The business (basically a CRM database) passed into better hands in 2012. These materials remain here for cannibalisation and amusement.
The baldie meanwhile has found pastures new: as a singing organ-grinder for your event in the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands or Spain!
This walk is popular with cruise passengers, weekend visitors, and other folks with a limited time budget. You'll see the main sights in local style with expert commentary. And without flag-waving official guides reciting in pidgin-English, or luxury tour buses full of fellow-foreigners.
Your tour starts with a walk round the Roman, medieval and pre-industrial remains, including the cathedral, one of the two other big Gothic churches, our favourite Romanesque church (tourist-free, with one of the prettiest Virgins north of Granada), and what was until 1391 the Jewish quarter.
In the old centre you’ll also see several key locations in the 1937 fighting between Stalinists and anarchists/Trotskyists described in George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia, and several others featured in Carlos Ruíz Zafón's The shadow of the wind, the scenes of executions and other civic mayhem, and a number of unusual shops and bars.
This section ends with a lightning tour of some of the stranger stalls in the Boqueria market on the Ramblas. We then travel uptown by municipal bus to take in the famous houses on the Paseo de Gracia (Amatller, Batlló, Pedrera) and then head finally by bus or metro to Gaudí's Sagrada Familia, just in time for lunch.
(This is our default recipe. If you want something slightly different within the same 4-hour package, tell us and we’ll suggest a tweak. We don't take you round the inside of the Sagrada Familia or the houses on Passeig de Gràcia. We also offer other Barcelona city walks.)
The intro contains a broad outline.
Some FAQs:
Grade | easy |
Base | Barcelona (Meeting point information here, where relevant - make sure you have the right one!) |
Location tags | Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, |
Theme tags | archaeology, architecture, art, gastronomy, history, |
Your guide(s) | A local expert |
Walking distance | 6 km / 3.73 miles |
Walking time | 3.48 hr |
Total return travel time from base to walk | 0 hr |
Default meeting time | 09:30. This is designed to produce an optimal result from a number of factors, including sleep-in time, access to food, and exposure to sun. |
Total time from "hello" to "goodbye" | 4.00 hr |
Fiestas and markets in places we go through - combine a walk and some partying or shopping! |
Note that there are also events in most places on January 6 (Three Kings), Carnival, Easter, April 23 (St George), June 23 (St John), and September 11 (Catalan regional/national day) |
your group | |
---|---|
number of people in your group (kids 0-2 don't count, kids 3-16 = 0.5) |
This is the total size of the group. Unlike other (city) tours, you won't have to share your guide with a couple of dozen strangers. |
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