Barcelona is one of the leading air and rail hubs in southern Europe, and the city is also served by many national and international bus routes.
By air
The quickest and often cheapest way to get to Barcelona is by plane.
Barcelona is an important city on the map of Europe, where all European low-cost airlines focus their attention. Due to the hugely competitive environment, flights to Barcelona are often very cheap.
There are 3 international airports around Barcelona. Click on the name of the airport below for information on distance from the city centre, transport to the city or accommodation nearby.
- Barcelona BCN - One of the largest airports in Europe with many classic and low-cost routes throughout Europe and long-haul flights to North and South America and Asia
- Girona-Costa Brava GRO - small low-cost airport 95 km north of Barcelona with mainly Ryanair flights
- Reus REU - mainly seasonal airport for flights from the UK 115 km south of Barcelona
Where and how to buy flights to Barcelona?
Most flights can be purchased on the website of the airline Vueling.com, which has its largest base in Barcelona.
However, Barcelona is served by airlines from all over the world. Compare the prices of all airlines, for example on Skyscanner. Always choose the airline directly from the retailers' offers.
Compare flight prices to Barcelona
The cheapest airline tickets direct to Barcelona from European destinations can be purchased mainly on airline websites:
Train
Barcelona is well served by high-speed trains from Madrid, Zaragoza or France, and long-distance trains also run along the coast southwards to Valencia and Alicante.
Other destinations are better reached by bus.
All long-distance trains use Barcelona-Sants station.
Simply compare prices and journey times for all trains and buses using the single search engine movelia.es.
High-speed trains
High-speed trains to Barcelona are operated by several companies.
Competition is mainly on the Barcelona-Madrid route, which is operated by the state-owned carrier RENFE and the private carrier Iryo, which usually offers significantly better prices.
High-speed rail also runs from Barcelona to the French city of Perpignan and onwards to Marseille and Paris.
Regular long-distance trains
Of the regular trains, the most used route is along the coast south through the cities of Castellón, Valencia to Alicante.
There is also one direct train a day to Bilbao, for example
Prices and journey times
See the table below for average prices when buying 1 month before departure to the most important destinations.
| Destinations | Price from | Travel time | Online tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alicante | 33 eur | 5.5 hours | renfe.com |
| Bilbao | 21 eur | 7 hours | renfe.com |
| Madrid | 22 eur | 2.5 hours | renfe.com iryo.eu |
| Montpellier | 39 eur | 3.5 hours | sncf-connect.com |
| Perpignan | 29 eur | 1.5 hours | sncf-connect.com |
| Paris | 69 eur | 7 hours | sncf-connect.com |
| Valencia | 27 eur | 3 hours | renfe.com |
By bus
Bus services from abroad are more frequent than trains, and buses are also more frequent for domestic travel to most destinations (except Madrid and Zaragoza).
There are two major long-distance stations in Barcelona:
- Barcelona Nord - most international connections from France, Italy, Switzerland or Germany and most long-distance domestic connections.
- Location on the map
- Metro L1 - Arc de Triomf station
- Barcelona Sants - regional services and some international services (e.g. to Andorra and France)
- Location on the map
- Metro L3, L5 - Sants Estació station
From Spain
Bus services from Barcelona to Spanish destinations are provided by several carriers, but by far the most important is Alsa.es. On the other hand, Europe's largest carrier, Flixbus, has not yet made much inroads on domestic routes in Spain.
It is always preferable to buy tickets well in advance (ideally at least 3-5 weeks).
Bus tickets are usually 30-60% cheaper than train tickets.
Simply compare prices and journey times for all buses and trains using the single search engine movelia.es.
International buses
Buses are often a very cheap form of transport to nearby international destinations.
To international destinations, flixbus.com is the most used, but other carriers are also available.
In the table below we list the most frequent connections from Barcelona to abroad.
| Destinations | Price from | Travel time | Online tickets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra | 31 eur | 3 hours | flixbus.com alsa.es |
| Beziers | 27 eur | 4.5 hours | flixbus.com |
| Carcassonne | 15 eur | 5 hours | blablabus.com |
| Lisbon | 27 eur | 17 hours | flixbus.com alsa.es |
| Marseille | 15 eur | 7 hours | flixbus.com alsa.es |
| Montpellier | 15 eur | 4.5 hours | |
| Perpignan | 16 eur | 3 hours | flixbus.com alsa.es blablabus.com |
| Porto | 27 eur | 17.5 hours | flixbus.com alsa.es |
| Toulouse | 18 eur | 5.5 hours | flixbus.com blablabus.com |
