Barcelona bike rental – see the city from a different perspective

Hiring a bike in Barcelona is one of the most interesting and accessible ways to get around this fascinating city. If you are used to cycling around cities, then there are numerous bike shops that can allow you to hire out cycles, at very reasonable prices.

You’ll soon notice that Barcelona itself has a good number of cyclists and a reasonable network of cycle lanes – los carriles bici – which you’ll see well marked out by white lines. In total, there are between 120 and 140 kms of cycle paths, with more still being planned. For example, if you want to you can cycle all along the beachfront of the city on a designated cycle lane. Many travellers claim, with some justification, that cycling round the streets of Barcelona brings them a whole new perspective.

People wanting to cycle in Barcelona have three hiring choices. It is possible for some rental companies to deliver your bike to your hotel; you can collect one from one of the many bike hire shops in the city; or you can join a guided bike tour, which offers some entertaining and divergent possibilities.

Bikerentalbarcelona.com, which has been operating since 2002, for example, offers all three of these possibilities and with 150 bikes in its fleet gives prospective cyclists plenty of choice.

Barcelonabiking.com is a similar well-established company, and again offers bikes for as short or as long a period as you wish. Budgetbikes.eu, with its 250 distinctive Dutch orange cycles, has three shops – one close to Plaça Catalunya and one within easy distance of Las Ramblas – and has only been in Barcelona since 2006 but is already a well-established part of the cycling scene. You’ll find that all these companies, along with many more, offer top quality products from well-established, worldwide brands, including excellent folding bikes if that is more convenient for you.

Once you have the bike, then you can choose to find your own way round the city streets or take part in one of the many, varied bike tours that are always available. Whether you’re looking for a guided cycle tour around the modernist architecture, a tapas tour or the city’s first guided Pink tour, then you’ll be certain of finding a tour to suit your own particular needs.