looking for suggestions on free walking tours in Barcelona and Madrid.
Thanks

Runner Beans free walking tours in Barcelona were terrific. We enjoyed the first one so much, we did a second. They do expect a tip at the end and we thought it was well worth it.

Sandemans Tours are in world cities; we took the one in lower NYC last October. Excellent.........would take them again in any city. Tip at the end.

"Free tours" are for.... Fill in the missing words!

"Free tours" are for people who appreciate guides who know their subject matter.

We have taken a few Sandermans Tours and they were outstanding.

Agree completely with KTtravel.

www.runnerbeantours.com We had an Irish gal who was excellent.

Did someone mention Scab?

In Madrid, try www.greetersnetwork.com They ask for a small donation but it's not much, the groups are small (just my wife & I in Paris) & they try to concentrate on your interests. Well worth it.
PS - remember the adage "you get what you pay for"

we did one in Sofia, [Bulgaria] and it was excellent. We tipped well at the end, possibly more than we'd have paid if we'd paid up front.

still a case of "you get what you pay for" but perhaps not the way that arjaykay meant.

so called "free tours" use illegal/unregistered tour guides. They come without training or local insight.
If you want cheap just purchase a book or download an app.

so called "free tours" use illegal/unregistered tour guides. They come without training or local insight.>>

certainly not in my admittedly limited experience. They also offered paid tours which others said were equally good, using the same guides, who everyone said were excellent.

We always take self-guided travel guide walks, but we took a chance on a free guided walk in Oxford, UK, in May 2015, and it was terrific! (No doubt it depends on the guide you have, and I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the info given.)

http://www.footprints-tours.com/oxfo...-walking-tour/

I think we tipped 10 GGP for my wife and me, which we thought was well worth it.

ssander

This poster is asking about Spain. Here there work illegally and are not trained.

I have taken a few Runner Bean tours in Barcelona - Gothic Quarter, Modernisme Barcelona, etc... I found them all very good and the guides as well trained and effective as any I have encountered anywhere in Spain.

"we tipped 10 GGP for my wife and me" Another big spender, no doubt!

"I have taken a few Runner Bean tours in Barcelona - Gothic Quarter, Modernisme Barcelona, etc... I found them all very good and the guides as well trained and effective as any I have encountered anywhere in Spain."

Did any of them take you into any of the monuments? Or wait around outside for you to return to the 'tour'?

We ran across a host of them in Sevilla a few weeks ago, some with English speaking groups, others with Spanish groups. They're cute, with their little umberllas (bumbershoots if you're from the Pacific Northwest) advertising their service, but as already mentioned by RB, not licensed to take you into any of the monuments. You're better off buying a good guide book. It's more informative.

<em> Another big spender, no doubt!</em>

If that is sarcasm, I respectfully beg to differ:

5 GBP x ~20 people / 2 hr = 50 GBP/hr x 1.54 $/GBP (at the tiime) = $77/hour

ssander

I believe I paid about 4 Euros for a 1.5 hour tour of Madrid from the Tourism Office in the Plaza Mayor. Well worth it.

Those who do pay a tip should know that is not what the guide earns. The company take more than their fair share.
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...ant-city-tours
http://blog.ricksteves.com/blog/the-...e%C2%9D-tours/
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel...Barcelona.html

Please those who do not pay for thongs which are official, maybe you can post about how you managed to use an unregistered taxi service to get it a few cents cheaper.

http://www.panchotours.com , I went to Madrid and Andalucia in Nov. Great tour company. Guides are very professional and very informative. and its FREE.

Another great company is http://www.feelthecitytours.com/en/ , not free but they charge 4 Euros for a 5 hour trip.

Hope these help

Thanks!

Thanks, I did free tours in Berlin and Budapest and thought they both were very good.