Public Transport

• General information
• Bus Traffic
• Funicular
• Metro
• Tram (Tramvia blau)

General information

Barcelona has a very comprehensive public transport network made up of buses, funicular railways, a metro system plus trains and cable cars. It can be a little confusing at first because different parts of the train network are run by various companies, however it's a breeze getting around once you've got a hang of the system.

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Bus Traffic

Buses are the best and cheapest way to get around the city. Highly recommend for anyone.
There are special buses that take visitors on tours around the city stopping at several sites including a popular shopping routes not well served by the Metro. These open topped double decker buses take circular routes to just about every site worth seeing in the city.

Buses during the day
The Public Bus System in Barcelona is very good; there are a lot of buses covering all parts of the city. The day-buses circulate from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Buses during the night
The night buses start from 10 p.m. and run until 5 a.m., they leave at Plaça Catalunya. You can easily recognise them by the "N" (for Nit-bus) on the bus.

More info: www.tmb.net/en_US/home.jsp

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Funicular

Funicular de Tibidabo
This funicular brings you from the end of the tramline to the very top of the mountain. This is the longest and steepest of Barcelona's three funiculars. The cabins look like Volkswagen Microbuses and are painted by local art students. Enjoy the panorama view of Barcelona from the ‘down end’ of the train. This funicular only runs half-hourly during the off peak season but is only a five minute ride. Single tickets cost 2 Euros, return tickets 3 Euros.

Vallvidrera funicular
Another of Barcelona's funiculars is reached by a short ride on one of the FGC suburban lines to station "Peu de Funicular". This funicular also climbs the Tibidabo mountain but is mostly used as a "commuter" funicular for local people.

Funicular de Montjuïc
The third funicular climbes Montjuic, a mountain overlooking Barcelona harbor right at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. The fare here is also reasonable and the funicular station is located just a short walk from the Paral-lel train station.

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Metro

Barcelona has a clean, punctual, air-conditioned metro system that will take you to most of the major sites. The metro is especially useful in summer when it can be quite hot while walking.
The metro is made up of 5 interlinking lines. Trains run on these lines at intervals of around six to seven minutes. There is a second subway system called the FGC (Ferrocarrils Generalitat de Catalunya) which operates two city-only lines, U6 and U7, and several suburban lines all from a terminal station at Placa de Catalunya. Single trip tickets can be expensive however if you intend to travel a lot then the more economical multiple journey tickets are available. Tickets can be purchased in Metro and FGC stations as well as at newspaper kiosks and lottery shops. 

Metro Lines: www.tmb.net/en_US/barcelona/moute/planols/planols.jsp
Printable version of metro map: www.tmb.net/img/genplano.pdf

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Tram (Tramvia blau)

At the north end of the FGC line U7, at Avinguda (Avenue) Tibidabo, is the southern terminal of a "heritage" trolley line known as Tramvia Blau, the "Blue Tram", the only tramway in Barcelona at this time.

Timetable:
Between 7.45-20.50
Frequency: 20 minutes

Price:
Single ticket: 2,10 EUR
Return ticket: 3,10 EUR

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