How to get around Barcelona

Barcelona offers a wide variety of means of transportation so that you have many options when moving around the city: trains, subways, buses, cabs, bicycles, scooters and, of course, the option of walking in many neighborhoods. Every year, the city expands its metro and bus network, with more vehicles and covering more territory.

In this guide we give you all the details on how to get around Barcelona so that you can choose the most convenient options and make the most of your time in the city.

The cards you need

Hola BCN!

It is the card most used by tourists for public transport in Barcelona. There is unlimited travel throughout the city by metro, bus, streetcar and urban railroad (FGC) to reach some of the metropolitan areas. Travel by metro or train to Barcelona airport is also included. There are four types of subscriptions: for two, three, four or five days. Prices are as follows: two days (16.40 €), three days (23.80 €), four days (31 €) and five days (38.20 €).

T-Casual Card

It costs 11,35 € and includes 10 trips by metro, FGC, day and night buses, streetcars and the funicular to Montjuïc. It allows free transfers from one means of transport to another with a margin of 1 hour and 15 minutes. It can be purchased at subway machines, newsstands, tobacconists and also online.

Although it is a single-person card, there is no problem if it is used by several people, but it cannot be used on the same trip and can only be validated once for each trip.

T-Usual Card

It is the most appropriate for those tourists who spend long stays in Barcelona, between two and four weeks for example, and who will take a lot of means of transport and move around a lot. It costs 40 € and allows unlimited travel for 30 consecutive days on the same means of transport as the T-casual and can be purchased in the same way.

It is not only a personal card, but also non-transferable. It cannot be validated at any time by anyone other than the person who acquired it. This is why, when you buy it, you will be asked for your DNI, NIE or passport number, which will be printed on the card.

T-Día Card

It is the ideal option for tourists who spend a day in the city and want to know how to get around Barcelona. It can be purchased at the airport for €10.50 and includes, in addition to travel to and from El Prat, unlimited travel for 24 hours on public transport. It can also be purchased online before your arrival.

T-Grup Card

It is a multi-person card that includes a total of 70 trips to spend during one month. It costs 79,45 € and is ideal for a family or group of friends traveling together. Transportation to the airport is not included.

T-Familiar Card

This is another type of multi-person card that includes 8 trips during 30 days for a price of 10 €. It does not include the airport subway stations.

T-Mobilitat, card or app

It is the new system of validation of tickets and passes for public transport in Barcelona, contactless and digitally. It works through a card or an app, in which you have to register as a user to buy all kinds of tickets and transport passes. This is a more convenient and effective system, which has been implemented this year and allows you to do everything online: purchases, recharges and much more.

Metro

Barcelona has an extensive metro network, with 11 lines that cover a large part of the city. Subway hours are Monday through Thursday from 5 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Fridays and holiday eves from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m.; and Saturdays and Sundays have a continuous service starting Saturday at 5 a.m. and ending Sunday at 12 p.m.

Buses

The city has a large fleet of large, spacious and modern buses that allow you to travel to any point and corner of the city. The same ticket used for the metro can also be used on Barcelona’s city buses, both day and night.

Daytime bus service begins at 5:30 a.m. and ends around 10:30 p.m., at which time the night buses appear for their shift until 5:30 a.m. the following day. All stops have a digital display that shows the time it will take for the next bus on each line to arrive.

Tramway

The Barcelona tramway or TRAM has two sections: Trambaix and Trambesòs. In turn, each is divided into three lines. For example, the Trambaix starts at Plaza Francesc Macià and reaches metropolitan areas such as Cornellà and Sant Feliu, both in the Baix Llobregat region. The Trambesòs route starts at Ciutadella Park and Vila Olímpica and reaches Badalona and Sant Adrià del Besòs.

The TRAM is integrated with the metro and city bus network of Barcelona, so all the above-mentioned passes and individual tickets are also valid for this type of transport.

There is also the Tramvia Blau or Blue Tram, a streetcar specially designed for tourism with only one car. Its route covers the Avinguda del Tibidabo, between the squares John F. Kennedy and Doctor Andreu.

Funiculars and cable cars

The city of Barcelona has two funicular services: Montjuïc and Tibidabo. The first one is taken at the Paral-lel Metro station (L2 and L3) and goes to Monjuïc mountain, where the Fundació Miró and the Olympic Stadium are located. The Tibidabo funicular connects Plaça Doctor Andreu with the Tibidabo amusement park.

Regarding the cable cars, there are also two and both are taken at Montjuïc. One leads to the castle on that mountain and the other to Barceloneta, next to the beach, in a fascinating route through which you pass by the port of Barcelona and the World Trade Center, with great views.

Cabs

Barcelona’s cabs have the characteristic yellow and black color, as is the case in many cities around the world. There are numerous cab ranks throughout the city, but the easiest way is to wait on any street corner for a vehicle with a green light, which indicates that it is free.

No more than four people can travel in a cab and you can pay with both bank cards and cash without any problems. Fares start at a minimum of €2.30 and, depending on where you go, a cab ride around the city can cost between €10 and €30. Fares are never negotiated, you always pay what the meter reads.

There are cab companies that operate by telephone and you can request the service with total confidence, although the hotels usually take care of helping tourists in this regard at no cost.

Bicycle rental

If you go to Barcelona, you will probably see red and white bicycles parked in rows on many street corners. This is the Bicing public transport system, which is reserved for city residents only.

But there are many options for bike and scooter rentals in Barcelona, which you can access through private companies, by the hour or by the day, depending on your interest. But we recommend you to try cycling around Barcelona, especially the lower and flat part of the city: Eixample, Raval, Barrio Gótico, Barceloneta and all the coastline. Prices range from 25 € to 35 € per day if you rent it in autumn or winter and go up in spring and summer, and can reach up to 45 €.

Walking in the city

According to official data from TMB, Barcelona’s public transport service, 53.3% of movements in the city are made on foot or by bicycle. In other words, more than half of the population moves in a sustainable manner, mainly due to traffic density. And the city offers many charms to be enjoyed on foot, especially during the summer and spring sunsets.