Barcelona Card or Barcelona Tourist Card is a convenient and economical way to get to know the main attractions of the city, visit the main museums and cafes. All important details are in the article.
What is a Barcelona card
The Barcelona Card is a travel card for travelers that will allow city guests to visit the most interesting and famous places in Barcelona for free or at a discount.
Similar cards are available in almost all European cities, but the Barcelona card in some respects is definitely different for the better. For example, holders of a tourist card can visit 25 cultural attractions for free.
What is included in the card
Barcelona Card includes:
- free admission to 25 museums (it is unlikely that even with a great desire it will turn out to visit more)
- travel by public transport;
- discounts in a large number of shops, cafes, car rental, excursions, souvenirs, entertainment.
They will also give you a map of Barcelona and a detailed guide (160 pages) on the main attractions of the city as a present.
As for visiting cultural institutions of the city, please note that it is not possible to go to all museums for free – the most popular ones only give a discount of 20 to 50%. These include, for example:
| Sight | Discount amount (Euro) |
|---|---|
| Sagrada Familia | one |
| House with spikes | 2.5 |
| Gaudi Center Reus | 2.25 |
| Gaudi House | one |
| Center for Archeology of Catalonia | 1.60 |
| Wax Gallery | 3 |
The most interesting museums in Barcelona that are completely free:
- gallery of world cultures;
- Center for Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CERE);
- design gallery;
- CosmoCaixa;
- House of Music;
- chocolate Museum;
- Barcelona Botanical Garden;
- Blau’s house;
- Olympic Gallery;
- Museum of Egypt.
The full list can be found on the official website https://www.barcelona-card.com
There are no nuances here, and you can ride on public transport for free an unlimited number of times. In addition, as a gift, cardholders receive a boat trip Golondrinas, the duration of which will be 40 minutes, and a sightseeing tour of the city.
What is included in the Barcelona Card should also include numerous cafes with shops that provide owners with discounts of 20 to 70%:
| A place | % |
|---|---|
| Ice barcelona | thirty% |
| Moments | twenty% |
| Fonda gaig | 25% |
| El quim | 25% |
| Canta Y No Llores | thirty% |
| Almaliber açaí bar | 25% |
| Bar santa fe | twenty% |
In addition to cultural institutions and shopping centers, Barcelona has many other interesting places to visit:
| A place | Discount amount (Euro) |
|---|---|
| Zoo | 2 |
| Botanical Garden | is free |
| Casino Barcelona | is free |
| Opera “Flamenco” | 7 |
| The show “Flamenco” | 6 |
| Barcelona Aquarium | 3.60 |
| Amusement Park PortAventura World | 9.40 |
| Waterpark Illa Fantasia | 5.50 |
A significant advantage of Barcelona Card will be the fact that its owner can go without a queue to any institution.
How it works?
In order to get a discount at one of the establishments, you just need to show the Barcelona card to the staff. On the front door of each attraction or cafe where a card is accepted, you can usually see a small sticker with the image of a card.
It is important that after purchasing a tourist card it does not need to be activated. This will happen automatically as soon as the tourist first uses any service. That is, if you purchased a card for 3 days and visited the first attraction on January 3 at 16.55, then the card will expire at 16.55 on January 6.
Remember that going to the same place 2 times on the map will not work.
Where and how can I buy a card
You can buy a Barcelona card either on the Internet or in a tourist center.
Buy a tourist map of Barcelona should only be on the official website (https://www.barcelona-card.com). After paying for the selected tariff, you will receive a voucher in the mail with which you will need to go to one of the tourist offices of Barcelona:
- in the airport;
- at the Northern bus station;
- at the main railway station of the city;
- in Sant Jaum Square.
You can buy a card in absolutely any tourist office of the capital of Catalonia. It will be a little more expensive than on the Internet.
You can buy a Barcelona tourist card for a period of 2, 3, 4 or 5 days (cost in euros):
| For adult | For a child | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 days | twenty | – |
| 3 days | 46 | 22 |
| 4 days | 56 | 28 |
| 5 days | 61 | 33 |
However, there is an important caveat! If you purchase a card for 2 days, free access to museums will not be available to you. On it you can only ride in transport and get some discounts in shops and cafes.
Also remember that the Barcelona card is personalized, and for each tourist you need to buy a separate one.
Prices on the page are for November 2019.
Conclusion – is it worth buying
Given that the Barcelona card includes travel by public transport and visits to many attractions, it will be beneficial for those who plan to stay in the capital of Catalonia for at least 4 days.
Buying a Barcelona Card for 2 days is definitely not worth it – it only includes travel in transport, while a regular ticket costs 2.2 euros (that is, in order to recoup the cost, you need to make 9 trips in transport).
You should not take a Barcelona card for those who do not plan to visit many museums – discounts on other entertainment are not so significant.
Experienced tourists advise you to plan your route in advance in the capital of Catalonia, and calculate whether the Barcelona card will be beneficial for you. For example, if you love Gaudi’s work and want to visit only the places that the master worked on, it’s unlikely that the map will save you money – these are very popular attractions and the discount on the ticket is very small.
Thus, the Barcelona Card is a great way to save money for people who want to visit a large number of museums in a few days.
How, how much and how much can be saved in Barcelona:
