When we talk about guided tours in Barcelona, it is inevitable to think of one of its great classics: the modernist tour. Something which is totally understandable, but that often makes us lose sight of other cultural tourism options in the Catalan capital: for example, the best themed tours in Barcelona.
Literary, historical, folkloric, esoteric … The offer of organized routes around its streets is growing, as well as the number of people who are not satisfied with just walking up the towers of the Sagrada Familia or strolling around the Ramblas.
Are you one of them? If so, we encourage you to discover our apartments on the beach of Barcelona, to make your reservation as soon as possible and to choose your preferred activity. Get ready to travel through time and, in short, to learn some secrets that even the locals themselves ignore.
TOUR OF THE POBLENOU CEMETERY
We open this list of themed tours with the most comfortable suggestion for all those who book an apartment in Barcelona with us: the Poblenou cemetery tour. This initiative will allow you to go back to the Barcelona of the 19th century, through a singular journey through beautiful pantheons and the tombs of the historical figures who rest in this cemetery. The tour begins in 1775, date in which Bishop Climent consecrated this funerary enclosure, and concludes with the Universal Exhibition of 1888.
In addition, Cementiris de Barcelona organizes an extraordinary night tour twice a year, coinciding with the beginning of spring and in October for All Saints’ Day. The visits are held on the first and third Sunday of the month and are free. The first Sunday is in Spanish at 10:30 am, and in Catalan, at 12:30. The order of the languages is reversed on the third Sunday. To arrange group visits, you can call (+34) 93 484 19 20.
PAST VIEW ANCIENT BARCELONA
We have just referred to nineteenth-century Barcelona. Now, what would you think of going back another five centuries thanks to new technologies? With the Past View Ancient Barcelona tour, you will have the opportunity to see what the city was like in the second half of the 14th century with your own eyes. On your journey, you will be equipped with virtual reality glasses andwill visit some of its most emblematic places, such as Via Laietana, the Plaça del Rei, the cathedral, the Plaça de Sant Jaume or the Basilica of Santa María del Mar, in El Born.
To enjoy this unique experience, you can check the timetables and departure points on the website of the organizing company, Past View, which also offers this activity in Seville, Ephesus and Athens.
PASEDU: BARCELONA AND THE 7 DEADLY SINS
All cities have their lights and shadows, and Barcelona is no exception. Setting the right atmosphere and basen on the 7 deadly sins, the historian and tour guide Edu García Bescós will take you on one of the Pasedu tours. These are approximately two-and-a-half-hour-long tours, in which participants will discover numerous fun (or not) facts and unusual events that are not usually mentioned in history books. Want to know a tad more about them? Check out the 10 mysteries of Barcelona.
Currently, 7 itineraries are carried out in the following areas: the old Gothic quarter, modern Gothic quarter, La Ribera, Sant Pere and Santa Caterina, the upper part of Raval, the lower part of Raval and Barceloneta, which can be hired in discount pages and through the social profiles of the organizer.
GHOSTS OF BARCELONA
Icono Serveis Culturals organizes this disturbing night visit through the neighborhoods of Sant Pere, Santa Caterina and La Ribera. Inspired by the book Fantasmes of Barcelona by Sylvia Lagarda-Mata, it reveals legends and mysterious stories that have taken place in Barcelona. Thus, exorcisms, witchcraft, enchanted convents and spectral appearances will be a constant in this singular journey. The visits are made on Friday and Saturday nights in Spanish, Catalan or English, although they can also be bilingual (in Spanish and English). For more information about schedules, contact the organizers.
MASONIC BARCELONA
Another interesting option for themed tours of Barcelona is the route that discovers the relationship of Freemasonry with the city, inspired by the great Antoni Gaudí and far from the usual tourist circuits. In the company of a guide, you will walk through the curling streets of the Gothic and El Born neighborhood, looking for hidden codes and Masonic symbols that go unnoticed by the profane. Today, this is the only guided tour held by a Mason brother. For more details, contact the organizers (Unusual Planet).
BARCELONA CALIENTE & CANALLA
Before the profound transformation suffered by the city as a result of the 1992 Olympic Games, the Raval was known as Chinatown. This is how the journalist Francisco Madrid baptized it in 1925, when comparing it to the Chinatown in New York.
In any case, the truth is that this area gave space to the most unmentionable vices in the city. We are before a tour of the sinful and rogue Barcelona: its music halls, operetta theaters, meublés, dating houses and, in short, the corners that were further away from the moral folk of the era. If you want to know more about the other tour of Barcelona during the Belle Époque, consult the CultRuta website.
BCN AND CARLOS RUIZ ZAFÓN
CultRuta also organizes this literary route around the tetralogy El Cementerio de los Libros Olvidados, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. With this exciting journey of two hours, you will immerse yourself in the plots and scenarios of The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel Game, The Prisoner of Heaven and The Labyrinth of Spirits. The Sempere e Hijos bookstore, the Barceló house, the clerk’s booths next to the Virreina palace, the fountain pen shop, the Tenebrarium … Dare you discover the places that inspired the adventures of Daniel Sempere and Julian Carax? If so, check the timetables and available languages in advance.
MAGIC BARCELONA
Barcelona Màgica, organized by Itinera Plus, will introduce you to some of the most surprising enigmas: alchemy, Christian and profane legends, spirits, witches and lost souls, crimes … This will be the pretext to approach the neuralgic points of the Ciutat Vella district. At the same time you will know the hidden meaning that its streets and buildings hide, while listening to exciting stories that have been silenced for centuries. In addition, the guide will also talk about daily life in medieval Barcelona. Do not miss it!
BARCELONA IN KEY OF MYSTERY
We welcome you to the esoteric, Hermetic, Masonic, Guild, Inquisitorial, Jewish Barcelona … Bordering the diffuse barrier that separates reality from myth, this visit created by Sergio Rodríguez Rey will help you find answers to riddles that have been passed from generation to generation: were the knights of the Holy Sepulcher in Barcelona? Does the Barcelona Cathedral have a throne ambitioned by the Nazis? Where is the street where the medieval magician Astruc de Sacanera lived and what secrets does it hide?
Starting from the door of the Bank of Spain, you will pass through the Portal del Ángel to the cathedral and Plaça del Rei, the Jewish quarter or Call and the Plaça de Sant Jaume. Learn more and make your reservation!
FOOTBALL TOUR BARCELONA
We close this list of themed routes in Barcelona with a must for the fans of the most famous sport in the country: a journey through the most important points of the city related to FC Barcelona, its origins and its history. Discover where the first clubs of the team founded by Joan Gamper were located in 1899 and discover countless stories and fun facts about Barça. If you would like to see the city in black and white (as well as blue and maroon), get in touch with Itinera Plus, the organizing company.
