Most of the tourists, as well as the residents of Barcelona ride the metro throughout the city. It is dominated by underground stations, although there are a sufficient number of suburban stops. Now there are 165 stations, 124 kilometers long. The first line in the Barcelona metro was launched in 1924, since then the metro in the city is supplemented by new branches very quickly.
Zones, lines and fares
Now in the metro of the capital there are 11 lines, each of which is painted in a certain color on the metro scheme, they go without a name, but have numbering. They are controlled by two different organizations:
- the company TMB owns and serves from 1 to 5 lines, and from 9 to 11;
- the company FGC has 6, 7, 8 lines, respectively.
A funicular leading to Mount Montjuic is also a part of the Barcelona Metro. Thanks to the L9 line, it is now possible to get from the airport to the city by metro. It is also expected that the L12 and L13 lines will connect the capital of Catalonia with its suburbs. The latter will be an elevated metro line.
There are 6 transport zones in Barcelona, 4 of which cover such a large area that these zones is divided also into several parts to distinguish them in the designation of the zone is added a letter, such as 4B or 5A. The first zone remains indivisible and covers the entire city center. For those who do not want to visit its outskirts, it will be enough to use it to get acquainted with the attractions and see all the most important things.
In Barcelona, there is an interesting rule – tickets for all public transport are at the same price. In addition, you can buy one pass for several types of tickets. To find out how much a one-time metro ride costs, just take a bus or tram, the price of one trip will be 2.20 euros. The validity period of such a ticket after the passage of the turnstile is 2 hours.
Metro map
Passengers who have visited the Barcelona metro station for the first time find it difficult to understand its intertwining of lines and passages, which are long narrow corridors with large crowds of people. Some of its stations do not even have elevators and escalators, so we have to overcome steep staircases. In addition to fully automated trains, the city has obsolete analogues in which the doors are opened with a lever or button.
To get a little bit of guidance in the metro, you should have a map of Barcelona’s metro, which shows not only the metro lines, but also the funicular line and two tram lines: Trambesos and Trambaix.
Download the current map in jpg or pdf format here.
Metro schedule
Its mode of operation changes during holidays and normal days. On special days in Spain: January 1, June 24, August 15 and September 24, as well as on Saturdays, all stations are open 24 hours a day. On holidays and Fridays, metro cars are available until 2:00 a.m. On December 24, all stations close at 23.00 p.m. Trains run with a break of five minutes. Before arriving in the city for the fiesta, it is better to know the metro schedule in advance.
Types of metro tickets
You can use the Barcelona Metro with a few tickets, and each traveller chooses the one that suits him or herself.
One-day pass
Such ticket is profitable for those who are not going to spend more than 24 hours in Barcelona. It is convenient to buy it for business trips and tourists who travel in Europe. A pass called T-Dia is valid for only one person, he will be able to use it to visit all the museums and memorials of Barcelona for a day. The cost of the ticket will depend on the number of used metro zones, for one passage will cost 8.60 euros, and for all 6 zones its price will increase to 23.10 euros.
Ticket T10
It is designed for 10 trips, is an integrated card, it works on buses, trams, all metro lines and RENFE trains. It is offered for purchase at any station or at El Prat airport, but it does not operate on Aerobus buses that take passengers to and from the airport.
The T10 pass can be used by several people and is required to be inserted into the metro slot and then pulled out. On the reverse side of the slot, the date and time of use are recorded, and with each subsequent use, the remainder of the trips will be displayed on the electronic display.
Whoever buys such ticket can make three free transfers to other vehicles in each zone, but only in a certain time. You can get off at any station and take the bus free of charge, but if you return to the metro, the ticket will record that you made another ride.
The time between use of the ticket and the last transfer is limited: for one zone it is 1 hour and 15 minutes, for two zones it is 1.5 hours, for three zones it is 1 hour and 45 minutes, for five zones it is 2 hours and 15 minutes, for six zones it is 2 hours and 30 minutes.
The cost of a T10 ticket is 10.20 euros in one zone and 43.10 euros in six zones.
But if you take into account the fact that you have to pay 2.20 euros for a single trip on a regular ticket, you can save a lot of money when buying a T10.
A ticket for 50 trips
It is indicated by two digits T50/30, the first digit indicates the number of trips, and 30 – the number of days during which the ticket will be valid. This integrated map is popular with the local population, who can move freely around the city with it. Unlike its analogue T10, it cannot be passed on to anyone, it is issued for personal use. The cost of this type of ticket is 43.50 euros.
Barcelona Card
This type of ticket was issued by the Barcelona Tourism Association, which was concerned that any tourist could move freely throughout the city, in addition to having discounts on visits to museums and other attractions. Moreover, a free map of the city is issued together with the ticket. Barcelona Card can be purchased for two or five days, the cost of travel will depend on it.
The cost of Barcelona Card for adults:
- 2 days – 20.00 €;
- 3 days – 45.00 €;
- 4 days – 55.00 €;
- 5 days – 60.00 €.
The cost of Barcelona Card for children (4-12 years old):
- 3 days – 21.00 €;
- 4 days – 27.00 €;
- 5 days – 32.00 €.
If you buy such ticket, you have the right to:
- 30% discount on excursions in the Gothic Quarter and Barcelona Picasso;
- free access to 20 museums and other art monuments in the city, including the Botanical Garden and the Museum of Natural Sciences;
- discounts in restaurants and bars, the name of which you can find out when buying a ticket;
- use the free shuttle service to and from the airport;
- get a metro card and other useful information about the city;
- use the services of a guide in several languages, but there is no Russian among them yet.
You can buy a card at any kiosk or automatic machine.
It is also necessary to know that if you use a ticket for 10 trips for the last time you should not throw it away at once, sometimes they are checked in the metro, and in case of absence of a pass you will have to pay a fine of 100 euros. A closer look at the structure of the Barcelona metro shows that all routes are carefully thought out and can be used to get to any part of the city.
