Air
Flights from Europe to Barcelona can be remarkably cheap, especially if you book well in advance. The Spanish national airline, Iberia, has direct flights from most major European cities and British Airways offers direct flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester. Barcelona is also served by several ‘no-frills’ airlines, including EasyJet and bmi. Delta, United, American Airlines and Iberia all offer flights from most US and Canadian cities. A cheaper alternative would be to take a low-cost flight to London and get a ‘no-frills’ flight on to Barcelona.
Barcelona’s international airport is in El Prat de Llobregat, about 8 miles south of the city and is conveniently connected to the centre by train and bus. The airport trains depart for Plaça de Catalunya and Sants train stations every 30 minutes. The journey time is about 25 minutes and the cost is around 2.40 Euros. An A1 Aerobus departs from both terminals for Plaça de Catalunya (with stops at Sants train station and Plaça d’Espanya) every 12 minutes. The cost is around 4 Euros. There are taxi ranks outside both terminals – count on paying 20-25 Euros to the centre of town, and more after 2200. The journey time by road is about half-an-hour.
Train
The main train station for international, regional and local trains is Estació-Sants, metro Sants. Many trains often stop at Passeig de Gràcia Station, which is more convenient for the city centre. RENFE is the Spanish national rail network and information, timetables and prices can be found in English on its website www.horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.
Road
Barcelona is more than 900 miles from London, or a good two days of steady driving. The main access road into the city is the A-7 autopista (freeway), which crosses the eastern Pyrenees and runs down past Girona and Figueres. The tolls are high, which means that the other access road, the N-11, is heavy with traffic most of the time. Driving in Barcelona is not recommended: the streets are small and always clogged and parking is difficult to find. But if you’re willing to brave it, the major car rental companies have desks at the airport and at Barcelona-Sants rail station.
