Runner Bean Tours

Runner Bean Tours was founded in 2010 by Gorka and Ann-Marie, a Spanish-Irish couple, and works with a team of local guides. It is best known for its free walking tours, which are funded by tips: there is no fixed price, and at the end you give the guide what you think the tour was worth. The company holds the Biosphere sustainable tourism certification.

There are two core free walks, both in English and both lasting around two and a half hours. The Gothic Quarter tour explores the Roman and medieval city, its squares, churches and hidden corners, with stories of the people and events that shaped Barcelona. It starts daily at 11am, with an extra 4.30pm departure from April to October. The Gaudí tour starts at 11am every day and follows the architect's work and the Modernista movement through the city, finishing at the Sagrada Família. Both meet at Plaça Reial, just off La Rambla.

For something different, the Dark Past Night Walking Tour is a fixed-price, two-hour evening walk through the darker side of the city's history, starting at the Arc de Triomf at 9pm, or 7pm in winter. Private tours can also be arranged: a four-hour Gaudí Experience starting at Casa Batlló or a place of your choice, a half-day or full-day chauffeured highlights tour, and a day trip to the mountain monastery of Montserrat.

Group sizes are limited, so book a place on the website in advance, particularly in summer and at weekends; the free tours fill up quickly. Wear comfortable shoes, bring water in hot weather, and carry some cash for the tip at the end. The Gaudí tour includes a short metro ride, so have a travel card or ticket ready. The walks suit first-time visitors, solo travellers, couples and families with older children, and they are an excellent way to get your bearings on the first day.

Plaça Reial is a couple of minutes' walk from Liceu station on metro line L3 and from Drassanes, also on L3. The company's office is on Carrer de Bilbao in Poblenou, but tours do not start there. After the Gothic Quarter walk, the square's restaurants and Jamboree jazz club are on hand, and after the Gaudí tour you are well placed to visit the Sagrada Família itself, with a ticket booked in advance.