Arrival
In most cases, you can be off the plane, train or bus and in your central Barcelona hotel room within the hour. Note that many Ryanair flights (and some others) to Barcelona are actually to Girona (90km north) or Reus (110km south), and though there are reliable connecting bus and train services this means up to a 90-minute journey from either airport to Barcelona city centre.
By air
Barcelona’s airport (
902 404 704,
aena.es) is 18km southwest of the city. A taxi to the centre costs up to €30, including the airport surcharge (plus other surcharges for travel after 9pm, at weekends or for luggage in the boot). Far cheaper is the airport train (5.42am–11.38pm; journey time 18min; €6.30; info on 902 240 202), which runs every thirty minutes to Barcelona Sants station (see “By train") and then continues on to Passeig de Gràcia (best stop for Eixample, Plaça de Catalunya and the Ramblas). It departs from Terminal T2, and there’s a free shuttle bus to the station from T1 which takes around ten minutes. City travel passes and the Barcelona Card (available at the airport) are valid on the airport train.
Alternatively, the Aerobús service (Mon–Sat 5.30am–1am; €5.90, €10.20 return, departures every 5–10min; aerobusbcn.com) from T1 and T2 stops in the city at Plaça d’Espanya, Gran Via–Urgell, Plaça Universitat and Plaça de Catalunya (travel time 30min). Aerobus departures back to the airport leave from in front of El Corte Inglés in Plaça de Catalunya – note that there are separate services to terminals T1 and T2.
By bus
The main bus terminal is the Estació del Nord (902 260 606,barcelonanord.com; 
Arc de Triomf) on C/Ali-Bei, three blocks north of Parc de la Ciutadella. Various companies operate services across Catalunya, Spain and Europe from here – it’s a good idea to reserve a ticket in advance on long-distance routes (a day before at the station is usually fine, or buy online). Some intercity and international services also make a stop at the bus terminal behind Barcelona Sants station. Either way, you’re only a short metro ride from the city centre.
By train
The national rail service is operated by RENFE 912 320 320,renfe.com). The city’s main station is Barcelona Sants, 3km west of the centre, with a metro station (Sants Estació) that links directly to the Ramblas (Liceu), Plaça de Catalunya and Passeig de Gràcia. The high-speed AVE line between Barcelona and Madrid has cut the fastest journey between the cities to under three hours. These services also arrive at and depart from Barcelona Sants, though a second high-speed station is under construction in the north of the city.
Some Spanish intercity services and international trains also stop at Estació de França, 1km east of the Ramblas and close to Barceloneta.
Regional and local commuter train services are operated by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, or FGC (932 051 515,fgc.cat), with stations at Plaça de Catalunya, at the top of the Ramblas (for trains from coastal towns north of the city); Plaça d'Espanya (for Montserrat); and Passeig de Gràcia (Catalunya provincial destinations).