Barcelona Transportation Tips by ger4444

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: The best way is getting around by subway. I suppose u r familiar with the phenomenon, so i dont have to explain how they work! Yet, you can enlarge the map, by clicking on the photograph. It may help you planning your trip. Some heplfull extra: the subway does not run every day at the same times. I give you a handy schedule, we ourself made for ourselves, so that you remember each time at what times they run!There are 5 'rules' 1. On workdays, monday - thursday line 1,2,3,and 5 run till 0.00, line 4 runs till 23.00. 2. on friday and saturday; line 1,2,3,4 and 5 run till 2.00. 3. Sunday and on Holidays line 1,2,3,4 and 5 run till 0.00 4. On holidays before a holiday, line 1,2,3,4 and 5 run till 2.00.

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'Mode': TO,AROUND
Category: Other
Getting TO/AROUND: When you're coming by plane, you will arrive at the El Prat International Airport. From there it's only 12 km to the city center. Both train and busservices are available from the airport to near downtown locations. 1: Trains: A train runs every 30 mins from 6am-11 pm, depsoting passengers at the main station called Sants. This is sitauted at some distance from most hostals and hotels, but metro trains are availlable from the same building. When you have your hotel'/hostal in the old town (barri gotic) the best Metro station to look for is Licieu. 2. Busses: Busses are availble from 2.30 am-11.10 pm, dropping passengers at the Placa d Espagna, where u can also find a station for metro lines. However, try to avoid taxi's from the airport to the cicy center. First they are very expensive, second: a lot of them are extremely creative in squeezing money out of the naive tourist. If you still insist in taking a cab. then make sure that the meter has been turned back following the last fare. We've had been lucky that we were that attentive! Another advice: - though i admitt it's difficult to do, when you're a first-time visitor - be very attentive during the ride, watch what route the man is taking, for he certainly will try to go to your hotel by a roundabout way, that may well give you a great touristic tour trhrough the city, but you probably would not have asked for!!! Cabs cost about 2500 pts.
Metro: the best way of gettin around. Their layout is similar to the Paris system, and some of the entrances have even imitate their Art Nouveau model. Metrostations are safe and clean. And at some stations, there are still possibilities for that good old 'jumping over the gate', that will save poor (or: avaricious) students, like us again some 70 pts for a ride. You can, if you like to, buy a 1,3, and 5-day pass, good for unlimeted use on all forms of public transport. Their cost ranges from 275-1250 pts (but prices can have changed, the last time i was there was in 1999. Other transprtation: 1. color-coded buses: you will probably use the red ones, that pass through the city center or the blue buses, that ride at night. But try to use the subway: the buses are uncomfortable cause they are mostly overcrowded. 2. Rent-a-car. When you're a first-time visitor, dont even think about it. Barcalona traffic is a hell! The mainstreets of the city have 8 ways, traffic is extremely crowded, noisy and chaotic. Considering the Catalan style of riding cars it may ruin all the great memories you could collect in Barcalona! So, be smart and take the sub!

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bicycle
Getting TO/AROUND: Most tourist use the 'Barcelona Transports Turistics,' t.i. those silly open touristbusses where you can sit on the roof of it. Dont be that silly: there's a much more intersting way of seëing the city. O.k, you will not find a lazy, passive ride along all the sights, but as far for us, what we did was much moore fun: we hired mountainbikes at the parc de la Ciutadella (there's a shop were they rent bikes at the passeigh de picasso, for 3000 pts a day)and took our own tour throughout Barcelona. Some fellows thought that we were nut, considering the chaotic trafic in the city, but it really wasn't that dangerous. When you're a little familiar to the city, or have good city maps, you can avoid the crowded mainstreets like the diagonal, and then you can see the whole city in one day. It's much more fun than using the metro, for then, you're underground the whole time. Now you see places, you normally would miss and its also fun to ride between all the traffic that has got stuck in traffic jam! But: make sure you have a bike with some good brakes (check it: many bikes they hire are of bad quality!!!)and gears, for the city has some heavy hills!!!

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