Barcelona, Spain is a bike-friendly city. One of the first things you’ll notice while walking its streets is not the dramatic architecture but rather the youthful cyclists weaving between pedestrians, some more skillfully than others. Can’t beat ’em? Join ’em!
Rent a bike and take a guided tour of Barcelona
And soak up the atmosphere without having to stand in lines or walked through silent museums by taking a bike tour of Barcelona courtesy of Barcelona Ciclo Tour (barcelonaciclotour.com).
“Do what the locals do”, as advertised by their somewhat poorly translated and seemingly continuously under construction website. For around 20 Euros (student discounts available) you are given a bike and a guided tour of the city through various neighborhoods, past the Cathedral, the plazas, Sagrada Familia and the architectural marvels of the art deco master Antony Gaudi. Available in a number of different languages and with 18 different stop points along the way, the three and a half hour tour has something for everyone, unless sunshine, the wind your hair, and a stop at a typical beachside cerveceria is not something you enjoy.
The Classic Bikes shop itself is located in a rather unassuming alley way at Tallers 45 just off Las Ramblas, but their pamphlets and bike stands can be seen all around the city and it’s impossible to miss the tour guides with their advertisement covered bicycles. You can also just rent a bike and do your own thing, but be wary of the laws as it is a continuous battle to be a cyclist in Barcelona with the road rules not in your favor.
Get the Barcelona Bicing card
If you’re planning to stay longer it’s worth investing in a Bicing card (bicing.com). An experiment that has taken on a life of its own, the concept of free bicycles around the city with specific drop off points is becoming more and more familiar around Europe. For about 1 euro a week, you can have unlimited access to the 1500 Bicing bikes, with over 100 access points around Barcelona. A fantastic system for long term tourists without their own bikes, you must register for the program on the website and have an address in Spain for the card delivery (great if you are in the city visiting friends).
Once you have subscribed, activate your Barcelona Bicing card on line and just swipe at a station to take a bike to your next destination. The one downfall might be its unexpected popularity. It’s easy enough to get to your destination, but at rush hour it may be more difficult to find a bicycle for the ride back. This of course supports the idea that environmentally and physically friendly modes of transportation are coming back into fashion so expect to see an expansion to this project, and hopefully attitudes towards cyclists in the city will also expand.
Picture of Barcelona rent-a-bike originally posted by maveric2003
Topic: Tips and Ideas |
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Tags: Barcelona, transportation
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About the author
A recent graduate of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology and Anthropology, Aliki has spent the last two years living in Holland and travelling around Europe, on a tight budget.
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