelona do not have.
2. Camp Nou Tour Plus
Camp Nou is one of the most famous stadiums in the world. A cornerstone of the football world, it has been home to FC Barcelona for more than half a century. In that time, it has welcomed team legends, such as Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Diego Maradona. With so much sporting history, Camp Nou is a must for any fan of the beautiful game.
The basic Camp Nou tour includes a tour of the stadium itself, as well as access to the Barça Museum. But as interesting as the basic Camp Nou tour is, it’s more suited to casual football fans.
For the true football buff, Camp Nou also offers a premium tour package. This includes access to both the stadium and its museum, as well as a multimedia audio guide.
You’ll even receive a VR headset through which you can relive the most legendary goals in FC Barcelona history!
3. Dali Museum with All-Inclusive Ticket
“I want my museum to be a single block, a great surrealist object where the people who come to see it will leave with the sensation of having had a theatrical dream.” So said Salvador Dali about the museum he hoped to someday build. Today, a century after the artist’s birth, that museum sits, just as he envisioned it, in his hometown of Figueres.
While it’s not situated in the city of Barcelona, the Dali Museum is such a cornerstone of Spanish tourism that it attracts thousands of visitors from the city every day.
These visitors are Barcelona residents and tourists alike, all of whom come to Figueres to experience Dali’s greatest works within his surrealist museum.
We encourage all tourists intending to make the trip from Barcelona to the Dali Museum to purchase an all-inclusive ticket. This includes a bus pass that will take you to and from Figueres, while also granting you entrance to the museum.
A guided tour is also available, and includes an additional tour of Girona, the second biggest city in Catalonia.
4. Montserrat Helicopter Tour
If you want to experience one of the most unique Barcelona tours, you should definitely take the Montserrat helicopter tour. There are actually several helicopter tours on offer in Barcelona. Most last 6 to 12 minutes and will take you on a tour of the city from its coast to its mountains. This will allow you to experience the magnificence of Camp Nou and Sagrada Familia from high above the city streets.
The Montserrat helicopter tour, however, goes even further. It features everything one would expect from a typical helicopter tour of Barcelona, but also includes a tour of the Montserrat mountain, which is a sacred site in a number of traditions.
The entire tour takes 40 minutes from liftoff to touchdown and is a must for anybody with a lust for adrenaline and a love of history.
5. Original Barcelona Pub Crawl
For those who wish to experience the unrelenting party that is Barcelona’s nightlife, there is no shortage of pub crawls to choose from in the city. However, most who are familiar with the city’s pub crawls will tell you that the original is still the best.
The Original Barcelona Pub Crawl begins at Milan’s Cocktail Bar, with a free mojito for every participant. From there, the tour moves through a series of Barcelona’s liveliest establishments before reaching its final destination; one of several high-end nightclubs that the organizers choose from on a rotary basis.
Regardless of the nightclub in which the tour ends, all participants in the Original Barcelona Pub Crawl skip the line and enter as VIP guests. From there, they are free to dance the night away!
6. Priorat Private Tour
Priorat is one of the most famous wine regions in the world. It boasts a DOCa qualification – the highest honor a wine region can achieve – and its vineyards produce arguably the finest of all Spanish wine. Thanks to Taca de Vi, wine-loving tourists can enjoy a private tour of Priorat, given by a leading sommelier.
Taca de Vi’s private tour of Priorat includes collection from your hotel in Barcelona, as well as transport to and from Priorat. Once you arrive in the wine region, your sommelier will give you an in-depth tour of two of Priorat’s most renowned vineyards.
Both vineyard tours culminate in a tasting, with each vineyard offering its own unique flavours.
Once both tours have been completed, you will be treated to a traditional three-course Spanish lunch in one of Priorat’s finest restaurants.
7. Picasso Walking Tour
Salvador Dali isn’t the only icon of the art world to have come out of Spain. The renowned artist Pablo Picasso was also born in the country and spent his first years as an artist in Barcelona.
Although he went on to spend the majority of his professional life working out of France, Picasso’s mark on Barcelona is felt to this day.
For those who wish to experience the Barcelona that inspired so much of Picasso’s early work, there is the Picasso walking tour. Over the course of two hours, this tour will take you in the footsteps of Picasso, so you, too, can walk the very streets he did.
You’ll see everything that contributed to Picasso’s formative years as an artist, from his old neighbourhood to the art school where he learned his trade.
Also included in this tour is a guided visit to the Museu Picasso. There, you will see some of the artist’s most famous works.
These works are magnificent when experienced under any circumstances, but having just completed a walking tour of Picasso’s Barcelona, you’ll be able to understand and appreciate them all the more.
Find out more info about this tour here.
8. Gothic Quarter Walking Tour
As the oldest part of the city, the Gothic Quarter is the region from which all other areas of Barcelona sprung. For that reason, it is a must-see for any history buff planning a trip to the city.
You could, of course, explore the Gothic Quarter and everything it encapsulates independently. However, those who truly wish to experience the area should go with this walking tour.
At three hours in length, the Gothic Quarter walking tour can feel like an endurance test. However, the sites you’ll see will make the exercise more than worth it.
Your professional guide will take you through the most historic parts of the Gothic Quarter, including Barcelona’s millennia-old Roman ruins.
Just some of the additional sites you can expect to see on your Gothic Quarter walking tour are the Barcelona Cathedral and Santa Maria del Mar, the latter of which boasts some of the finest cuisine in the entire city!
9. Spanish Civil War Tour
For some visitors to Barcelona, the Spanish Civil War is the last thing they want to think about. This is understandable. After all, it is one of the darkest periods in Spain’s history and could certainly put a dampener on your vacation if you’re not prepared for it.
If you’re a history buff, however, the Spanish Civil War tour is another of several historical guided tours you should add to your Barcelona bucket list.
Beginning outside Barcelona University, the Spanish Civil War Tour will take you on a guided walk of the most crucial spots in Spain’s journey towards freedom.
Among the many areas you’ll visit are Pla de la Sue, La Rambla, and Mercat del Born. All of these areas are rich in historical significance, with some boasting surprising importance in the Spanish Civil War.
Your Civil War tour guide will, of course, fill you in on all the heartbreaking, hair- raising details of the battle. They may also even provide you with insights into the additional conflicts which shaped Barcelona as we know it.
10. Evening Tapas Tour
Blending delicious Spanish cuisine with a social experience like no other, the Evening Tapas tour will take you through a series of Barcelona’s most renowned tapas bars.
In these bars, you will receive complimentary tapas to experiment with, as well as significant discounts on any tapas you choose that are not included in the ticket price.
Contrary to what its name suggests, the Evening Tapas tour does not focus on Tapas exclusively. Participants are also given a crash course in pouring cider, which Barcelona has turned into an artform.
Later in the tour, you will also learn to drink wine from a porrón, a type of pitcher that is steeped in Spanish tradition. And, to ensure you get the opportunity to put your new-found skills to good use, you’ll even receive a complimentary beer or wine!
11. Park Güell Guided Tour
Not far removed from Sagrada Familia is another of Antoni Gaudi’s most beloved works: Park Güell. Named for Eusebi Güell, who assigned the project to Gaudi, Park Güell features designs and architecture which some may find more reminiscent of Moscow than of Barcelona. Its breathtaking buildings surrounding parks and ample walking space, Park Güell has something for historians and naturalists alike.
At just €12 per ticket, the Park Güell guided tour is one of the most affordable Barcelona tours.
For your money, you’ll get a comprehensive tour of the park given by a professional guide. They will take you through the many beautiful buildings which house the park’s grounds, giving you a detailed history of their construction, the life of Gaudi, and his relationship with Güell.
Unlike Sagrada Familia, construction of Park Güell was completed all the way back in 1914. If you want to see the fulfilled vision of perhaps the greatest architect of all time, Park Güell is the best guided Gaudi tour you’ll find.
12. Barcelona Highlights Tour
Only spending a weekend in Barcelona and don’t have time for multiple complete tours? No problem!
For less than €100, you can take the Barcelona Highlights tour. Combining the most popular Barcelona tours, this is a great way to see some of the historic sites listed in this article and a whole lot more.
The Barcelona Highlights tour lasts for five hours, during which time you’ll see Sagrada Familia, the Barcelona waterfront, Pole Espanyol, and more.
Admission to both Sagrada Familia and Pole Espanyol is included in the price of your tour ticket, as is fast-track entry, so you don’t have to worry about queues eating into your time with the exhibits.
You also won’t lose any time walking from site to site. A private bus will collect you and the members of your group from Plaça Catalunya and transport you to each highlight, ensuring a Barcelona experience that is comprehensive without being time consuming.
Let us know what you think of our picks for the top 12 Barcelona Tours below!
