How do you get from Barcelona airport to the center?

The airport and its two terminals

Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport, known by its code BCN, lies about fifteen kilometers southwest of the center of Barcelona, in the municipalities of El Prat de Llobregat, Viladecans and Sant Boi. It is the second-largest and second-busiest airport in Spain and a hub for the airline Vueling, with Iberia, easyJet, Ryanair and Air Europa among those that use it as a focus.

An aircraft at its stand beyond the terminal glass at Barcelona airport.Pere López Brosa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

It has two terminal complexes. Terminal 1, designed by Ricardo Bofill and inaugurated on 16 June 2009, handles most of the flights. Terminal 2 is the older complex, divided into 2A, 2B and 2C, whose oldest part dates to 1968. A connecting bus links the two. About seventy percent of flights use Terminal 1, while Terminal 2 is used mostly by low-cost and regional airlines, among them Ryanair and easyJet, and flights to destinations outside the Schengen area use different gates from those within it. Look at your boarding pass or the airline's page to see which terminal you are in, because the best way into the city depends on it.

By metro

Line 9 of the Barcelona Metro has linked the airport with the city since 12 February 2016, with a station in each terminal: Aeroport T1 sits directly beneath Terminal 1, and Aeroport T2 is close to the Terminal 2 rail station. The line connects with several other metro lines serving the center, so a single change usually takes you to the old city or the Eixample.

One catch is worth knowing. The metro runs on an integrated fare system, but the airport stations on line 9 south carry a special rule: a standard single ticket is not valid for a journey to or from them, and a separate airport ticket is needed. Check the operator's page for the current products, since the fare table is the part of the metro that changes.

By commuter train

The entrance of Barcelona Sants, with taxis and a crossing in front.Robot8A, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Terminal 2 has its own station on the Rodalies commuter network, on line R2, with service every half hour toward Maçanet-Massanes, stopping at several central stations including Barcelona Sants and Passeig de Gràcia. Those stations connect with the metro and with national and international trains, so this is the natural choice for travelers who are going on by train or who are staying near one of them.

Rail passengers for Terminal 1 take a connecting bus from Terminal 2B. A direct shuttle train between Terminal 1 and Sants and Passeig de Gràcia has been planned for years, and its opening date has moved more than once, so check the airport's website before relying on it.

By bus

The Aerobús offers direct transfers from Terminals 1 and 2 to the Plaça de Catalunya, the hinge between the old city and the Eixample, which makes it the simplest option for someone staying near that square, with no changes. The municipal bus line 46 runs from the airport to the Avinguda del Paral·lel, at the foot of Montjuïc.

A coach under the canopy of the long-distance bus station at Estació del Nord.Enric, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Other companies run coaches from the airport to other airports, among them Reus and Girona-Costa Brava, to provincial and national capitals, and to destinations in France and Andorra.

By taxi

Barcelona's metered taxis, painted black and yellow, are governed by the metropolitan taxi institute and number more than ten thousand. They can be caught at ranks, called or booked through an app.

A taxi is a good choice late at night, with heavy luggage or in a group, and the time it takes depends on traffic on the road into the city, the same road that was blocked in the disruption at the airport on 14 October 2019.

Choosing between them

If your hotel is on a metro line that connects with line 9, the metro is the most direct. If you are near Sants, Passeig de Gràcia or the Rodalies network and arrive at Terminal 2, the train is a good choice. If you are near the Plaça de Catalunya, the Aerobús saves changes. For luggage or late arrivals, take a taxi.

The sun setting behind a bank of cloud over the aircraft stands at Barcelona airport.Pere López Brosa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Whatever you choose, give yourself time at the airport on the way home, because Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are not adjacent and the connections between them take time.

From other airports

Some low-cost flights land at other airports: Girona-Costa Brava, about ninety kilometers to the north, Reus, about seventy-seven kilometers to the south, or Lleida-Alguaire, about a hundred and fifty to the west. From each there are coaches and trains to Barcelona, and the journey is long enough that it should be built into the price and the plan.

The airport at Sabadell is a small one for pilot training, air taxis and private flights, and does not handle scheduled traffic for visitors.

A short history of the airport

The front of Estació de França, two large arched openings under a row of flags.Azulino, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Barcelona's first airfield, at El Remolar, began operating in 1916, but its prospects for expansion were poor, so a new airport at El Prat opened in 1918. The first plane to land was a Latécoère that arrived from Toulouse on its way to Casablanca. Scheduled commercial service began in 1927 with the first route flown by Iberia, to Madrid Cuatro Vientos.

A runway was built in 1948, the year the first overseas service, to New York, was flown by Pan American, and in 1963 the airport reached a million passengers a year. The 1992 Olympics prompted a major expansion that produced Terminals A, B and C, which are now called 2A, 2B and 2C, and in 2014 it became the first Spanish airport to receive a daily Airbus A380 flight. The Barcelona-Madrid air shuttle was the busiest air route in the world until 2008, when the high-speed rail line opened and covered the distance in two and a half hours.

After you arrive

Once in the city, the metro, the trams, the commuter trains and the buses form an integrated system, and the guide to getting around describes how to use them. For a first morning, most visitors head to one of the anchor stations: Plaça de Catalunya, Passeig de Gràcia or Barceloneta.

The ornate façade of Estació del Nord, with its iron-and-glass hall beyond.Enric, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The guide to getting here covers the other ways of arriving, by rail from Madrid or France, by coach and by car.

How do you get from Barcelona airport to the center?