There are direct international train services to Barcelona from several European cities including Paris, Montpellier, Geneva, Zurich and Milan. Long train journeys can be made more bearable by booking a sleeping compartment on an overnight train. This option is only available on direct services. All trains entering the eastern side of Spain from France go through Port Bou/Cerbere or La Tour de Carol on the Franco-Spanish border. Traveling to Barcelona from departure points not offering a direct service may mean picking up a connection here. Most international trains arrive at Sants, Estacio de Franca or Passeig de Gracia mainline stations, all located in the centre of Barcelona.
Services to Barcelona from other cities in Spain are fast and frequent. From Madrid, Seville, Malaga, A Coruna or Vigo there is a service called Auto-Expresswhich allows you to take your car with you.
The Barcelona Metro
There are six underground Metro lines in Barcelona, identified by number and color. Platform signs distinguish between trains and their direction by displaying the last station on the line. In the street it is easy to spot a Metro station – look for a sign bearing a red “M” on a white diamond background.
The Metro is usually the quickest way to get around the city, especially as some tickets are now valid for the Metro and some FGC lines. A RENFE or FGC sign at a Metro station indicates a RENFE or FGC connection. Metro trains run from 5am to midnight from Monday to Thursday, from 6am to midnight on Sunday and a weekday public holiday and from 5am to 2am on Friday, Saturday and the day before a public holiday.
BarcelonaTickets And Travel Cards
Visitors to Barcelona will find a range of tickets and money-saving travel cards available to suit their itineraries and length of stay. Some cover train, bus and Metro. Combined tickets allow travelers to hop from Metro to FGC to bus lines without leaving the station to pay again.
Tickets are as follows: T-dia and T-mes are for unlimited daily and monthly travel respectively; the senzill ticket, for one single journey, can be used on Metro, bus and FGC; the T-10, for ten trips, is for combining journeys on Metro, bus and FGC in one trip (there is a time limit of an hour and a half); the T-50/ 30 is for 50 journeys in 30 days on Metro, bus and FGC.
