Barcelona Tours

I've taken walking tours that the TI runs and one by Runnerbean, all were excellent, though one of the TI tour guides told me that not all the guides are great. Most people go to Montserrat on their own. I've been to Barcelona twice in February - good time to be there, mild weather and not a lot of crowds. I use the official TI website for each of my visits to the city. To narrow it down, use the 'buy tickets' link and then whatever filters you need. Many of the tours and other activities on the website are not run by the TI, but buying them through the TI may get you a small discount.

We used Spanish Trails for 3 day trips from Barcelona in October 2017. We didn't visit Montserrat, but heard good things about that tour from other travelers.

We have used Barcelona Day Tours a couple of times and they are great.

However, for Monserrat, you can do it on your own. The train leaves from Plaza Espana. Do the early train.

Thanks folks so much. This has really helped.

Second recommendation for the TI tours - free, you just need to tip them and the guide was great. There's also a tour of sights important to the Spanish Civil War, if you're a history buff. It's 5 hours long, with rest stops along the way in cafes. Didn't do it myself but it looked interesting. It's described in Rick's book.

I took three tours run by the tourist office (TI) and paid for all of them. The "free" tours are run by commercial enterprices like Runner Bean. I haven't read complaints about them, but it was obvious during my Barri Gotic tour that the "free" tour groups were a lot larger.

I have taken the Spanish Civil War tour and found it excellent. As of 2016 it cost 25 euros, which I considered quite a bargain. As those folks will explain (and it may well be made clear on the website), there wasn't a lot of Civil War fighting in Barcelona. The tour is more about learning what happened rather than seeing key places where it happened. It's a bit like going to a historical museum with a tour guide, if that makes sense--more oral learning than visual. The tour was just down my alley (I like "political" museums), but I'm sure it would not appeal to all visitors.

Thank you. I will book through the tourist office. Their meeting place is close to my hotel which is ahuge plus. The Spanish Civil Was tour is a definite for me. Really appreciate your thoughts

Contact the CW tour people immediately about your interest. I doubt that the tour runs every day, especially in February. You may need to give them some dates to play with, which would best be done before you start booking other activities. If they can tell you that tour always begins at some specific time, that would help you during the planning phase.