Barcelona is a city filled with history, fascinating culture, beautiful views, and good food – more specifically, tapas. No trip to Barcelona is complete without trying their traditional tapas, which are essentially small dishes of food that are meant to be shared.
There’s really no limit to the type of food tapas can consist of, and I’ve seen them range from a bowl of almonds to a plate of grilled prawns.
As you can imagine, though, there are a ton of different tapas eateries in the city, so it can be challenging to find the best ones. I’ve decided to help out by curating the 7 top Barcelona tapas tours out there, offering insight into the traditions and cultures behind them. Let’s jump right in!
Best Tapas Tours in Barcelona
[tables]Quick Answer: The 7 Best Rated Barcelona Tapas Tours For 2024
- Barcelona Tapas and Wine Experience Small-Group Walking Tour
- Barcelona With Locals: Wine and Tapas PRIVATE Tour (Bites & Drinks Included)
- Barcelona: Tapas & Wine Early Evening Small Group Tour
- Barcelona Tapas, Taverns and Gothic Quarter History Tour
- Barcelona Electric Bike Small Group Tour with Tapas and Wine Tasting
- Barcelona Flamenco Show & Tapas Tour with Drinks in the Born
- Gothic Quarter Evening Tapas Tour with The Barcelona Taste
Barcelona Tapas Tour Reviews
1. Barcelona Tapas and Wine Experience Small-Group Walking Tour
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: La Rambla, 97, 97, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
- Departure Time: Either 11:00 AM or 6:00 PM
- Includes: Tapas and local product tasting, wine tasting, friendly local guide, stop at 4 restaurants, walking tour through old city
If it’s your first time in Barcelona, there’s no need to fret and wonder what you should do first as this tour is the one for you. It’s the perfect intro to all things Catalan, offering not only insight into proper tapas, but the city’s layout.
With the Barcelona Tapas and Wine Experience Small-Group Walking Tour, you’ll get a crash course into the local lifestyle, lead by a guide who is there to make sure you have a fantastic time.
I felt that the 3-hour length was the perfect amount of time, equating to more or less what it would be if you went out to lunch or dinner and took a walk around the city afterward.
While tapas are quite small, the amount that you’ll get to try does add up to a full meal. They offer two different start times, so you can select either the early afternoon or evening, making it even easier to fit into a busy itinerary.
Right from the very start of the tour, it was obvious that the guide put a lot of thought into carefully selecting the restaurants part of the experience.
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Just about every one was family-owned, with a big focus on keeping things authentic – some of the eateries had actually been around for more than a century!
We started at Plaça Sant Jaume, where we strolled through the impressive Gothic Quarter with our guide as he taught us all about its Roman origins and more.
Of course, we enjoyed plenty of delicious tapas and traditional wines to wash them all down, along the way. Thanks to the small group size, it just felt like we were delving in with a group of friends, which made the tour that much more fun.
Afterward, I felt like I had a whole new appreciation for the local culture, the city itself, and definitely fell in love with tapas!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
Other Barcelona Experiences You May Enjoy:
2. Barcelona With Locals: Wine and Tapas PRIVATE Tour (Bites & Drinks Included)
- Duration: 2.5 hours
- Departure: Rda. de Sant Antoni, 2, Ciutat Vella, 08001 Barcelona
- Departure Time: Between 8 & 10 PM
- Includes: 3 bites, 3 drinks (non-alcoholic available), Vegetarian alternatives, Private guide
Every time I go somewhere new, I really try and find the places that are truly local favorites as opposed to the “best-rated”. After all, I am traveling to a new place to really get to know how locals live and learn more about their culture and traditions.
I found the Barcelona with Locals: Wine and Tapas PRIVATE Tour (Bites & Drinks Included) to be one of the best options in this regard, with a guide who’s from Barcelona and knows some of those hot hidden gems!
Our tour kicked off in the center of the city, which was convenient to access and not too far from my hotel. Upon meeting our guide, I was glad to find just how welcoming and knowledgeable he was of the history and local life.
As it is a private tour, it was just a few of us so we were able to ask questions as we saw fit and got to have some control over the itinerary that day.
Our first stop of the day was at the Mercat de Sant Antoni which is known for its countless vendors that sell everything from fresh produce to clothes and home goods!
I learned that many locals will do their grocery shopping here, and many restaurant owners pick up all of their ingredients from the market as it’s just so fresh and high-quality.
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After this, we made our way to “Tapas street”, which is aptly-named as it’s literally lined with tapas bars.
I absolutely loved the tapas and wine that we nibbled and sipped on while learning about the importance of wine and food in the Catalan region (spoiler alert: they’re very important!).
This tour included 3 bites and 3 drinks which is the fewest of any of these tours and focused a bit more on sightseeing and history, which I still quite enjoyed.
I felt it was a great balance between savoring the food and drink while getting a solid grasp of the local lifestyle and how tapas came to be a thing.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
3. Barcelona: Tapas & Wine Early Evening Small Group Tour
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: Plaça de Sant Agustí Vell, 9, Ciutat Vella, 08003 Barcelona
- Departure Time: 5:00 PM
- Includes: Local English-speaking food guide, Expertly guided food tour, 3 tasting stops, 5 different Catalan wines
Even though I’m able to speak and understand Spanish, I still felt it was hard to find a more diverse array of tapas in the places I’d gone on my own.
However, with the Barcelona: Tapas and Wine Early Evening Small Group Tour, I was able to try many different wines and tapas I’d never had before. I almost felt like a local wandering down the cool, bustling neighborhoods outside of the touristy areas!
There are many different start times available, though as it’s just 3 hours I felt it was easy to substitute dinner at a restaurant with this tour.
I met up with our guide and the rest of our group at El Born, which is notoriously medieval and is largely built on a Muslim burial site. It is one of the most picturesque neighborhoods in Barcelona, but is also lined with fantastic tapas bars.
I really enjoyed the Restaurant Santagustina, which is currently one of the most popular gourmet tapas bars and offers a nice variety of both traditional and more “modern” tapas.
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I was really surprised at how affordable the glasses of wine were – even the highest-quality bottles! I highly recommend “Grandma’s Meatballs”, which are small but packed full of flavor and are nice and moist!
After that, we got to see Bastaix and learn about white wine and fortified wine’s resurgence before really diving deep into the history of tapas at Pla B. We had some more homemade wine here, expertly paired with savory Iberian pork or braised beef.
Our small group had a great time learning and seeing more of Barcelona, and we were able to chat and make friends, too!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
4. Barcelona Tapas, Taverns and Gothic Quarter History Tour
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Departure: Pl. de Ramon Berenguer el Gran, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain
- Departure Time: 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 PM
- Includes: Local English-speaking guide, Expertly guided walking tour, 3 tasting stops with 10+ tastes and 5 drinks
Barcelona has so many fascinating, beautiful places to experience that it can be hard to accomplish everything you want in just one trip.
The Barcelona Tapas, Taverns and Gothic Quarter History Tour lead my through the center of the city’s culinary and historical heritage with passionate guides and a small tour setting.
The seamless melding of gastronomy and history came to be through fascinating stories and anecdotes that brought the past to life!
Like most of the tours on this guide, this one also starts in central Barcelona, with an easy-to-access starting point. This guide started at 5:30 pm, so I’d recommend it as the perfect alternative to going to a nice dinner at a restaurant.
Oh, and while it’s not the main “selling point”, strolling around the cobblestone streets as the sun sets on the city is absolutely breathtaking and perfect for photos!
Our first stop had us trying plenty of local charcuterie like smoked salchichas and cured cheeses paired nicely with national sparkling and fortified wines.
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After that, we walked some of it off by seeing Roman ruins in the Gothic Quarter, learning about Columbus and the ’92 Olympics along the way. We then arrived at our second and third stops consisting of lively tapas bars, where we tried some red wine, fried fish, olives, and much more.
I loved Bodega La Palma, which is more of a sit-down, “proper” dinner with nearly a century of history highlighting artists and bohemians.
The last stop was quite possibly my absolute favorite of any tapas tours, where we got to try the Spanish version of French toast topped with rich ice cream! Combine all that, with the fact that our guide was one of the best I’ve ever had, and I’ll definitely take this tour again.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
5. Barcelona Electric Bike Small Group Tour with Tapas and Wine Tasting
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Departure: Plaça de Sant Agustí Vell, 16, Ciutat Vella, 08003 Barcelona
- Departure Time: 4:00 PM
- Includes: Small group tour, local professional guide, bottled water, glass of champagne, wine tasting, food tasting, fees and taxes
As you can probably tell, I’ve been on quite a few different types of Barcelona tapas tours. However, this tour stood out to me not only because of the content, but because of the convenient and thrill of riding electric bikes around the city’s bustling streets.
The Barcelona Electric Bike Small Group Tour with Tapas and Wine Tasting maximizing the time spent, allowing us to cover more ground and perhaps even access some hidden corners of the city that walking tours don’t allow for.
Starting in central Barcelona, we met up with our guide and were given a briefing on how to use the bikes as well as go for a little practice run before we set off.
Our group was very small which was ideal for riding bikes, and I found everything to be quite easy. As they’re electric, you hardly have to pedal for it to propel forward, which honestly was probably even easier than walking around!
This tour focused much more on history, and we got to see where people used to joust during medieval times, a house cut in half, food markets, and much more.
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We cruised around one of my favorite neighborhoods – El Born – where we saw the beautiful Centre Cultural, Parc de la Ciutadella, Parliament buildings, and much more. We then arrived at La Barceloneta, which kind of gives off a Miami vibe today but was once a quaint fishing village!
La Rambla was up next, where we enjoyed plenty of art and architecture before arriving at a tasty tapas bar for some cheese, bread, cured meats, and wine!
This is a great intro to tapas and Barcelona, in general, making it a fantastic tour for those visiting the city for the first time. Plenty of great company, great discoveries, and a nice selection of wines and little dishes!
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
6. Barcelona Flamenco Show & Tapas Tour with Drinks in the Born
- Duration: 3 to 4 hours
- Departure: C/ de Sant Pere Més Alt, 1, Ciutat Vella, 08003 Barcelona
- Departure Time: 6:00 PM
- Includes: Bilingual Guide Tour, Tapas & Pintxo Tour (2 Bars), Drinks included in each bar, Walking Tour, Flamenco Show in a Medieval Palace
It’s not every day that one gets to experience the soul-stirring Flamenco in an intimate setting, nestled within the historic walls of a 17th-century palace. This immersive tour promises an unforgettable evening full of great music, dance, and culinary treats.
The Barcelona Flamenco Show & Tapas Tour with Drinks in the Born is an enchanting experience that transports you to a bygone era of elegance and charm.
While I believe this tour is great for any adult traveler, I find this option to be best for a romantic night out with a significant other! It includes a delicious dinner anyway, complete with a show and a full-fledged history tour of the Gothic Quarter and El Born!
There were a lot of moving parts for this tour to work out well, and everything went off without a hitch!
We started off with a casual walking tour, learning about the Roman ruins, the Gothic architecture (which is even more impressive in person, by the way!), and much more.
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I fell in love with the baroque 17th-century Dalmases Palace, which we were lucky enough to go inside to enjoy the Flamenco show!
The guitar player was absolutely phenomenal, and the dancers were mesmerizing to watch. As we watched and listened, we sipped on a couple of drinks and were able to relax in the comfy seats.
To wrap it all up, we enjoyed a delicious gourmet dinner at one of Barcelona’s best pintxos restaurants, including dishes like pan con tomate, tortillas, croquetas, calamares, and much more.
This tour was a nice balance of walking, sitting, sipping, and eating, for a well-rounded experience I’d recommend to anyone.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
7. Gothic Quarter Evening Tapas Tour with The Barcelona Taste
- Duration: 3 hours
- Departure: Pl. de Ramon Berenguer el Gran, 2, Ciutat Vella, 08002 Barcelona
- Departure Time: 7:00 PM
- Includes: Local expert guide, dinner, alcoholic beverages, soda
One of the most captivating neighborhoods of Barcelona is the austere Gothic Quarter, so when I saw there was a tour that focused specifically on it, I didn’t hesitate.
The Gothic Quarter Evening Tapas Tour with The Barcelona Taste led by expert guides is a later-night adventure that’ll take you through these important landmarks at a time that allows for less crowding.
If you’re interested in learning more about what local life and food looks like, place this one at the top of your list!
Just like most others on this guide, this tour clocks in at around 3 hours, which I find to be just the right amount of time for dinner and some sightseeing.
This small group setting caps out at a mere 6 participants, so you can count on a very intimate, personalized experience.
Our guide actually asked for any specific interests we may have, so they could go ahead and tailor our tour around them while making suggestions they believe we may like.
We began in the Plaza de Ramon Berenguer el Gran and through the famous Ciutat Vella, where we got to see ancient Roman walls, cathedrals, beautiful plazas, and many reputable tapas bars.
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Every single restaurant we visited was new or me, and I loved how we were shown more hidden gems and charming places that only locals would frequent. Our guide was not only fun and friendly, but did a great job at offering us a deeper understanding of Barcelona’s rich culinary heritage.
We got 3 different restaurant choices to pick from, and the pre-selected tapas option was pretty tasty for me, as well.
Our entire group did share the plates (as tapas are intended to be, though to be honest, sharing plates with “strangers” wasn’t as weird as it may sound. From drinks and fun adventures to trying new things, this is a wonderful way to fill up on something other than a typical dinner.
More Information & Tour Booking
100% refund for cancellations within 24 hours of tour experience
Foods Tasted
Tour Guides
Value
The Barcelona Tapas and Wine Experience Small-Group Walking Tour is our Editors Choice for the best Barcelona tapas tour
