29 / 344
27
along with a timetable – useful bus routes
are detailed in the text.
Trams
The tram system (
W
www.trambcn.com)
runs on four lines, with departures every
eight to twenty minutes throughout the day
from 5am to midnight.
Lines T1
,
T2 and T3
depart from Plaça Francesc Macià and run
along the uptown part of Avinguda Diagonal
to suburban destinations in the northwest –
useful tourist stops are at L’Illa shopping
and the Maria Cristina and Palau Reial
metro stations. Line
T4
operates from
Ciutadella-Vila Olímpica (where there’s also
a metro station) and runs up past the zoo
and TNC (the National Theatre) to Glòries
before running down the lower part of
Avinguda Diagonal to Diagonal Mar and the
Fòrum site.
Trains
The city has a cheap and efficient commuter
train line, the
Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat
de Catalunya
(FGC;
T
932 051 515,
W
www.fgc.cat), with its main stations at
Plaça de Catalunya and Plaça d’Espanya.
These go to Sarrià, Vallvidrera, Tibidabo,
Sant Cugat, Terrassa and Montserrat, and
details are given in the text where appro-
priate. The Zone 1
targeta
is valid as far as
the city limits, which in practice is every-
where you’re likely to want to go except for
Montserrat, Sant Cugat and Terrassa.
The national rail service, operated by
RENFE
(
T
902 240 202,
W
www.renfe.es),
runs all the other services out of Barcelona,
with local lines – north to the Costa
Mareseme and south to Sitges – designated
as Rodiales/Cercanías. The hub is Barcelona
Sants station, with services also passing
through Plaça de Catalunya (heading north)
and Passeig de Gràcia (south). Arrive in
plenty of time to buy a ticket, as queues are
often horrendous, though for most regional
destinations you can use the automatic
vending machines instead.
Taxis
Black-and-yellow taxis (with a green
roof-light on when available for hire) are
inexpensive, plentiful and well worth using,
especially late at night. There’s a minimum
charge of €1.80 (€1.90 after 8pm Sat, Sun
& hols) and after that it’s €0.82/1.04 per
kilometre, with small surcharges for baggage
and picking up from Barcelona Sants station
and the airport, However, the taxis have
meters so charges are transparent – if not,
asking for a receipt (
rebut
in Catalan,
recibo
in Spanish) should ensure that the price is
fair. Most short journeys across town run to
around €7.
There are taxi ranks outside major train
and metro stations, in main squares, near
large hotels and along the main avenues.
You can call a taxi in advance, but few of the
cab company operators speak English –
you’ll also be charged an extra €3–4 on top
of the fare for calling a cab.
Taxi companies
Barna Taxis
T
933 577 755.
Fono-Taxi
T
933 001 100.
Radio Taxi
T
933 033 033.
Servi-Taxi
T
933 300 300.
Taxi Amic
T
934 208 088.
Driving and vehicle
rental
You don’t need a car to get around
Barcelona, but you may want to rent one if
Funiculars and cable cars
Several
funicular railways
still operate in the city to Montjuïc, Tibidabo and
Vallvidrera. Summer and year-round weekend visits to Tibidabo also combine a
funicular trip with a ride on the antique tram, the
Tramvia Blau
. There are two
cable car
(
telefèric
) rides: from Barceloneta across the harbour to Montjuïc, and
then from the top station of the Montjuïc funicular right the way up to the castle.
Both aerial rides are pretty good experiences, worth doing just for the views alone.
Ticket and service details for all funiculars and cable cars are given in the relevant
sections of the text.
BASICS
|
City transport