Barcelona is mainly travelled by metro, bus and tram, with suburban trains for leaving the city and an airport with metro, train and bus links straight to the centre. The modes share one integrated fare system, so a single ticket covers metro, bus, tram and suburban trains within the zone it covers.
1. Getting around the city
**Metro.** The network is run by two operators: Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) on lines L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L9, L10 and L11, and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) on lines L6, L7 and L8. Lines are identified by number and colour. Line L9 Sud reaches the airport, and line L4 passes through Barceloneta, near the beach. Metro stations are spread across the centre, and tickets are sold in the stations.
**Bus.** TMB runs more than 100 bus lines, covering almost 880 kilometres. As well as numbered lines, there are rapid lines in three groups: horizontal (H), vertical (V) and diagonal (D). Buses reach streets and higher neighbourhoods the metro does not reach. At night, when the metro closes, Nitbus night buses run, operated by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) network.
**Tram.** The modern tram has two networks: Trambaix (T1, T2 and T3), running from Francesc Macià towards Sant Just Desvern, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Feliu de Llobregat and Cornellà, and Trambesòs (T4, T5 and T6), running from the Olympic Village to Sant Adrià de Besòs and Badalona, passing the Forum site. The tram runs mainly along the edges of the city and accepts integrated tickets.
**On foot, by funicular and by taxi.** The centre, above all Ciutat Vella and the Eixample, is easy on foot, and the old town has narrow streets where walking beats driving. The Montjuïc funicular climbs the hill from Paral·lel. Barcelona's official taxis are black and yellow, as Aena states, and are picked up at marked ranks or hailed in the street.
2. Getting to and from the city
**By plane.** Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport has two terminals, T1 and T2, and is run by Aena. From the airport there are several ways into the centre: metro line L9 Sud stops at both terminals; the Rodalies R2 Nord train has a station under Terminal T2; Aerobús A1 links Terminal T1 with Plaça de Catalunya and A2 links T2 with the same square; and bus line 46 links the airport with Plaça Espanya, passing through El Prat de Llobregat and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. A free Aena shuttle bus runs between T1 and T2. From T1, reaching the train means taking that shuttle to T2 first.
**By train.** The main station is Barcelona Sants, owned by Adif and operated by Renfe. From Sants run AVE high-speed trains, medium- and long-distance trains and Rodalies de Catalunya suburban trains. The metro stop at the station is called Sants Estació and is served by lines L3 and L5. Other useful stations are Passeig de Gràcia, in the heart of the Eixample, and Estació de França, beside the old town and Barceloneta, which handles part of the regional services.
**By intercity coach and by car.** Estació del Nord, beside the Arc de Triomf, is the city's coach station for intercity routes. By road, Barcelona is connected with the rest of Catalonia and with France to the north and Valencia to the south, and the port, at the foot of La Rambla, handles cruise and ferry traffic; check exact routes with each operator before travelling.
3. Commuting in general terms
To cross the city, the metro is the most direct mode: its lines cross the centre and reach the beach, the Sagrada Família, Sants and the airport. For short trips in the centre, walking is often faster than waiting for transport, above all in Ciutat Vella, where the streets are narrow and many routes are walked.
The bus covers what the metro does not: higher neighbourhoods, side streets and trips between neighbourhoods without passing through the centre. The tram serves mainly the edges of the city and neighbouring towns. At night, Nitbus replaces the metro. At busy hours, metro and train avoid road congestion, while bus and taxi sit in it.
4. What a newcomer needs to know first
This page gives general transport information. It does not sell tickets and does not verify timetables, fares or specific services.
- **Check your ticket before travelling.** The integrated system covers metro, bus, tram and suburban trains, but the airport metro has its own rules: check on tmb.cat whether your ticket is valid on L9 Sud before using it.
- **Confirm fares and times with the official source.** This page gives no fares or timetables because they change: for metro and bus, tmb.cat; for tram, tram.cat; for suburban trains, Rodalies de Catalunya; for the airport, Aena.
- **Mind the exact station name.** Sants is the main long-distance station; Passeig de Gràcia can suit better if you are staying in the Eixample; and the airport train leaves from Terminal T2, not T1.
- **Keep your ticket during the trip.** Transfers within the integrated system require validating or showing the ticket on each mode.
- **Use only official taxis.** Barcelona taxis are black and yellow; at the airport, the rank stands opposite arrivals at each terminal.