If it’s your first time in Paris, you’ll want to visit the Louvre. Never been to New York City before? You gotta go up the Empire State Building. The same can be said about the major sites in any major city. Going to the big attractions doesn’t make you an unimaginative traveler, it makes you a curious one. Those landmarks are synonymous with the city they’re in for a good reason. And, like for just about everything in this life, there’s an app for that. Go City helps travelers book the most famous attractions in 30 destinations around the world with just a few taps on your phone.
Photo: dimbar76/Shutterstock and Morgane Croissant
Testing Go City: Is This the Most Affordable and Fastest Way To See Major Attractions?
After testing Go City in Barcelona, here’s everything you need to know before you buy a Go City sightseeing pass.
- What is the Go City app?
- What cities are covered by the Go City app?
- How does Go City work?
- I tested Go City in Barcelona. Was it worth it?
- So, is Go City worth it?
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Barcelona, Spain
- Dublin, Ireland
- Gothenburg, Sweden
- Helsinki, Finland
- London, England
- Madrid, Spain
- Paris, France
- Rome, Italy
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Vienna, Austria
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Chicago, Illinois
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Los Angeles, California
- Miami, Florida
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- New York City, New York
- Oahu, Hawaii
- Orlando, Florida
- San Antonio, Texas
- San Diego, California
- San Francisco, California
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Hong Kong
- Seoul, South Korea
- Cancun
- Dubai, UAE
- Sydney, Australia
- The All-Inclusive Pass: Choose as many attractions as you wish within a specific time frame of two, three, four, five, six, or seven days. The pass is not valid beyond that time frame.
- The Explorer Pass: Choice of two, three, four, five, six, or seven attractions. This pass is valid for 60 days after purchase.
What is the Go City app?
Photo: Morgane Croissant
Go City helps travelers book access to more than 1,500 attractions, experiences, and tours in 30 cities, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, etc. You get the gist: Everything a first-time traveler would want to see, all neatly bundled up in one app. All you need to do is choose what kind of Go City sightseeing pass works best for your bandwidth and your wallet and pick your attractions, then you’ll be sent a QR code that works as your ticket.
What cities are covered by the Go City app?
Go City currently covers 30 destinations, and will continue to expand worldwide in 2023.
In Europe:
In the United States:
In Asia:
In Mexico:
In the Middle East:
In Oceania:
How does Go City work?
Go City offers two types of passes:
Once you’ve purchased the Go City sightseeing pass that works best for you, you’re given a QR code that will work as your admission ticket for all the attractions you choose to visit. You won’t have to line up for a ticket or have to deal with the local currency. Just present your QR code and you’re good to go.
Some attractions require advance booking, particularly ones that include a guided visit. Follow the advice from the app and book early if prompted to do so. Go City is convenient, but it’s not magic — if an attraction or guided visit group is full, you won’t get in no matter what.
I tested Go City in Barcelona. Was it worth it?
Photo: Morgane Croissant
I was given a Go City Explorer Pass last November to test out in Barcelona. The price of the pass was 79 EUR ($83.10 at time of writing) and included three attractions of my choice. I went through the long list of 48 attractions currently available on Go City for Barcelona and picked a guided visit of the Sagrada Família, a guided tour of Park Güell, and a return cable car ride on the Teleferic de Montjuic all the way to Montjuic Castle. It was my first time in Barcelona, therefore I opted to see the main sights. However there are plenty of other attractions on the Go City app that would suit travelers who have already been to Barcelona and want to try out something different, like a mystery-solving tour around the Cathedral of Barcelona in the atmospheric Gothic Quarter or a boat cruise to see the city from a different perspective.
How much money did I save with my Go City sigthseeing pass in Barcelona?
Price as displayed on the Go City Website. Photo: Morgane Croissant
According to the prices displayed on the Go City app, by having this pass, I was saving 10.20 EUR ($10.75). A guided tour of the Sagrada Família was 49 EUR ($51.55), a guided visit of Park Güell was 26 EUR ($27.35), and the return ride on the cable car was 14.20 EUR ($14.95), making for a total of 89.20 EUR ($93.85). That seemed like a great deal: I was saving more than 10 bucks and got to skip all the ticket lines.
After further digging, however, the deal seemed a little less appealing. I checked the price of each attraction I had chosen on each official website and noted a significant difference. A guided tour of the Sagrada Família was 30 EUR ($31.55), a guided visit of Park Güell was 22 EUR ($23.14), and the return ride on the cable car was 12.78 EUR ($13.44), making for a total of 64.78 EUR ($68.10). That meant that I was paying 15 bucks for the advantage of skipping the ticket lines.
Price as displayed on the attraction's official website. Photo: Morgane Croissant
Price as displayed on the attraction's official website. Photo: Morgane Croissant
Price as displayed on the attraction's official website. Photo: Morgane Croissant
I contacted Go City to understand the pricing displayed on the app a little better and got a clarification on the discrepancy. The guided tours of the Sagrada Família and Park Güell are run by a third-party operator called Amigo Tours, which charges more than the official attractions. The pricing on the Go City app was in line with that of Amigo Tours. The Go City representative I talked to explained, “We source the best providers for our customers,” but I can’t comment on the fact that an experience with Amigo Tours is better than one organized with the official attractions. The price difference for the cable car, however, is due to an online promotion run by the Teleferic de Montjuic, and Go City cannot adjust their pricing every time an attraction runs a deal — that’s for you to do if you want to keep a close eye on your spendings.
Granted, it is convenient to have all your tickets in one place and not having to queue to get in some of the most famous attractions in Barcelona, but if you’re on a tight budget, you need to compare the official prices to those of the app carefully before you make your purchase. Also, if you think that time is money and paying a little more is worth it if you get to skip the lines, make sure there are actually lines at the time and places you’re planning to visit. There were no lines at Park Güell or at the Teleferic de Montjuic when I was there in early November (well off season, obviously).
How practical is the Go City sightseeing pass in Barcelona, really?
Waiting is inevitable: While you will skip the ticket lines, that doesn’t mean you won’t be waiting around before entering the attraction you wish to visit. The guided visits of the Sagrada Família and Park Güell required that I arrive 10 minutes before the time indicated on my ticket and I waited for another good 15 minutes outside for guides to sort the different groups out, get the audio guides, and get us through to the entrance.
Credit card required: Because the Sagrada Família and Park Güell are two very popular attractions, I was prompted by the Go City app to book my guided visits in advance. While booking the Sagrada Família visit was a breeze, booking the Park Güell one required me to provide my credit card number. Intrigued as to why I would have to do it even though my Go City sightseeing pass was already paid for, I called the tour guide company and asked. I was told that it was because if I did not show up for the tour, I would be charged even though the Go City sightseeing pass had already been paid for.
So, is Go City worth it?
Go City can be a time and money-saver, but not for all cities or all attractions, and not for every day of the year. You truly need to spend some time in the app and on the attractions’ websites looking at the prices of the attractions, tours, and experiences on offer and make your decision carefully.
A Go City representative explained that the prices vary according to the destination due to the number and cost of attractions in each destination, which makes sense. “The most expensive option is Dubai, due to the cost of the attractions in the city, and the least expensive option is Philly,” she said. “Additionally, the greatest potential savings can be found in Oahu where travelers can save up to 67 percent with the three-day All-Inclusive Pass.”
The type of pass you purchase can also make a big difference in how much money you save, so weigh all your options mindfully. If money is no hindrance and you just want to save time when the crowds are at their worst, go for it. Go City’s best asset is its practicality. 