During times of economic upheavals, it is heartbreaking to read that tourism industries around the world are the first to suffer. Yes it’s true, travelling can be exorbitantly expensive…but it need not be so necessarily. When visiting Barcelona, the most glorious of Spanish gems, booking a holiday apartment rental in El Born will certainly go a long way into ensuring your hard-earned savings are well spent. The city’s best attractions will be nearby and you’ll be able to self-cater, which is infinitely more rewarding than constant restaurant dining anyway.

For the best tips on even more money saving when visiting Barcelona, follow our guide and discover just how affordable a week or week-end away can be. After all your hard work, we think you’ve earned it!

Go Museum Mad!
Multiple museum visits in a city like Barcelona will surely deplete your holiday funds rather pronto. However, cunning visitors will already have heard about the fantastic Barcelona Museum Pass offered for just €30. Buy one before you even arrive and you’ll get free entry into the seven best museums in town; including the Picasso, Contemporary Art and the Catalonian National Art Museum among others. The pass is valid for 10 consecutive days, but don’t forget that if you’re travelling with children aged 14 and under, they’ll get in free in most museums. Book your ticket online, pick it up at the airport and enjoy your cultural experience without breaking into a financial sweat.

There’s also an ARQUEOticket available for half the price. It only includes five museums, yet if they happen to be the ones you’re interested in you can save even more money. Yey! More tapas for you then!

Hop around all over town
Joining an English-speaking guided tour of a foreign city is undoubtedly a golden opportunity to take in the best sites of the city, while actually understanding what it is you are admiring. However, some of these can come with a hefty price tag and, besides, seeing a city on your own schedule is rather priceless. When visiting Barcelona, take advantage of the two Hop-on/hop-off bus tours on offer and you can have the best of both worlds!

Between all the routes offered, you’ll get guided past 70 popular attractions all over Barcelona, and you can hop off and on at your own leisure. Buses come past every 10 minutes and a full round trip takes about two hours. A single ticket is valid for all the routes, so you can skip between lines and pick your favourite sites to maximise your time. A full day’s hopping only costs €24, and is by far the most comfortable and convenient way to explore the town.

The Best Part!
‘The best things in life are free’ must be one of the most overused phrases in the English language but we assure that, in Barcelona, it is no cliché! A stroll down Las Ramblas, with its collection of street performers and musicians is a brilliant way to enjoy a few hours in Barcelona without spending a cent. That is, of course, unless you like a performance so much you’re compelled to leave a tip, which is always appreciated. It’s also free to soak up the rays and people watching action on the beaches of Barceloneta and, while visiting Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces on Passeig de Gracia is an absolute must, we think that admiring them from the outside can be just as rewarding.