Getting around

Barcelona has an excellent integrated transport system which comprises the metro, buses, trams and local trains, plus a network of funiculars and cable cars. The local transport authority has a useful website (tmb.cat, English-language version available) with full timetable and ticket information, while a city transport map and information is posted at major bus stops and all metro and tram stations.

The metro

The quickest way of getting around Barcelona is by metro, which currently runs on six main lines. A few stations on lines L9, L10 & L12 are also now open – on its completion, this will be the longest underground line in Europe (almost 50km) and will run between the airport, city centre and high-speed Sagrera train station.

There's a limited network of stations in the Old Town, but you can take the metro directly to the Ramblas (Catalunya, Liceu or Drassanes), and to the edge of the Barri Gòtic, El Raval and La Ribera.

Metro entrances are marked with a red diamond sign with an “M”. Its hours of operation are Monday to Thursday, plus Sunday and public holidays 5am to midnight; Friday 5am to 2am; Saturday and the day before a public holiday, 24hr service. The system is safe, but some of the train carriages are heavily graffitied, and buskers and beggars are common.

Tickets and travel passes

On all the city’s public transport (including night buses and funiculars), you can buy a single ticket every time you ride (€2.15), but it’s much cheaper to buy a targeta – a discount ticket card. They are available at metro, train and tram stations, but not on the buses.

Best general ticket deal is the T-10 (“tay day-oo” in Catalan) targeta (€10.20), valid for ten separate journeys, with changes between methods of transport allowed within 75 minutes. This card (also available at newsagents' kiosks) can be used by more than one person at a time – simply validate it the same number of times as there are people travelling.

Other useful (single-person) targetes include the T-Dia (1 day’s unlimited travel; €8.60), and there are also multiday combos (HolaBCN!) for up to five days (€35). Prices given are for passes valid as far as the Zone 1 city limits, which in practice is everywhere you’re likely to want to go except Montserrat and Sitges. For trips to these and other out-of-town destinations, buy a specific ticket.

Trams,

The tram system (tram.cat) runs on six lines, with departures every eight to twenty minutes throughout the day from 5am to midnight. Lines T1, T2 and T3 depart from Plaça Francesc Macià and run along the uptown part of Avinguda Diagonal to suburban destinations in the northwest – useful tourist stops are at L’Illa shopping and the Maria Cristina and Palau Reial metro stations. Line T4 operates from Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica (where there’s also a metro station) and runs up past the zoo and TNC (the National Theatre) to Glòries, before running down the lower part of Avinguda Diagonal to Diagonal Mar and the Fòrum site. You’re unlikely to use the more suburban lines T5 and T6.

Emergency numbers

Call 112 for emergency ambulance, police and fire services; for the national police service call 091.

Buses

Most buses operate daily, roughly from 4am or 5am until 10.30pm, though some lines stop earlier and some run on until after midnight. Night bus services fill in the gaps on all the main routes, with services every twenty to sixty minutes from around 10pm to 4am. Many bus routes (including all night buses) stop in or near Plaça de Catalunya, but the full route is marked at each bus stop, along with a timetable.

City tours

The number of available tours is bewildering, and you can see the sights on anything from a Segway to a hot-air balloon. A good place to start is the official Barcelona Turisme website (barcelonaturisme.com), which has a dedicated tours section offering online sales and discounts.

Highest profile are the two tour-bus operators with daily board-at-will, open-top services (1 day €30, 2 days €40), which drop you outside every attraction in the city. The choice is between Barcelona City Tour (barcelonatours.es) or the Bus Turístic (barcelonaturisme.com), with frequent departures from Plaça de Catalunya and many other stops – tickets are available on board.

Advance booking is advised (at Pl. de Catalunya tourist office) for Barcelona Walking Tours’ two-hour historical Barri Gòtic tour (daily all year, in English at 9.30am; €15.50). There are also “Picasso”, “Modernisme” and “Gourmet” walking tours on selected days.

Long-time resident Nick Lloyd’s Spanish Civil War tours (iberianature.com/barcelona/contact/) weave human stories with the historical events that shaped the city. Delivered in English, these absorbing half-day tours cost €25.

The Food Lovers Company Barcelona Tapas Tour (foodloverscompany.com), led in English by locals Nuria and Margherita, takes in the city’s best traditional tapas spots and costs €70 for three hours.

Bike tours now infest the city, with follow-the-leader cycle packs careering through the Old Town alleys. There are flyers and bike outfits everywhere and you’ll pay around €25 for a guided 3hr tour.

At any time of year, the sparkling harbour waters invite a cruise and Las Golondrinas (934 423 106, lasgolondrinas.com) daily sightseeing boats depart (at least hourly June–Sept, less frequently Oct–May) from the quayside opposite the Columbus statue, at the bottom of the Ramblas (Drassanes). Two of the services visit either the port (40min; €7.70), or port and local coast (1hr 30min; €15.20).

There are also afternoon catamaran trips around the port with Catamaran Orsom (barcelona-orsom.com; Easter week & June–Sept daily; May & Oct Mon, Thurs–Sun; €15.50) plus summer evening jazz cruises (daily June–Aug; €17.50).

Cycling and bike rental

The city council is investing heavily in cycle lanes and bike schemes, notably the Bicing pick-up and drop-off scheme (bicing.cat), which is touted as Barcelona’s new public transport system. You’ll see the red bikes and bike stations all over the city, but Bicing is not available to tourists, only to locals who are encouraged to use the bikes for short trips. To rent a bike you need to be registered as a Barcelona resident.

There are plenty of other bike rental outfits aimed at tourists. Rental costs around €25 a day with companies all over town, including Un Coxte Menys (bicicletabarcelona.com), Donkey Republic (donkey.bike) and Biciclot (biciclot.coop).

Currently there are around 200km of cycle paths throughout the city, with plans to double the network in the future. Not all locals have embraced the bike yet, and some cycle paths are still ignored by cars or clogged with pedestrians, indignantly reluctant to give way to two-wheelers. But, on the whole, cycling around Barcelona is not the completely hairy experience it was just a few years ago, while you can always get off-road in the Parc de Collserola, where there are waymarked trails through the woods and hills.

Funiculars and cable cars

As well as the regular city options, Barcelona also has some fun transport trips and historic survivors. A few funicular railways are still widely used, particularly up to Montjuïc and Tibidabo, while summer and year-round weekend visits to Tibidabo also combine a funicular trip with a ride on the clanking antique tram, the Tramvia Blau. Best of all, though, are the two cable car (telefèric) rides: from Barceloneta across the harbour to Montjuïc, and then from the top station of the Montjuïc funicular right the way up to the castle.

Taxis

There are taxi ranks outside major train and metro stations, in main squares, near large hotels and at places along the main avenues. To call a taxi in advance (few of the operators speak English, and you’ll be charged an extra €3 or €4), try: Barna Taxis 933 222 222; Radio Taxi 933 033 033; Servi-Taxi 933 300 300; or Taxi Amic 934 208 088.

A fun way to get around the Old Town, port area and beaches is by Trixi (trixi.com), a kind of love-bug-style bicycle-rickshaw. They tout for business between 11am and 8pm near the Columbus statue at the bottom of the Ramblas, and outside La Seu cathedral in the Barri Gòtic, though you can also flag them down if one cruises by. Fares are fixed (from €6 for 15min, longer tours also available) and the trixistas are an amiable, multilingual bunch for the most part.

Trains

The FGC commuter train line has its main stations at Plaça de Catalunya and Plaça d’Espanya, used when going to Sarrià, Vallvidrera, Tibidabo and Montserrat. The national rail service, RENFE, runs all the other services out of Barcelona, with local lines designated as Rodiales/Cercanías. The hub is Barcelona Sants station, with services also passing through Plaça de Catalunya (heading north) and Passeig de Gràcia (south). Arrive in plenty of time to buy a ticket, as queues are often long, though for most regional destinations you can use the automatic vending machines instead.