Ways to Get Around Barcelona

Barcelona is a large city but that doesn’t mean it’s difficult to explore. The great public transport network helps you to get around and is very user friendly, especially for tourists! Below is an overview of the different types of transport and how best to use them for your visit to the city!

Metro, Bus and Trams

The metro and the bus are great ways to get around and cheap! You can buy tourist friendly tickets like the “Hola BCN” which are 2, 3, 4 and 5 days unlimited journeys on metro, bus (TMB) and the rest of Barcelona public transport – they are really great value for money. Alternatively you can buy a T10 ticket for €9.95 which has 10 journeys on it. Prices and info for the Hola BCN card here. The metro is open till midnight Sun-Thurs, 2am on a Fri and all night on a Saturday.

Bikes

With around 200km of bike lanes and more than 20,000 public bike parking spots, bikes are a great green way to get around and see the city! You can rent bikes from many places or do a bike tour! There is also a city sharing bike system as well – Bicing. A two hour bike rental will cost your approximately €6 which is great value for money! Some well-known rental companies are Green Bikes, Fat Tire Tours and Barcelona Rent a Bike. A simple google search will help you find many more.

Moped Scooter

If you are a wee bit more daring you can also rent a moped! This would be good for sights further out of town or perhaps having a day trip down the coast! You can rent a moped scooter from Cooltra for 12 hours from €43.70.

Trains

If you want to head out of town for a day or two the trains are a good option. Cheap and regular, they leave from various stations across Barcelona, the main ones being Barcelona Sants, Passeig de Gracia and Estación de Francia. You can look at routes and timetables here

Walking

Of course this is a cheap and easy way of seeing everything, not to mention a great way oto burn the calories consumed with all the tapas and wine! I love walking as I still come across new places and points of interest. I also feel you really get to soak up the atmosphere of a place by seeing it on foot. Barcelona is very walkable and you can cover areas and neighbourhoods quite easily. I’d specifically recommend walking around the “Old Town”. I don’t think there’s any better way to discover what lays in the maze of streets in my favourite area of the city!

Taxi

Taxis are plentiful around Barcelona – even through the night. There is always a steady steam at the airport too. Whilst I’ve never had any problem getting a taxi – new ways of getting around via a hire car are becoming more popular with apps like My Taxi and Cabify.

Tourist Specific

Of course there is tourist specific transport as well. The tourist “hop on hop off” bus being the main one. All the tourist buses leave from Placa Catalunya but you can get on at any stop. They are great for getting to the sights out of town if you only have a short amount of time here and usually with your ticket you get a discount booklet. Tickets can be for 1 or 2 days and sometimes booking online can save you money. Info on that and other types of transport for tourists here

More unusual types of transport!

For something more unusual you could take a horse and cart along the port or try a rickshaw where your driver will tell you about history, monuments and features of Barcelona. If you have good balance you could maybe try a Segway or an electric scooter and if you’re not afraid of heights the cable car across the port gives great views of the city!

Airport Transport

The Aerobus leaves from Placa Catalunya very regularly to both terminals. You can reach the airport with metro on line 9 and with renfe trains. Obviously there are taxis too and if you want a completely hassle free journey you could arrange a private transfer also.

So whatever your budget or whatever your style is when using transport on holiday, Barcelona has it covered!

Photos by Gemma Reid Photography for heartBCN