Getting around in Barcelona

...is a nice way of getting an overview of the city and finding your bearings. The buses follow two main lines, the blue and red line, which have a few stops in common. Although I have listed this here, and you can get on and off the buses at several stops in places of interest, it is not all that useful as a mode of transport. The buses follow circular routes and it takes quite a long time to get back to your starting point. You can buy tickets for ...
...you wouldn't be better off getting out and walking straight to your destination (in the fresh air).



~The Telefèric de Montjuïc~
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This is a cable car which runs between Barcelonetta and Montjuïc, the mountain which dominates Barcelona. Even though I hate height, we always seem to do things that involve climbing 8 367 steps or hanging from a cable by our fingernails… ... more

What I really wanted to write about was the 'Barcelona Card' (see below), and I proposed this product months ago, but it wasn't added by Ciao, so I will try to widen the scope of this review to include all transports (well, all the ones I can think of…). This review will not include information on driving in Barcelona, as we had no first-hand experience of it.

First, let me give you some general information about Barcelona by way of an introduction. Situated in the northeast of Spain on the Mediterranean coast, Barcelona is the second city in Spain, but this fact matters little to the Catalans for whom it is the capital of Catalonia (Catalunya in Catalan). One and a half million people live there. The city's development is arrested on two sides by the hills of Collserola and by Montjuïc Mountain, and it has had to expand into the Mediterranean itself, as witnessed by the Museu Marítim, which used to be a shipyard and is now landlocked. Barcelona is the cruising capital of Europe with more than a million visitors docking in its harbour every year. For me, there are two Barcelonas; one a modern city with wide avenues and bustling traffic, the other, the old Barcelona is all narrow streets and ancient buildings, with Roman walls still visible among more recent buildings. The transport system has to cater for both.

~The airport~
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Barcelona's major airport is situated 8 miles southwest of the city and if you come from the UK, you will arrive at either terminal A or B depending which airline you are travelling with. Presumably when you arrive you will just want to get into Barcelona itself, but it is worth mentioning how nice the airport is (as these places go), particularly if you find yourself having to wait ages for a delayed flight as we had to do on the way back… It is kept spotlessly clean and has many, many shops to while away the time, as well as plenty of comfortable sitting. The airport staff is pleasant and helpful and they were trying to find out information about our flight for us when no Easy Jet personnel was to be found.

To leave the airport, you have a choice of transport. Taking a train from the airport's own station will cost you around €2.50 (£1.70). Trains travel every 30 minutes between 6 am and midnight. Between those hours, buses are also available and will get you into the city in about half an hour, depending on traffic of course. This can get very busy and is not a very good option if you have a lot of luggage. The airport also offers the usual rental desks and lastly, you can get taxis easily. This was the option we chose, as we arrived quite late and didn't want the hassle of having to find our way round with full luggage and empty stomachs… It took about 20 minutes and allowed us to catch sight of some of the city's landmarks, including the statue of Columbus which worryingly was pointing in the opposite direction. Anyway, we got there without any major hiccup and it cost us around €20 (about £13.50).

~Taxis~
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Whilst on the subject, a quick word about using taxis in Barcelona. I have to say our experience has been positive, with prices being very reasonable for a major city. However, there will often be a cheaper alternative (but not always as convenient depending on your circumstances). You can spot taxis that are available by the green light on the top of the taxi. Smoking is not permitted, an extra bonus.

~Bus Turístic~
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I have written at length about this in another review, so I won't go on and on (at least I'll try not to). If you are in Barcelona for a few days, this is a nice way of getting an overview of the city and finding your bearings. The buses follow two main lines, the blue and red line, which have a few stops in common. Although I have listed this here, and you can get on and off the buses at several stops in places of interest, it is not all that useful as a mode of transport. The buses follow circular routes and it takes quite a long time to get back to your starting point. You can buy tickets for one or two days. Most people seem to buy their tickets on the bus and start their journey at the Plaça de Catalunya, but this is the busiest stop and you often have to wait in queue as you see one or two buses go without you. It is much easier catching it somewhere else, once you know what the bus stops look like.

~City buses~
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To use these to the best, you really need a bus map. This is why we headed to the tourist office on the Plaça de Catalunya one day, only to be told they don't have them (despite what it said in my guide book) and we had to go to a Metro station a few stops away to get them. We never did get round to doing that, and as a result, our use of the buses was only sporadic. From what we could figure out, there was an extensive and regular service and buses are clean and comfortable (anyone used to travelling on Glasgow buses would find the contrast startling). They are also air conditioned, which if you are visiting the city in summer must be a godsend. You don't need the exact change to buy your ticket from the driver.

~Metro~
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By far our favourite mode of transport around Barcelona, as it is fast, frequent and covers most of the city. Again, the stations are very clean, as are the carriages, and most trains are air-conditioned. Surprisingly, for a city with such nightlife, the last metro is at 11 pm, although it runs till 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays. You can get a map from Metro stations. Note that to get past the turnstile, you have to insert your ticket in the slot to your LEFT, not right as is perhaps more common. The Catalans are unconventional indeed, down to the last detail… Be aware that if you have to change to a different line, you might have a very long walk on the interchange. Consider whether you wouldn't be better off getting out and walking straight to your destination (in the fresh air).

~The Telefèric de Montjuïc~
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This is a cable car which runs between Barcelonetta and Montjuïc, the mountain which dominates Barcelona. Even though I hate height, we always seem to do things that involve climbing 8 367 steps or hanging from a cable by our fingernails… I exaggerate, but my husband seems to love dragging me kicking and screaming to elevated places… Anyway, the day we went on this, I was dragging my feet a little, but actually it was fine. A little scary, and I had to stand in the middle of the cable car the whole time hanging on to the central pole, but the views more than recompensed my efforts. Wow! We were able to see the harbour and other parts of the city from a very privileged viewpoint. The cable car stops half-way and you can get off to admire the view from a viewing platform, but that was a bit too much to ask of me. I would certainly recommend the Telefèric, particularly as when you get to the top, there is much to see and do. Another way to get there is to take the funicular, but as it runs inside the mountain for much of the journey, there isn't much to see.

~Walking~
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Much of the city of Barcelona is made up of narrow streets to which no vehicle can have access. So you will almost certainly have to walk. And that is no bad thing, as this is the best way to really discover a place and its people. Barcelona is a wonderful place to stroll, whether you are going from A to B, or just strolling lazily and taking in the whole alphabet! The waterfront, the Ramblas, the Barri Gòtic and la Ribera are especially well suited to this activity.

I noticed in some areas that you could be taken around in a carriage pulled by a bicycle. Whilst I admired the riders stamina and toned physique, I didn't think it was fair to expect them to haul me around, even if my husbands slenderness did go someway to even out the situation!

~The Barcelona Card~
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At last I can now tell you about it, the reason I wanted to write this review in the first place. There are other discount passes and you can find out about them at www.tmb.net., but the Barcelona card is the one we went for. It is available for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days, working out cheaper and cheaper the longer you choose. For instance, the 2 days card costs €23 (£15.74) which works out at €11.50 per day, whereas the 5 day card costs €34 (£23) and that is only €6.50 per day. I think that is really very good, as you get unlimited travel on the bus and the metro and discounts on other transport such as the Telefèric or the funicular. On top of that, you can get 17 visits absolutely free, as well as discounts on a significant number of places including museums, restaurants and even some shops. We visited the Museum of History of the City (which included a visit of an entire Roman town under one of Barcelona's square) and the Botanical Gardens for free, as well as taking a tour of the Harbour by boat. A number of other museums could also be accessed gratis, some of which seemed very interesting. We could have climbed to the top of the 'Mirador de Colom', a 60 m monument with a statue of the great traveller at its top, but decided that enough was enough!

You can get a card for children too, and this costs from €19 for 2 days to €30 for 5.

The cards are available at tourist information offices or from the bus station (Estació de Nord). I believe you can even buy it online before you leave.

All this helps make the Barcelona card very good value indeed, I think you will agree. I hope this little tip will be helpful to anyone travelling to this beautiful city.

The city's motto is BARCELONA ES TEVA, which means 'Barcelona belongs to you' in Catalan. I think it would be a very good slogan for the Barcelona Card too.

The ratings below will refer to the card, not the whole transport system. 

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