SPAIN - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1399

On Wheels
Guided Bus Tours
The Barcelona Guide Bureau offers several sightseeing tours leaving from Plaça de
Catalunya. Departure times can change. Tours are designed to end at a major sight in case
you'd like to spend more time there. The Gaudí tour visits the facades of Casa Batlló and
CasaMilà,aswellasParkGüellandtheSagradaFamília(€50,includesSagradaFamíliaad-
mission, daily at 9:00, also mid-April-Oct Mon-Sat at 15:15, 3.5 hours). Other tours offered
year-round include the Montjuïc tour (€30, includes Spanish Village admission, daily at
12:30, 3 hours) and the All Barcelona Highlights tour (€66, includes Sagrada Família and
Spanish Village admissions, daily at 9:00, 6 hours). During the high season, there's also
the Gaudí Plus tour, which combines the Gaudí tour with some “off-the-beaten-path mas-
terpieces” (€55, mid-April-Oct Mon-Sat at 9:00, 4 hours). You can get detailed information
and book tickets at a TI, on their website, or simply by showing up at their departure point
on Plaça de Catalunya in front of the Hard Rock Café—look for the guides holding orange
umbrellas.Buyingticketsonlinecansaveyouabout10percent.Youcanbuyticketsatmany
hotels for no extra charge (tel. [phone], www.barcelonaguidebureau.com ) .
Catalunya Tourist Bus also runs excursions to nearby destinations, including some that
are difficult to reach by public transportation. Trips include Montserrat (€59, 8 hours, in-
cludesGaudí'sunfinishedColòniaGüelldevelopment)and SalvadorDalísights inFigueres
and Girona (€71, 11 hours). Both itineraries depart Tuesday through Sunday at 8:30 from
Plaça de Catalunya (€8 discount for groups of 4 or more—team up with other travelers
to save; live trilingual commentary in Catalan, Spanish, and English; €5 extra for a more
in-depth English audioguide; book at TIs, by phone, or online; tel. [phone],
www.catalunyabusturistic.com ).
Forinformation on hop-on,hop-offbustours, see“Getting AroundBarcelona,” earlier.
Bike Tours
Several companies run bike tours around Barcelona.
UnCotxeMenys (“OneCarLess”)organizesthree-hourEnglish-onlybiketoursdailyat
11:00 year-round (April-mid-Sept also Fri-Mon at 16:30). Your guide leads you from sight
to sight, mostly on bike paths and through parks, with a stop-and-go commentary (€22 in-
cludes bike rental and drink, no reservations needed, tours meet just outside TI on Plaça
Sant Jaume in Barri Gòtic—or, 10 minutes later, at their bike shop in El Born near the
ChurchofSantaMariadelMar;Carrerdel'Esparteria3—seemapon here , tel.[phone],
www.bicicletabarcelona.com ). The bike shop also rents bikes (€5/hour, €10/4 hours, €18/24
hours, daily 10:00-19:00, leave €150 or photo ID for deposit).