Barcelona
Oct 14th, 2011 | 06:36 PM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,646
Likes: 11
I have taken the Bus Turistic in Barcelona. There are different routes that intersect, and a map is available on the website. I found it very useful for getting around to the spread out sights.
http://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat
http://www.barcelonabusturistic.cat
Oct 15th, 2011 | 05:08 AM
#4
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 35,148
Likes: 0
Yes, I took the Bus Turistic. I loved it, it was very enjoyable to get that kind of view of the city (from the top), which isn't the same as just being ground level. And it was very convenient give how far apart a lot of attractions in Bacelona are, and at least one cannot be reached by metro on the route (probably more), Park Guell. Anyway, thought it a great value for the money.
I just took that one as I think it is run by the city and the routes suited me well. I saw the other one, of course, it has a lot of the same stops, I think the route is similar, don't remember if there is something Bus Turistic covers that they don't or what. The price is about the same, as I recall, so I decided to go with the main one.
I just took that one as I think it is run by the city and the routes suited me well. I saw the other one, of course, it has a lot of the same stops, I think the route is similar, don't remember if there is something Bus Turistic covers that they don't or what. The price is about the same, as I recall, so I decided to go with the main one.
Oct 15th, 2011 | 06:36 AM
#6
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 8,247
Likes: 0
For a first time visitor, the tourist busses are probably a good and fun way to get a first impression.
If you should have second thoughts, though, because of the somewhat costly tickets: All sights in Barcelona can be reached as easily (sometimes even more comfortably) by regular public transport.
Most Gaudí buildings are in the "Golden rectangle", roughly on and left and right of Passeig de Gràcia, between metro stops Passeig de Gràcia and Diagonal.
Sagrada Familia and the Hospital de Sant Pau (the latter mostly closed for renovations) have their own metro stop.
Park Güell can be reached by bus 24 from Pl. Catalunya and any stop on Pg. de Gràcia. That city bus stops at a more comfortable location right at one entrance of the park, while you have an uphill walk from the Bus Turistic stop.
The sights and museums on Montjuic can be reached by bus 50 from any stop on Gran Via, or bus 55 from Pl. Catalunya.
If you should have second thoughts, though, because of the somewhat costly tickets: All sights in Barcelona can be reached as easily (sometimes even more comfortably) by regular public transport.
Most Gaudí buildings are in the "Golden rectangle", roughly on and left and right of Passeig de Gràcia, between metro stops Passeig de Gràcia and Diagonal.
Sagrada Familia and the Hospital de Sant Pau (the latter mostly closed for renovations) have their own metro stop.
Park Güell can be reached by bus 24 from Pl. Catalunya and any stop on Pg. de Gràcia. That city bus stops at a more comfortable location right at one entrance of the park, while you have an uphill walk from the Bus Turistic stop.
The sights and museums on Montjuic can be reached by bus 50 from any stop on Gran Via, or bus 55 from Pl. Catalunya.
Oct 15th, 2011 | 10:40 AM
#7
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
We just returned from Barcelona. I would recommend the metro rather than the tourist bus. The metro is easy and quick, although it involves some stairs. We saw long lines of people waiting for the bus. Why spend your time that way?
Trending Topics
Oct 16th, 2011 | 02:53 AM
#8
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 35,148
Likes: 0
I am normally a person who would agree with this attitude (don't take the tourist bus, use the regular metro/bus system), but I did think it worked out well in Barcelona. Maribel recommends it also, and she's not inexperienced in this area.
There are lines that are long at its starting point in mid-day, but there isn't any problem at any other stop that I encountered with a long line (I was just there, so it was a fairly busy time period). But the wait itself is no different than having a wait for any time of transportatioh you use, you may get at the stop at a time and have to wait a few minutes, bus, metro or whatever. They run really frequently, it's not like you have to wait a half hour. And it really is nice to get a view of the city other than from street level or underground (where there is no view), I thought, at least in this city, but that's just personal.
The big seller for me, though, which isn't mentioned here, is that it gives you a discount booklet for many, many sites in Barcelona and that covers a lot of the cost of it. These aren't trivial discounts, either, or ones you won't use (unless you don't go to any museum or anything like that). A lot of the museums or the Gaudi houses (like the Pedrera) in Barcelona are kind of pricey, and the discounts are usually 10-20 pct on admissions, or a couple euro each place you go. So I bought the 2-day Bus Turistic card which is 30 euro or 15 euro a day, and probably got at least 6-8 euro of discounts each day on places I went, and then didn't need to buy metro tickets as I could walk to any place I wanted to eat or do things at night from my hotel. I think an all day transportation ticket costs about 6 euro, so I think it would be about a wash on the cost of doing things yourself versus the bus, if you use the admissions discounts. So it's just up to you, if you don't go to any museums or sites and/or the weather is not good so you wouldn't want to sit in the open anyway, I probably wouldn't take it, either.
There are lines that are long at its starting point in mid-day, but there isn't any problem at any other stop that I encountered with a long line (I was just there, so it was a fairly busy time period). But the wait itself is no different than having a wait for any time of transportatioh you use, you may get at the stop at a time and have to wait a few minutes, bus, metro or whatever. They run really frequently, it's not like you have to wait a half hour. And it really is nice to get a view of the city other than from street level or underground (where there is no view), I thought, at least in this city, but that's just personal.
The big seller for me, though, which isn't mentioned here, is that it gives you a discount booklet for many, many sites in Barcelona and that covers a lot of the cost of it. These aren't trivial discounts, either, or ones you won't use (unless you don't go to any museum or anything like that). A lot of the museums or the Gaudi houses (like the Pedrera) in Barcelona are kind of pricey, and the discounts are usually 10-20 pct on admissions, or a couple euro each place you go. So I bought the 2-day Bus Turistic card which is 30 euro or 15 euro a day, and probably got at least 6-8 euro of discounts each day on places I went, and then didn't need to buy metro tickets as I could walk to any place I wanted to eat or do things at night from my hotel. I think an all day transportation ticket costs about 6 euro, so I think it would be about a wash on the cost of doing things yourself versus the bus, if you use the admissions discounts. So it's just up to you, if you don't go to any museums or sites and/or the weather is not good so you wouldn't want to sit in the open anyway, I probably wouldn't take it, either.
