A Guide to Mount Tibidabo
A mountain complete with its own amusement park, towering over Barcelona. Mount Tibidabo offers incredible breathtaking views over Barcelona with its lofty viewpoints and a curiously placed theme park for children at the top.
Contents
- About Mount Tibidabo
- The essentials
- Tourist Route
- Train + Bus Route
- Cycle Route
- Walking Route
- By Car or Taxi
- Nearby Hikes
- Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
- What’s nearby?
- References
About Mount Tibidabo
Mount Tibidabo offers incredible breathtaking views over Barcelona with its lofty viewpoints and a curiously placed theme park for children at the top. You will also find a Christ statue, in a somewhat similar style to Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro - although not as large by comparison, it’s spectacular nonetheless. While Tibidabo is a place for tourists, there are many ways in which you can enjoy the mountain and arrive at its summit.
The essentials
Tibidabo is generally accessible to all, enjoyed by tourists and locals alike while also attracting walkers and cyclists.
A standard tourist trip up Tibidabo should include a ride on the Tibidabo tram followed by a steep ascent on the connecting funicular cable train. This drops you off at the top of Tibidabo, literally right next to the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor (the church) and the entrance to the Tibidabo Amusement Park.
Note: Both the tram and funicular are currently undergoing refurbishment works, but there is a replacement bus service. More info about the Tramvia Blau.
For those not interested in the amusement park, the church and the Tibidabo viewpoints alone will prove to be sufficiently interesting. Inside the church, you could also take the lift to the top for an even higher viewpoint, at an impressive altitude of about 575 m. As of 2023, this ticket will set you back €5 per person and there’s a lift that takes you up, leaving you with a staircase to the foot of Christ.
Mount Tibidabo panoramic view
The view from the top of Mount Tibidabo is one of the best aerial views over the whole of Barcelona. To get there, you can take one of the many routes to reach the top, some of which are detailed below.
Furthermore, if you walk up to the church observation deck, you can enjoy an even higher view, or, if you have time, go up the Christ tower to get the highest panoramic view.
Tourist Route
The classic tourist route to the top begins at Avenida Tibidabo, which is a short train journey from Plaza Catalunya (FGC L7 line, not the metro). At Plaça de Catalunya, you will find an entrance near to Cafe Zurich at the south-west side of the plaza. Note: you can use the standard T-Casual ticket for this trip, in case you were wondering!
When you reach Av. Tibidabo, you will cross the road ahead and should see the blue Tibidabo tram. You can buy tickets on board from the conductor and discounts are available in conjunction with Barcelona voucher books, e.g. €1 off. These books can usually be found at the tourist information in Plaça de Catalunya (or other packages, such as the City Sightseeing Buses). The tram will then take you up the hill to the connecting funicular station. For those who’d prefer to walk, it’s a steady 15-20 minutes and relatively easy.
When you arrive at the funicular station, you can head inside and buy your funicular tickets at the kiosk. Get a return ticket (ida y vuelta in Spanish - ‘there and back’), which costs around €11 for both ways. The funicular will take you all the way to the top of the mountain, it’s that simple! To return, you simply do the route in reverse, or descend on one of the many hiking paths (more info below…)
Note: the route above is easy and accessible to all, offering minimal walking. If the tram is not running due to maintenance or weather conditions, there should be a replacement bus, or you can simply walk the tram route (I have walked it many times and had no problems!). Check the tram and funicular operating times before you leave, especially on festive holidays.
Train + Bus Route
Tibidabo is served by the TMB (Barcelona Metropolitan Transport) network and so it is possible to reach the summit with a standard T-Casual ticket (or equivalent), although not as obvious. The way to do it is to take the S1 or S2 FGC train to Peu del Funicular from Plaça de Catalunya, where you will change for the funicular at a station called Vallvidrera Inferior (which is basically at the same place as where the train drops you off. In fact, you won’t have to stamp your ticket again, just walk up the steps through the station!)
You will be ascending to Vallvidrera Superior (the final stop on the funicular, since the middle stop is for people wanting to walk the “Carretera de las Aigües”).
From the top funicular station (Vallvidrera Superior), you will exit the station to the right and follow the road up, where you will find the connecting 111 bus (the Zone 1 T-Casual ticket is valid). The 111 bus is fairly frequent (every 10-15 mins) and takes you all the way to the top.
Bus stop at Vallvidrera Superior, going up
Bus stop at the top of Tibidabo, back down
Note: it is also possible to walk the bus route (and many do, in fact, we recommend it), which will take about 30 minutes or less. Those who do walk are rewarded with some amazing views over Barcelona about half of the way up as well as a closeup view of the spectacular Collserola Tower, designed by the British architect Norman Foster.
Cycle Route
For the intrepid cycler wanting to reach the summit by bike, there are a few different options. Just to put it in context, I cycled the route (in my case starting at La Sagrada Familia) and I was at the summit after 1hr30m, but the route can probably be done closer to 1 hour directly. Below is the route I took.
Cycling up
From Sagrada Familia (or Plaça de Catalunya, wherever you choose to begin…), cycle up Diagonal until you reach the L’illa Diagonal shopping centre then head ‘right’ up through the Sarria neighbourhood (following a map) until you reach the funicular at Vallvidrera Inferior. Note: the route can be popular with cyclists and you may need to queue with the bike at the funicular station, but probably not for too long). Also, it is possible to go from Plaça de Catalunya to Peu del Funicular on the train, if you wish to severely reduce the cycling).
At the funicular, get off at Vallvidrera Superior (aka, the top, skipping the stop at “Carretera de las aigües”) and then head up the road to the right (Carrer de les Alberes) following the 111 bus route. You will be cycling and looking out over Barcelona and a closeup view of Torre de Collserola, the huge telecommunications tower on the hillside. Just after halfway up, remember to turn left at the mini roundabout, where you’ll probably see the bus and other walkers also heading up to the top. The last section is steep, but nothing a basic mountain bike cannot handle. You will reach the top and be rewarded with the spectacular ‘Mirador Tibi’ viewpoint.
Cycling down
For the downward journey, it is obviously unnecessary to take the funicular, and for those looking for the downhill adrenaline rush, I can recommend the following route.
From Plaça del Tibidabo, take the road that heads round to the left of the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, uphill slightly, before the road starts to descend, weaving back on itself after 3-5 mins of cycling.
At the junction (Google Maps lat/long: 41.422602, 2.120716), take a left turn onto Carretera de Vista Rica. Note: a right is also possible, which can eventually lead to Carretera de las aigües and the Funicular del Tibidabo base station, if more suitable. From the junction, cycle down to Mirador de l’Arrabassada.
Then, continuing on the winding road you will eventually reach Ronda de Dalt near Penitents metro station. From here on, you can simply follow the roads back towards Diagonal (metro station) through the Gràcia neighbourhood.
Route summary
From the Church to Penitents there’s some good, fast downhill cycling to be had and the conditions are perfect. Be sure to take a helmet with you.
Ascent: About 200m / Descent: About 500m.
Journey time: Between 1.5 and 2 hours, depending on the route and waiting times at the funicular.
Walking Route
It is possible to walk to the summit of Tibidabo, for which you will have various options.
- One quick way would be to start at Plaça de Catalunya and get the train to Peu del Funicular, then connect with the funicular at the Vallvidrera Inferior station, taking it to the top (Vallvidrera Superior, the second and final stop). Then, walk to the top following the 111 bus route up Carrer de les Alberes.
- Those wishing to walk the entire thing should arrive at Av. Tibidabo train station and then walk the tram route up to the funicular base station. From here, take the footpath to the left of the station (Carrer d’Eduard Fontserè leading to Carrer del Guarda Anton) which will take you to Carretera de las aigües. Eventually after some time, you will make it to the start of Carretera de Vallvidrera al Tibidabo via Carrer del Torrent de la Font del. This route would be about 4 km and take about 1.5 hours done casually. The whole route is here.
- For those looking for more nature, consider starting at Baixador de Vallvidrera and following the path up to the communications tower. This route is steady and you can reach the top in a couple of hours.
There are many other walks to be done near to Tibidabo so be sure to checkout the Carretera de les Aigües and be sure to lookup routes on Wikiloc, or search for Parc Natural de la Serra de Collserola.
Carretera de les Aigües.
Walking Down via Camí de Can Borni
A less-common route to descend is the Camí de Can Borni, which goes through the woods of Tibidabo, back towards Barcelona. To get there from Tibidabo top first walk down to the Camí - the route starts here. Then, simply follow the path down through nature, crossing the funicular more or less at its halfway point.
Eventually the decent takes you to Ronda de Dalt, where you can make your way back to Barcelona, or meet the Carretera de les Aigües.
By Car or Taxi
There is official, dedicated car parking at Tibidabo and arriving by car isn’t an issue. The only thing is, you will have to walk up to reach the top, but it’s only a few minutes’ walk.
It is also common to see people arriving in taxis and coaches. These tend to park up behind the church on the other side.
Additional Tips
At the top of Tibidabo, there is a place to eat and get a coffee or beer, etc, but it is often very busy. In my opinion, the restaurant could be better but should be enough in an emergency. There will be additional places to eat and drink, if you choose to pay entrance to the amusement park. We recommend you to take a litre or more of water each on your visit, particularly in the hot summer months. There are toilets at the top, right by the funicular station. Additionally, check the opening and closing times of the funicular and amusement park prior to your arrival, as you don’t want to be stranded at the top missing the last funicular!
Nearby Hikes
As a lover of hiking, I can recommend these routes, which encapsulate Mount Tibidabo.
- Mount Tibidabo to Molins de Rei. The route will take you about 3 hours from Tibidabo to Molins de Rei centre/train station
- Vallvidrera Superior to Avenida Tibidabo via Mount Tibidabo
- Vallvidrera Superior to Baixador de Vallvidrera via Tibidabo
Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church
Designed by Enric Sagnier, the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus church graciously adorns the mountain summit. It took 60 years to construct and is so-called due to the Sacred Heart of Jesus sculpture on top of the church, by Josep Miret Llopart. The word Tibi dabo is derived from Latin, essentially meaning ‘exceedingly high mountain’, the phrase Tibi dabo forms part of the inscription in the central dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City - although in this case, it refers to Jesus’ words to St. Peter in Matthew 16:19.
Tibidabo can be reached via the aforementioned Tibidabo funicular, which was the first of its kind in Spain.
What’s nearby?
Visitors in the area should consider a trip to CosmoCaixa Barcelona, a science museum, and Gaudí enthusiasts might enjoy a trip to Bellesguard Gaudí, a neo-Gothic home designed by the man himself, both of which are relatively close by to the Tibidabo funicular base station.
There is also the Observatori Fabra, an observatory and viewpoint that hosts exclusive candlelit dining experiences in the summer.
References
by Darryl•