★★★★★
We had read Homage to Catalonia before the trip and wanted to see the real places. The guide took us to the Poliorama building and read us Orwell's passage on the spot. There is no better way to do it.
Walking tour of Plaza de Cataluña, Las Ramblas, the Gothic Quarter, and the Raval: barricades of July 1936, the Poliorama building where Orwell took cover in May '37, facades with shrapnel impacts and the air-raid shelters excavated before the bombings of 1938. With an official tour guide.
On July 19, 1936, the military columns that were supposed to take Barcelona in a matter of hours were stopped dead in their tracks by the armed workers of the CNT-FAI and forces loyal to the Republic. Within 48 hours, the city was in the hands of the unions. Las Ramblas filled with militiamen, luxury hotels became headquarters for political parties and unions, and the Hotel Colón on Plaza de Cataluña —which no longer exists— became the headquarters of the PSUC. It was the beginning of a revolution within a war.
This private historical walking tour traces the settings where this history unfolded between 1936 and 1939: the streets of the Gothic Quarter and the Raval where barricades were erected in July ’36, the spots where Orwell observed and described the May Days of 1937 from his position on Las Ramblas, the air-raid shelters dug beneath the city in the face of the Italian and German bombings of 1938, and the facades that still bear shrapnel scars. All with specific names, dates, and political context.
The tour is not an abstract chronological overview: it is history at street level. The official guide works with primary sources, is well-versed in historiographical debates, and can answer questions without disrupting the group’s pace. For readers of Orwell or Hemingway, students of contemporary history, or anyone who wants to understand why Barcelona is the city it is today, this private guided tour offers a narrative thread that museums rarely manage to provide.
The walking tour starts at Plaza de Cataluña and heads towards the Gothic Quarter and El Raval, with several stops along Las Ramblas. All sites are accessible from the street: there is no need to pay any admission fee.
: Here, the columns of rebel troops from the Pedralbes barracks and the working-class forces that came out to confront them converged. The guide reconstructs the movements of the day: who was where, how the unions’ improvised resistance was organized, and why the defeat of the uprising in Barcelona was decisive for the course of the war. The Hotel Colón, occupied by the PSUC, stood on the site where a bank is today—the guide points it out using period photographs.
: George Orwell arrived in Barcelona in December 1936 to fight in the ranks of the POUM. In May 1937, on leave in the city, he was a direct witness to the war within the war: the POUM and the CNT-FAI against the PSUC and the Stalinists for control of the Republican State. Orwell spent those days barricaded in the Poliorama building —on Las Ramblas, still standing— with a rifle and without fully understanding what was happening around him. He described it in Homage to Catalonia with a topographical precision that historians still quote. The guide points to the building from the street and reads the corresponding passage.
: The medieval streets of the Gothic Quarter —Carrer del Call, Carrer de la Pietat, the surroundings of the Cathedral— were the scene of barricades during the first days of the uprising. Cobblestones were torn from the ground to build them. The guide identifies the buildings with visible shrapnel damage on some facades and explains the geography of territorial control: which areas came under anarchist control, which under the PSUC, and how the distribution of power evolved over the three years of war.
: In the summer of 1936, the Raval was the logistical heart of the Republican resistance in Barcelona. The Committee of Antifascist Militias —the body that de facto governed Catalonia for weeks, above the Generalitat itself— operated from the headquarters of the Capitanía, just a few meters from the neighborhood. The guide walks through the streets that hosted workers’ collectivizations, propaganda printing presses, and recruitment points for international volunteers.
: Between March 16 and 18, 1938, the Italian air force in the service of Franco bombed Barcelona for three consecutive days, causing more than a thousand civilian casualties. The air-raid shelters excavated beneath the streets —more than a hundred identified under the city— were the only available protection. The guide explains how the evacuation was organized, what role the Battle of the Ebro played as context for the imminent fall of the city, and how the tactic of mass bombing of the civilian population became the norm of the 20th century.
: The Palau de la Generalitat was the political epicenter of republican Catalonia. Lluís Companys, president of the Generalitat since 1934, was executed by firing squad at Montjuïc Castle on October 15, 1940, by order of Franco—the only president of a democratic European institution to be executed by the Franco regime after being handed over by the Gestapo. The guide situates the Palau on the power map of the war, explains the constant tensions between the Generalitat and the anarchist unions, and describes the final days before the entry of Francoist troops into Barcelona on January 26, 1939.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
The price is per group, not per person. The total is split among all participants. The more people, the lower the cost per head.
| People | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | €199 | €199 / person |
| 2 people | €178 | €89 / person |
| 3 people | €267 | €89 / person |
| 4 or more people | — | €70 / person |
| People | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | €330 | €330 / person |
| 2 people | €300 | €150 / person |
| 3 people | €330 | €110 / person |
| 4 or more people | — | €90 / person |
* Children aged 0 to 11: free. No hidden fees or booking surcharges.
The Civil War Tour is one of the most sought-after private tours for travelers interested in 20th-century political history — book well in advance if you are arriving during peak season.
* We recommend booking at least 7 days in advance to guarantee guide assignment. During peak season (May–September), guides work at full capacity: the earlier you book, the more schedule options you will have available.
Your guide will be waiting for you at the Catalunya metro exit (L1 and L3). After booking, we will provide you with the guide’s phone number so you can easily locate them at the meeting point.
Metro Catalunya · L1 / L3
Free cancellation available
You can cancel free of charge up to 48 hours before the tour start time. Cancellations made less than 48 hours in advance or no-shows will not be refunded.
If this is your first time approaching the subject, this private tour is designed to build the context from scratch: the guide establishes who the CNT-FAI, the POUM, and the PSUC were before reaching the locations where they clashed, and places each site within the chronology of the conflict without taking anything for granted. If, on the other hand, you have already read Orwell, know the history of the Second Republic, or have a background in contemporary history, the tour can go much further: the guide works with primary sources and is prepared to delve into the historiographical controversies that a group with prior knowledge might want to explore.
If you have read Homage to Catalonia and want to see the real-life locations, this is the tour. The Poliorama building on Las Ramblas—where Orwell spent the May Days of 1937 barricaded with a rifle—is one of the stops on the tour. The guide works with the text: reading the passage in which Orwell describes his position, pointing out the building from the street, and explaining what was happening on Las Ramblas block by block as he wrote. We also cover the context of the POUM, the repression after May ’37, and why Orwell had to flee Barcelona.
No. This private tour takes place entirely in public spaces —streets, squares, and facades— without access to any paid monuments or museums. If you would like to visit the Poble Sec air-raid shelter after the tour —the most accessible of those managed by the Museu d’Història de Barcelona—, the guide can advise you on how to book it. It is a complementary visit that fits in well the next day.
If you are coming with teenagers aged 12–13 and up who are interested in history, the tour works very well: the content is dense, but the guide knows how to adapt it without losing rigor. We do not recommend it for younger children — the focus is political and historical, without the immediate visual component of other tours like the Sagrada Família or the Gothic Quarter. If you are coming with children under 10, please let us know when booking and the guide will adjust the narrative as much as possible.
If you want to understand Barcelona in depth, the most common option is to combine this tour with the Private Tour of the Gothic Quarter and the Cathedral —which covers the two thousand years of history prior to the 20th century in the same area— and with the Private Tour of Pablo Picasso’s Barcelona, whose work from his years in Barcelona is directly shaped by the political atmosphere of the time. Together, the three provide a complete historical overview of the city without overlapping.
For this tour, the schedule does not affect the content: all locations are outdoors and work the same in both time slots. That said, the afternoon session (4:30 PM) has the advantage that, at the end of the tour, the group is right in the heart of the historic center to have dinner or a drink in the bars of the Gothic Quarter or El Raval — neighborhoods that are explored during the tour. If you arrive during high season and have flexibility, the morning usually has more guide availability.
Yes. The Civil War Tour can be booked for groups starting from 1 person. The price is structured per group: for two people, the total cost is €178 in low season (€89 per person) or €300 in high season (€150 per person). For four or more people, the price drops to €70 per person in low season and €90 in high season. Bookings are made directly using the button on this page — if you have any questions about which option is best for you, message us on WhatsApp before booking.
We had read Homage to Catalonia before the trip and wanted to see the real places. The guide took us to the Poliorama building and read us Orwell's passage on the spot. There is no better way to do it.
Our guide knew the subject at a level that goes far beyond any general-interest book. Three hours felt too short. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand 20th-century Barcelona.
We took the tour with a group of historians and the guide was up to the task at all times. He knows the primary sources, the historiographical controversies, and the streets all at once. That is not easy to find.
I've been to Barcelona three times and never really understood what happened here in '36. This private tour completely changed how I see the city. It's well worth it even if you don't have a prior interest in history.
If you have any questions or special needs before booking, write to us — we reply in less than 24 hours.
