BARCELONA: GETTING THERE
AND AROUND Go
Back to Barcelona guide Barcelona has an efficient public
transport system made up of a variety of options include
the metro, trains, buses etc which should make your stay
in this city even more enjoyable.
AIR
Barcelona’s airport is 14 km south-west of the city centre at El Prat de
Llobregat and well connected to other European cities. Most travellers fly in
and out of Barcelona to get to other parts of Spain as the cheap airlines like
Ryan Air and EasyJet use this as a base.
Trains go from the airport to Estació Sants and Catalunya on Placa de
Catalunya every 30 minutes. The journey is about 15 minutes. The airport is in
zone 4 of the Rodalies/Cercanías suburban rail network and a one-way ticket
costs €2.10. The last trains leaves at 10.45pm, so if your flight is at
night you will have to take the EN bus from Plaça de Espanya. Another
option is the Aerobús which is more frequent but more expensive at €3.
It departs from Plaça de Catalunya and Estació Sants.
Suburban buses (EA and EN from Plaça d'Espanya) also run to the airport
but while they are cheap at €1 they run less often (every 80 minutes).
TRAIN
Most domestic trains in Spain stop at Estaciós Sants (metro Sants-Estació,
Liceu or Drassanes) and international trains use Estació de Franca (metro
Barceloneta) for destinations like Geneva, Milan, Paris and Zurich. For some
international destinations you must change trains at the French border or Montpellier.
Some long-distance trains also stop at some smaller stations like Catalunya (metro:
Catalunya) and Passeig de Gràcia (metro: Passeig de Gràcia).
Trains run daily to all major cities in Spain including:
Madrid (6.5-9.5 hours, 6 daily)
San Sebastian (8-10 hours, 2 daily)
Valencia (3-5 hours, 10 daily)
Granada (8 hours)
Signs in the train stations will be in Catalan and Spanish. Arribades/llegadas
is arrivals and sortides/salidas is for departures. Tickets and information are
available at train stations or from the RENFE office in Passeig de Gracia metro
station. The office is open daily 7am-10pm (9pm Sunday). Some day trips from
Barcelona by train include the Monestir de Montserrat, 50km north west of Barcelona
and Figueres (where the Dali museum is).
SUBURBAN TRAINS
There are two suburban train networks, both operated by RENFE (http://www.renfe.es)
and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (http://www.fgc.es).
The RENFE network is known as Rodalies in Catalan and Cercanias in Castillian
Spanish and acts like an express metro. Most people use these trains to get to
the airport and beach resorts like Castelldefels and Sitges. RENFE’s C-3
and C-4 Rodalia suburban train lines between Torre Baró and Barcelona-Sants
stations are included on the T-DIA and T-MES multi-trip tickets.
Prices for other routes are based on a zone system. Trips inside the city lie
within zone 1, beyond the city includes zone 2, zone 3 is the beach like Castelldefels
and zone 4 includes the airport and Sitges. There is a map on the RENFE site
indicating the zones. Prices increase on weekends and public holidays.
THE FGC network operates throughout Catalunya and within Barcelona. There are
two branches terminating at Catalunya or Espanya where it connects with the metro.
The lines originating at Catalunya are useful for visiting areas to the north
of the centre. Urban routes operated by FGC are covered by multi-trip tickets,
whereas longer trips are priced according to the distance travelled. Urban trips
covered by travel passes include lines U6 (Catalunya-Reina Elisendra), U7 (Catalunya-Avenida
Tibidabo) and lines S1 and S2 between Catalunya and Les Planes. There is a map
of the network on the FGC site.
METRO
There are metro stations all around the city for the best means of getting around.
The metro system has five lines and most stops are close to major attractions
and budget accommodation. The system closes at 11pm. Single tickets for €1
can be purchased or a T-1 ticket (valid for 10 rides), T-DIA tickets give unlimited
travel for one day. There is a map of the metro at the following website – http://www.tmb.net/eng/metro/metro_planol.jsp
BUS
Estació del Nord is the terminal for most domestic and international buses.
It is at Carrer d'Alí Bei near Arc de Triomf metro station. Tel. 93 265
6508. Open daily 7am-9pm. It also handles international services of Eurolines/Linebús
and Starbus
Some international buses leave from Estació d’Autobuses de Sants
beside the Estació Sants train station. This station handles buses to
Montserrat and international services opeated by Eurolines/JuliàVia
Buses go to most main cities throughout Spain at regular intervals. Some destinations
include:
Madrid (7-8 hours)
Zaragoza (4.5 hours)
Valencia (4.5 hours)
Granada (13-15 hours)
International destinations include London and Paris.
TMB (http://www.tmb.net) operates most of Barcelona's
buses. Most people use the metro during the day and buses at night when the trains
stop running. The nitbusos (night buses) run from 11pm to 4am when the metro
is closed. Most routes terminate near Plaça de Catalunya.
For city travel within Barcelona single tickets can be purchased for €1
per trip or a T-1 ticket (valid for 10 rides), T-DIA tickets give unlimited travel
for one day.
HITCHING
Hitching from Barcelona is not that easy. If you’re heading for destinations
north of the city like Girona or Paris make your way to Avenida Meridiana to
get traffic bound for the A7 (metro to Fabria y Puig). To get to Madrid or Valencia
take the metro to Zona Universitaria and pick a spot where autopista bound traffic
can safely stop. Barnastop is a local ride-sharing agency in Barcelona who can
arrange lifts for you for a small fee. But it should still be cheaper than public
transport. They are located at C Sant Ramon 29 (metro: Liceu). http://europe.bugride.com is
a web based ride sharing agency that also operates in Spain.
DRIVING
Check our our pages on driving for
more details on parking and driving. The A7 heads north out of the county. Traffic
is restricted in the city centre, so it's best to park a little out of town and
walk around - parking in the more central areas is very expensive. Auto Europe rents
cars around Europe including France.
MOTORCYCLE
This is a better option for moving around as bikes are easier and cheaper to
park.
Useful links include:
Motonline.com - http://rent.motonline.com/en/ rent@motonline.com
Motonline allows you to rent a bike throughout Europe and there are pickup and
drop off points around the country (for additional fees). Rentable bikes include
Ducati, Aprilia, Yamaha and BMW.
BIKING AND WALKING
There are a number of companies that rent bikes or run walks in and around Barcelona.
Here are some other useful links:
Euro-Bike and Walking Tours - http://www.eurobike.com – offers
tours by bike or foot. Go to their website for more details or contact them at info@eurobike.com.
Their postal address is PO Box 990, DeKalb, IL 60115 – USA
TAXI
Taxis are available around the city.
TICKETS
Buy your tickets before boarding buses at tobacconists, newstands, major bus
stops or vending machines. Tickets are purchased in time periods. Train tickets
must also be purchased before boarding.
Barcelona's public transport network has a number of multi-trip tickets which
are a better deal than single-trip tickets which cost €1 for each trip.
T-10 is valid for 10 journeys in zone 1 for a 75 minute period. You can change
lines between bus, metro and Renfe and FGC train lines. €5.60
T-DIA gives you unlimited number of journeys on the day of issue. It can be used
on TMB and EMT buses, the metro, urban FGC train lines, the Funicular de Vallvidrera
and RENFE's C-3 and C-4 Rodalia suburban train lines between Torre Baró and
Barcelona-Sants stations. €4.20
T-50/30 is valid for 50 metro and urban FGC train line journeys over 30 consecutive
days. You can change lines but only during a one hour period i.e within an hour
of starting your journey you change from a FGC train to the Metro it counts as
a single journey. €23.40
T-MES is valid for an unlimited number of journeys in a one-month period on TMB
buses and metro lines, urban FGC train lines, the Funicular de Vallvidrera, night
buses and RENFE's C-3 and C-4 Rodalia suburban train lines between Torre Baró and
Barcelona-Sants stations. To use this ticket you need a "Targetren" or
TMB's Identity Card. €36.30
FERRIES
Several ferries go each week between Barcelona and Genova (Italy) although it
is quicker easier to take the train. This ferry service is operated by Grimaldi and
departs from Moll de Ponent.
Ferries to the Ballearic Islands also run from Barcelona. Trasmediterrànea operates
slow and fast ferries to Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza. Buquebús runs a
fast service to Palma de Mallorca. The Buquebus is at Estacion Maritima, Moll
de Barcelona Nord, Tel. +34 93 443 98 20, reservas@buquebus.es,
nearest metro is Drassanes.
