Passes to Visit Barcelona: Which One to Choose?

Barcelona is a city with a multitude of tourist attractions. But who wants to spend long hours booking tickets one by one in advance on the Internet, or queuing up at the ticket office of must-see monuments while risking not being able to get in! Holidays are for relaxing, right?

In response to this desire to save time and simplify life, passes combining transport and/or sightseeing have flourished on the Internet in recent years.

To help you choose, we’ve analysed the different passes on the market. In this article, we present their characteristics and give our opinion on each of them.

Barcelona Card: Free museums and unlimited public transport

What’s included?

• Unlimited travel on public transport for a set period of time: This card gives you unlimited access to metro, bus, tram, and train services in zone 1 of the city (which includes all of Barcelona’s tourist attractions). You can also take the metro to the airport at no extra charge.
• Access to over 25 museums: Among them are must-sees like the Picasso Museum, the Joan Miró Foundation, the Science Museum (CosmoCaixa), and the Moco Museum. Find the full list here.
• Discounts on various attractions: You will also receive discounts for other places such as the Casa Vicens, the Mirador de la Torre Glòries, the Palau de la Música, and the European Museum of Modern Art. Find the full list here.

Is it a good deal?

If you’re a fan of museums and plan to visit several, this pass could be very interesting for you. Unlimited public transport is another considerable advantage.

However, if your schedule only includes a few museum visits, it might be wise to compare the individual costs of admission and transport to see if buying the Barcelona Card is really worth it.

Hola Barcelona: A public transport pass for unlimited travel

Hola Barcelona is the ideal pass if you want to explore Barcelona without transport constraints. This pass gives you unlimited access to all public transport in zone 1, which covers not only Barcelona but also several neighbouring cities.

What’s included?

• Metro: Perfect for getting across the city quickly.
• Ferrocarrils (FGC) urban and intercity trains: Ideal for short excursions outside the city.
• Day buses
• Montjuic Funicular: A quick way to reach the heights of the city.
• Tram
• “Rodalies” trains

Is it a good deal?

Yes, if you plan to use public transport frequently, the cost of the Hola Barcelona will quickly be recovered. To put this into perspective, a standard ticket for 10 journeys costs €11.35.

The Hola Barcelona is ideal for people who plan to use public transport frequently during their stay and don’t want to worry about having to buy several tickets.

However, if you know you won’t be using public transport more than 10 times, the Hola Barcelona may not be the best investment for you.

Barcelona City Pass: More practical than economical

The Barcelona City Pass is a tourist package offered by the Tiqets platform. At first glance, this pass seems ideal for people planning to visit Barcelona’s iconic attractions such as the Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell, while enjoying a ride on the Hop On Hop Off Bus.

What’s included?

• Tickets for the Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell
• Tourist Bus: Choice of 24-hour or 48-hour pass.
• Audio guide on smartphone for the city and Parc Güell
• 10% discount on your next booking on Tiqets.com

Is it a good deal?

However, you’ll lose access to the audio guide application if you buy your tickets one by one, but the saving of €20 seems to us to be substantial and more interesting for you.

To help you see more clearly, here’s how much the Barcelona City Pass would cost you:

• With 24h Tourist Bus: €85
• With 48h Tourist Bus: €97

If you bought each activity separately, here’s what you’d pay:

• Sagrada Familia: €26
• Parc Güell: €10
• 24h Tourist Bus: €29.70 (with 10% discount)
• Tourist Bus 48h: €39.60

Total: €65.7 with the 24h Tourist Bus (€19.3 less than the Barcelona City Pass), €75.6 with the 48h Tourist Bus (€21.4 less than the Barcelona City Pass).

That said, if you prefer the convenience of getting all your tickets at once, the Barcelona City Pass may be an option to consider.

Go City Barcelona All-Inclusive Pass

Offered by Go City, a company specialising in tourist passes for cities around the world, this pass gives you access to a wide range of attractions for a set period of time.

What’s included?

• Unlimited access to 45 tourist attractions in Barcelona for the duration of your pass.
• You can choose between different duration options: 2 days (€129), 3 days (€166), 4 days (€189) and 5 days (€206).

Some of the most popular attractions include:

• Guided tour of the Sagrada Familia (in English or Spanish)
• Guided tour of Parc Güell (in English or Spanish)
• Visit to Camp Nou
• Entrance to Casa Milà
• Admission to Casa Batlló
• Ticket for the Hop On Hop Off Bus
• Barcelona Aquarium
• Barcelona Egyptian Museum

Please note: The pass is valid in calendar days, not consecutive hours (24 hours). So if you activate it at 4pm, your first day will end at midnight (and not at 4pm the following day, as with the Hop On Hop Off Bus or Hola Barcelona. It is therefore recommended to activate it in the morning to maximise its usefulness.

Is it a good deal?

If you want to make the most of your stay in Barcelona, the Go City Barcelona All-Inclusive Pass can be an excellent option, especially if you compare its cost with that of buying tickets for each attraction separately.

For example, if you add the guided tour of the Sagrada Familia (€30 for a 50-minute tour on the official website or €54 for a 1.5-hour tour on Tiqets), the Casa Batlló (€35), the Hop On Hop Off Bus (€29.7), and the guided tour of Parc Güell (€22 for a 50-minute tour on the official website or €24 for a 1.15-hour tour on Civitatis), you’ll spend between €116.7 and €142.7. The €129 2-day pass will pay for itself in no time, but the programme will be intense.

The huge advantage is the convenience of having all your admissions and activities in a single pass, eliminating the need to book each attraction individually.

Compared to the Barcelona City Pass from Tiqets, the Go City Barcelona All-Inclusive Pass offers better value for money and gives you access to more activities.

If you want to discover Barcelona at a more leisurely pace, without saturating your days with visits to monuments or museums, I’d recommend booking your visits individually instead.

Articket: The ideal pass for art lovers

Are you planning to immerse yourself in Catalan art during your stay in Barcelona? Then the Articket could be the perfect option for you.

This all-in-one pass offers entry to six of the city’s most renowned art institutions: the Picasso Museum, the Joan Miró Foundation, the MACBA (Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona), the CCCB (Barcelona Centre for Contemporary Culture), the National Museum of Catalan Art (MNAC), and the Antoni Tàpies Foundation.

What’s included?

• Picasso Museum (regular price: €12)
• Joan Miró Foundation (regular price: €14)
• MACBA (regular price: around €11)
• CCCB (regular price: €6)
• National Museum of Catalan Art (MNAC) (regular price: €12)
• Antoni Tàpies Foundation (regular price: €8)

If you were to buy individual tickets for each of these museums, the total would be around €65. The Articket, on the other hand, costs just €38, a considerable saving.

Good to know: The Articket is valid for 12 months from the date of your first visit to one of the above museums.

• Great news for families: If you have children under 16, they’ll will have free access to all these museums without needing their own Articket.

Is it a good deal?

Absolutely, if you plan to visit at least three or four of these art museums. Not only will you save money but you’ll also save time by avoiding queues for tickets. What’s more, everything is grouped together in a single pass, which makes logistics much easier.

It’s also an excellent pass if you come to Barcelona regularly or if you live there, as its 12-month validity means that visits to these museums can be staggered over several visits or trips.

On the other hand, if you are only planning to visit one or two of these museums, it may be more advantageous for you to buy individual tickets. What’s more, if you are entitled to a discount (such as one for students or young people aged 16 to 25), Articket Barcelona may not be very advantageous for you.

Barcelona iVenture Card

iVenture is an application that offers passes for visiting cities around the world. In Barcelona, you can choose between two options: the Flexi Pass and the Unlimited Pass.

What’s included?

• Flexi Pass: starts at €58 and allows you to choose between 2, 3, 4, or 5 attractions that you can visit within 7 days of activating the purchase code via the Smartvisit app.
• Unlimited Pass: starts at €119 and offers total freedom, there is no limit to the number of visits you can make over 2 or 3 consecutive days.

iVenture offers over 35 attractions in its passes, the most popular being the guided tour of the Sagrada Familia, the Tourist Bus, Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Casa Vicens, the guided tour of Park Güell, the guided tour of the Picasso Museum, etc.

Is it a good deal?

It all depends on the attractions you choose. For example, if you opt for a 3-day Flexi Pass at €78, you could visit Casa Batlló (€35), La Pedrera/Casa Milà (€25) and take the Tourist Bus (€30), which would normally cost €90 if you bought these tickets separately. In this case, the Flexi Pass is definitely a good deal, saving you €12.

However, if you opt for a 2-day Flexi Pass at €58 but choose to visit only the Pedrera/Casa Milà (€25) and take the Tourist Bus (€30), your total cost would be €55, which means you’d lose €3 by opting for the pass.

Sagrada Familia + Parc Güell guided tour pack

This isn’t really a “pass“ in the traditional sense, but rather a very well thought-out combination of activities.

What’s included?

1. Guided tour of the Sagrada Familia: You start your day with an in-depth guided tour of this architectural masterpiece. After the tour, you are free to explore the monument at your own pace.
2. Private transport included: Once you have finished at the Sagrada Familia, a private vehicle will take you directly to Parc Güell.
3. Guided tour in English of Parc Güell: You will join another group to discover this magnificent park, also designed by Antoni Gaudí.

If we compare this package to the cost of separate visits, a guided tour of the Sagrada Familia offered by Civitatis will cost you around €47, and a guided tour of Parc Güell around €24. That’s a total of €71 for both tours if you book them individually.

The pack in question is available for €79. This price includes not only the guided tours but also private transport between the two sites. For an extra €8, you get the convenience of a group purchase and transport included.

Is it a good deal?

Yes, if you’re a first-time visitor or on a short break. An official guide will give you all the tips you need to discover Barcelona’s two iconic monuments in just half a day.

If there are several of you, you won’t necessarily save much compared with the price of a taxi, but your private transport will be arranged and already paid for, which is very practical for those who don’t speak Spanish or Catalan.

• No hassle with buying tickets or traveling between the two sites. Everything is taken care of, making your day much simpler and more enjoyable.
• Both tours are in English, which is a great advantage if you prefer explanations in your mother tongue.
• An official guide will help you discover Barcelona’s two iconic monuments in just half a day, so it’s ideal for a first trip or a short break.