By air
Barcelona's
airport
is 12km southwest of
the city at El Prat
de Llobregat, was
built when the city
was a much less
popular destination,
and is now expanding
to cope with the
strain. The airport
is linked to the
city by regular and
direct train or bus
services. The
train
(6am-10.40pm;
journey time 30min;
2 weekdays, 2.30
weekends and public
holidays; info on
934 811 299) runs
every thirty minutes
to Sants Estació
and - more usefully
if you're staying in
the Barri Gòtic -
continues to the
station at Plaça de
Catalunya and on to
Arc de Triomf, with
the exception of the
very last train
which terminates in
Sants. Buy your
ticket from the
automatic vending
machine at the
platform (you don't
need the exact
change) or at the
ticket office.
There's also a very
useful
Aerobús
service (Mon-Fri
5.30am-11pm, Sat
& Sun
6am-11.30pm; 3)
which leaves every
fifteen minutes from
outside both
terminals, stopping
in the city at Plaça
d'Espanya, Gran Via
(at c/Comte d'Urgell),
Plaça Universitat,
Plaça de Catalunya
(in front of El
Corte Inglés) and
Passeig de Gràcia
(at c/la Diputació)
- this takes around
thirty minutes to
reach Plaça de
Catalunya, though
allow longer in the
rush hour.
There is a second
bus
connection from the
airport that's not
as convenient but
does run throughout
the night at
irregular intervals:
bus #EN, leaving at
10.15pm, 11.25pm,
12.30am, 1.35am and
2.40am for Plaça
d'Espanya (just
south of Sants
Estació).
A taxi
from the airport
costs roughly 20.50
to Sants Estació,
and 21-22.50 to
somewhere more
central in the old
town. There's a list
of current prices
posted inside the
airport near the
baggage reclamation
area.
There's an
information office
in each terminal of
the airport, as well
as exchange
facilities and car
rental offices.
By train
The main station for
national and some
international
arrivals is
Sants
Estació , west
of the centre.
Again, there are
exchange,
information and car
rental offices here,
as well as a hotel
booking service (see
"Accommodation"),
a police station,
left-luggage
facilities
(approximately
4am-midnight), and
telephone and fax
outlets. From Sants,
it's easiest to take
the
metro
into the centre;
line 3 runs direct
to Liceu for the
Ramblas.
Estació de
França , next
to the Parc de la
Ciutadella, east of
the centre, handles
many of the
long-distance
arrivals and
departures:
essentially, this
means Talgo services
from Madrid, Sevilla
and Malaga,
intercity services
from other major
Spanish cities, and
international trains
from Paris, Zürich,
Milan and Geneva.
Some trains stop at
both Sants and França
- check the
timetable first.
From França either
take the metro (line
4) from nearby
Barceloneta or
simply walk into the
Barri Gòtic, up Via
Laietana and into c/Jaume
I.
Other possible
arrival points by
train are the
stations at Plaça
de Catalunya ,
at the top of the
Ramblas (for trains
from coastal towns
north of the city,
the airport, Lleida,
and towns on the
Puigcerdà-Vic
line); Plaça
d'Espanya (FGC
trains from
Montserrat and
Manresa); and Passeig
de Gràcia
(trains from Port
Bou/Girona).
At the time of
writing, the city's
new AVE (high
velocity) train link
with Madrid and
France is being
planned. The
projected completion
date is 2004, but
this seems unlikely,
given that in early
2001 the Generalitat,
the city and the
Spanish government
were still wrangling
over the route which
the train would take
into and through the
city.
By bus
The main bus
terminal, used by
most long-distance
and provincial
buses, is the Estació
del Nord on Avda
Vilanova (main
entrance on c/Ali-Bei),
three blocks north
of the Parc de la
Ciutadella (nearest
metro, Arc de Triomf,
a 5min walk away).
There's a bus
information desk on
the ground floor,
with the ticket
offices above at
street level. In
addition, some
intercity and
international
departures also
leave from the
smaller station
behind Sants Estació
at Plaça Joan Peiró
(Metro Sants Estació
or Plaça de Sants).
By ferry
Ferries from the
Balearics dock at
the Estació Marítima
at the bottom of the
Ramblas. There are
daily services from
Palma (Mallorca) and
several times weekly
from Ibiza and
Menorca. From the
ferry terminal
you're only a short
walk from Plaça
Portal de la Pau at
the bottom of the
Ramblas; nearest metro
, Drassanes.
By car
Coming into
Barcelona along any
one of the autopistes
, head for the
Cinturó Littoral,
the southern half of
the city's ring
road. Following
signs for the Port
will take you
towards the main
exit for old town,
"Port Vell".
There are many
indoor car parks
in the city centre,
and the public ones
are linked to
display boards which
indicate where there
are free spaces.
Convenient as it may
be, parking in one
of these is rather
expensive (usually
about ?15 for 24
hours), and you will
likely want to park
in the street, which
is free ,
apart from the blue
meter-zones in the
central section of
the Eixample. Street
parking is permitted
in most areas with
the exception of
nearly all of the
old town, but it can
be tough to find
spaces, particularly
in older areas like
Gràcia, and be
aware that car crime
is rife (see
"Trouble and
the Police").
Don't be tempted to
double-park or leave
your car in loading
zones - the cost of
being towed can
exceed ?120, and no
mercy is shown to
foreign-plated
vehicles.
Travellers with
disabilities: points
of arrival
Barcelona's
airport
is fully accessible
to travellers in
wheelchairs, with
adapted toilets,
lifts to the various
levels, and special
lifts for access to
and from the planes.
The
Aerobús
is also equipped to
take wheelchairs.
At Sants
Estació there
are adapted toilets,
guides on the
concourse and plans
to provide acoustic
signals for blind
and visually
impaired people. But
there are no access
ramps for the trains
themselves and the
steps are fairly
high. At Estació-França
there are access
ramps; at Plaça
de Catalunya
station there's a
lift to the
platforms.
