Barcelona Highlights Tour (Jewish & secular) - 6 hours
Enjoy a private tour of Barcelona
Led by a Jewish guide who speaks English and Hebrew
Duration
The tour lasts for 6 hours. I can customise the itinerary and its duration to better suit your needs. We can stop for a lunch break in the middle of the tour.
Meeting location
I can meet you at your hotel or a location that is convenient for you, as long as it is in the city center. At the end of the tour, I can take you to your hotel or to another place of your choice.
Transportation
Most of the tour consists of walking. Public transport or a taxi would be required to reach Montjuic (The Jewish Mountain) and the Sagrada Familia. I can arrange a chauffeured car for part of the tour.
Want to see as much as possible in one day?
Get In TouchDescription
The tour offers a balanced mix of Jewish Heritage and secular sites, providing a great overview of the city.
We will begin by visiting the Old Town of Barcelona, specifically the Jewish Quarter and the Gothic Quarter. The focus will be on the history of the Jewish community in Spain, from the Middle Ages to the present day, as well as events surrounding the Spanish Inquisition.
After exploring the Old Town, we can take a break for lunch if you’d like. During lunch, we can discuss the next steps. The remainder of the tour can be customized based on your preferences. Here are some options for what we can do after lunch:
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Visiting Montjuic Mountain. The name “Montjuic” translates to “The Jewish Mountain”. During the Middle Ages, this was the location of a Jewish cemetery, although unfortunately, nothing remains of it today. There are several reasons to explore Montjuic:
- Enjoy one of the best panoramic views of Barcelona and the sea.
- Experience a cable car ride over the city.
- Visit Montjuic Castle, which was a military fortress built around a lighthouse that is over 1000 years old.
- See a Jewish tombstone dated back to 1306 from the Jewish Cemetery of Montjuic.
- Visiting Passeig de Gracia, the most elegant and main shopping street of Barcelona, where two of the buildings (Casa Mila and Casa Batlló) designed by Antoni Gaudí, the most famous Catalan architect, are located.
Who is this tour for?
This tour will be ideal for you if:
- You want to see most of Barcelona’s highlights in one day and experience both the Old Town and the modern areas.
- You are interested in Jewish history and the history of the Spanish Inquisition.
- You are visiting with kids and would like to educate them about the history of Jews in Spain.
- You would like more photos of yourself created during the tour. Professional photography can be included as an additional option, allowing you to enjoy a combination of a tour and a photo session.
Itinerary
The itinerary includes visits to the same sites featured in the 4-hour tour of the Jewish & Gothic Quarters, along with Montjuic (The Jewish Mountain) or the Passeig de Gracia area to explore some of the most famous examples of modernist architecture.
We will visit:
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Old Town of Barcelona: Discover the Jewish and Gothic Quarters, the oldest and most historic parts of Barcelona.
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The Synagogue Major: This is one of the oldest synagogues in Europe, known as “The Rashba Synagogue”, where Shlomo ben Aderet (Rashba, 1235-1310) served as Rabbi for 50 years.
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The site where a dispute between Rabbi RaMBaN and Pablo Christiani, a Dominican Friar, a convert from Judaism to Christianity, took place in 1263. We’ll learn the history of the dispute.
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The Spanish Inquisition headquarters: Learn about the main aspects of the history of the Spanish Inquisition, from 1478 to the present day.
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An ancient mikvah and one of the entrances to underground tunnels now located in a private store.
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Magen Davids incorporated into the decoration of the walls of the Cathedral of Barcelona (we will not go inside).
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The building of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (one of the historical archives);
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Gravestones from a Jewish cemetery: Learn how they were used as building materials after the Jewish Quarter was destroyed in 1391.
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Remains of the Roman walls: Discover the Roman settlement Barcino that existed from the 1st century BC.
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The columns of the Roman Temple of Augustus.
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Casa Adret (from outside) – one of the oldest inhabited houses in Barcelona.
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La Boqueria market and La Rambla street: experience the vibrant atmosphere.
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Passeig de Gracia: this is the most elegant and main shopping street in Barcelona. Here we can see one of the most emblematic sites of Barcelona, “The Block of Discord” featuring buildings designed by four modernist architects, including Casa Batlló designed by Antoni Gaudí, the most famous Catalan architect.
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We will also view another of Gaudí’s works, Casa Mila (also known as “La Pedrera”), from the outside.