Travel to and around Barcelona

When planning routes the Google Maps directions service is often reasonably accurate. You may also find this map of Barcelona’s travel system useful. Please note that within Barcelona there are lots of options: metros & buses, as well as trams and two railways (the FGC – Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya, and the Rodalies de Catalunya, run by RENFE) and other options. But to get to UAB you are best relying on the FGC alone

Not all tickets are compatible between different systems within Barcelona. One of the best ways to get around on public transport will be to get a ‘T-casual’ ticket, which gives you 10 rides for 13€. For most accommodation options a Zone 1 T-casual ticket will suffice, that gets you to the UAB from the middle of town.  Alternatively, the ‘Hola Barcelona’ card is a bit more inclusive and offers variable pricing according to how many days you will be present. See here for ticket options.

Some Barcelona residents are wary about being too reliant on the RENFE trains, as the service can get disrupted. FGC trains are more reliable. 

Working out which zones is complicated because the ‘metropolitan fare’ makes fares cheaper than you would think. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is part of zone 1 (look for the yellow line on the map). For more guidance about the metropolitan fare see this site.

From Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585, Barcelona
Head northeast on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes / Gran Vía de las Corts Catalanes towards Calle de Aribau / Carrer d’Aribau (121 ft)
Turn right onto Calle de Aribau / Carrer d’Aribau (125 ft)
Keep straight to get onto Plaça de la Universitat / Plaza de la Universidad (243 ft)
Bear left, then turn left onto Ronda de Sant Antoni / Ronda de San Antonio (141 ft)
Turn right onto Carrer dels Tallers / Calle de los Talleres [Private Road] (0.3 mi)
Turn right onto Rambla de Canaletas / Rambla de Canaletes (79 ft)
Keep straight to get onto Rambla de los Estudios / Rambla dels Estudis (0.1 mi)
Keep straight to get onto Rambla de Sant Josep / Rambla de San José (0.1 mi)
Keep straight to get onto Rambla de los Capuchinos / Rambla dels Caputxins (0.2 mi)
Road name changes to Rambla de Capuchinos / Rambla de Caputxins (302 ft)
Road name changes to Rambla de Santa Mónica / Rambla de Santa Mònica (0.2 mi)
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit for Passeig de Josep Carner / Paseo de José Carner (322 ft)
Arrive at Passeig de Josep Carner / Paseo de José Carner on the right
The last junction before your destination is Plaça del Portal de la Pau 

Arrive at Museo Maritim de Barcelona – Lonja de San Cristobal
Avda. de las Drassanes, s/n, 08001, Barcelona

From Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 585, Barcelona
Walk from starting location to Universitat (0.1 mi, about 2 min)
Underground/Metro: L2 – Paral·lel
-Depart from Universitat (3 min)
-Arrive at Paral·lel
-Your stop is next after Sant Antoni
Walk from Paral·lel to Paral·lel – Cabanes (518 ft, about 2 min)
You have 3 minutes to make this connection (3 min)
Bus: 89 – El Prat de L. (ZAL Prat / Terminal BEST)
-Depart from Paral·lel – Cabanes (2 min)
-Arrive at Paral·lel – Drassanes 
[If you reach Moll Sant Bertran – Moll Barcelona, you have gone too far]
–Walk from Paral·lel – Drassanes to destination location (0.1 mi, about 3 min) 

Arrive at Museo Maritim de Barcelona – Lonja de San Cristobal
Avda. de las Drassanes, s/n, 08001, Barcelona

From Barcelona-Sants, Pl. dels Països Catalans, 1, 7, 08014 Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona-Sants
– R3: Estación de tren Vic
– 5 min (non-stop)
Plaça de Catalunya
– Walk about 1 min, 130 m
Arrive at Universitat de Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

From Barcelona-Sants, 08014 Barcelona, Spain
– Walk 1 minute, 150m to the Sants Estació metro station
Sants Estació (metro), 08014 Barcelona, Spain
– Tak the L3Trinitat Nova metro line, 2 min (2 stops)
Pl. Espanya
– Pl. Espanya, walk about 1 minute to the L1Fondo metro line
– Take the L1Fondo metro line, 4 min (3 stops),
Universitat Estació metro station
– Walk about 2 minutes, 160m
Arrive at Universitat de Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain

International connections from a comprehensive list of European cities, USA Canada, China, South Korea, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Columbia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria & Iceland.
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport to Universitat de Barcelona – Google Maps

The Universitat de Barcelona is about 15km from the airport and can be easily reached by the A2 Aerobus which runs frequently from the airport past the Pl Universitat stop 400m from university. Or by Taxi which are readily available from the Airport Taxi rank.

This airport has more international flight connections than Barcelona (adding the majority of south American countries, Angola & Cameroon). Getting from Madrid to Barcelona takes about 4 hours by train and there are also connecting flights taking about 1 hour 20 minutes.
Fast Track T2 – Aeropuerto de Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD) to Barcelona, Spain – Google Maps

Routes from this airport to Barcelona take around 4 hours by road, 5 hours by train/bus or 55 minutes by a connecting flight.
Inernational connections from all over western europe, Poland, Türkiye, UAE, Serbia, Croatia, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Senegal & Canada.
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, Blagnac, France to Barcelona, Spain – Google Maps

International connections from UK, France, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, Romania & Belgium
About 2h 30min by train or 3h 20min by road from Barcelona this airport has frequent flights to several major european cities.
Zaragoza Airport to Barcelona, Spain – Google Maps

International connections including UK, Germany, Ireland, Morocco, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Netherlands & Belgium.
About 2h 10m by train, or 1h 35min by road from Barcelona.
Girona Airport to Barcelona – Google Maps

International connections including France, Germany, UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Poland & Morocco.
About 2h 30m by train, or 1h 45min by road from Barcelona.
Reus Airport to Barcelona – Google Maps