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The Best of Barcelona in One Day from Madrid
4.0
50 Ratings
Madrid
Embark on a high-speed train tour from Madrid to Barcelona and discover the architectural gems of the cosmopolitan Catalan city. Explore the Gothic Quarter, admire masterpieces like Casa Batlló and La Pedrera, and marvel at Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia.
Duration:
13 hours
Highlights
- Estacion de Atocha - Departure From Madrid
- Plaça d’Espanya - Transfer from Plaza España to Colon
- Estacion De Barcelona Sants - Walking from Sants to Plaza España and MNAC
- Plaza de Catalunya - Free time for lunch in Plaza Cataluña
- Passeig de Gracia - Walking tour from Paseo de Gracia to Sagrada Familia
- Basilica de la Sagrada Familia - Arrival to Sagrada Familia with 45 minutes of free time (Option to purchase Sagrada Familia tickets and enjoy 45 minutes of free time to visit it)
- Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) - Start from the walking tour in The Gothic Neighborhood
- Sants - Arrival at Sants
- Estacion de Atocha - Arrival in Madrid
What's Included
- Walking tour of Barcelona’s main points of interest (intense walking level)
- Expert bilingual guide fluent in English
- Round-trip high-speed train tickets between Madrid and Barcelona
What's Not Included
- Tips (optional)
- Meals and drinks
- Hotel pick up
- Sagrada Familia tickets (Optional purchase 48 hours in advance)
Additional Information
Embark on your adventure from Madrid and prepare yourself to discover the splendors of Barcelona traveling by high-speed train. In just 2.5 hours, the vibrant Catalan city draws you in, enticing you to uncover and appreciate its architectural marvels and rich culture. Begin your day with a short stroll to Plaza España. From there, commence a walking exploration of The Gothic Quarter.
The tour then leads you along the celebrated Passeig de Gràcia, home to architectural wonders such as Casa Batlló and La Pedrera for your admiration. Immerse yourself in history and art as you stand transfixed by the Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s unfinished magnum opus. Here, your guide will recount fascinating details about the monument as you marvel at its facade and get some time to capture the perfect photos (Option to buy access tickets to tour its inside during your spare time).
End your day soaking in the sea air at Barcelona’s port, a location where city life meshes with Mediterranean tranquility.
- Please, be at the check in point 20 minutes before departure time.
- It’s essential to arrive well in advance of the train’s departure time. The train’s departure is fixed and will not wait for delayed passengers. If you fail to arrive on time, you will unfortunately miss the entirety of the tour, and no refund will be provided. We recommend planning with ample margin to avoid any inconvenience.
- Full name of each passenger and Passport/ID number is mandatory to confirm the booking.
- The departure time will be coordinated on trains between 07:00 am and 08:00 am. Please provide a valid telephone number to contact you at least 48 hours before the experience to complete the pre-check in process.
- It’s important to note that this experience involves two transfers. One of them is usually by private vehicle and the other by metro to avoid delays in the planning of this experience.
Location
Estación de Atocha
This experience is done with self-check-in, so you must go to the train station and board directly with the train tickets that we will previously share with you.
Cancellation Policy
All sales are final. No refund is available for cancellations.
Customer Ratings
4.0
(50 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Thomas_c
Jul 24, 2024
Very Good - The guides were very friendly and gave us a great tour.
They knew alot about the sites we visited.
Good tour!
Review provided by Viator
Sunshine55333384551
Jul 2, 2024
La Scarsdale familia - The moment I saw it I was overwhelmed. What a master piece work that there no competetor before and after! Gaudy was such a great person whose creativity was beyond our imagination. I surely recommend that everyone should visit la Sagrada familia.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aliasgar_a
Jun 13, 2024
Barcelona 101 - I give this tour an A+ - It is obviously impossible to do Barcelona on one day. But if you want to see it, and it’s not part of your main trip plan to Spain, I would totally reccomend this tour. In a span of about 12 hours, we went from Madrid to Barcelona, and were able to see highlights of the city’s history, beauty, architecture, and glamour. It was like meeting someone for the first time, and having a great first date. Can’t wait to visit Barcelona again for a few days. It’s a magical city. And just seeing La Sagrada Familia was worth the day trek!
On another note, our guide Martìn was fun, kind, generous, knowledgeable, and made it the best day trip ever. Thank you!
Review provided by Viator
F2348pijoshw
Jul 24, 2024
Great experience! The houses, the churches, the harbor! - Our tour guide was SO SWEET and very knowledgeable!! Thoroughly enjoyed the tour through Barcelona! The houses were probably my favorite part.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rupali_g
Jul 12, 2024
What future bookers should know - Our tour guide was awesome. I loved the convenience of being able to see Barcelona from Madrid in a day. BUT-I am giving it four stars instead of five because we didn't know we would walk extensively in the heat. There is a lot of stairs to walk up too, while some of the escalators didn't work. If you have health issues, be mindful of this. Drink a lot of water, dress for the weather, and bring some snacks with you if you want.
The other thing was that taking the Madrid train for the first time in Spain was intimidating, especially when we had to find someone at the station who spoke English. We didn't know which terminal to enter in. Going back home from the Barcelona train station to Madrid was easier to figure out. The high-speed train ride was comfortable.
Other than that, Barcelona is stunning. The people are friendly.
Review provided by Viator
Danbmf
Jul 1, 2024
Good experience but needs to improve - The organization was well and we managed to see most important destinations. Our tour Guide Mirco was the best. However, I would love to have a clear schedule sent to my email or WhatsApp before hand of highlights of tour. Apart from that good efforts.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anailia28
Jul 8, 2024
Regular - The Sagrada Familia ticket option really isn't real with this company. To obtain tickets, you must buy them at least 2 months in advance with another company and mega make sure that the schedule you choose is in which precisely this tour leave you free (schedule that you will never know until the same day of the tour), because otherwise you will lose your money. It is not real what they say to buy it 48 hours in advance, there are no tickets available.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julie_n
Jul 7, 2024
Needs improvement - Our guide Mirko was wonderful and I give him 5 stars. I rated this tour lower as I felt the guides should have helped you more with getting on and off the trains. I don’t use the train system and it was confusing knowing if I’m in the right line for the train. Once we were in Barcelona we had trouble finding the guide at the meeting point. There were 8 of us and we all stayed together as we didn’t know what we were doing. This should advise this a waking tour as you walk A LOT. This tour could be improved if they gave some of the tour around the city in a bus so you can see the most of Barcelona mixed with walking. Also the tour guides should go in the train with you as well. We had trouble getting tickets at one train station. Again Mirko was a wonderful guide, the tour just needs some tweaking.
Review provided by Viator
Carlos
Jun 20, 2024
Very little time to know so much, and in a different language. - They changed the language and departure time at the last minute. The Park Guell included in the tour was not taken to us because they did not buy it on time.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
D7025uugabrielar
Jul 5, 2024
Very poor coordination - Very poor coordination. We were waiting for the trip advisor one hour and 15 minutes at the meeting point in Madrid.
In Barcelona the guide very nice but was going too fast; and the attention had to divide it as he thought it was all in English but we had asked to be in Spanish.
We had to wait for the explanation in English before doing it in Spanish.
I would not recommend it at all because it is not worth the price you pay.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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