Moving in Barcelona
Are you going to Barcelona soon? Barcelona is a big city and so it might be useful to know more about the means of transport in the city.
In this entry I have taken the time to explore the many different means of transport in and around the beautiful city of Barcelona!
From the airport to the city centre:
First things first, before you can get immersed into the fascinating world of Gaudí, famous Barcelona architecture and a great atmosphere, you have to get from the airport to the city centre.
Barcelona has three airports nearby and depending on which airport you come from, you can choose for a taxi, airport bus or train. Prices of the journey vary: Taxi is off course the easiest but most expensive way to get to the city centre. Bus and Train are about the same price. Here below you will find an overview of ways to go from one of the three Barcelona Airports to the city centre:
El Prat Airport:
El Prat is the closest airport to Barcelona, the easiest way to get from here to Plaza Catalunya (Aeropuerto – Pl.Catalunya), which is considered to be the city centre, is by Airport Bus A1. This blue bus leaves every 10 minutes and brings you to Plaza Catalunya in about 45 minutes. It costs about 4,05€ for a single ticket or 7 € for a roundtrip.
You can also take the train from El Prat Airport to the city centre (Aeropuerto – Pl.Catalunya y Aeropuerto – Sants Estació), this will take you about 30 minutes and 3€.
A taxi will be the fastest and easiest way. There are lots of taxis at the exit of the arrival terminal and they can take you everywhere you want throughout the city. A journey to the city centre will cost you approx. 25-30 € (May differ during weekends and nights).
Girona Airport:
Girona is a small city situated at about 110 km from Barcelona. This is the airport where most of the Ryanair flights arrive. There are multiple ways of getting from Girona to Barcelona:
Every half an hour a bus leaves the airport and heads for Barcelona Estació Nord, this is a journey of about 1h15 minutes and will cost about 12€ single or 21€ for a roundtrip. At the airport, buses go between: 8:30 and 00:15. At Plaza Catalunya, they go between: 3:15 – 19:30.
A cheaper way is to go by train, they leave one or two times every hour, take about as long as the buses and cost about 6€ single and 11€ roundtrip. Trains from and to Girona go between 6:00 and 21:30.
People who are not too fond of public transfer can always choose to take a taxi, this will take about one hour and will cost approximately 120€.
It is also possible to book a private transfer from the Girona Airport to Barcelona: click here
Reus Airport:
Reus Airport is situated at about 80km from Barcelona. The most common way to get to Barcelona is probably by train from the town of Reus to the city centre of Barcelona, the trains go approximately every 30 minutes and this will cost you about 12€. To get to the city centre of Reus you’d best take a taxi from the airport, which will cost about 18€.
It is possible to book a private transfer from the Reus Airport to Barcelona: click here
Getting around in Barcelona:
Barcelona Card:
This card gives you discounts up to 50% off at many tourist attractions including museums, entertainment and leisure venues, shops and restaurants, and free public transport. Sites include Museu Picasso, Casa-Museu Gaudí and Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). You can buy a card for 1 day – €17, 2 days – €20, 3 days – €23, 4 days – €25 or 5 days – €27 at the Barcelona Tourist Office, Plaza Sant Jaume or Central-Sants station.
Metro:
Almost all interesting places in Barcelona have good connection with the metro. Only the Area Sarrìa-Sant Gervasi is not connected to the Metro. This part you can reach with the City train Ferrocarrils (FFCC). It actually doesn’t really make a difference because the same tickets can be used and they are as well connected at the same stations. In general the Subway-net is very well organized and easy to get use to. Short time intervals at rush hours and as well fairly good intervals throughout the day make it very comfortable to take the metro.
Metro – Hours of operation:
Working days and Sundays 5 am to 12 pm,
Fridays and prior days to festive days: 5 am to 2 am,
Saturday and day prior to 1/1, 24/6, 15/8, and 24/9 non stop service.
Tickets are available at counters and machines at the stations, more day passes are also available at Tourist offices.
For more information go to: www.tmb.net
Buses:
All bus lines are usually operating between 6 am and 10:30 pm. Maps and Tickets are available at the Tourist office at Placa Catalunya. There is also a Night bus (Nitbús) from 10:00 pm to 4 am. It offers a rather wide-meshed net of stops.
Tramway:
There are five tram lines in Barcelona. T1, T2 and T3 communicate within the southeastern parts of Eixample, T4 and T5 in the city areas just behind the new city beach. During the day they operate in 15 minute intervals. The same tickets as for the Metro and Bus can be used.
Bus Turistic:
As in most big cities in Spain, Barcelona offers the possibility to go around by bus. This bus shows you around and you can get on and off whenever and wherever you want to. There are 3 different routes: Red Route, Blue Route & Green Route. Tickets can be bought online , on board of the bus or at one of the TMB customer service centres.
Prices:
1 day adult: 21€
1 day child: 13€
2 days adult: 27€
2 days child: 17€
Trixis:
Trixi is a service for some fun time through the city. It is a bicycle taxi where young, friendly cyclists take you to the different sights in the city. At the monument of Columbus or in front of the Cathedral you can take a seat in one of the comfortable vehicles or a simple hand sign to a available Trixi passing is enough. The prices are about 6 € for 15 minutes, increasing by time – including worth knowing facts about beautiful Barcelona.
Staying in Barcelona for more than 2 months?
Bicing is a new system introduced in Barcelona only a short time ago. It’s a bicycle rental which requests a NIE number available for people staying longer than 2 months. Hundreds of Bicing stations are spread in the city easy to pick up and drop off again. This system is very convenient, especially during summer time. For more information go to www.bicing.com
Outside of Barcelona:
A common way to travel in Spain is by coach. There are many companies offering coach services to different cities troughout Spain. The coaches leave the station and take you directly to your destination. In that way you might be able to visit some other cities in Spain such as Madrid, Valencia or Bilbao. Some companies offering this service are:
Sarfa: Destination Costa Brava
ALSA-Enatcar: Destinations Madrid, Tarragona, Andalucia, Asturias, Zaragoza
Italy, France, Portugal, Poland.
RENFE Iñigo: Destinations Salamanca, Soria
Linebús: Destinations France, Italy, London, Marrocco
Starbus: Destinations Andorra, Germany, France, Holland
Eurolines: Belgium, France, Holland, Italy, London, Morocco
Secorbus: Madrid, Zaragoza, Poland
RENFE (Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles) is theSpanish railway system and offers trips from Barcelona to all other important Spanish cities. It also provides a great and cheap connection with the most important towns on the Costa Brava and the rest of Catalunya (Cercanias de Barcelona).
Those who want to travel in a faster way, can always fly around Spain. The most important flight companies in Spain are Iberia, Vueling, Spanair and Clickair. They offer both domestic and international flights.
Visiting the Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera) is possible by boat from Barcelona, more info you can find here or with the following companies:
Transmediterránea
Buquebus
Grandi Navi Veloci
Balearia
Enjoy your stay in Barcelona!!
Great post !Thanks! I’m coming in Barcelona for studies and I was searching for something like this! Great Blog!
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Thanks for such useful information. It will all depend on what you want to see and how far it is from your accommodation cost is also another factor. With all this information, a first time visitor to Barcelona will not be stranded.
Greatings, Not sure that this is true:), but thanks for a post.
Hobosic