Tourism in Barcelona

Knowing Barcelona

The easiest way to know Barcelona is to take the Bus Touristic as it allows to get on and off as many times as you wish for a reasonable price: €18 for a 1 day adult ticket (€22 for 2 days) and €11 for a 1 day under 12 child (€14 for 2 days).

Barcelona Touristic Bus

The ‘Bus Touristic’ has 44 stops along its 3 routes (North, South and Forum) although North and South are the most interesting ones so I wouldn´t bother using the Forum one.

Once we are more familiar with the city taking the metro and the buses are a much better option as they allow going everywhere. Buses are slower than metro however they allow sightseeing so they are hugely recommended. Every bus stop contains the schedule of all the buses that go through this stop.

Click here for all transport options in Barcelona.

Another interesting option, although this is more touristic, is taking the Montjuïc cablecar which offers incredible views of the city. Expect an hour queue before getting in. However, it is highly recommended.

The Tramvia Blau (tram) climbs to the mountain of Tibidabo. It is highly recommended as it offers impressive views of the city. The fare is €3,30 and has to be paid to the driver.

The most original and healthy option is cycling, although it is not recommended during rush hours. Barcelona does not have a deep bycicle culture as many other european cities and not many streets have a line for bycicles, so just be extra careful when cycling. However it is a very pleasant experience specially when the weather is nice which luckyly is most of the times :-).

Barcelona Airport

Barcelona airport, also called ‘El Prat’, is located around 13km southwest Barcelona.

There are 2 tourist offices one at each of the main terminals (A and B) where you may be able to get all the information you need.

How to get to Barcelona

There are several ways to get to Barcelona:

Aerobus – there are buses every 12-13 minutes that leave from the airport towards Plaza Cataluña or Plaza España in Barcelona, and same for the opposite trip. These buses start approximately from 6 to 24h. The ticket, which price is 3,75 €, can be bought on the same bus. Click here for the Aerobus schedule.

By Train – Trains leave the airport every 30 minutes between 6:00am to 10:00 pm, stopping at the Sants Estació, then at then Plaça Catalunya, later at the Arc de Trionf, and finnally at Clot station. Trains going to the airport operate at 6 until 24h. The fare is 2.25€. Click here for train schedule.

By car: Cars can be rented at the airport. Main car rental companies have desks at the airport. The journey to or from city centre takes between 30min and 1 hour depending on traffic.

To drive from the airport to the city center, the easiest way is to follow all the signs that point to ‘Centre ciutat’ (city center) going through ‘La Gran Via’. It is quite well indicated so shouldn’t be a problem. Cars can be rented at the airport. Main car rental companies have desk at the airport.

To get back to the airport fom city centre, take the motorway that goes to Castelldefels (C-246) and follow the signs to the airport.

Last option is taking a taxi although price can vary from €15 to 25€ depending basically on traffic.

Click here for transport and taxi fares.

Tip: I would strongly recommend using the Train or the Aerobus as they quick and cheap. Taking a taxi may be expensive as traffic is getting worse and worse in Barcelona

Left luggage office: There is a left luggage office in the lobby of terminal B, beside the arrivals area. The price for all or part of each 24-hour period is €4.50 for a large locker, €4 for a medium locker and €3 for a small locker. Transfer from the left luggage to the warehouse costs €36 and storage in the warehouse costs €1.80 a day.

Apart from Barcelona Airport, Reus Airport (located 3km from Reus and 13km from Tarragona) and Girona Airport (located in the outskirts of Girona) are used by people travelling to Barcelona as they are relatively close the Barcelona and transfer is provided.

Low fare companies such as Ryanair fly to Reus and Girona for very reasonable prices from all around Europe. Bus services are provided from the airport to Barcelona.

Reus is located around 100km south Barcelona. From Reus airport, there are buses to Reus, Barcelona and the Costa Dorada (Reus, Cambrils, La Pineda, Salou y Vilaseca). Click here for details regarding buses to Barcelona.

Girona is located around 100km north Barcelona. From Reus airport, there are buses to Barcelona, Girona, Costa Brava / Maresme (Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar, Blanes, Malgrat de Mar, Santa Susana, Pineda de Mar and Calella de la Costa), North Costa Brava (Figueres, Roses, Pineda, Calella and Tossa de Mar) and to Girona.

Useful information

Electricity

The standard current in Spain is 220V. Although a very small number of old buildings still may have 125V circuits. Therefore it is advisable to check before using electrical equipment in old or cheap hotels/hostels.

Plugs are all of the two round pin type.

You can use electrical devices from the UK or Ireland with a plug adaptor. If you are using US (110V) equipment you will also need a current transformer to avoid meltdowns.

Useful telephone numbers

The internation code for Spain is 00 34. The local area code for Barcelona is 93.

In an emergency, call 112. This number will alert the appropriate service – Fire, Police, Medical services, …

Other telephone numbers are:
Medical emergencies 061
General emergencies 112
Fire service 080
Guàrdia Urbana (local police) 092
Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police force) 088
Policía Nacional 091
Guardia Civil police force 062
Red Cross Ambulances 93 300 20 20
Information on duty chemists 93 481 00 60

Public Holidays 2007

1 January – New Year’s day
6 January – Epiphany
6 April – Good Friday
9 April – Easter Monday
1 May – Labour Day
4 June – Substitutes Pentecost
15 August – Assumption
11 September – National Day of Catalonia
24 September – La Merçè Day
12 October – Columbus Day
1 November – All Saints’ Day
6 December – Constitution Day
8 December – Day of the Immaculate Conception
25 December – Christmas Day
26 December – Saint Stephen’s Day

Banks

Banks and savings banks (“Cajas de Ahorro”) open from Monday to Friday and from 8:30 am until 2 pm. Some banks occasionally open also on Saturdays from 9 am until 2 pm. Savings banks (“Cajas de Ahorro”) are opened on Thursdays from 4:30 pm until 8 pm but only from October until May.

Banks and savings banks (“Cajas de ahorro”) accept traveler’s cheque (charging a commission). However, they usually do not accept personal cheques except when they are issued by themselves. Using ATMs with a credit or debit card is usually the faster and easiest option to get cash.

Foreign exchange offices open until 22h and are located at the airport, main stations and city centre. Major department store (“El Corte Inglés”) exchanges travel checks in the majority of their branches.

Visa and MasterCard are the most commonly accepted cards at hotels, shops, restaurants, … American Express and Diner’s Club are less commonly accepted.

American Express: Paseo de Gracia 101 (tel. 93 2170070) open from Monday to Friday from 9:30 am until 6 pm and Saturdays from 10 am until 12 am.

Telephone numbers in case of lost or stolen credit cards:
Visa: 900 99 12 16
MasterCard: 900 97 12 31
American Express: 902 37 56 37
Diners Club: 901 10 10 11

Weather in Barcelona

Barcelona enjoys a Mediterranean climate with a cool winter season where temperatures rarely go below 0º C, and a moderated temperatures during the summer season with temperatures usually below 30º C. Besides, it does not rain very often or intensively.

* Data corresponding to year 2004 (Fabra Observatory of Barcelona).

Business hours

Most business are open Monday to Friday from 9 to 18h. Most shops open from 10 to 20h from Monday to Saturday with a break from 14 to 17h.

Tourist offices

Barcelona Airport, terminals A and B (phone +34 93 478 05 65 and +34 478 47 04). Open Monday to Sunday from 9 to 22h.

Palau Robert: Paseo de Gracia, 107 (phone +34 93 238 40 00). Open Monday to Saturday from 10 to 19h. Sunday from 10 to 14h.

Estación de Sants: Plaza Països Catalans (phone +34 93 304 31 55).

Plaza Catalunya (phone +34 906 301 282). Open from Monday to Sunday from 9 to 21h.

Turismo de Barcelona: Calle Tarragona 149-157 (phone +34 93 423 18 00).

Palau de la Virreina: La Rambla 99 (phone +34 93 301 77 75). Open from Monday to Saturday from 9:30 to 21h. Sunday from 10 to 14h.

Transport in Barcelona

The schedule of buses varies depending on the bus and the day of the week although they mostly circulate from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm from Monday to Saturday and from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm on Sunday (althought the frequency is lower during the weekends).

Using the bus is probably the best transport option if you want to enjoy the city as it allows seeing the real Barcelona.

Night buses circulate from 11:00 pm and until 4:00 am and their journeys are detailed at every bus stop. All night buses depart from Plaça Catalunya or its surrounding areas. You will recognize them as they start with an N (e.g. N7).

The Metro (underground system) circulates from 5:00 am until 12:00 pm from Monday to Thursday, and on Sunday and Bank Holidays. Friday, Saturday and Bank Holidays eve’s, the metro is opened from 5:00 am until 2:00 am.

Metro is the is the best transport option as it covers the entire city, it is safe, easy to use and quick.

Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (train) also known as FGC covers areas that are not covered by the metro and works with the same ticket.

Barcelona has an integrated system of fares that allows the use of the different transports that has the city: Metro, Buses, Tramways, FGC and RENFE during 75 minutes and with no need of paying another ticket.

Different travelcards that are sold:

Single Ticket – 1 metro or bus journey only. 1.25€.
T10 (10 trips) is the most commonly used and it costs 6,90€.
T-Dia (unlimited trips for any transport during one day) highly recommended for a tourism day and it costs 5.25€.
T-Mes (personal card that allows to take any transport and for unlimited trips during 30 consecutive days since it is bought) recommended for those who take public transport a lot of times. It costs 42,75€.

I would recommend using the T10 as it is the cheapest option.

Taxi

There around 10500 taxis in Barcelona which are very distinctive due to their recognizable colours (black and yellow) so you cannot miss them.

Taxis are free when they show a green light on the roof and a sign saying ‘Lliure/Libre’ behind the windscreen.

Be aware that Taxi drivers are not required to carry more than €20 in change. Also, few accept credit card payment.

Tip: I would recommend always asking for a receipt as this would be your only proof in case you had a complaint.

Click here for a list of places to go in Barcelona.

Tourism in Barcelona

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