Barcelona Golondrinas – a view of the city from the Mediterranean

by David | Ramblas Barcelona

The Golondrinas are a small fleet of tourist boats that will take you on an excursion around the port, or as far as the Forum and back. Located right at the bottom of the Ramblas, close to the bridge that crosses to Maremagnum, the excursions last 35 minutes for the port tour, or 90 minutes to see Barcelona’s entire coastline.

The original Golondrinas date back to the 1888 World Fair, when they used to carry passengers around the harbour.

The modern boats consist of two decks, the one downstairs equipped with a bar, the upper deck with very little shelter and inadvisable in the summer, although that is where most of the passengers went when we went on the longer tour. This starts off with a quick tour view of the harbour and then heads off towards the Forum. Along the way you can make out some of Barcelona’s best known landmarks, as well as just the sea front, and the miles of beaches stretching from Barceloneta towards Port Olimpic.

When it reaches Port Olimpic, the Golondrina turns around and heads back to the harbour. There you may be taken around the cruisers, which is impressive as Barcelona is the second busiest cruise port in the world and the size of the liners is staggering, floating hotels with thousands of rooms.

There isn’t much to say about the trip, as all the time is spent looking, taking it all in and talking – a boat trip is always a relaxing experience, as long as the weather holds. I always like the sea and as a diver spend some time on boats – if you have sea legs and want to get a different perspective on Barcelona then the Golondrinas are definitely worth considering.