Runner Bean Tours

These people are amazing! We did both the Gaudi tour and the Old city tour. They were equally good. Without a guide we wouldn’t have dared to explore the narrow Gothic streets and the hidden gems there. Our tour guides were Tatiana (Tati) and Marc. Both were outstanding in knowledge and communication.

We have just done the Guadi tour with same company, we highly recommend this too, Zoe was just as enthusiastic as Miguel. Full of useful information and answers. Guided us through his years of genius.

We did the Old City Tour and enjoyed it very much. Gorka, our guide was amazing! He was fun, funny and very knowledgeable and interesting. There was lots to see and it was a great introduction to Barcelona for us.

We took the free walking tour of the Barri Gotic with Catherine on our visit to Barcelona and it was fantastic. The tour is not geared toward children, but the guide was so engaging that our 9 and 11 year old boys had no trouble for the entire tour. Catherine was quite possibly the best tour guide we had on our entire trip. She had visual aids and a variety of stories relating to each stop on her tour. We learned so much that we never would have picked up in a tour book. Barcelona was one of our favorite cities on our European trip, and we largely attribute this to the details we received on this tour.
We weren’t sure what our schedule would be in town, so I called the morning of the tour to add our names to the list. Before we left the US, I had emailed the company to ask whether the kids would be OK on the tours. Every communication I had with Runner Bean was friendly and efficient.
We regretted that we didn’t have time to participate in the Gaudi tour, but I’m hopeful that Runner Bean will expand their offerings to other cities.
Highly recommended!

I did the Old City tour with Jenni and it was superb! I got a nice history of the city and great sightseeing and was able to make my way back to a few places I wanted to return and spend some more time in. Our guide was wonderful and really helped us at the end to recommend some eateries and things to do. For a donation only tour, you get real bang for your buck!

I did both the old city and Gaudí tours during my 8-​day visit to Barcelona. Catherine was my guide for the old city tour and Ann Marie guided the Gaudí tour. They’re both Irish and gave excellent tours of the city.
The website has very detailed and accurate (at least when I checked it) information. Both tours meet at Plaça Reial at 11am (if you don’t have reservations it’s a good idea to show up 15 minutes before that). Old city tour, only comprising of walking, ends at Santa Maria del Mar while Gaudí tour requires two short metro rides and ends at la Sagrada Família.
I enjoyed the old city tour a little more, but perhaps partially because I had already been to almost all the Gaudí attractions prior to joining the Gaudí tour (la Pedrera, Casa Batlló, la Sagrada Família). Additionally, if you’re already planning on visiting those sites, the audio guides there will provide sufficient information, so maybe a human guide on the walking tour doesn’t add as much value. On the other hand, if you’re just wandering around the old city you may miss a lot of the history and hidden treasures that you walk by (Baixada de Santa Eulalia, el Call, the tower in Plaça del Rei, etc).
You’re free to leave as much money as you’d like at the end of the tour. Catherine had a little purse to receive donations and Ann Marie just took them by hand when people offered. Both tours last 2.5 hours at a leisurely pace, and you can ask the guides about anything else about the city not directly related to the tour. Running from 11 to 1:30pm, the tours are perfectly timed for a leisurely breakfast beforehand and lunch afterward. I’d recommend any visitor to Barcelona look up Runner Bean.

Booked the Old City tour through them when we were in Barcelona. And we couldn’t have asked for a better tour. Our guide, Lowri, was great… joked around with us & taught us history. She seemed really passionate about her job.
She also made sure we had enough time at each place to make sure we had pictures.
I totally recommend using them.

These guys are doing absolutely fantastic job running these tours. We are taking both Old Town and Gaudî.

I took the Gaudi tour with Runner Bean on my last day in BCN. I found them on a travel website and it never hurts to do a «free» tour. They offer an Old City Tour as well, which I took a similar one with another «free» tour company on my 1^st day. You can make a RSVP online, but you can also just show up at the meeting spot (Placa Reial) at the tour time and look for the green umbrellas. I did the latter.
Catherine (from Ireland originally) was our guide and SHE WAS FABULOUS! I know you never know who you end up with, but it seems like all the tour guides are very engaging and informative and interesting. Truthfully I think that’s the perk of doing a free tour. The guides make their living through tips only, so they are likely to be more invested in the tour and provide an excellent experience. Catherine happens to have studied arts and arts history, and she’s armed with lots of fun facts.
Keep in mind you have to hop onto the Metro during this tour. The guide will help with your purchase of Metro fare, but it’s that much easier if you already have that in hand. I personally had a Barcelona Card for 3 days, and got an unlimited 1 day pass on my last day, and it’s worth the money.
DON’T forget to tip the guide. I don’t know what’s the «going rate» but for a 3 solid hour tour, I think 10 EUR per person is the minimum. It’s still a bargain, if you look at other organized tour pricings, and those guides looked like they’re hating every minute of their jobs.

We took the Runner Bean tour of Old City, and it was great in that our tour guide was very enthusiastic! She had interesting stories, and the pace of the tour was not too fast. At the same time, it definitely did not drag at each stop. I highly recommend the tour if you’re new to Barcelona and want an introduction to the city. You can then explore any of the sites more in depth at your own pace.
The tour is free, but definitely tip at the end, in that the tour guides put in a lot of effort!

We did the Gaudi Walk tour which includes the Guell Palace, La Pedrera, Casa Mila, and the Sagrada Familia. Our tour guide (I’m sorry, I can’t remember his name) was a very nice young guy and very knowledgeable as well. He answered all of our questions, gave us time to take pictures and gave us the hint to not make the 3-​hour line to get into the Sagrada Familia which we were very grateful for. Definitely recommend this tour. Wish we would have done the old city tour with this company as well.

My girlfriend found Runner Beam tours on the Internet and booked the ‘Old City Tour”. We gathered at la Placa Reial where we met the tour guide (Gorka) and the other participants.
Having visited Barcelona frequently, I was amazed about the information and explanations our tour guide was able to give us. We visited some great locations in the Barrio Gotico (Jewish quarter — Roman temple — .,) and ended at the Santa Maria del Mar in Borne. The tour lasted about 2.5 hours and was a fantastic experience and highly recommended to all those who want to get a non-​commercial taste of the old city.
The tour is free of charge (booking required up front) and it is left up to the participants to tip the guide according to their satisfaction. Be correct with these guides so they can continue to provide this great service.

Took the old city tour, and It was great! Our guide (can’t remember his name!) was fun loving who made a fantastic story teller. The meeting place for all the runner bean tours is at the fountain in Placa Reial, which is easy enough to find. If you have trouble, any shop owner around will easily point you in the right direction.
The tour is 2.5 hours and we went through Barri gotic, including the Jewish quarter and outside the cathedral. There are stories to every part of the old city– why something looks the way it does and how it got there, and why there is Hebrew on this one brick on the wall of the building.
The tours run on tip; it is your call for however much you want to give. Our guide was open to questions the whole time and clearly loved what he does. Highly recommended if it is your first time in Barcelona!

My friend and I went on the Old City walking tour and it was fantastic!
To begin, the meeting location is very specific. Though, it was in a huge public square our tour guide was extremely easy to find and greeted us with a big smile. I really wish I could remember her name because she was amazing. For the entire tour she joked and laughed with us turning what could have been a very mild, potentially boring history lesson into a very interesting, exciting tour of Barcelona. I enjoyed all of the interesting stories she would tell about the sites we saw.
Overall: This is a fantastic tour and I was very impressed with our tour guide.