Getting to Barcelona airport El Prat
This article outlines the best ways to getting to Barcelona International Airport called Aeropuerto de Barcelona and also often called Aeropuerto El Prat. Barcelona El Prat airport is located close to the Barcelona city centre just 20 km / 12.4 miles south of the center of Barcelona on the coast of Catalonia.
The average time that it will take you to get to and from the centre of Barcelona to Barcelona airport is about 30 minutes by car, taxi or airport transfer and 30-45 minutes by bus, airport bus or train. The cheapest way to get to Barcelona El Prat airport is by train - the second cheapest way is by the airport buses Aerobuses A1 and A2 from Plaza Catalunya
The new T1 terminal at Barcelona International airport opened on 17th June 2009. There is a new A1 Aerobus airport bus from Plaza Catalunya that goes to T1 directly. The A2 Aerobus goes to the old T2 terminal. There are regular free shuttle buses operating every 5 minutes - 24 hours a day to transport passengers between the T2 and new T1 terminal, so you can use any of the transport methods below to get to Barcelona aiport - and then take a shuttle bus to the new terminal T1. The travel time between the T1 and new T2 terminals at Barcelona airport is 12 minutes.
Check airline flights to and from Barcelona airport

Getting to and from Barcelona airport to the city centre.
Click on links below or scroll down the page for airport transport options:
Aerobus A1 & A2 - Barcelona airport buses from Plaza Catalunya
Trains to Barcelona airport (There is no metro directly to Barcelona airport)
Regular city taxis to Barcelona airport
Airport pick-up transfer services and limousines
Night bus N17 nitbus to Barcelona airport
Public transport bus number 46 to Barcelona airport
Airport bus - Aerobus A1 & A2

The airport buses from Plaza Catalunya - Aerobus A1 to the new terminal T1 - and Aerobus A2 to the old Terminal T2 A, B & C - are an economical and popular way of getting to Barcelona airport.
The transport time from Barcelona airport to Barcelona city centre by Aerobus is 35-45 minutes depending on which terminal you are going to.
Both Aerobus A1 and A2 services leaves every 6-10 minutes from Plaza Catalunya to the airport with a few stops on the way.
Many
passengers board at Plaza Catalunya and the bus can be full during peak
season, so if you are boarding on a stop nearer the airport, a good tip
is to be a little early to allow for full airport buses.
Price A1 Aerobus to T1 Terminal
Price: € 5.00 for a single ticket (2009 prices)
Price: € 8.65 for a return ticket (2009 prices)
Price A2 Aerobus to T2 Terminals A, B & C
Price: € 4.25 for a single ticket (2009 prices)
Price: €7.30 for a return ticket (2009 prices)
See which terminal your flight leaves from
More information about A1 Aerobus and A2 Aerobus Barcelona
See other ways to get to Barcelona airport
Trains to Barcelona airport - C2 line - Renfe Cercanias / Rodalies
Until 2009 the
train from Barcelona center to Barcelona airport train was the C10
train service, which went from the El Prat Barcelona
international airport to
a number of stations in the center of Barcelona: Due to the construction the new high-speed AVE trains to Barcelona , the 2009/10 Barcelona airport train
service is the Renfe C2 line train on the Cercanias rail network. The name for this network is "Cercanias" in Spanish - and " Rodalies" in Catalan.
You can check C2 train times online - both for specific dates and
times for the C2 train to Barcelona Airport which leaves from 3
different stations in Barcelona, which you can find further down this
page.The station closest to the Barcelona city centre, where you can catch
the C2
airport train to Barcelona Airport is the Passeig de Gracia station,
which is connected to the Passeig de Gracia metro station. This airport
station location on Passeig de Gracia (also called Paseo de Gracia in
Spanish) is on the corner of the streets Arago and Passeig de Gracia. See map link below.
If you are connecting to the C2 airport train by metro,
then you can go from the Passeig de Gracia metro station to airport
station underground, but there are many steps and long tunnels, so
if you have heavy luggage, it is hot and hard work and it might be
easier to exit the metro station at Passeig de Graica, then walk up the street of Passeig de
Gracia and re-enter the AGIF airport railway station, but then you will have to buy a
new metro ticket to use for the airport train.
If
you are not connecting from a metro, then just go straight to the
airport station on the corner of streets Passeig de Gracia and Arago. Remember a metro ticket
or one clip on a metro travel card will take you all the way to the
airport. You will arrive close to the T2 terminal and there are green shuttle buses to terminal T1, which you can see as you get off the train
Map location of airport station on Passeig de Gracia
Spanish Renfe railway timetables in Barcelona
See other ways to get to Barcelona airport
The C2 line is marked "Norte Aeropuerto - Sant Celoni/Maçanet." These two names are the stations at each end of the C2 line.
There are 3 train stations in Barcelona (underlined below) where you can take the C2 line to Barcelona airport. They all have Metro connections too.
Barcelona Airport
station: El Prat de Llobregat
station: Bellvitge
station: Barcelona - Sants
station: Barcelona - Passeig de Gracia
station: Barcelona - El Clot Aragó
Journey duration to airport
Barcelona Airport to Barcelona - Sants - 19 minute journey
Barcelona Airport to Barcelona - Passeig de Gracia - 26 minute journey
Barcelona Airport to Barcelona - El Clot Arago - 32 minute journey
Timetable:
From the airport from 06.08 to 23.38.
Trains leave every 30 minutes.
Airport train ticket price: (2009 prices)
Single ticket: € 2.80
The Aeroport station is in the ticket
system (zone 1) of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area so you can also use
a normal metro travel card which cost 1.35 or one clip on a travel card.
Barcelona Travel cards
The best metro travel card for airport trains are either the
Unlimited 1 Day Travel card T-Day € 5.80
10 Journey Travel card T-10 for € 7.70
Information telephone Renfe.
902 240 202
Taxis to Barcelona airport

The taxi journey from Barcelona city centre to Barcelona airport takes about 25-35 minutes.
The cost is between 25 and 30 euros depending on your departure point, the traffic and the time of day. Barcelona taxi drivers are generally very very honest and they all use a taxi-meter, so you will not be cheatedThe Barcelona taxis are yellow and black andl Barcelona airport terminals have clearly marked taxi areas.
Prices are shown on a sticker inside the cab usually on the side windows. Please note there is an extra charge per item of luggage (suitcases and big items, not shopping bags or briefcases), and a surcharge for rides to/from Barcelona airport. Please note that taxi leaving the airport have a minimum fare of 20 euros for the ride. So even if the meter shows less, you will be charged 20 euros if you took the taxi from the airport.
The 20 euro aiport minimum fare has created some problems with taking taxis to the new T1 termina. Unless it is urgent to catch a flight, we recommedon that you do not take a taxi from T2 to the new terminal 1. The taxi ride will also cost you 20 euros even though it is only 3.5 km and takes a few minutes. The reason for this it that the taxi regulations have not been changed yet and they state that any taxi ride from the airport should cost minimum 20 euros. So even if the new T1 is in the airport apparently the taxis still charge 20 euros to leave the old terminal and take you to the new one. This is probably be changed in due course.
See 2009 Barcelona taxi prices and tariffs
Find Barcelona yellow and black city taxi companies
See other ways to get to Barcelona airport
Airport transfer and pick-up services to Barcelona airport

Chauffeur driven taxi pick-up service from Barcelona airport to your hotel or other destinations in Catalonia are available. Prices in 2009 are from around 75 euros for a individual pick-up from Barcelona airport to a hotel in the centre but can vary depending on destination and group size.
Find links to Barcelona airport pick-up and transfer services
See other ways to get to Barcelona airport
Night bus N 17 to Barcelona airport

There is a N 17 night bus (nitbus) from Plaza Catalunya to Barcelona airport that operates from 23:00 to 05:00 hours in the morning. From Barcelona airport to Plaza Catalunya it runs from 22:05 to 05:05 hours in the morning.
Transport time from Barcelona city centre: approx. 30 minutes
From 2009 the N17 nightbus will also stop at both T1 terminal and T2 terminals
Price: € 1.35 for a one way ticket
Route maps and bus stops of the N 17 night bus to Barcelona Aiport
Other ways to get to Barcelona airport
Barcelona Public transport (TMB) bus numbers 46 to Barcelona airport

Bus number 46 leaves from Plaza Espanya and goes to El Prat Barcelona Airport
The 46 route stops at both T2 and new T1 terminal
Click for bus 46 to Barcelona airport from Plaza Espanya route map
Click for bus 46 timetable
Click to see all best ways to get to Barcelona airport
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