Considering Barcelona's location in the north-east of the country, it is most sensible to explore Catalonia from Barcelona and that's what most tours from the city do. However, more and more tours are using Barcelona as the starting point for a tour of the rest of the country.
More:
Spain Tours from Madrid
1. Best Tours from Madrid
2. Tours from Madrid to Barcelona
3. Tours from Madrid to Andalusia
4. Tours from Madrid to Northern Spain
Spain Tours from Elsewhere
5. Tours from Barcelona (this page)
6. Tours from Malaga or from the Costa del Sol
Tours of Spain, Portugal and Morocco
8. Portugal and Morocco Tours from Madrid
9. Portugal and Spain Tours from Lisbon
See also: 100 Things to Do in Madrid
1. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Day Trips
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
The impressive mountain of Montserrat is so close to the city that you can see it in half a day. Then there's the museum of Salvador Dali in Figueres and nearby cities such as Tarragona and Girona and the beach town of Sitges.
You can see my full list of good places to visit on a Day Trip from Barcelona or pick from my favourites below:
- Montserrat Tour (book direct)
- Dali Museum (with Girona excursion) Day Trip Tour (book direct)
- Non-Violent Bullfight near Barcelona (with paella and flamenco) (book direct)
2. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Two-Day Tour of Catalonia
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
The Two-Day North Catalonia Tour is the better of the two tours. It takes in the Dali museum in Figueres, the serrated mountain of Montserrat, the walled city of Girona and the market town of Vic.
Book the Two-Day North Catalonia Tour
The Two-Day South Catalonia Tour visits the ancient Roman settlement of Tarragona, the beach town of Sitges, the Santes Creus monastery and wine tasting at the Bodegas Torres winery.
Book the Two-Day South Catalonia Tour
3. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Three-Day Cycle Tour of Catalonia
Image: Jaume Meneses (Create Commons/Some Rights Reserved)
A cycling tour of Catalonia's wine country, Penedès.
Read the full itinerary here: Penedes Three-Day Cycle Tour of Catalonia.
4. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Four-Day Tour of Catalonia
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
This four day tour combines both of the two-day tours featured above, with an extra night at a four-star hotel.
5. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Five-Day Tour of Spain
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
This tour is an extension of the popular Four-Day Tour of Spain from Madrid. A bus journey from Barcelona to Madrid, via Zaragoza and Lleida, is added to the original tour that takes you from Madrid to Cordoba, Seville, Granada and Toledo.
Note that you stay the night in Madrid and also end the tour in in the city, but no guided visits take place in the city on either occasion. If you want to return to Barcelona, see the six-day tour below.
Book this Five-Day Tour of Spain from Barcelona
6. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Six-Day Tour of Andalusia and Valencia
Ciudad de Artes y Ciencias in Valencia. (c) Damian Corrigan
This tour is similar to the above tour, but after Granada the tour takes you to Valencia and then back to Barcelona (missing out Toledo).
Book this Six-Day Tour of Spain from Barcelona
7. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Eight-Day Tour of Andalusia
This tour starts with two nights in Barcelona, before visiting Madrid for a night, followed by a tour of Andalusia, where you will visit Cordoba, Seville (for two nights) and Granada. Then your tour will return to Madrid, via Toledo.Note, this tour ends in Madrid.
Read more about this Eight-Day Tour of Andalusia from Barcelona
8. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Eight-Day Tour of Northern Spain
Galicia (c) Damian Corrigan
If you already know the 'classic' Spain of Andalusia, a good tour to consider is one of 'Green Spain' - Spain's lesser known northern coast.
This tour concentrates on the north-west corner of Spain - the 'rias' (sunken valleys) of Galicia and the Picos de Europa mountain range. As these destinations are quite far from Barcelona, the tour includes a necessarily hasty tour of the Basque Country in order to get you to the focus of the tour.
Read the full itinerary here: Eight-Day Tour of Northern Spain from Barcelona
There is also a shorter itinerary, but it is probably too rushed for most tastes: Five-Day Tour of Northern Spain from Barcelona
9. Spain Tours from Barcelona: Eight-Day Pamplona Bull Run Tour
Pamplona Bull Run. (c) Damian Corrigan
Visit the Pamplona Bull Run with this tour that starts in Barcelona and ends in Bilbao, spending two days in Pamplona with the opportunity to see two bull runs. Including San Sebastian and Bilbao on this is an excellent way to get the most of out this trip to the north of Spain.
Note that this tour only runs in July.
Read more about this Pamplona Bull Run Tour from Barcelona
10. Longer Spain Tours
Image: (c) Damian Corrigan
If you're interested in a longer trip, you are far better off making the trip to Madrid and taking a tour from there. Madrid's central location makes it perfect for travel to the whole of the country and it is quick and easy to get there from Barcelona.
- How to get from Barcelona to Madrid
- Spain Tours from Madrid
- 100 Things to Do in Madrid
