Barcelona Urban Adventures
Barcelona Urban Adventures
Barcelona Urban Adventures
5
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About
Barcelona Urban Adventures offers unique and authentic day tours around Barcelona. They range from 2 hour to 1 day adventures and uncover back streets, hidden gems, and fascinating sights. Step into the lives of locals, find out what makes the city tick, and get acquainted with the local food, culture, and traditions of Barcelona. A local expert guide will provide the knowledge and lead you through a fantastic urban experience.
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Awards
Travelers' Choice
2024
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
241 reviews
Excellent
229
Very good
9
Average
0
Poor
2
Terrible
1
Drew S
1 contribution
Sep 2023 • Couples
The tour was great. The guide was fun and we met some awesome people in the tour group with us. Great food/drink selections from the bars/restaurants we went to. The content of the tour was based on the history of the city and was very interesting as well. Definitely recommend.
Written September 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Graham M
1 contribution
Sep 2023 • Couples
We enjoyed 5 locations for tapas in Barcelona. Magdalina was our guide! She was amazing! She had lists of little bits of information about the city and culture. By the end we were well informed with full tummies. My wife and I definitely recommend!
Written September 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
curt g
1 contribution
Jul 2023 • Friends
Hello, my name is Curt and I attended one of your tapas tours on July 5th 2023 in Barcelona hosted by Juan.
I just wanted to let you know that the tour was exceptional and that Juan did a great job talking about the history, culture, food, and drinks of Barcelona and Spain. We went to places none of the tour books mentioned and learned about them that we would never have if Juan did not show us.
Keep up the great service!
I just wanted to let you know that the tour was exceptional and that Juan did a great job talking about the history, culture, food, and drinks of Barcelona and Spain. We went to places none of the tour books mentioned and learned about them that we would never have if Juan did not show us.
Keep up the great service!
Written August 15, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gundega Jekabsone
1 contribution
Dec 2022
Wonderful gastronomical experience with wonderful person Desire.
Stories about Barcelona, delicious food in specially selected places and a great guide are combined in one adventure.
Thank you, Desire.
Stories about Barcelona, delicious food in specially selected places and a great guide are combined in one adventure.
Thank you, Desire.
Written December 12, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
suep0603
Hawthorne, CA7 contributions
May 2023 • Friends
Liliana was a wonderful guide. We had a jovial, fun group and toured the Gothic quarter eating delicious tapas and drinking fine beer, wine and cava. Great way to start a visit to Barcelona!
Written May 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mobile46664
Dallas, TX12 contributions
May 2022 • Couples
Professional and enthusiastic guide, Desiree, took us on an informative and entertaining tapas tour. We visited old pubs, restaurants, courtyards and bakeries that would have never found on our own. We tasted wines, meat, seafood and veggies that we would have never tried on our own.
Written May 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Linda D
2 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
We had an amazing time with our tour guide Desire Quarta. She vetted our restaurants and food and beverage choices. All the food and drink was delicious. Quaint bookstore with hidden restaurant, restaurant that was a farm with terrific food, service, and wine and cute venue. We would definitely recommend this tour through the beautiful gothic/old town in Barcelona.
Written October 5, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John M
Denver, CO11 contributions
Oct 2022
Our guide, Desire, led us on an amazing adventure. Each stop on the tour was ready for our visit. One stop had us come in before it was officially open for the evening. Each stop had a different type of food and drink. The food and drinks were excellent. We could not have found our way through the narrow streets without Desire. We would go back to Barcelona just to take this tour again.
Written March 6, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
David S.M
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia8 contributions
Feb 2020
We had an excellent private tour in Barcelona with our guide Andrea. She shared her love and enthusiasm and the tour was amazing. A great way to learn about local culture, history and good tips. We really enjoy the walk an the incredible views with a glass of cava. Highly recommended.
Written February 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi David, thanks so much for taking the time to write a reviews! We hope to sharing more tours and experiences with you in the future, best
Written February 21, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Juliane S
Canberra, Australia167 contributions
Nov 2013 • Couples
Having experienced a fantastic evening on an Urban Adventures Ciccheti of Venice tour, we were really looking forward to the evening tapas tour of Barcelona. Unfortunately it was bitterly disappointing and I only gave it a rating of 1 because there was no option for anything less. Please note that I withdrew my original scathing review have now included a note at the end about the impressive response by Urban Adventures when we lodged a complaint. This just goes to show how important it is to employ the right people on the ground to provide the service and maintain the company's reputation.
We were literally three minutes late for the 5.30pm tour as we were delayed on La Rambla by the crowd and not being able to get across the traffic to the Art Centre meeting point until the lights changed. We could see the guide holding up the sign, standing with one other couple. As we waited to cross the road directly in front of her, she turned and started to walk off and obviously intended to leave without us. No courtesy of a five minute wait for all members of the tour to arrive, and no courtesy of a phone call to make sure we were on our way. Luckily the lights changed and we ran across the road to call out to her that we had arrived. Our tour guide introduced herself as Elisabeth.
There was only one other couple on the tour (who also happened to be Australian). One of the things we loved about the Venice tour was the diversity of the group of approx 10 other people and the wonderful conversations that we were able to have, and we made some great new friends. Unfortunately this was not the case on the Barcelona tour, even though it is advertised with a maximum of 12 group size. Thankfully Bill and Lois were nice people and we had a good conversation, but I think all of us would have appreciated some other group members to make it a bit more lively. When questioned about the group numbers, Elisabeth told us that she always only takes two couples as otherwise it is difficult to get a table at the tapas bars. As this is a planned tour and the bars are well known to the guide in advance we would have assumed that there is an agreement with the venues that they will hold a table for the tour groups.
We booked the tour through the urban adventures website and it promises that you will experience approximately 5 tapas bars in different parts of the city. We only visited three. We challenged this and expressed disappointment, but Elisabeth told us it is always only three tapas bars. If that's the case, Urban Adventures need to change the way it is advertised. We felt cheated by this.
The website also promises that 'By the end of the tour, you'll know your banderillas from your bacalao, even if you can't pronounce them.' I still have no idea what either a banderilla or a bacalao is. Elisabeth did not give us any descriptions about what we were eating, we certainly did not learn anything about the history of tapas or even the history or culture of the city or areas that we were in. We were not made to feel welcome by the tapas bar owners or staff - in fact the staff at the second restaurant were rude to Lois and I. This is a total contrast to the Venice tour, where we received wonderful explanations of the food, met the owners of the business, the wines were matched to the foods and we were given the information about where the food and wine had come from etc. The wines we were given at each of the venues were terrible, not good quality at all. The tapas was very ordinary, and certainly not the standard we had expected or had experienced elsewhere.
Elisabeth did not really make any effort at all to engage with us and distinctly lacked enthusiasm. In fact, a mysterious fifth person turned up at the first tapas bar with a young boy in tow, and Elisabeth greeted them warmly then sat them separately to the rest of us, and spent most of her time with them. When we asked who they were, we were told they were germans who were booked on the tour but did not speak english so were uncomfortable sitting with us. The story about not speaking any english was not true - a couple of us spoke with the lady and her english was very good, and she said she was from Austria (maybe just a coincidence, but that is Elisabeth's home country also). We got the distinct impression that she was a friend of Elisabeth's, along for the ride.
We definitely did not get value for money or have a good time on this tour and felt that we had been cheated. We decided to make a complaint direct to Urban Adventures, so sent off an email through their website. We were contacted soon after by the Manager, Tony, who was very apologetic that we had not enjoyed our experience, and promised to investigate further. About a week later he sent another email, again apologising and saying that he had spoken to the tour guide, she had admitted to meeting a friend on the tour and would no longer be working for them. Although I am a little sorry that she lost her job, I think this is a good outcome for Urban Adventures as she was definitely not delivering the service the company officers or promoting the company values. As she works for other tour companies also, perhaps she will now pay more attention to the service she provides and how she treats people.
Tony asked what we would like in the form of compensation. We decided that we did would not be able to book another tour in the immediate future due to other travel and family commitments, and that we did not want financial compensation for our disappointing experience. Instead, we asked that the company provide a 50% discount to another Australian couple on a European walking tour. Tony arranged for it to be advertised on their Facebook page and contacted us to let us know the offer had been claimed, and now another couple will have an opportunity to experience a tour for half price. We are very satisfied with this outcome and hope that they have a wonderful time. We have revised our decision not to use Urban Adventures again, and will definitely give them another chance in a different country next year - here's hoping for better luck next time!
We were literally three minutes late for the 5.30pm tour as we were delayed on La Rambla by the crowd and not being able to get across the traffic to the Art Centre meeting point until the lights changed. We could see the guide holding up the sign, standing with one other couple. As we waited to cross the road directly in front of her, she turned and started to walk off and obviously intended to leave without us. No courtesy of a five minute wait for all members of the tour to arrive, and no courtesy of a phone call to make sure we were on our way. Luckily the lights changed and we ran across the road to call out to her that we had arrived. Our tour guide introduced herself as Elisabeth.
There was only one other couple on the tour (who also happened to be Australian). One of the things we loved about the Venice tour was the diversity of the group of approx 10 other people and the wonderful conversations that we were able to have, and we made some great new friends. Unfortunately this was not the case on the Barcelona tour, even though it is advertised with a maximum of 12 group size. Thankfully Bill and Lois were nice people and we had a good conversation, but I think all of us would have appreciated some other group members to make it a bit more lively. When questioned about the group numbers, Elisabeth told us that she always only takes two couples as otherwise it is difficult to get a table at the tapas bars. As this is a planned tour and the bars are well known to the guide in advance we would have assumed that there is an agreement with the venues that they will hold a table for the tour groups.
We booked the tour through the urban adventures website and it promises that you will experience approximately 5 tapas bars in different parts of the city. We only visited three. We challenged this and expressed disappointment, but Elisabeth told us it is always only three tapas bars. If that's the case, Urban Adventures need to change the way it is advertised. We felt cheated by this.
The website also promises that 'By the end of the tour, you'll know your banderillas from your bacalao, even if you can't pronounce them.' I still have no idea what either a banderilla or a bacalao is. Elisabeth did not give us any descriptions about what we were eating, we certainly did not learn anything about the history of tapas or even the history or culture of the city or areas that we were in. We were not made to feel welcome by the tapas bar owners or staff - in fact the staff at the second restaurant were rude to Lois and I. This is a total contrast to the Venice tour, where we received wonderful explanations of the food, met the owners of the business, the wines were matched to the foods and we were given the information about where the food and wine had come from etc. The wines we were given at each of the venues were terrible, not good quality at all. The tapas was very ordinary, and certainly not the standard we had expected or had experienced elsewhere.
Elisabeth did not really make any effort at all to engage with us and distinctly lacked enthusiasm. In fact, a mysterious fifth person turned up at the first tapas bar with a young boy in tow, and Elisabeth greeted them warmly then sat them separately to the rest of us, and spent most of her time with them. When we asked who they were, we were told they were germans who were booked on the tour but did not speak english so were uncomfortable sitting with us. The story about not speaking any english was not true - a couple of us spoke with the lady and her english was very good, and she said she was from Austria (maybe just a coincidence, but that is Elisabeth's home country also). We got the distinct impression that she was a friend of Elisabeth's, along for the ride.
We definitely did not get value for money or have a good time on this tour and felt that we had been cheated. We decided to make a complaint direct to Urban Adventures, so sent off an email through their website. We were contacted soon after by the Manager, Tony, who was very apologetic that we had not enjoyed our experience, and promised to investigate further. About a week later he sent another email, again apologising and saying that he had spoken to the tour guide, she had admitted to meeting a friend on the tour and would no longer be working for them. Although I am a little sorry that she lost her job, I think this is a good outcome for Urban Adventures as she was definitely not delivering the service the company officers or promoting the company values. As she works for other tour companies also, perhaps she will now pay more attention to the service she provides and how she treats people.
Tony asked what we would like in the form of compensation. We decided that we did would not be able to book another tour in the immediate future due to other travel and family commitments, and that we did not want financial compensation for our disappointing experience. Instead, we asked that the company provide a 50% discount to another Australian couple on a European walking tour. Tony arranged for it to be advertised on their Facebook page and contacted us to let us know the offer had been claimed, and now another couple will have an opportunity to experience a tour for half price. We are very satisfied with this outcome and hope that they have a wonderful time. We have revised our decision not to use Urban Adventures again, and will definitely give them another chance in a different country next year - here's hoping for better luck next time!
Written December 5, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Several years ago we took a tour of Barcelona with someone named Alicia and he husband. I believe they were newlyweds. We had a wonderful tour of Barcelona and she took us to a great place for tapas and sangria. I am wondering if this is the same company ? We are coming back this year and would like to book your tour.
Written January 17, 2020
Alicia O
Barcelona, Spain
Hi! Yes! It's the same company, we would love to see you again!
Thanks
Alicia
Written January 18, 2020
Jackie from Melbourne? Is that you? It's Sandy from Colorado.
Written November 17, 2017
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