Barcelona Hotels

Air

In Catalunya there are three main airports that receive international flights: Girona, Reus and Barcelona. Most schedule flights arrive at Prat airport (Barcelona), while charters flights arrive at the other two Catalunya airports: Girona and Reus. El Prat International Airport is 13 kilometers (8 miles) southwest of central Barcelona and has three terminals (A, B and C). Taxis are available at the airport 24 hours a day. A RENFE train leaves the airport for the city center every 30 minutes (between 06.00 and 22.00), stopping at Central-Sants Station (journey time about 15 minutes), Plaça de Catalunya (journey time about 25 minutes) and Arc de Triomf and Clot-Aragó for connections to the metro. An Aerobús service runs to Plaça de Catalunya via Gran Via departing every 15 minutes, weekdays from (06.00 to 00.00), and every 30 minutes on weekends from (06.30 to 00.00). The journey time for the bus is approximately one hour.

Train

RENFE runs 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. The services to avoid are tranvía, semidirecto and correo trains, all of which chug along at a leisurely pace. Seat reservations are required on all intercity trains and supplements are payable on many faster trains. Estació Central-Sants, Plaça del Païses Catalans, is the Barcelona's main station (some way from the city center but is located at the junction of two metro lines), serving national and international destinations as well as suburban routes. Facilities at the station include tourist information, hotel information, left luggage, a bank offering currency exchange (open daily from 08.00 to 22.00), a restaurant, shops, a first-aid point, lockers and secure parking. There are direct trains to Barcelona from Paris (journey time 11 hours), Montpellier (journey time: 4 hours 30 minutes), Milan (journey time: 13 hours) and Zurich (journey time: 13 hours). Furthermore, there are eight daily departures to Madrid (journey time: 8 hours), including three sleeper services.

Taxi

The taxi's in Barcelona are black with the yellow doors and show a green light if they are free. You can pick up a taxi at a taxi stand or on the streets. The meter, which is compulsory to use them, will indicate the price to pay, but an extra fee is charged when taking it at the airport or when you carry luggage with you.

Subway

The TMB subway (Transports Metropolitams Barcelona) is the easiest and fastest way of moving around the city. The Metro consists of five lines, differed by a number and a color. In total 111 stations are distributed over the whole city. The lines operate from Monday to Thursday from 5.00 to 23.00, Saturday from 5.00 to 2.00 and on Sunday from 6.00 to 0.00 midnight. Tickets must be validated in a machine on the platform before boarding and carried at all times to avoid a penalty. Trains run daily from 5.30 until 23.30; approximately every 6 minutes on line A and every 10 minutes on line B. On Saturday the last run begins at midnight from each end. Both lines converge at the main railway station (Stazione Termini). A big red letter M indicates the entrance to the subway.

Buses

Buses in the city (78 lines with about 800 buses) run from 0530 or 0600 until about 2230. The network is extensive and almost all services run through Plaça de Catalunya, Plaça Urquinaona or Plaça de la Universitat. Tickets must be clipped in machines on boarding. There are 16 night bus routes (NitBus) running 2300-0400 to some destinations. These buses require separate tickets. The TombBus is a shopping service that runs between Plaça de Catalunya and Plaça Pius XII (Monday to Friday from 08.00 to 21.30 and Saturday from 09.00 to 21.30).

Car

Motorways are prefixed by the letter ‘A’ (Autopista) , while highways (Autovía) and other major roads (Carretera Nacional) are indicated by either two Roman numerals or, more commonly, three digits. The main route to Barcelona from France is the A7 motorway, which runs down the coast past Valencia, as far as Alicante to the south. The A2 heads inland to the west for Zaragoza and connects to Madrid. The A19 follows the coast for a short distance to the northeast of the city. Many motorways have tolls. Rates are shown at tollbooths and payment must be made in Euros (cash is preferred, although major credit cards may also be accepted). Cars require a paid ticket to park in the ‘blue’ zones daily (Monday-Friday from 8.00 to 20.00 and Saturday from 8.00 to14.00). Illegal parking results in the vehicle being towed away. Tickets last for two hours and cannot be renewed.