The Tibidabo Amusement Park

Situated at the highest point in the city, the Tibidabo Amusement Park gives you a fabulous view of Barcelona. Over 100 years old, the amusement park is a genuine funfair, in fact the only one in the city, and spreads over six different levels of the mountain that gives it its name.  It has been designed for families, and is not for you if you are seeking a giant gut-wrenching ride. For these, you should take a trip to Portaventura.

Nevertheless the trip up the mountain is a lot of fun, and your kids will love it.  The amusement park itself will take you back into a bygone era when fun was not measured in how high and fast the rides went, but in how much the children enjoyed them.  This is a traditional form of funfair, and has a lot of different rides and attractions to offer everybody in the family.

It offers a mix of the antique rides and the new, combining the old vintage plane ride and the new roller coaster, La Montaña Rusa. The Ferris wheel can’t be missed, and is located in the first level of the park that you come to.  This offers an incredible view of Barcelona and its main street structure, particularly at night, and although you can pay for the Ferris wheel individually, from here on in you have to pay to enter the Park proper.

You are strongly advised to take the Tibidabo Tram to the park.  This is a small blue tram (Tramvia Blau) that takes you half way up the mountain.  It leaves from the stop at 2 Avenida Tibidabo.  You can get the L7 train from the station at Plaza de Catalunya that takes you close to the tram stop in Plaza de John Kennedy. After about seven minutes you get off and transfer to the funicular railway that takes you through the forest the rest of the way. The funicular runs at times to suit the Tibidabo Amusement Park opening hours.

The plane ride and Ferris wheel are outside the main gates to the Amusement Park, and there is also a lovely antique carousel here: you pay for these separately before paying to enter the park itself. You can also get the T2 Tibidado shuttle bus from Plaza Cataluña if you prefer, but more on getting here later. If you are interested in movie trivia, the amusement park featured in the 2008 Woody Allan movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

One thing you should be aware of is that because of the relatively isolated location up the mountain, the fast food outlets here tend to be expensive. You are advised to bring your own food and plenty water to drink because feeding a family up here can cost you a lot. The food outlets have no competition, and while they are great for a cold beer on a hot day or cotton candy (candy floss) for the kids, make sure you have some sandwiches or other food with you. You will find plenty picnic areas in the park.

The Tibidabo Amusement Park is more suitable for younger children than for teenagers, but certainly offers them a fantastic fun family day out. If you love fun, fantasy, fireworks, Ferris wheels and fairytale carousels, then this place was made for you. The Talaia, or Watch Tower, slowly rises up to 550 metres and offers spectacular views of Barcelona. The Tibidabo Mountain is the place to be if you want an arial view of Barcelona’s layout, particularly at night when everything is lit up.

Also lit up on the mountain is the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, the Church of the Sacred Heart, and this is a must for any visitor to Tibidabo Mountain. The construction of this church began in 1902 and took about 60 years to build.  There are no particular architectural attributes to it, but it certainly looks spectacular when illuminated at night, and its statue of Jesus sits at 512 metres overlooking Barcelona and the surrounding area.

Anybody visiting Barcelona with younger children should pay a visit to the Tibidabo Amusement Park. Not only does everyone that visits the park have lots of fun, but also the trip up the mountain offers spectacular views and the kids love being on the tram and funicular railway. It’s something novel to them, and your main problems will be persuading them it’s time to leave, and that they can’t come here every day!

Here are the details of the Tibidabo Amusement Park for visitors:

Opening:  Monday - Sunday from 11 A.M. onwards. Closing depends on time of year.
Call +34 93 211 79 42 for opening times during your visit to Barcelona.

Getting there:
a)  L7 train to Av Tibidabo then Tramvia Blau and Funicular Bus
b)  Tibibus from Plaça Catalunya from 10.30 am.

You get your funicular and Tibibus fare refunded when you buy a ticket at the Amusement Park entrance.