The Hop On Hop Off Bus is a double decker with an open roof that will take you to all of Barcelona’s most important attractions. With a single ticket you can hop on and hop off as many times as you want.
In this article you will find information about
- Prices, timetables and ticket information
- Routes and stops
- Differences between the Bus Turístic and the City Tour Bus
Recommendation: buy the Barcelona City Pass (includes tickets for the hop-on-hop-off-bus and a lot more!) and save money. Click here for more information about the Barcelona City Pass.
Make the most of your time in Barcelona
A bus tour might sound a bit impersonal, but it’s also the most practical way to see as much of the city as you can in a short amount of time.
And you don’t have to stay on the bus! As the name suggests, you can hop off whenever you want, take your time exploring anything that catches your eye, and hop back on and go on to other interesting sights and landmarks.
Plan your tour with the hop on hop off bus in Barcelona
First of all it’s important to know that the tourist buses in Barcelona work with calendar days and not by hours. Your ticket is therefore valid for certain calendar dates, not certain periods of time.
The days for 1+ day tickets must be consecutive, so if you first use your 2-day ticket on a Wednesday it will be valid for Wednesday and Thursday.
One of the best ways to use the hop on hop off bus is to do a tour of the whole city by bus when you first arrive, and later go back to the places you find most interesting and visit them one by one.
Don’t plan too many visits to other highlights on the day you would like to do the bus routes, as you may not have enough time.
Two types of tourist buses
In Barcelona there are two different tourist buses:
- Barcelona Bus Turístic: The official tourist bus of the local tourism agency, Turisme de Barcelona. We sell tickets for this bus. Find out why we prefer this provider a little further down the page.
- Barcelona City Tour: A second provider that is privately owned and operated.
Note: Tickets for each bus are exclusive, you can’t access both buses with the same ticket, so make sure you are at the correct stop when going to get the bus.
Blue stops are for the Bus Turístic (yours) while the red stops belong to the Barcelona City Tour.
Don’t forget to print your tickets in advance. The ticket on your mobile phone is not valid.
Once you get on the bus, your printed ticket will be exchanged for a receipt, with this you can enjoy hopping on and off the whole day!
Barcelona Bus Turístic vs Barcelona City Tour
Both tours don’t differ that much: they will take you to all the city’s main highlights, offer an audio guide in several languages, run at intervals of 5 to 25 minutes, and cost €30 for adults.
The Barcelona Bus Turístic does have more stops: 44 to Barcelona City Tour’s 37.
A ticket for Bus Turístic includes a folder with discount vouchers worth €200 for all the most important attractions in Barcelona.
Tickets for the hop on hop off bus Barcelona
In the high season Barcelona can be extremely busy, so you can save yourself some time by booking your tickets online in advance.
You’ll save money too, online tickets are 10% cheaper than buying them at the Barcelona tourist office.
Practical Information
Tickets & Prices
- Basic 1 day ticket
With a day pass (1 day) you have unlimited use of the hop-on-hop-off bus for one calendar day. This ticket costs €30. Buying from us online earns you a 10% discount, so you pay €26.10 - Basic 2 day ticket
You can also buy a pass for two days for €40. With this ticket you can use the service for two days in a row. With our partner Ticketbar you get a discount and pay only €35.10. - Combination ticket: hop-on hop-off bus & Sagrada Familia
Another possibility is to book a combination ticket, it includes a visit to the Sagrada Família (skip the line tickets) and the hop-on-hop-off-bus (one day). If your plan was to do both anyway, this will save you some money. A ticket costs €39.50 and it includes one day of the hop-on hop-off bus and access to la Sagrada Família (without towers). Children younger than 12 pay €24. - Combination ticket: hop-on hop-off bus & Park Güell
There is also a combination ticket for Park Güell and the hop-on hop-off bus (one day). The price for this ticket is €32.50 and €21 for children between 4 and 12. - Barcelona City Pass includes a ticket for the hop-on hop-off bus.
Barcelona City Pass
If you want to visit Barcelona’s top attractions and save some money on tickets, we recommend the Barcelona City Pass. With this pass you get:
- A ticket for the Sagrada Família
- A ticket for Park Güell
- A return ticket for the Aerobus
- A ticket for the hop on hop off bus
- 20% discount on several attractions, excursions and tours.
The Barcelona City Pass costs €69.50.
Schedule
The bus starts circulating at 9 am, and runs until 9 pm in the summer and 8 pm in the winter. Buses run every 5 to 25 minutes, depending on the season, the time of day, and the line.
Hop on hop off bus routes
The Hop on Hop off bus has two lines, red and blue, and runs every day of the year. During high season, between March and November, a third line is added: the green line.
The buses run in a circle and only in one direction, so they go by each stop once. Take that into account when planning your route.
In total there are three routes and 45 stops. 6 of them are connecting stops, where you can change to another line.
You can find a map of all the routes online, and you’ll be given a map together with your ticket.
Tip: download the Barcelona Bus Turístic app (you can select “English”), where you’ll be able to find all the routes and a list of the attractions and sights each one covers.
City Tour also offers an app (City Tour Worldwide, select “Barcelona” after the download) with the routes including stops and background information. Very practical!
Which route should I choose?
The red and blue line both take about two hours, so you could easily do both lines in one day and get off a couple of times.
The blue route goes by the big modernist highlights and Camp Nou, while the red route goes up the Montjuïc, passes by the port (cruise terminal) and a part of the city centre.
The green line doesn’t take you by the big highlights, it runs along the beach. If you have enough time, it’s wonderful to see the beaches of Barcelona without having to walk very far.
All the hop on hop off bus stops
The red line stops at the following locations (2 hours):
Estación de Sants, Creu Coberta, CaixaForum-Pavelló Mies van der Rohe, Plaza de España, Poble Español, Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña, Anella Olímpica, Fundación Joan Miró, Teleférico de Montjuic, Miramar, Museo Marítimo, World Trade Center, Port Vell, Museo de Historia de Cataluña, Port Olímpic, Playa Bogatell, Parc de la Ciutadella, Zoo, Pla de Palau, Barrio Gótico, Plaza de Cataluña, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, La Pedrera and Diagonal.
The blue line stops at the following locations (2 hours):
Monasteri de Pedralbes, Pavellons Güell, Camp Nou, Diagonal, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Barcelona, Plaza de Cataluña, Fundació Antoni Tàpies, La Pedrera, Sagrada Família, Barrio de Gracia, Park Güell, Tranvía Azul-Tibidabo and the district of Sarriá.
The green line (only March until November) stops at the following locations (40 minutes):
Fórum, Parque Diagonal Mar, Poblenou, Playa Bogatell, Puerto Olímpico and Cementerio del Poblenou.
Extra benefits with Barcelona Bus Turístic
A ticket for Barcelona Bus Turístic includes a number of nice extras:
- An audio guide with information on the most important highlights.
- A small travelers guide with descriptions of the sights and places to visit.
- Discount vouchers worth €200 for several shops, restaurants and attractions.
- Free WiFi internet on board the bus.
- On every bus there are special stewards of Barcelona Turisme ready to answer all your questions.
