Barcelona Weekend Break
Getting around in Barcelona
Like many major city's, Barcelona offers you above and below ground alternatives for travelling around its numerous districts. These options add to the ease with which you can explore the city and make the most of your Barcelona weekend break.
If you want to see the town whilst you travel from one sightseeing attraction to another, you can use the city bus system (which includes the regular bus service or the tourist buses). You can also opt for a taxi.
If you want to get from one point in Barcelona to another as quickly as possible, then there is an underground metro (tube) network that is fast, efficient and easy to use.
Depending on where you are in the city and where you want to go, there are a couple of other interesting options that you may also be able to use. These are the railway and the cable car.
More information on travel methods
1. Barcelona metro (tube)
There are two different underground railway systems operating in Barcelona. They are the Metro and the FGC and both operate between the hours of 5.00am in the morning and midnight. Between them they have seven different lines operating within Barcelona and a further four lines (run by the FGC) that travel out of Barcelona city to some of the local towns.
The tube system is fast and clean and a single one way ticket will cost just over one euro (about 1.25 euros as of 2007).
If, as will probably be the case, you plan to make multiple journeys and spend two or more days in Barcelona, then a multiple trip ticket can be purchased. This ticket is called a T10 and it gives you up to 10 separate journeys within the main central city zone.
The cost of a standard T10 ticket is about 8 euros. Other variations on this ticket are available that enable you to travel further a field. All T10 tickets last indefinitely can be passed on, or used by, another person.
Further tube information
You can purchase your T10 ticket from any Metro stop and it is valid on the tube (both versions), the bus (TMB) and the funicular.
If you take a journey that includes changes at different stations (but you do not exit at these stations), your journey will still count as a single trip. A trip is only used up each time you leave the station and your ticket passes through the ticket machine.
2. Bus system
Barcelona's bus system is much like those of any other large city with a regular scheduled network and special services running to and from airports. You can also use the city's tourist bus to visit sights within Barcelona.
2.1 Airport shuttle bus
All three of Barcelona's airport terminals see the "Aerobus" offering a direct service from the doors of each terminal to Barcelona city centre. The Aerobus is air conditioned and has large storage areas for luggage.
The service is regular with buses running from about 6.00am to 1.00am the following morning. A single ticket is around 4 euros with a return at about 7 euros. The Aerobus makes several stops within the city centre. The buses run every 7 to 15 minutes.
Some airlines also offer their own airport to city "centre" transfers, so it is an idea to check those out too.
If you are staying in a town outside of Barcelona, then the MonBus is the service that you will use for your airport transfer. It covers various towns outside of the main city zones.
2.2 Regular buses
You get on a regular bus in Barcelona in exactly the same way you would anywhere else in the world. There are bus stops throughout the city and there are two main bus stations.
You can buy tickets on the bus, or at a station and the T10 tickets (mentioned in connection with the Metro) are also valid on the buses. Other ticket types include the T30, T50, T-Dia, and T-Mes. Each offers an extended service in terms of trips and zones which is beyond that of the T10.
Further specialist bus services include the TomBus and the TibiBus which offer routes around the shopping district and to the "Tibidabo" fun fare and park respectively.
3. Cable car (Telerifico de Montjuic) and Funicular (Special train service)
There is an aerial cable car called the Telerifico de "Montjuic" that travels from the seafront area to the castle at Montjuic (the hill above one side of Barcelona). The service runs from late morning to about 9.00pm during peak season with extended opening during festival periods.
There is a hill climbing train called the "Funicular" that travels from the city centre (on two separate routes) to both Montjuic and Tibidabo.
4. Travelling beyond Barcelona
If you want to use the public transport system to extend your Barcelona weeknd break beyond the city itself, then you can use the national railway network called "RENFE".
RENFE is state owned and offers local and intercity train services, many on high speed lines. You will need to consult timetables at a RENFE station for information on their services, routes and costs.
Barcelona has two train stations within the city.