Barcelona: Hola Barcelona Public Transport Travel Card
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The Barcelona metro is one of the best ways to travel around the city. It is extensive, fast and very efficient; there are 11 lines and they are operated by two different companies, which may seem complicated at first but with a little getting used to it becomes simple and natural.
The Barcelona metro lines are identified by the letters L1 to L12 and are operated by the two companies Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC).
Metro maps can be found at the entrance to each station, in large format, posted on the walls.
It is also possible to ask the train staff for a hard copy of the metro map, free of charge.
However, to make your life easier, below you will find a map of the Barcelona metro, useful for orienting yourself and organising your movements. On each line the respective stops are indicated, while the circles indicate the change stations. A detailed and complete PDF version is available, including all the lines, ready to be printed and taken with you . You can download it for free by clicking on the link below.
Metro map in PDF formatThe two companies that manage Barcelona’s metro are TMB and FGC.
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) operates the 8 main lines from L1 to L5 and from L9 to L11, covering a total of 102 kilometres and 158 stations. See all lines, stops and timetables on the TMB website.
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) operates the 3 other integrated lines that extend beyond the metropolitan area, which are L6, L7, L8 and L12. These lines share tracks with regional trains, so technically they may not be included in the definition of standard metro lines. You can see the lines, stops and timetables on the FGC website.
Fares, tickets and season tickets, also valid for buses, can be found on the dedicated page. If you want to play it safe, get a city card such as the Hola Barcelona Travel Card or the classic Barcelona Card, which also includes entrance tickets to many of the city’s attractions.
The Barcelona Metro runs every day from five o’clock in the morning, with the last ride depending on the day of the week:
The Parc Logístic, Mercabarna and Mas Blau (L9 Sud) stations are open daily from 05:00 to midnight.
On certain days of the year, such as San Joan’s Eve, New Year’s Eve, the Mercè and Gracia festivities, the metro runs all night.
There are 203 metro stations in Barcelona, served by all 12 lines. The average distance between stations is 650 metres and most of them have no structure or building for entry, consisting of simple access by stairs or lift. Underground station decorations are not particularly interesting, unlike some European metros such as Moscow, Budapest or Paris.
A peculiarity of the stations of the Barcelona Metro network is that some of them have been closed, some were even never inaugurated while others have been moved to a nearby location.
These stations are a destination for a very particular type of tourism, that of abandoned city places, where you can visit disused or no longer used buildings, for a day really different from the usual tourist routes.
The first railway transport in Barcelona was started in 1863 by the private company Ferrocarril de Sarrià in Barcelona, in what in later years evolved into the L6 line.
However, the first official metro line in Barcelona did not take place until 1924, with the construction of the so-called Gran Metro that ran between Lesseps and Plaza Catalunya, part of what is now the L3. Two years later, the Transversal Metro, now part of the L1, was built between Plaza Catalunya and La Bordeta, to connect the city centre to Plaza de Espanya and Montjuic, the site of the 1929 International Exhibition.
City Card allow you to save on public transport and / or on the entrances to the main tourist attractions.
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