How to get from El Prat airport to the city center of Barcelona
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Congrats! You’re in Barcelona! You’re probably jet-lagged after a long flight. But you still need to make your way through immigration and baggage pick-up. And you’ll face one of the most common challenges when you arrive: finding the way from the Barcelona Airport to the city center!
Luckily for you, it’s very easy getting from El Prat Airport to Barcelona city center. In this post, the Pandas tell you the fastest and most convenient ways to get from the airport to the city center in Barcelona.
1. Barcelona Airport Shuttle: Aerobús Barcelona
Barcelona has a very convenient shuttle bus from El Prat airport to the city center: the Aerobús. You can find this bus in terminal 1 and terminal 2. The trip from any of the terminals to the city center takes no more than 35 minutes.
Aerobús makes different stops on the way from the airport to Barcelona. The stops are Plaça d’Espanya, Gran Via-Urgell, Plaça Universitat, and Plaça Catalunya. In the image below you can see the lines from the city center to the airport and also from the airport to central Barcelona:
IMPORTANT! Don’t get on the wrong line when you travel from the center back to the airport: every bus says at the front the number of the line. A1 goes to terminal 1, and A2 goes to terminal 2. So easy!
The frequency of the buses also makes this an ideal way to travel between central Barcelona and El Prat Airport: check the departure times for every line:
Getting from the airport to Barcelona city center with the Aerobús is also quite affordable: the ticket is 6,75€ one-way, and 11,65€ roundtrip. If you get a roundtrip ticket, you are allowed to use the return trip within 10 days after the first trip, no matter in what direction.
This is our favorite and recommended way to move between the airport and the city center and you can buy your tickets with Tiqets or on the official website of Barcelona Aerobús!
2. Hola Barcelona Travel Card
The Hola Barcelona Travel Card is also a convenient way to travel from El Prat airport to the center of Barcelona, and a further advantage is that it will allow you to move around the city once you get to the center!
There are different options to choose from according to the time you’re planning to stay in Barcelona: you can get an Hola BCN! Travel card for 48h, 72h, 96h, or 120h (2, 3, 4 or 5 days).
The card will be activated once you use it for the first time, and from there the time starts counting! These are the most common services you can enjoy with this travel card and the prices for the different options:
- Travel to/from the airport and Barcelona city center by Metro or bus
- Unlimited use of Metro during the validity of your card
- Unlimited use of day public buses during the validity of your card
- Access to the funicular of Montjuïc
Not included:
- Montjuïc Cable Car
- Port Cable Car
- Funicular of Tibidabo
- T2A bus to Tibidabo
The Hola Barcelona Travel Card is a very good way to move around freely while in Barcelona, and without having to worry about how many trips you have left because it’s unlimited. However, it will take longer to get to the city from the airport.
If you take the Metro using the Hola Barcelona Travel Card, you will need to take L9 line and then transfer to another line according to your final destination. If you take the bus, you have to take bus 46 and hop-off at Plaça d’Espanya. Either way will take around one hour.
You can get now your Hola Barcelona Card here.
Prices: 2 days: 17,50€ / 3 days: 25,50€ / 4 days: 33,30€ / 5 days: 40,80€
Other ways to travel from El Prat airport to Barcelona city center
You can also get a single ticket to travel from the airport to central Barcelona. We don’t really recommend this option because you need to pay an airport supplement. And then the price is almost the same as the Aerobús one-way ticket, so this is not a smart option.
The cheapest way with the single public transport ticket would be taking the bus 46. It’s gonna cost 2,15€ for a single ride, it will take one hour and there are many stops, so it’s easy to get down at the wrong station!
Finally, a taxi is always a fast and comfortable way to get from the airport to the city center, but also expensive. In Barcelona, the trip will take around 25 minutes and the price should be near 30€ including any supplements for extra luggage.
If you chose to take a taxi, we recommend you use the company EcoTaxis. They accept international cards and all their cars are hybrid, to help preserving our environment!
If you liked our post, recommend it to your friends and learn more Barcelona tips in our Panda Blog! Remember you can also take our tours to discover the best attractions in Barcelona from a local perspective. Use our Panda coupon in your language to get a 10% discount!
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