Would you like to explore Barcelona with your own private tour guide? Or perhaps you’re looking for an unforgettable activity with a touch of luxury? This is my curated list of high-end experiences for folks who prefer a personalised approach to travel…
Do something special while in Barcelona!
Sightseeing Tours
1. Gothic Quarter Walking Tour
2. Gaudi Walking Tour (w/Casa Batllo Tickets)
3. Sagrada Familia & Park Guell Walking Tour (w/ Tickets)
4. Photo Highlights Electric Bike Tour
5. Barcelona Highlights Half Day Tour (w/Park Guell Tickets)
Food & Wine Tours
6. Sommelier-Led Wine Tour to Penedes (or Priorat)
7. Local Food Market & Tapas Tour
8. Paella Cooking Class w/ Wine Tasting
9. Farm to Table Cooking Class in the Countryside
10. Montserrat, Wine and Olive Oil Tasting
Sightseeing Day Trips
11. Montserrat Abbey & Natural Park Tours
12. Girona & Costa Brava Full Day Tour
13. Tarragona (Roman Ruins) Half Day Tour
Extraordinary Experiences
14. Private Sailing Tour w/Skipper
Nothing quite takes the fun out of travel like being herded around the sights like a group of cattle. So on this page I’m running down the best private tours of Barcelona, where you can avoid being part of the crowd, and enjoy a magical experience all of your own.
First time visitors to the Catalan capital are likely to want to see some of the iconic attractions that give Barcelona so much of its allure: so I’ll start by picking out the best private sightseeing tours, whether you want to walk, cycle or join the dots in a private vehicle. Typically these tours include fast track or skip the line tickets to major attractions, so you can visit without braving the queues.
Next, I’ll take a look at some of the outstanding food and wine tours available in the city, for those with gastronomic goals to achieve while in Catalonia, Spain.
As Barcelona is no gem in isolation, I will highlight several scintillating day trips to some of Catalonia’s breathtaking medieval towns, mountain ranges, Roman ruins and beaches.
And I’ll finish with some ‘wow’ activities that will make your trip unforgettable. These should be perfect for spoiling your partner, family, friends… or simply yourself.
Naturally, the budget goes up when you shop for private experiences, but there are still some very affordable activities on this list that offer unrivalled quality with excellent value for money.
Private Sightseeing Tours
1. Introduction to Barcelona Tour: Gothic Quarter
Barcelona’s labyrinthine Gothic district is a maze of narrow alleys, picturesque plazas and breathtaking medieval architecture. This tour by Context Travel offers an insightful journey into the heart of the city and is led by one of their charismatic and scholarly guides… 80% of their tour guides have MAs or PHDs in their specialist subjects. Highlights include the Cathedral, Jewish Quarter and La Boqueria Food Market. This 3-hr tour costs 450 USD for 2 people, as a private walk, while they also offer the same itinerary as a small group tour.
2. Gaudi Tour w/ Skip-the-line Tickets to Casa Batllo
If Barcelona’s medieval history is fascinating, so too is the story of its development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when a clique of architects and artists defined the city while riding the wave of the Catalan Renaissance. Chief amongst them, of course, was Antoni Gaudi, and this tour introduces you to two of his most important works, the Casa Mila and Casa Batllo, as well as gorgeous structures by Domenech i Muntaner, Puig i Cadalfach and Sagnier on the “block of discord“. This 3-hr itinerary costs 504 USD as a private tour for 2 people and includes tickets and guided tour of Casa Batllo.
3. Private Sagrada Familia & Park Guell Tour
Explore Barcelona’s two most iconic sights in one tour, led by an officially licensed private tour guide. You’ll not only marvel at the epic exterior of La Sagrada, but you will skip the line to visit the inside too, with its soaring white columns lit by kaleidoscopic light from it stained glass windows. Next you’ll hop on Barcelona’s efficient metro system up to Park Guell, Gaudi’s landscaped gardens that sit on a hill overlooking the city. You’ll see the famous dragon staircase and other highlights of the monumental zone. All tickets are included in the price of €272 per person, and you can book it via Get Your Guide. You just need to reserve at least 3 days in advance. The tour lasts 4 hrs.
4. Photo Highlights Electric Bike Tour
If you love the freedom of exploring on two wheels, then the Photo Highlights Tour by Ocean Bikes Barcelona offers an amazing overview of the city’s best sights, including some spectacular viewpoints. You’ll start by checking out Gaudi’s mindboggling La Sagrada Familia, as well as his two mansions on the grand Passeig de Gracia, before cycling along the pedestrianised Consell de Cent (recently voted 10th coolest street in the world!), and from there head up Montjuic Hill for stunning vistas and a multitude of cultural treasures. A leisurely cycle along the port and beach takes you back to your starting point, on the Port Olimpic. The electric bikes are brand new and fun to ride! Available as a private tour for just €79 per person, min. 2 people.
5. Half Day Sightseeing Tour w/ Park Guell
For a well-rounded introduction to all of Barcelona’s highlights, without too much walking (or cycling!), look no further than this private sightseeing tour. You’ll not only see all the architectural splendour on display on the Passeig de Gracia, and in Eixample (where you’ll see La Sagrada Familia and the equally beautiful Hospital de Sant Pau), but you’ll get to wonder around Park Guell (tickets included), before being driven in comfy transport to Montjuic for even more treasures. Thanks to your private vehicle there’s even time to take in the beach, the old bull ring, Port Vell, the Colombus Monument and even take a dip into the Gothic Quarter. This 5-hr activity the most complete private Barcelona tour I know of! Available to book on your Get Your Guide, for €243 per person (based on 2 people).
Private Food & Wine Tours
6. Sommelier-led Wine Tour to the Penedes (or Priorat)
Oenophiles looking for a special day out from Barcelona need look no further than this customisable day trip that takes you to your choice of two or three wineries in either the Penedes or Priorat wine regions. The day starts when your guide (who is also a qualified sommelier) picks you up from your hotel, after which you will drive to one of the nearby wine regions to learn a bit more about the local methods of production and of course imbibe the region’s best wines. The tour also includes traditional Catalan tapas at one of the family-run wineries (or local restaurant), as well as tours of the cellars and vineyards. The price for the two winery Penedes option is €335 per person for 2 people, while adding an additional winery increases the price, as does driving further to the Priorat region instead. Email us on info@barcelona-life.com for more info and bookings.
How To Choose Between The Penedes and Priorat?
The Penedes is located just 1 hour away by car, and is a wonderful Arcadia of rolling hills, villages and vineyards, while the Priorat is more like 2 hrs drive away, and is even more dramatic, with roads that wind through high hills and valleys. While the Penedes can boast DO wines, the Priorat is one of only two regions in Spain that produces DOQ/DOCa wines… the other is Rioja. Due to the extra travel time tours to the Priorat cost more.
7. Private Food Market & Tapas Tour
Another boutique company, Food Tours Barcelona have recently relaunched with a Local Food Market & Tapas tour, which takes place in the lively El Born district. While the mainstream food experiences often centre around La Boqueria Food Market, in a way that is rather unsustainable (vendors have long claimed that tourists scare away actual customers!), FTB choose to visit the charming Santa Caterina Market instead. At this bustling bazaar your expert guide will share plenty of insights about the local gastronomic scene and its history, and you’ll also try some of the produce, such as Spanish olives and cheese. After that you’ll head to two authentic restaurants to try a variety of Spanish and Catalan tapas, along with local libations like vermouth, wine and cava. You can even try drinking from a traditional porrón vessel! Reasonably priced at €95 p.p. for a 2 person private tour.
8. Private Paella Class with Sommelier-Led Wine Tasting
Shared cooking classes have exploded in popularity in Barcelona, but harder to find are experiences where you learn to cook iconic dishes like the Spanish paella with your own private chef. Luckily, we are friends with a boutique cooking academy where your host is a Hoffman trained rice chef AND sommelier. That means you not only get to cook one of the best paellas in the city, but you pair it with some of the best regional wines. Moreover, it’s unbeatably priced at just €79 per person for 2 people. Email us on info@barcelona-life.com with your preferred dates and group size.
9. Farm to Table Cooking Class
What’s better than a cooking class? A cooking class where you travel to a local farm and harvest your own seasonal produce for slicing and dicing back in a centuries-old Catalan masia! This is a really special experience that starts with private pick up from your hotel, from where you’ll be taken less than an hour outside Barcelona to a farmhouse open exclusively for your group. Here you’ll meet the friendly owners and tour the premises of their organic farm. After harvesting fresh fruit and vegetables, and free range eggs, you’ll cook up a traditional Catalan feast with the help of the farm owner (also a renowned local chef!), and enjoy your repast with small batch local wines (and maybe a cheeky digestif!). This farm-to-table experience is available as a 6 hr activity for €695 per person for 2 people, or as an 8-hr activity with a visit to a second farm for an engaging insight into the challenges of running an independent holding. The extended experience costs €895 per person for 2 people, and both get considerably cheaper for larger groups. Email us on info@barcelona-life.com for full details.
10. Beyond Montserrat: Olive Oil & Wine Tasting
This private day trip from Barcelona takes you to the spectacular Montserrat region to visit a 500-year-old olive farm, where you’ll taste a selection of exquisite oils made from the fruits of their centuries-old trees, before enjoying an authentic Catalan lunch, prepared by a private chef using local ingredients from the farm. In the afternoon you’ll be taken to a boutique winery where the wine-maker himself will give you a tour of the vineyards and cellars and crack open at least three different small batch wines for you. Everything on this tour is open exclusively for your group (no other tourists will be there!) and the experience costs €895 per person for 2 people. The tour comes with an option of either a short hike around Montserrat or guided visit to the abbey, and I would recommend taking this upgrade! Email us on info@barcelona-life.com for full details.
Private Day Trips & Excursions
11. Private Montserrat Abbey Tour (w/Cava Tasting?)
Montserrat is the number one day trip from Barcelona for a reason. This breathtaking mountain range is famous for its jagged limestone peaks and worthy of the visit alone… but in addition, one of Spain’s most sacred sites is nestled high up in this stunning sierra: the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey. This holy complex is home to the famous Black Madonna icon. Several providers offer private tours with hotel pick up, while others will take you by train with a private guide. Personally, I think the best option is to select a tour that also visits one of the fantastic wineries from the Penedes region, which includes cava tasting, farmer’s market, lunch and a short hike to better explore the area’s natural beauty.
12. Private Girona & Costa Brava Guided Tour
If I was planning an itinerary around Girona and the Costa Brava it would look a lot like this. It starts with a guided tour of Girona, a stunning medieval town which featured heavily in the Game of Thrones series and boasts a vast cathedral, colourful riverside and ancient Jewish quarter, before heading on to Pals (pictured above!), considered one of the most beautiful villages of Spain. The tour then heads to Calella de Palafrugell, a cute coastal village (and my summer holiday destination of choice!) where you can eat a king’s lunch and take a walk along the coastline and take a dip at one of the several nearby beaches with azure waters. Reservations are via Get Your Guide for €270 per person (price excludes lunch).
13. Private Tarragona Guided Tour w/Roman Ruins
Roman history buffs shouldn’t miss this trip to Tarragona, which was the most important town in the region during Rome’s heyday. The amphitheatre by the sea is a simply spectacular sight, as is the nearby Devil’s Bridge, and Tarragona also has plenty of medieval architecture to enjoy. Reservations via Get Your Guide are €230 per person, which includes your private guide and transport.
Extraordinary Activities
14. Private Cruise on Sailing Yacht
The chance to get out on the water is not to be missed in Barcelona, and hiring your own private yacht with qualified skipper is not as expensive as you might think. A three hour cruise on a comfortable 11 metre sailing yacht costs just €350 in total, and even includes snacks and a bottle of Cava (aka Spanish Champagne). Definitely a great way to spoil your partner and we’ve even had some lovebirds propose while on the boat! It’s also a perfect activity for a small, or even large, group of friends. Email us on info@barcelona-life.com and we’ll put you in direct touch with the yacht club. Larger boats also available.
15. Private Helicopter Flight (40 mins)
If you ever wanted to feel like James Bond, or even Xenia Onatopp, this private helicopter flight along Barcelona’s coastline will help fulfil those fantasies! Not only will you see some of the city’s iconic structures from the sky, but – if you select the private 40 minute option – you’ll have enough time to travel up to the jagged Montserrat mountain range and natural park for even more stunning aerial vistas. Available for up to 3 people. Otherwise you can also book a small group 7 minute or 12 minute flight over Barcelona. Head to Get Your Guide for booking options.
16. Private Hot Air Balloon Flight
Have I saved the best til last? Probably! Because this private hot air balloon flight is simply epic. The flights take place at the crack of dawn (when the conditions are best) and you’ll soar over the breathtaking Montserrat mountain range and Montseny natural park, full of mountains, forests and cute medieval villages and towns. You’ll even be able to see the Pyrenees in the distance as you sip on Cava in your floating basket and toast your partner and/or friends. There are a couple of options here but this activity on Get Your Guide includes breakfast, cava, flight certificate, photographs and insurance and costs just €800 with the private transport to and from Barcelona to Vic, where the tour starts (€700 without transfers).
More Help Planning Your Trip…
You don’t have to go private to have a fun time in Barcelona. Check out our complete list of what to do in the city here, while we’re also your go-to guide for what to at night.
About the Author
