Visiting The Tibidabo Panoramic Area For The Best View of Barcelona | Spain

I honestly can’t believe that Tibidabo Amusement Park doesn’t appear on more Barcelona itineraries. Ok so you’re not a fan of amusement parks? Well what if I told you that the Tibidabo Skywalk is completely free to enter, offers panoramic views across the city of Barcelona (it is on the top of Mount Tibidabo after all!) and has fairground rides that are almost 100 years old?

The Tibidabo panoramic area is where some of my all time favourite travel photos have been taken. It should definitely be visited during a trip to Barcelona!

Tibidabo Panoramic Area

Tibidabo is actually spilt into two parts: the main amusement park has an entry fee and would probably be better suited to younger visitors. (Although I was desperate to go on the rollercoaster that looked like it was going to throw you off the top of the mountain!).

Then the Tibidabo panoramic area (Skywalk) which is free to enter. It is the second oldest amusement park in Europe!

The Tibidabo Panoramic Area is home to 4 main attractions. Although the viewing platform is free, you can pay 19 euros for unlimited access to the rides. The pass also includes a return journey funicular railway and shuttle bus. Personally I think this is worth it, the attractions are pretty awesome.

Alternatively, you can purchase individual ride tickets from the ticket counters. This is what we did, as the Emblematic pass wasn’t available during my visit.

Talaia

If you’ve got a head for heights, a ride on the 50 metre high ‘Talaia’ which will make YOU the highest point in Barcelona at 550 metres above sea level! It’s a really interesting ride too as it’s actually considered a look out tower! It first opened in 1921 and is a slow moving metal arm with a ‘chest high bucket’ on either end.

You stand up in the bucket and have the freedom to move around (slightly) and plenty of people were using cameras and phones to capture the view (I know at Tivoli in Copenhagen, on one of their highest rides they ban any ‘loose’ objects)!

Sagart Cor Church

‘Talaia’ also offers THE BEST views of the The Sagart Cor church (‘Expiatory Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus’ is its full English name). The crypt of the church (the brown part in the picture below), dates back to the early 1900’s. However the main part of the church wasn’t finished until 1961.

As you can see, its location is very impressive, offering views across Mount Tibidabo and the Serra de Collserola Natural Park! I’d suggest facing the ferris wheel (Giradabo) and the view across Barcelona on the way up and when you reach the top, turn around and face the church on the way back down!

Avio

The second ‘unique’ ride at the Tibidabo Skywalk is ‘Avio‘…can you guess what it might be by its name?  It’s an airplane ride! ‘Avio’ is another ride which dates back to 1928.

It works in a similar way to ‘Talaia’, although rather than a vertical rotating metal arm, it slowly rotates horizontally and visitors sit in an enclosed airplane…that then hangs you out over the edge of the mountain!

The plane is a copy of the one that made the first flight between Barcelona and Madrid!

Then there are the more classic rides, a rainbow coloured ferris wheel (Giradabo) which is ridiculously photogenic and an old fashioned Carousel.

As well as the rides, the Emblematic pass includes entrance to the Automata Museum. This has a collection of models and games from the 19th to early 20th century. In the Panoramic Area you’ll also find a handful of food outlets and a gift shop.

How To Get To Tibidabo Panoramic Area

Tibidabo Bus

We decided that the quickest way to get to Tibidabo Skywalk, was to jump on the Tibidabo shuttle bus (T2A).  It now departs from Estació del Nord and goes to the Lower Funicular Station.

The shuttle bus costs 3 Euros (one way) and runs everyday that Tibidabo is open, leaving every 30 minutes (although when I visited during a weekend in December, the bus was running almost an hour late, but it DID eventually turn up!)

Mount Tibidabo Funicular

For those funicular railway fans, the Mount Tibidabo funicular has been in operation since 1901! The funicular does the last 1130m section of the journey up to the top of the Mount Tibidabo!

2019 saw the introduction of a brand new train, the Cuca de Llum (firefly). It has a bigger capacity, is faster and has large windows and interactive tablets to learn about the flora and fauna of the mountain.

It runs every 15 minutes during park opening times and a standard fare is 12 euros (funicular included with pre booked tickets).

Tibidabo Panoramic Area Opening Hours

The opening hours of Tibidabo vary quite a bit depending on when you go, so I’d suggest double checking on the link below.

The panoramic area is open everyday between March and November, then weekends and holidays December and February (closed on Dec 25th and 26th) from 11am. Closing times differ on certain days and months.  It is only open for the first week of January (not New Years Days and is then closed the rest of the January).

For more information on opening times and full ticket and attraction information, visit the Tibidabo Panoramic Area website!

Visiting Barcelona?

📅For Barcelona itinerary ideas, check out this post: Barcelona in December | 72 Hours in Barcelona Winter City Break, Spain

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Last Updated on March 26, 2024