There are two companies running open top tour buses around Barcelona and they are definitely a great way to travel the city, viewing sights and picking up information from the on-board guides as you go!

Barcelona Bus Turistic: One ticket includes three different routes and 44 different stops at all the city’s most important locations. The two main routes (North and South) last 2 hours each, whilst the Forum route is 40 minutes long (running only from 30 March – 30 Sept 2007). It is possible to change between the North and South routes at 3 main points, so you can make your journey match the places that interest you most.The point are located at Plaça Catalunya, Passeig de Gracia, and Francesc Macía – Diagonal. You can get on and off the bus as many times as you like during the day and buses should pass the specially designated stops every 5-15 minutes.

Prices: One day pass - €19 adult, €11 child. Two day pass - €23 adult, €15 child. Discount coupons for major attractions also included with ticket.

Barcelona Tours: Distinguished from the previous company by its orange buses, Barcelona Tours offers a pretty similar deal, also operating a hop-on-hop-off system. Generally less popular, therefore with less queues, the tours are intended to be more in-depth and have 22 stops around the city, offering a more straightforward route. Prices are approximately the same as the Bus Turistic, and a good place to catch it is from Plaça Catalunya by the Hard Rock Café.