Is the Barcelona Card worth it? The break-even with documented single prices
The Sagrada Família and Park Güell bring nothing with the Barcelona Card. We work out which admissions earn back the €39.00.
How we calculate
We calculate with the regular card price at the ticket provider Tiqets, where you can book, and with the adult admission price from our price database.
The Barcelona Card includes metro, bus, tram and Rodalies in zone 1. A fair comparison therefore deducts public transport first. For this we use the Hola Barcelona Travel Card with the same duration. What is left, the admissions have to earn back.
The Hola card is the right basis if you travel a lot or need to get to the airport. If you travel at most 10 times in 48 hours and not to the airport, the T-casual for €13.00 is enough. Then the admissions must earn back €26.00, so two of the most expensive ones, such as Fundació Joan Miró (€17.00) and Museu Tàpies (€15.00). MNAC and Castell de Montjuïc (€24.00) are then not enough.
The break-even for each option
The count shows how many admissions you need at minimum if you start with the most expensive documented admissions. The Hola basis applies if you travel a lot. The T-casual basis applies if you travel at most 10 times in total and not to the airport. The last column applies if you do not travel at all and have to earn back the full card price through admissions.
| Option | Regular card price | Hola basis: admissions must earn back | Count | T-casual basis: admissions must earn back | Count | Without public transport: count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 hours | €39.00 | €20.30 | 2 | €26.00 | 2 | 3 |
| 72 hours | €59.00 | €31.70 | 2 | €46.00 | 3 | 4 |
| 96 hours | €69.00 | €33.40 | 3 | €56.00 | 4 | 5 |
| 120 hours | €79.00 | €35.40 | 3 | €66.00 | 5 | 6 |
With Hola as the basis, two admissions are enough for 48 hours. For 72 hours, two are enough only with the two most expensive ones, Fundació Joan Miró and Museu Tàpies (€32.00), and for 96 and 120 hours it takes three. With the T-casual as the basis you already need 3 for 72 hours. If you do not travel at all, it takes 6 for the 120-hour card.
Which admissions count
For these free admissions, our database holds a checked price. Where there is an online price and a box office price, we use the online price. Together they cost €135.30 individually. You can also see the prices under Barcelona Card attractions.
| Attraction | Single price |
|---|---|
| Fundació Joan Miró | €17.00 |
| Museu Tàpies | €15.00 |
| Museu Egipci | €14.50 |
| Museu Banksy | €14.00 |
| MNAC | €12.00 |
| Castell de Montjuïc | €12.00 |
| Museu Picasso | €12.00 |
| CosmoCaixa | €8.00 |
| MUHBA Plaça del Rei | €7.30 |
| Museu Olímpic | €6.30 |
| CaixaForum | €6.00 |
| Museu de la Música | €6.00 |
| Monestir de Pedralbes | €5.20 |
MACBA (online €13.50, at the box office €15.00) and CCCB (online €8.00 per exhibition) are also free. Neither is in our price database yet, which is why they are missing from the table. The Moco Museum has different prices depending on the day and time slot, and we do not estimate those. If you visit one of them, you reach the break-even sooner.
Discounts bring noticeably less. At the Palau Güell, the card saves 20% of €15.00, so €3.00. At Sant Pau Recinte Modernista it is 20% of €18.00 (self-guided until 2 pm), so €3.60. At the Palau de la Música Catalana there is 25%. The self-guided visit costs €20.00 there, and the issuer does not say which ticket the discount applies to. We do not include discounts in the table above.
Three example calculations for 48 hours
- Montjuïc: MNAC, Castell de Montjuïc, Fundació Joan Miró and CaixaForum cost €47.00 individually. With a Hola ticket that comes to €65.70, with the Barcelona Card €39.00. You save €26.70.
- One museum, otherwise travelling: MNAC plus a Hola ticket cost €30.70. With the card you pay €8.30 more.
- Gaudí trip: the Sagrada Família and Park Güell are not included. Casa Batlló and La Pedrera each give €7.00 off, with La Pedrera only on the Essencial ticket with entry from 2 pm. Together that is €14.00. You are still €6.30 short of the €20.30. The card is not worth it here.
When the Barcelona Card is not worth it
- You mainly want to see the Sagrada Família and Park Güell. The card brings nothing for those.
- You manage fewer admissions per card than the table above shows. Then a public transport ticket and single admissions are cheaper, see alternatives to the Barcelona Card.
- You travel at most 10 times and not to the airport. Then the T-casual for €13.00 is enough, and the admissions must earn back €26.00 for 48 hours.
What exactly counts as a day
According to the issuer's shop, the card is valid for consecutive days and not for 24-hour periods, even though the options there are called 48 to 120 hours. The day of first use then counts in full, even if you only start in the afternoon. The older card page barcelonacard.com still states 24-hour periods from first use. The terms shown to you at purchase are what counts. If you use the card early on the first day, you are on the safe side in both cases. The Hola card, by contrast, counts hours from the first validation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Barcelona Card cost?
At Tiqets, where you can book, €39.00 for 48 hours, €59.00 for 72, €69.00 for 96 and €79.00 for 120 hours (as of 24 Sep 2026). Whether that pays off depends on how many free admissions you use.
Is the Sagrada Família included in the Barcelona Card?
No. The issuer lists no benefit for the Sagrada Família and Park Güell (as of 3 Oct 2026).
From how many admissions is the Barcelona Card worth it for 48 hours?
Compared with the Hola Barcelona Travel Card (€18.70), the admissions must earn back €20.30. If you travel a lot (Hola card), two free admissions from €12.00 manage that, for example MNAC and Castell de Montjuïc. If you travel little, you need more (card price as of 24 Sep 2026, Hola checked on 3 Oct 2026).
Sources
- Card prices at Tiqets (our price page with source and history), checked on 24 Sep 2026
- Admission prices of the attractions (our page with sources for each attraction), checked on 24 Sep 2026
- Benefits, discounts and validity: the issuer's shop (Turisme de Barcelona), checked on 3 Oct 2026
- Hola Barcelona Travel Card 24 to 120 hours: holabarcelona.com (TMB), checked on 3 Oct 2026
- T-casual for 10 trips: tmb.cat, checked on 3 Oct 2026
- Museu Picasso, online and at the box office: museupicassobcn.cat, checked on 3 Oct 2026
- Sant Pau Recinte Modernista: santpaubarcelona.org, checked on 3 Oct 2026
- Palau de la Música Catalana, visit: palaumusica.cat, checked on 3 Oct 2026
- MACBA: macba.cat, checked on 3 Oct 2026
- CCCB: cccb.org, checked on 3 Oct 2026
Prices can change. Admission and card prices change, sometimes at short notice. We check admission prices at the official source and card prices with the ticket provider you book through. We show the date for every price and check all prices again once a month. The price shown to you at checkout is always the one that applies. If you spot an outdated price, let us know at info@citycardcheck.com.
Data source: Card prices at the ticket provider Tiqets, where you can book (price database, as of 24 Sep 2026, unchanged on 3 Oct 2026), single prices of 13 attractions from our price database (Museu Picasso checked on 3 Oct 2026, otherwise as of 24 Sep 2026). Hola Barcelona Travel Card and T-casual from TMB, benefits and discounts of the card in the issuer's shop, Sant Pau, Palau de la Música, MACBA and CCCB on the venues' own websites, all checked on 3 Oct 2026.
Photo: Adam Young / Unsplash