Guide · Barcelona

Getting around Barcelona: metro, T-casual, buses, taxis and walking

Barcelona is compact, flat in the middle and steep at the edges. Most days you will walk more than you ride, so the goal is not to overspend on tickets.

The metro is the backbone

Twelve lines cover almost everything a visitor needs. Sagrada Família (L2, L5), Passeig de Gràcia (L2, L3, L4), Liceu and Drassanes for the Ramblas (L3), Jaume I for the Gothic Quarter and El Born (L4), Barceloneta (L4), Espanya for Montjuïc (L1, L3) and Palau Reial for Camp Nou (L3). Trains every 2 to 5 minutes in the daytime. The stations are deep, so add a few minutes for stairs.

Which ticket to buy

The T-casual gives 10 journeys inside zone 1, which is the whole city and the beaches. It is personal, so a couple needs two. Changing between metro, bus and tram within 75 minutes counts as one journey. The Hola Barcelona travel card is unlimited for 2, 3, 4 or 5 days and includes the airport metro stations, which the T-casual does not. Buy either at any machine or on the TMB app.

Buses, trams and the Bus Turístic

Buses go where the metro does not: the seafront, Park Güell's upper entrance and the hills. The H and V lines are the fast orthogonal network. The tram matters only if you head to Glòries or the Diagonal Mar shopping area. The hop-on hop-off Bus Turístic is a different product: a paid loop past the monuments with audio, useful on a first morning, not as daily transport.

Walking distances that surprise people

Plaça de Catalunya to the cathedral: 10 minutes. Cathedral to the beach: 20 minutes through El Born. Passeig de Gràcia end to end: 20 minutes. Sagrada Família to Park Güell: 35 minutes uphill, better with the bus 24 or a taxi. Montjuïc from Plaça d'Espanya: escalators to the museum, then a long climb or the cable car.

Taxis and apps

Black and yellow taxis are everywhere and always metered. Cabify and Free Now show a fixed quote before you confirm. A cross town ride in the daytime is a short taxi trip, and at night, with four people, it often beats the metro on price per person.

Scooters and bikes

Bicing is residents only. Bike shops rent by the day, and the flat Eixample and seafront are pleasant to ride. Electric scooters are regulated: not on sidewalks, not on the metro.

Need	Best option	Official source
2 to 5 days, several rides a day	T-casual (10 journeys, zone 1)	tmb.cat T-casual
Unlimited travel plus airport metro	Hola Barcelona 2 to 5 days	holabarcelona.com
Night, luggage, 3 or more people	Taxi or app	taxi.amb.cat

Checked 16 September 2026. Ticket prices are updated by the transport authority, usually in January. We link each operator's fares page rather than quote a figure that expires.