Barcelona Hop-On Hop-Off Buses

If you're looking for an easy way to explore Barcelona, look no further: the tourist bus is comfortable, fast and allows you to see the main sights of the city. It's a great option for visiting Barcelona in a short time.

In case you're into exploring every last corner of the places you visit, read on! The Barcelona sightseeing bus has many advantages and there are different options to choose from depending on your budget or interests during the trip:

For the Barcelona sightseeing bus tour, you can choose a 1 or 2 day pass and ride the bus as many times as you like. You have three different routes to choose from, with over 40 stops in total, allowing you to basically explore the entire city on board the bus and move freely around Barcelona using the bus as transport.

The three routes cover almost all of the city's sights. Here's the full list of stops for each:

Red route

Blue route

Green route (only available from 12 April to 3 November)

How it works

You can choose a 1 or 2 day pass for this tourist bus, and you will receive confirmation by email once you have made your booking. You can print the email or show it on your mobile phone when you get on the bus, at which point the driver will validate your ticket.

The ticket includes a voucher with discounts at over 200 restaurants and shops in Barcelona. You can take any of the routes as long as your ticket is valid. If you have chosen the one-day ticket, it will be valid from the moment you get on the bus until the end of the day. The two-day ticket will give you an extra 24 hours to enjoy the Hop On Hop Off bus.

The route is free and you can hop on and off the bus whenever you want. Please note that the green route is only available in summer.

Timetables

Both the red and blue routes operate every day of the year except 1 January and 25 December from 9am to 8pm. Each of the full routes lasts 2 hours, and both start at Plaça de Catalunya. The bus passes each stop every 20 minutes, so if you want to get off and pick up the route later, you can do so at the stop of your choice.

As for the green route, it operates from 12 April to 3 November, from 9:00 to 19:00. The full route lasts 40 minutes and the starting frequency is every 20 minutes, starting from the Olympic Port.

The perfect combination if you are passionate about football, and an essential experience if you are a Barça fan. With this tour of Barcelona by tourist bus and the Camp Nou Experience, you can visit Barcelona easily and comfortably from the bus, passing through the main areas of the city, and at the end you can access the Camp Nou and visit the areas that normally only the players have access to, such as the dressing room and the pitch.

As with the other tours, this experience has two different routes with different stops that show you two different areas of Barcelona, and both drop you off at Camp Nou to enjoy the experience of touring the stadium and the FC Barcelona Museum. Here are the stops below:

East route (green)

Western route (orange)

How it works

Book your one or two-day ticket for this bus tour and you will receive a confirmation of purchase in your mailbox, which you must show to the driver either printed or on your mobile phone. The ticket includes the bus itinerary and entrance to Camp Nou.

Camp Nou opening days and hours

Visiting the Camp Nou is something for which you should find out well in advance, as there are a good number of days a year when the stadium is closed for matches. The official timetable is as follows:

Camp Nou on match days

There are no tours on La Liga or Spanish Cup match days. The FC Barcelona Museum opens up to 3 hours before kick-off and reopens 90 minutes before kick-off, until the start of the match.

On Champions League match days there are no tours and only the first floor of the FC Barcelona Museum can be visited until 15:00. On the day before the matches, the tour route is modified and all areas of the Camp Nou and the Museum are accessible except the first floor of the Museum.

Also, from 1 July to 31 August, at Easter and at Christmas there are special opening times which you should check on the official Camp Nou website as they vary each year. If you want to find out more about this part of the tour, read more about the Camp Nou Experience in my article about it: Barcelona Camp Nou Stadium Visits.

If your cruise ship is stopping in Barcelona and you're looking for a quick way to see the city in one day, the best option is, without a doubt, to take a Hop On Hop Off bus tour from the cruise ship. You'll be able to board the bus at Barcelona's Olympic Port, 15 minutes from the cruise station, and enjoy two areas of the city on two routes with different itineraries, with the following stops:

East route (green)

West Route (orange)

How it works

As with the previous tour, you can choose a one or two-day ticket which gives you access to both routes. Once you have booked your ticket, you will receive confirmation by email and simply follow the instructions and show it to the bus driver when you get on the bus.

The ticket includes headphones to enjoy an audio guide on either route, a map of Barcelona, and a voucher for discounts at shops and restaurants in the city.

Timetables

Both the east (orange) and west (green) routes last about two hours each, and buses pass the stops every 7-15 minutes depending on the time of year.

Alex's Traveller Tip

Use the tourist bus to get around Barcelona and combine the bus tour with a walking tour on your own to get the most out of your ticket.

This tour is very similar to the previous one, with the difference that instead of including tickets to Camp Nou to visit the stadium and the FC Barcelona Museum, it includes the bus tour and the entrance to the Barcelona Aquarium.

You can enjoy two unique bus tours and then visit the aquarium, dedicated to the marine life of the Mediterranean with 14 different habitats. In addition, you'll also see species from tropical waters and some animals from points around the world.

As with the previous tour, you can choose between two routes to see Barcelona or combine them for the full experience:

East route (green)

Western route (orange)

How it works

Very similar to the other bus tours: once you have made your booking, you will receive your confirmation and all the necessary instructions in the mail, and you just have to show it to the bus driver and at the entrance of the aquarium to enjoy the experience.

Barcelona Aquarium opening hours

The Barcelona Aquarium opens every day of the week at 10:00. From Monday to Friday it closes at 19:30 and at 20:00 on weekends, with extended opening hours on certain public holidays such as Easter.

As one of Barcelona's must-see sights, many travellers take a guided tour of the Sagrada Familia. In case you're thinking of doing so, I tell you everything you need to know in my guide to the Sagrada Familia. Barcelona Sagrada Familia Tickets and Visits.

Park Güell is another of those visits that you will always remember, and that's why it's a good idea to take a tour of this emblematic park. I recommend you to read my guide on Park Güell in Barcelona Tickets and Tours where you'll find all the tips and tricks to make the most of your visit.

Finally, there are a number of museums in Barcelona that may interest you, especially if you want to see the early work of Picasso or immerse yourself in the artistic world of Catalan painters such as Tàpies and Miró. You can consult my guide of Barcelona Museums to get your tickets and guided tours at the best price.