Every academic year, thousands of students leave their schools or high schools to take part in field trips or end-of-year get aways designed to combine learning with fun. With this in mind, we present our educational travel agency in Barcelona that guarantees to surprise both students and their teachers.
Most groups who join our tours come from across Catalonia, although we also regularly welcome international students, specially but not limited from France. These visitors tend to enjoy the experience even more, as their trips usually last around a week—quite different from a short local outing. Imagine traveling abroad for educational purposes at such a young age.
Since 2016, we have been offering a distinctive and alternative proposal tailored to teachers and specialized school travel agencies organizing trips to Barcelona and other destinations. For your information, we operate in cities and neighborhoods where graffiti and urban art have a strong presence.
Why do we use street art as the backbone of our educational travel agency in Barcelona?
First and foremost, because we are passionate about it. Several years ago, we decided to turn a hobby into a profession. Professionalizing our work allowed us to launch an alternative educational travel agency in Barcelona. That’s how we got here—and if you’d like to learn more about us, keep reading.
All our routes and storytelling are grounded in educational value. We’ collaborate with’re a team of professional guides that integrates elements of the school curriculum into each activity. Ultimately, it’s about rethinking contemporary art education and inspiring future artists. Could this be your students’ first time participating in something like this?
Over the course of two hours, participants will hear stories that very few people know. While the artworks we explore are publicly visible on the streets, their background and meaning often go unnoticed. That’s where our tours truly add value.
Urban culture as a way of life
For many teenagers, graffiti and urban art—also known as street art—hold a special appeal. This is often because they are connected to subcultures like hip-hop, rap, skateboarding, or parkour. Based on our experience, these interests align perfectly with the proposal offered by our educational travel agency in Barcelona.
We’ve designed an experience that connects directly with their passions. When learning feels relevant to their world, engagement naturally increases. During the tours, we actively involve students by asking questions related to street art and urban culture. This is often the stage in life when they begin to identify with these cultural movements.
We also teach them when and where it is appropriate to paint. Among other key aspects, we cover the unwritten rules of respect within the graffiti community. For instance, if someone discovers a “spot,” it should not be painted over by others. It’s a small but essential detail that defines this artistic culture.
The only educational travel agency in Barcelona with a hands-on art workshop
As you’ll notice throughout our urban art blog, we are a fully alternative project. And if that’s not enough to convince you, our educational travel agency in Barcelona features a practical graffiti workshop using stencils made from recycled materials. Just imagine the excitement on students’ faces when it’s time to paint.
This hands-on component marks a turning point in the experience. Students shift from passive observers to active creators. They will use their creativity to design artwork on A3 paper. If the budget allows, we can also offer the option to paint on 100% cotton tote bags.
Our team will demonstrate different techniques, such as:
- Blending the background with one color and layering another color over the stencil to highlight letters
- Applying one color, then slightly shifting the stencil to create a three-dimensional effect
- Creative freedom—design your own piece of art
Graffiti and street art within the school curriculum
Art has long been part of school pedagogy, from classical works to references to artists like Gustav Klimt or Salvador Dalí. However, graffiti still has limited presence in textbooks. That’s why our educational travel agency in Barcelona will focus exclusively on street art, and the countries’ curriculum.
We approach it as a legitimate branch of contemporary art. While school curricula emphasize competencies and skills, educators often develop cross-disciplinary projects around urban art. Our tours complement these initiatives perfectly.
Additionally, teachers who book our graffiti tour in English receive a bonus lesson plan to practice vocabulary and expressions related to art. This material includes word searches, crosswords, and videos for classroom discussion before visiting El Raval of the chosen area for the tour. To conclude the project, we recommend asking students to write a summary of the tour.
Key features of our educational travel agency in Barcelona
In general, the most popular tours take place in the Ciutat Vella district—specifically around El Raval. This central yet often overlooked neighborhood offers a unique perspective, even for locals. Imagine how impactful it is for international school trips.
These specialized street art tours last two hours of which the first 5 minutes are used as an introduction, not only to the tour leader but to the subject, core objectives and general aspects and rules of the activity.
The following 1 hour and 40 minutes the group will explore the artworks and hidden corners, discovering new and unknown areas. Finally the last 15 minutes are used for the practical workshop. At the end, students take home their own graffiti-inspired creation.
These routes also serve as a starting point for schools interested in expanding the experience. After the tour, we can organize a follow-up urban art workshop at your school, where students can paint their own walls.
Led by professional graffiti artists with educational experience
Our team is multidisciplinary—capable of both creating large-scale murals and delivering engaging educational tours. Each member has hands-on experience in graffiti as well as teaching. Years of working with students aged 6 to 18 support our methodology, make their profile outstand in our educational travel agency in Barcelona.
Each group tour is led by multiple professionals, maintaining a ratio of 15–18 participants per guide to ensure a personalized experience. We avoid using microphones or headsets to keep interactions natural. We remain flexible with group sizes, understanding the budget constraints of different schools.
Year after year, we present an alternative option for those seeking graffiti-related activities within educational programs. Unlike more conventional offerings, our team lives and breathes street art—we are part of the local urban art scene.
What languages do we speak at the educational travel agency in Barcelona?
Cooltourspain’s tours are usually conducted in Spanish, but we adapt to demand. If your institution follows an international or bilingual program, we can deliver the experience in English. In recent years we have also increased our French offer, receiving yearly visits from different institutions in this language year after year. Thus the multilingual team which work at the educational travel agency in Barcelona may guide tours not only in Spanish or English, but we also happily work in French or even German as well.
The content is easily adaptable—after all, the language of art is universal. Our art historians are trained in multiple languages to ensure accessibility.
Introductory graffiti workshops
For schools looking to go further, we offer the possibility of organizing on-site graffiti workshops. These sessions allow students to paint murals at their own school, tailored to educational themes such as:
- Natural sciences (seasons, flora, fauna)
- Mathematics (numbers, geometric shapes)
- Language (literature, grammar, creative writing, languages)
Activities are adapted to the age group and use appropriate materials: mini rollers, acrylic paint, brushes, water-based spray cans, and masking tape—all sized for students’ hands.
Our perspective on student educational travel in Barcelona
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for your time and interest. We are passionate about taking our educational travel agency in Barcelona to guests from other countries. Starting from just €15 per student, you can offer your group an alternative way to explore contemporary art while discovering the city from a unique perspective.
Each year, we welcome over 3,000 participants, with around 45% coming from the educational sector. Would you like your students to be next? Get in touch with us at info@cooltourspain.com or call +34 638 399 784.
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