Means of transportation

Discount Passes

There are several types of discount passes, most of them are good for the metro and buses. There is a 3 day pass for euro 14 and a 5 day version for euro 18. A 10 day trip pass, costing euro 5,60, can be shared by two or more people. Passes can be bought from most metro stations, tourist offices, news stands and lottery shops.

Underground/Metro

The Barcelona Metro is one of the best ways to get around the city. It has seven lines and runs until 2am. It is quite cheap: about 1€/trip, and there are special tickets for 10 or 50 trips that cost even less. For more info, check out the Barcelona Metro website at http://www.tmb.net

Buses

Buses are frequent and cheap, there are some 50 bus lines that traverse the city. Every bus stop has a map of bus routes and timetables. A good alternative to the underground if you want to have a look around while you travel. In Barcelona there are several tourist buses which will take you on a trip of the whole city in just a few hours. They’re good only if you’re in town for a day or so and want to have a quick look at the most important places. Most buses operate daily from 6:30am to 10pm, with night buses along the main roads from 10pm to 4am.

Taxis

Taxis in Barcelona are painted in yellow and black, they display a sign reading LIBRE (Spanish) or LLIURE (Catalan) and are usually illuminated with a green light on the roof if the Taxi is free. They are quite cheap compared to other major European cities, and the main means of transportation at night when the Metro has closed down. The initial charge is euro 1,80 and each additional km is from .65 to .80 cents depending if it is through the day or at night.

Car

It is not really necessary to rent a car, since everything in the centre can be reached easily on foot, and public transport is more than substantial. If you come by car, leave it in surveilled parking places, since it’s possible that people will try and steal things from inside the car.

Bike

Barcelona has a number of hills, so if you want to go around by bike be sure to bring a mountain bike with the right number of gears. You can also rent bikes in several shops. Scooters and mopeds are also very popular here, due to the warm climate and the aforementioned hills (and maybe the laziness of the inhabitants...).