Barcelona Transportation Tips by Laura_Mexico

Metro & bus Combined Suggestions Review

Barcelona has a pretty good metro and bus service. Here you can see a picture of my metro ticket, which was good for 10 trips (either on the metro or the buses)... There are single ride tickets, day cards or tickets like mine, with a limited number of rides and which can be used by more than one person (eg. if there are 2 people traveling, you valid the card/ticket twice when boarding a bus or accessing the metro). This 10-trip cards are the most convenient because a single ticket costs something like 1.45 EUR but a 10-trip card costs 8.50 EUR....!!! So you end up paying about 40% less by buying the card and it has no time limit so you can keep it for weeks or months and it will still be valid (until the transport rates are modified).

The metro and bus lines connect the most important points of the city. However, if you really want to admire the beauty of the town, you'd better walk.... the downtown area is rather reduced and you can walk down the Rambla to the harbor and visit the Barri Gotic (halfway between Plaza Catalunya and the harbor) and you'll see most of the interesting sites Barcelona has... Montjuic, another very interesting area, is just 3-4 metro stations away from Plaza Catalunya and there are buses and also a funicular that takes you up the hill (or you can also walk).

Mode: AROUND

Type: Subway/Metro

Getting there To / From Airport Review

Barcelona has an international airport, which you can reach from downtown by train. So if you're flying, your plane will arrive at the airport and then you can take a train (and then the metro) to go anywhere in town. Mind you, the train station is located close to Terminal 2, so if you arrive to Terminal 1 (as it was my case) you will need to take a shuttle to Terminal 2 and then take the train.

However, there is now another option to get to the city center quickly and without having to go through that hassle. They now have a service called Aerobus, a blue bus that takes you directly from the airport to the main centric areas in Barcelona: Plaza Espanya, next to Montjuic hill, and Plaza Catalunya, right in the heart of the city and where the Rambla starts. It's only 5.30 EUR per person for a single ride (2011) and the journey is 30 minutes long, approximately. It's comfortable and convenient, and they even give you a free map of the city. There are buses coming back and forth every 5-10 minutes or so, and every 20 minutes in less busy hours. You can buy the ticket from the driver, from a clerk at their bus stop in Plaza Catalunya or the Airport, or from a vending machine located next to the bus stop (not available in all stops). It runs from 5:30 AM to midnight or even later, depending on the terminal. This bus serves BOTH terminals of the airport, so it has routes A1 and A2. This isn't an issue when going from the airport to the city, but when going back to the airport make sure you take the right bus so you don't end up in the wrong terminal. The clerk at Plaza Catalunya knew which airlines departed from which terminal, so you can also get assistance from these people if you aren't 100% sure where you're departing from. Website provided for more information.

You can also arrive to Barcelona by train, being the main station Barcelona Sants -- this station is connected to the metro system and this is where you will arrive if you take the train from the airport, too.

Mode: TO

Type: Airplane

Website: http://www.aerobusbcn.com