A quad ride through the monuments of Barcelona, ​​the new tourist attraction that circumvents municipal regulations

Since last June, coming across a line of up to six electric quads circulating through the center of Barcelona has become common. These four-wheeled vehicles are common on routes through the mountains or the desert, but now they circulate around the Columbus monument. Quad City Tour is the company that offers these visits from 89 euros and they are already part of another of the tourist businesses increasingly present in the city.Some tourists take a tour with the Quad Cityt Tour through Barcelona.massimiliano minocriThe tour begins in a parking lot located on Calle del Hospital, in the Raval neighborhood. There, clients sign two documents: a contract with an insurance company and another committing to respect road safety regulations. They prove that they have the necessary age and driving license to drive a quad (at least 16 years old and have a moped license) and, from here, the guide teaches them how the vehicles operate. Outside, the tour begins on the Rambla. From there, they circulate towards the Columbus monument, Barceloneta and up Marina Street to the Sagrada Familia. The last part of the tour is again in the city center. From the iconic Gaudí monument, still under construction, the row of quads returns to Arc de Triomf, Plaza Catalunya and Plaza Espanya. Then it heads to Montjuïc mountain to end up again on the Rambla promenade. At each tourist spot, the quads stop for two minutes so customers can take photos.Tourists take a tour with the Quad Cityt Tour through the center of Barcelona, ​​on October 13. massimiliano minocriMario Boulin, creator of Quad City Tour, reveals that he had the business idea after losing his job during the pandemic. “It was in Paris. “I was on the Champs-Elysées and started asking people how they would view a quad tour of the city's most emblematic monuments.” He started the business and the visits to the French capital were successful. Last June, the businessman decided to try his luck in Barcelona with one goal: “My intention is to take these tours to all the big cities in Europe.” With the Barcelona experience already open, next 2026 it will extend the model to Rome and Lisbon. This summer there have been demonstrations against the excesses of tourism in several Spanish cities, including Barcelona. Boulin believes his business is not part of the problem. “We have no complaints because the quads do not make noise or pollute. “People ask about the tour and everyone wants to take photos with our electric vehicles.”A group of tourists take a tour with the Quad Cityt Tour through the center of Barcelona, ​​on October 13. massimiliano minocriThe mayor of Barcelona, ​​Jaume Collboni – when he was still deputy mayor in the Colau governments – marked himself as one of the objectives to eliminate the hundreds of pedicabs that circulated through the city. They confiscated dozens of these vehicles, the taxi law was modified to exclude bicycles and tricycles as a passenger transport activity, and the image of people transporting tourists from one side of the city to the other on pedals was eliminated. In the case of Quad City Tour, Barcelona City Council assures that it is not similar to that of pedicabs. Consistory sources maintain that they cannot prevent the circulation of these quads, since any approved vehicle can circulate on public roads as long as the contracting of the service is carried out in the establishment or parking lot of origin and not on public roads.