If you’re planning a trip to Barcelona, you’re probably wondering how to navigate this beautiful city. One of my biggest anxieties before traveling anywhere is determining how I’m going to get from one place to the next. When I planned my New Zealand road trip with my cousin, we knew from the beginning that we would have to rent a car to drive everywhere. If you’re traveling to a single city, you can usually take advantage of public transportation, or it’s small enough that you can simply walk everywhere. So, when my best friend and I started planning our girls’ trip, we knew we wanted to go somewhere we could explore without necessarily renting a car or taking a rideshare everywhere. Barcelona, it was! So, here are a few ways you can get around Barcelona, and what we opted to do.
Take The Metro
This was my favorite way to get around Barcelona, and it was seamless. The various lines were easy enough to figure out, and we happened to be staying in an apartment located a block away from the Sant Pau Dos de Maig Metro station, which was so convenient. It was on the blue L5 line, and a single stop away from the Sagrada Família station (which we walked to anyway).
Depending on how long your stay in Barcelona is, I highly recommend purchasing an Hola Barcelona card prior to your arrival. I purchased mine a week before traveling, but these vouchers are valid for up to 180 calendar days from your date of purchase. You can buy it in increments of 2, 3, 4 or 5 days, but we did the full 5 days, which costs approximately 42,10 euros or approximately $50 USD. And if you purchase yours online, you’ll get an additional 10% discount. You’ll receive a voucher in your email to redeem at one of the many Metro stations in Barcelona upon your arrival, and it was easy enough to understand. (You should also learn some basic Spanish and/or Català before you go). They’re valid for a single person, and can be used as many times as needed during the duration of your card from the time of redemption.
Take A Local Cab or Taxi
Barcelona, as a whole, is not in favor of rideshare services, but the cab and taxi rental system is pretty robust. The drivers are trustworthy, and they’re paid a fair wage (as far as I know). They’re also convenient if you have to go somewhere outside of Barcelona proper, or somewhere that isn’t within walking distance or accessible by public transportation. We took a taxi back and forth to the airport (mostly because we had more baggage than we intended and our flight back home was early Sunday morning).
Here, I recommend downloading the app “Cabify“. It has a purple icon, and it was quite easy to use. It works just like any other rideshare app, and you can communicate with your drivers. We used this app a few times while we were in Barcelona, where it made sense. The drivers were always friendly, and they appreciated a “Bon Dia!” or small talk if you knew some Spanish or Català.
I would avoid taking an Uber or Lyft at all costs, but if you’re truly out of transportation options, they are available in Barcelona. However, in some places, where they’re overrun by tourists, you may have some difficulty finding rideshare options.
Walk
Barcelona is a very, very walkable city. Especially if you stay somewhere close to Ciutat Vella, you’ll have most of Barcelona at your fingertips, and you can walk wherever you need to. As I mentioned above, we stayed in an apartment about a 10-minute walk northeast of the Basilica de la Sagrada Família, and we were able to walk to many places or take the Metro. We had easy access to grocery stores, pharmacies, and plenty of incredible restaurants, too, and it wasn’t nearly as expensive as staying in the touristy areas.
Rent A Car
I would not recommend renting a car if you’re planning to stay in Barcelona and Barcelona alone. If you plan to do day trips or sightseeing outside of the city proper, you can usually find group tours (if you’re so inclined). We went to Montserrat, where the bus departed from downtown and brought us back in the evening in time for dinner. But, if you really do want to drive on your own, you can. I wouldn’t say that Barcelona is the easiest to drive in. Outside of the city, maybe, but definitely not within it.
Do you have any other tips for getting around Barcelona? Let me know down below!
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