Public Transportation in Barcelona: Everything You Need to Know

Tickets for Public Transportation in Barcelona

There are various tickets for Barcelona’s public transport, and picking the right one can save you real money. We’ll walk you through all the options that are relevant for tourists and tell you exactly when each one is worth it.

In the next section, you’ll find out where to buy the tickets.

Good to know: Barcelona’s public transport is divided into six fare zones. Since almost the entire city — including all the attractions and El Prat Airport — is located in fare zone 1, we only cover the prices and conditions for Zone 1.

You’ll only need the other zones if you’re planning day trips to more distant parts of the region.

Before we dive into the details, here’s a quick overview of all your options:

* The T-Casual and the T-Familiar are rechargeable tickets. When you first purchase these, a 50-cent fee is added to the regular ticket price.

Single Ticket

Ticket price for Zone 1: €2.55

The single ticket is valid for one trip only on Barcelona’s public transport.

No transfers allowed — boarding another vehicle counts as a new trip.

It’s worth it if: you barely plan to use Barcelona’s public transit at all.

T-Casual

Ticket price for Zone 1: €12.15

The T-Casual gives you 10 trips on Barcelona’s public transport. It’s personal and non-transferable.

The airport metro ride is not included. If you want to take the metro from Barcelona Airport into the city, you’ll need to buy a separate airport ticket for €5.50 (one way).

After your first validation, you can transfer as many times as you like within Zone 1 within 75 minutes without using up another trip.

You still need to scan your T-Casual every time you transfer, even when it doesn’t count as a new trip. Once those 75 minutes are up, any further transfer counts as a new trip.

It’s worth it if: you want to use public transit occasionally.

T-Familiar

Ticket price for Zone 1: €10.70

The T-Familiar covers 8 trips within 30 consecutive days and can be shared by multiple people. Just scan the card at the validator once per person.

This ticket doesn’t cover the metro ride to or from the airport.

Just like with the T-Casual, you can transfer freely within 75 minutes without it counting as a new trip.

It’s worth it if: you’re traveling with a group and only need public transit occasionally.

T-Día

Ticket price for Zone 1: €11.20

The T-Día day pass gives you unlimited trips for 24 hours on Barcelona’s public transport.

Here too, you’ll need to buy the airport ticket separately if you plan to take the metro from El Prat into the city.

It’s worth it if: you want to use public transit a lot within 24 hours — for example, if you’re only in Barcelona for one day.

How to Buy Tickets for Barcelona Public Transportation

You have two options for buying tickets: at a ticket machine in the station, or online via the app from Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), the main operator of Barcelona’s public transport.

If you buy through the app, you’ll receive a digital ticket with a QR code that you scan at the card readers.

We skipped the app ourselves — it has poor reviews and is frequently described as overly complicated. We just bought our tickets at the machine, which was quick and easy.

Here’s how it works at the machine:

To help you get through the process without any hassle, here’s a step-by-step guide. We’re using the T-Casual as our example, but the process is the same for any ticket.

Step 1: Select language and ticket

Step 2: Select zone

Step 3: Select number of cards

Step 4: Pay for your ticket

Hola Barcelona Card

There’s also a dedicated tourist card for getting around Barcelona: the Hola Barcelona Card, also known as the Hola BCN Card.

It’s valid for 2 to 5 consecutive days and gives you unlimited rides on public transit throughout that period.

Here’s a quick overview of what’s included:

• Metro, buses, tram, trains in fare zone 1
• Funicular de Montjuïc
• Airport transfer from El Prat by metro
• Airport transfer by shuttle bus (our recommendation)
• Night buses

The Hola BCN Card is valid for exactly the number of hours shown, starting from your first validation. For example, if you validate your 48-hour card at noon on Friday during your weekend trip to Barcelona, it’s valid until noon on Sunday.

It’s worth it if: you plan to use public transit very frequently and want to include the metro ride to or from El Prat Airport.

Buying the Hola Barcelona Card

You can pick up the Hola BCN Card at any ticket machine, just like the other transit tickets.

Another solid option is buying online through GetYourGuide. The price is the same, but the booking process is smooth and straightforward.

If you buy the Hola BCN Card online, you’ll receive a voucher that you exchange for your actual card at a tourist information office — for example, directly at the airport.

Buy the Hola Barcelona Card online

Hola Barcelona Card Prices

Here’s how the Hola Barcelona Card prices compare:

Our Ticket Recommendation for Barcelona Public Transportation

For most city trips to Barcelona, we think the T-Casual ticket or the Hola Barcelona Card are the smartest choices.

The T-Casual is your best bet if …

• you want to use public transit every now and then but also like to explore on foot,
• you don’t need the metro airport connection,
• and you’re staying centrally — for example, in one of the lovely design hotels in Barcelona.

The Hola Barcelona Card is the right pick if …

• you plan to use public transit very frequently,
• you want to take the metro from El Prat Airport into the city,
• and you don’t want to think about transfer times and trip counts.

We personally went with the T-Casual. We love exploring a city on foot, and Barcelona is perfect for that — most of the highlights are fairly close together in the center. To skip the lines at popular spots, it’s worth booking your Barcelona tickets in advance.

We also got to the city from the airport by shuttle bus rather than the metro. Find out why we recommend this and what other options exist in our article on Barcelona airport transfers:

Using Barcelona Public Transportation with a City Pass

If it’s your first time in Barcelona, you want to visit some of the pricier attractions, and you’re thinking about a hop-on/hop-off bus tour of Barcelona, a Barcelona City Pass could be a great move.

A city pass gets you free admission to many attractions and museums in Barcelona, which simplifies planning — no juggling individual tickets once you’re there.

Two Barcelona city passes even include public transport: the Turbopass and the Barcelona Card. And with the Barcelona Pass, you get a discount on the Hola BCN Card.

To the Barcelona Turbopass
To the Barcelona Card
To the Barcelona Pass

Public Transportation in Barcelona

Here’s a rundown of all the public transport options available in Barcelona and what you need to know about each one.

Metro in Barcelona

• Operating hours: Mon–Thu and Sun 5 AM–midnight, Fri until 2 AM, Sat around the clock
• Frequency: every 2–15 min depending on the time of day

The metro is the backbone of Barcelona’s public transport network. It gets you quickly and reliably from point A to point B.

The network is seriously impressive — it covers almost the entire city. Near every major attraction, you’ll find the nearest metro station just a few minutes’ walk away.

There are twelve metro lines in total. Here are the ones you’ll use most often:

• to El Prat Airport: L9 (Orange)
• to Barceloneta Beach: L4 (Yellow)
• to the Sagrada Família: L2 (Purple) and L5 (Blue), stop for the basilica and hotels near the Sagrada Família
• toward Park Güell: L3 (Green), a key stop for Gaudí fans

The most important transit hub — where you can connect to many other lines and modes of transport — is Plaça Catalunya.

To enter a platform, hold your ticket up to the card reader at the gates. When exiting, you don’t need to scan again — the gates open automatically.

Buses in Barcelona

• Operating hours: daily 5 AM–11 PM, night buses approx. 10 PM–5 AM
• Frequency: every 5–15 min, evenings/nights every 20–30 min

Barcelona’s city bus network is equally excellent, with more than 200 lines covering the entire city.

You’ll usually get around faster with the metro, but buses can take you to slightly more out-of-the-way corners of the city.

Buses have card readers — scan your ticket when boarding. No need to scan when getting off.

Funicular in Barcelona

• Operating hours: Mon–Thu and Sun 7 AM–9 PM, Fri and Sat until 10 PM
• Frequency: every 10–20 min

Barcelona even includes funiculars in its public transport system. The most useful one for visitors is the Funicular de Montjuïc, which connects the city with Montjuïc hill — one of Barcelona’s top attractions.

It departs from Paral·lel metro station, and there’s a direct connection from the subway area to the funicular — so you can transfer between the metro and the funicular without even leaving the station.

Tram in Barcelona

• Operating hours: Mon–Thu and Sun 5 AM–midnight, Fri and Sat until 2 AM
• Frequency: weekdays every 5–15 min, evenings and weekends every 20–25 min

Barcelona’s tram network has six lines in total.

They mainly connect suburbs and less central neighborhoods, so as a tourist you’ll probably never need them.

If you do hop on one: just like on the bus, scan your ticket at the card reader when boarding.

Trains in Barcelona

• Operating hours: daily 5 AM–11 PM
• Frequency: weekdays every 5–15 min, evenings and weekends every 15–30 min

For day trips from Barcelona into the surrounding region, the commuter trains run by Rodalies de Catalunya and FGC are ideal — they connect to over 70 destinations.

The trains run regularly and are a great option for getting outside the city center. For example, the R1 line heading north will take you to Blanes in about an hour — a lovely seaside town on the Costa Brava.

At stations, look for validation machines or gates with card readers to scan your ticket.

Extra Tip: Hop-on/Hop-off Buses in Barcelona

A great alternative to standard public transport and the conventional ways of getting around Barcelona are the hop-on/hop-off buses. They stop at all the major attractions across the city.

Regular transit tickets are cheaper, but the hop-on/hop-off tour comes with an audio guide packed with interesting info about the sights — plus you get a great view of the city from the open top deck.

You can get a ticket for 24 or 48 hours and hop on and off as many times as you like.

There are two hop-on/hop-off providers in Barcelona. We personally recommend Bus Turístic — it’s the one we’ve used ourselves and had a great experience with.

Get your hop-on/hop-off ticket with Bus Turístic

Frequently Asked Questions about Barcelona Public Transportation