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Getting There By Air:

El Prat de Llobregat (BCN)
Tel: (93) 298 3838. Fax: (93) 479 3902.
E-mail: bcninfofi@aena.es
Website: www.aena.es

The airport is located 12km (7 miles) southwest of the city center and has three terminals (A, B and C). There are daily direct flights between Barcelona and more than 30 international destinations – several further destinations are served by less frequent direct flights. The airport had over 22 million passengers passing through in 2003, compared with just 10 million in 1992, the year of the Barcelona Olympics. The airport ranks second in Spain and a third runway and a new offloading area have been planned for 2006, to cater for the increasing volume of air traffic.

Major airlines: Foreign airlines mostly use terminal A. International flights run by Iberia (IB), the national airline, usually use terminal B. Information on Iberia is available from Info-Iberia (tel: (902) 400 500; e-mail: infoib@iberia.com; website: www.iberia.com) or the travel office in Avenida Gran Via Corts Catalanes 629 (tel: (902) 400 500). Other major domestic and international carriers include Air France, Alitalia, BMI Baby, British Airways, Continental Airlines, Delta, easyJet, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS, Spanair and Virgin Express.

Approximate flight times to Barcelona: From London is 2 hours; from New York is 7 hours 30 minutes; from Los Angeles is 13 hours; from Toronto is 14 hours 10 minutes; and from Sydney is 25 hours 15 minutes.

Airport facilities: BBVA bank (open Monday-Friday 0800-1500, Saturday 0800-1330 from October to March) and La Caixa (open Monday-Friday 0700-2300) offer banking facilities in terminals A and B. Bureaux de change (terminals A and B) are open 0700-2300. Car hire services are available from Avis, Europcar, Hertz and National Atesa. Other facilities include tourist information desks, open daily 0900-2100 (tel: (93) 478 4704), a hotel information desk (terminal B), duty-free shopping (terminals A and B), left luggage (Technical Block), post office (terminal B – open Monday-Friday 0830-1430 and Saturday 0930-1300), shops, restaurants and bars. Terminal B has a chemist and there are 24-hour medical facilities in the Technical Block.

Business facilities: There is no business center at the airport but various airlines offer access to the VIP lounges in Terminals A and B.

Arrival/departure tax: Included in the price of the ticket.

Transport to the city: A RENFE (tel: (902) 240 202; website: www.renfe.es) train leaves the airport for the city center every 30 minutes daily 0613-2340, stopping at Central-Sants (journey time – 17 minutes), Plaça de Catalunya (journey time – 23 minutes), Arc de Triomf (journey time – 26 minutes) and Clot-Aragó (journey time – 30 minutes) for connections to the metro. The fare is €2.20.

An Aerobús service (tel: (93) 415 6020; e-mail: info@emt-amb.com; website: www.emt-amb.com) runs to Plaça de Catalunya via Gran Via every 15 minutes weekdays 0600-2400 and every 30 minutes weekends 0630-2400 (journey time – 15-30 minutes). The fare is €3.45 (return €5.90), payable by credit card.

Taxis to and from the airport charge a minimum of €10. The ride to a downtown hotel will cost approximately €20, including a €2 airport supplement and a supplement of €0.85 per suitcase. Taxi ranks are located outside the terminal buildings.

Getting There By Water:

Located close to the city center, to the west of Montjuïc and below Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter), the Port de Barcelona, run by Autoritat Portuària de Barcelona (tel: (93) 306 8800; website: www.apb.es), has re-established its status as one of the major Mediterranean maritime destinations in recent years. In addition to being an important cargo port, it is the second largest Mediterranean cruise center after Athens. In 2003, the port handled 699 liners and over a million passengers.

Crueurs del Porte de Barcelona (tel: (93) 306 8800) runs five cruise ship terminals (two at Moll Adossat and two at Moll Barcelona and one at Moll Espanya) and the Autoritat Portuària de Barcelona (tel: (93) 306 8800) runs the Port Vell terminal. All the terminals have tourist information centers, travel agencies, a flight connection service, bureaux de change, first-aid facilities, duty-free and souvenir shops, bars, restaurants and international newspaper stands. Taxis and shuttle buses provide transportation to the city center. Parking and car hire services are also available.

Ferry services: For ferries to Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, the Estació Marítima Balears (Balearic Maritime Station) is located at Moll de Sant Bertran 3 (tel: (93) 295 9100). The nearest metro stop is Drassanes (line 3). Trasmediterránea (tel: (90) 245 4645 or (93) 295 9100; fax: (93) 295 9135; e-mail: correom@trasmediterranea.es; website: www.trasmediterranea.es), runs ferries to Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza in the Balearic Islands. They also operate a fast ferry service between Barcelona and Palma. Single fares start from €40 for the standard ferry.

Transport to the city: The TMB (tel: (93) 298 7000; website: www.tmb.net) metro links the port to the center of Barcelona.

Getting There By Road:

Motorways (Autopista) are prefixed by the letter ‘A’, while highways (Autovía) and other major roads (Carretera Nacional) are indicated by either two Roman numerals or, more commonly, three digits. Many motorways have tolls. Rates are shown at tollbooths and payment must be made in Euro – cash is preferred, although major credit cards might also be accepted.

Traffic drives on the right. No person under 18 years may hire or ride a vehicle over 75cc. Seatbelts are compulsory for front-seat passengers in cars. Crash helmets must be worn on motorcycles. After sunset, sidelights must be used at all times – spare bulbs and red hazard triangles must be kept in all vehicles. The speed limit for cars and motorcycles is 120kph (74mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on dual carriageways, 90kph (56mph) on roads outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) within towns. Fines for traffic offences are strictly enforced. The legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%.

Foreign visitors require a valid driving license to drive in Spain. National licenses from EU countries are accepted, although nationals of other countries, including the USA, Canada and Australia, are advised to obtain an International Driving Permit. Third party insurance is required and documents should be carried at all times. A Green Card is strongly recommended for all visitors and is compulsory for those from outside the EU.

Breakdown services and motoring information can be obtained from the Real Automobile Club de Catalunya (RACC), Avenida Diagonal 687 (tel: (93) 495 5050 for 24-hour information; website: www.racc.es).

Emergency breakdown services:
RACC (93) 495 5050 (24-hour line).

Alternatively drivers should contact the Ayuda en Carretera, run by the Guardia Civil, via the roadside SOS telephones located on both sides of the carriageway at 2km (1-mile) intervals.

Routes to the city: The A7 motorway is the main route to Barcelona from France and runs down the coast past Valencia, as far as Alicante to the south. The A2 heads inland to the west for Zaragoza and connections to Madrid. The A19 hugs the coast for a short distance to the northeast of the city.

Approximate driving times to Barcelona: From Zaragoza – 3 hours 15 minutes; Valencia – 3 hours; Madrid – 5 hours 30 minutes.

Coach services: Eurolines international coach services (tel: (902) 405 040; website: www.eurolines.es) use Estació Autobuses de Sants, situated next to the Central-Sants train station, Carrer Viriato (tel: (93) 490 4000), although services to France also stop at Estació del Nord, Avenida Vilanova (tel: (902) 260 606). Most long-distance coaches from other parts of Spain operate from the Estació del Nord. There are Eurolines services to major European cities, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Prague and Rome.

Getting There By Rail:

RENFE (tel: (902) 240 202, for 24-hour information; website: www.renfe.es) operates the Spanish rail network, which radiates from Madrid to all the major cities. There are also transversal routes and services running from the French border along the Mediterranean coast. Some of the services are swifter and more reliable than others. The least convenient are tranvía, semidirecto and correo trains, all of which chug along at a leisurely pace. Seat reservations are required on all intercity trains. Supplements are payable on many faster trains, even for passengers holding Interail and Eurail passes, although the amount is generally worth paying for a more efficient service.

Estació Central-Sants, Plaça del Països Catalans (tel: (93) 495 6215) is the city’s main railway station, serving national and international destinations as well as suburban routes. Facilities in the station building include tourist information, hotel information, left luggage, a bank offering currency exchange (open daily 0800-2200), a restaurant and cafeteria, shops, a first-aid point, showers, lockers and secure parking. Another railway station, Estació de França, Avenida Marqués de l’Argentera, offers mainly southbound regional services. On some train routes, an alternative to both these stations is Passeig de Gràcia station, located close to Plaça de Catalunya and La Rambla.

Rail services: There are direct trains to Barcelona from Paris (journey time – 11 hours 15 minutes), Montpellier (journey time – 4 hours 30 minutes), Milan (journey time – 13 hours 15 minutes) and Zurich (journey time – 13 hours). There are eight daily departures to Madrid (journey time – 8 hours), including three sleeper services. A new high-speed rail service linking Barcelona with Madrid is due for completion in 2005, and will eventually extend to the French TVG network too.

Transport to the city: Central-Sants is situated some distance from the city center but is located at the junction of two TMB (tel: (93) 298 7000; website: www.tmb.net) metro lines – the green line (3) and the blue line (5). Estació de França is situated near the Barceloneta metro stop, while Passeig de Gràcia station is located at the junction of three metro lines – the purple line (2), the green line (3) and the yellow line (4).

Getting Around:

Public Transport
With the exception of one metro line, transport in the city is operated by TMB (tel: (93) 298 7000; website: www.tmb.net). There are TMB information offices in the foyer of the Universitat metro station, open Monday to Friday 0800-2000. There are also offices at Diagonal, Sants Estacio and Sagrada Familia metro stations.

Regional rail services and the purple metro line are operated by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya – FGC (tel: (93) 205 1515; website: www.fgc.es). The information office, located in the Catalunya metro station, is open Monday to Friday 0700-2100.

Apart from during the rush hour (0730-0930 and 1800-2030), when it becomes very crowded, the metro (M) is the most efficient means of transport in the city. Metro lines are all identified by a number and a color – the direction is shown by the name of the line terminus. A single ticket (billet senzill) costs €1.10 and must be validated in a machine on the platform before boarding and carried at all times to avoid the €40 penalty. Tickets are available for purchase at TMB customer service centers, ticket offices and the automatic vending machines at the metro stations. The metro runs from Monday to Thursday 0500-2400, Friday and Saturday until 0200 and Sunday 0600-2400. The FGC line is fully integrated with the rest of the TMB-operated metro system and runs Monday to Thursday 05.45-midnight, Friday and Saturday 05.50-0215 and Sunday 05.50-midnight.

Buses in the city run daily from approximately 0630 until around 2200. The network is extensive and almost all services run through Plaça de Catalunya, Plaça Urquinaona or Plaça de la Universitat. Single tickets are available for purchase from the driver and cost €1.10. Travel cards must be validated in machines upon boarding. There are 16 night-bus routes, running daily every 30-45 minutes from 2300-0400 to some destinations, which require separate tickets. The TombBús is a shopping service that runs weekdays very 7 minutes and Saturdays every 15 minutes during summer between Plaça de Catalunya and Plaça Pius XII (Monday to Friday 0730-2158 and Saturday 0930-2145). A single ticket costs €1.35.

There are a number of multi-ride tickets available (including the T-10 for 10 journeys and T-50/30 for 50 journeys within 30 days) costing between €6 and €96.20, depending on number of zones, validity period, modes of transport and changes permitted. There is also a variety of passes available, including one-day (€4.60) and monthly (€38.80) passes. In addition, for tourists, there are two-day (€8.40), three-day (€11.80), four-day (€15.20) and five-day (€18.20) passes, which cover all transport in the city, including the journey to and from the airport. These are available for purchase at TMB customer service centers, metro ticket offices, automatic vending machines and at FGC railway stations.

For the suburbs and surrounding areas there are regional rail lines run by the FGC and RENFE (see Getting There By Rail). The RENFE local network is known as Rodalies or Cercanías and the central station in the city is Plaça de Catalunya.

A funicular railway trundles up Montjuïc from the corner of Carrer Nou de la Rambla and Avenida Parallel to Avenida Miramar daily 0900-2000 (2200 in summer), costing €1.10. From the amusement park, there is a cable car (telefèric) to Montjuïc Castle daily 1100-1915. This costs €3.60 for a single and €5 for a return journey. A further cable car operates every 15 minutes from the San Sebastian Tower in the Barceloneta district to Montjuïc, stopping en route at the Jaume I tower, near the World Trade Center. This operates daily from 1030-1900 (from March to mid June), 1030-2000 (from mid June to mid September), 1030-1900 (from mid September to mid October) and 1030-1730 (from mid October to February). Tickets cost €7.50 for a single or €9 for a return journey.


Taxis
There are 11,000 yellow-and-black registered cabs operating in the city. Not only available on the street, taxis can also be booked in advance. Reliable companies include Radio Taxi (tel: (93) 303 3033) and Servitaxi (tel: (93) 330 0300; website: www.servitaxi.com). The basic fare is €2, which should be displayed on the meter – each kilometer is charged at €0.85 and a €0.85 supplement is charged for each piece of large luggage. Taxi drivers should be tipped 5-10% of the meter fare.


Limousines
A number of companies offer limousine services with multi-lingual drivers. Barcelona Limousine Service (tel: (93) 247 0699; fax: (93) 265 1484; e-mail: bcnlimousine@spain-bcnlimo.com; website: www.spain-bcnlimo.com) charges from €300 for eight hours of limousine hire. Limousine Rental (tel/fax: (902) 372 000; e-mail: central@limorent.com; website: www.limorent.com), hires out limousines at €45 for airport transfers and €227.70-540 for a full day.

Driving in the City
The proximity of the main attractions and the excellent public transport system in Barcelona makes driving unnecessary in the city. Driving in Barcelona can be quite daunting, especially at rush hour (early morning, lunchtime and early evening) or on the fast multilane avenues in the city center. A detailed map is a necessity for managing the complicated one-way system and it is advisable for visitors to plan their route in advance.

Parking is tricky in some areas. Cars require a paid ticket to park in the ‘blue’ zones, daily 0800-1400 and 1600-2000. Illegal parking results in the offending vehicle being towed away. Parking costs from €1-3 per hour to €20 per day. There are numerous car parks in the city center, which charge approximately €1.60 an hour and €17.50-20 a day.


Car Hire
Drivers must be 21 years or older to hire a car in Barcelona. A passport and a valid driving license are required. A valid international insurance policy is also necessary, although this can be purchased at the time of hire.

In addition to companies at the airport, car hire in Barcelona is provided by Avis, Sants Railway Station, Plaza Paisos Catalans s/n (tel: (93) 3304193; website: www.avis.com), and Hertz, Carrer Tuset 10 (tel: (93) 217 8076; website: www.hertz.com). Hire of a small car costs from €28 a day and from €230 a week.


Bicycle Hire
Barcelona has a limited network of bicycle lanes and bicycle racks. Bicycles can be carried on the public transport system, although there are some peak hour restrictions. Bicycles are available for hire from Al Punt de Trobada, Carrer Badajoz 24 (tel: (93) 225 0585), Un Coxte Menys, Esparteria 3 (tel: (93) 268 2105), and Biciclot, Carrer Vernada 16 (tel: (93) 307 7475). Hire charges start at around €5 an hour or €15 a day. ID is required.

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