Getting around the city & venues
The conference will be held at two different venues:
29 June, 1 July, 2 July & 3 July:
Facultat de Geographia i Historia, Universitat de Barcelona, Carrer de Montelegre, 6, Ciutat Vella, 08001, Barcelona.
Facultat de Geographia i Historia, UB on google maps
30 June only:
Hotel Exe Campus, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Villa Universitaria Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
Hotel Exe Campus, UAB on google maps
As you will see from the maps, the Universitat de Barcelona is found right in the middle of Barcelona city. The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona is found beyond the outskirts of Barcelona on the other side of the Collserola Hills. The sites are connected by the S2 line of the FGC railway. The journey takes 50 minutes. You can see a sample journey on Google maps here.
Planning Routes with Google Maps
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
Further Details on Transportation Ticket Compatibility
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.
Travelling to Maritim Museum on Thursday
If you are travelling from accommodation near Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, the S2 line runs regularly from Bellaterra station to Plaça Catalunya station, where you can take the L3 line to Drassanes station which is only a 2 minute walk from the Maritim Museum. Route planned on google maps.
Getting from the University of Barcelona to the Maritim Museum.
Universitat de Barcelona to Barcelona Maritime Museum – Google Maps
Walking
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
Public Transport
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
Public Transport
The transport network in Barcelona is operated mainly by TMB (Transports Metropolitains de Barcelona) as well as FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya) for the suburbs and several other companies operating the trams and other bus services.
A summary of the main travel operators around Barcelona
There is a combined travel card (Hola BCN) available for 2,3,4 or 5 days that allows access to all the public transport in the city (excluding Montjuïc Cable Car & Night buses). These can be purchased online.
“Hola Barcelona” Travel Card | Hola Barcelona
There are also multi-language ticket machines in the stations where you can purchase single or multiple journey tickets on the day.
For those arriving to Barcelona by boat, the port terminal is 3.8km from the Universitat de Barcelona by road (about 15 minutes in a taxi) or about 30 minutes on public transport taking the number 88 bus from the port to the Paral-lel Metro station, the L2 metro to the Universitat then a short walk to the university campus.
Slow travel
You may wish to consider some ‘slow’ and environmentally friendlier options for your travel to the conference. An excellent guide to train travel in Europe is: https://www.seat61.com/
General travel information
Arriving By Train
Barcelona Sants is the primary intercity station for travellers to Barcelona.
2.6km from the Universitat de Barcelona by road, and connected to the university by bus and metro links.
Sants Estació, 08014 Barcelona, Spain to Universitat, Barcelona, Spain – Google Maps
The R3 Bus runs directly from Barcelona Sants Station past Universitat de 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
The Metro system connects the two from The Sants Estació Metro Station a 3 minute walk from Barcelona Sants station by the L3 and L1 Metro lines.
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
Arriving By sea
The port has regular ferry links to Ibiza, Menorca, Mallorca, Formentera, Italy, Morocco, Rome & Sardinia with crossings available to Ibiza (in Ibiza), Ciutadella & Mahon (in Menorca), Alcudia & Palma (in Mallorca), Formentera (in Formentera), Genoa (in Italy), Tangier Med & Nador (in Morocco), Civitavecchia (in Rome), Porto Torres (in Sardinia).
Sailings from Barcelona are operated by numerous ferry companies, Grimaldi Lines, Grand Navi Veloci, La Meridionale, Transmed GLE & Balearia.
Grimaldi Lines Barcelona to Universitat de Barcelona – Google Maps
Arriving By Air Travel
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport
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.
Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport
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
Toulouse-Blagnac Airport in southern France
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
Zaragoza Airport
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
Girona–Costa Brava Airport
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
Reus Airport
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
Where to eat & drink in Barcelona
Barcelona is a city full of restaurants and lunchtime cafes, you can have a look at our list below, or go off exploring. There are many coffee shops and lunch places close to the two conference venues, and many more between them. We have a list of some places to get you started, all are wheelchair accessible, friendly to large groups, and we have pointed out vegetarian & vegan friendly menus where we could, as well as family friendly restaurants.
Near to Universitat de Barcelona there are several places with high concentrations of restaurants and other places to grab some lunch such as Rambla del Raval and Mercat de la Boqueria
1881 PER SAGARDÍ is the Grupo Sagardí’s temple to Basque cookery. It is housed in the old port warehouse building, which was built in 1881 and is now home to the Museu d’Història de Catalunya. The restaurant only serves Mediterranean dishes and boasts splendid views of the Barcelona skyline. Family friendly.
AGUA The Mediterranean cuisine at Agua pays tribute to the people and the sea of Barcelona. You’ll find a wide variety of fresh dishes with their own distinctive character, which you can enjoy on the seafront terrace on the Passeig Marítim in the Barceloneta neighbourhood. Has vegetarian options. Family friendly.
CADAQUÉS BCN Cadaqués invites you to immerse yourself in millennia-old Mediterranean cuisine, inside one of the city’s most vibrant landmarks: the Porxos d’En Xifrè. The produce of the sea, mountains and allotments comes together at this restaurant that specialises in rice dishes cooked over wood and fish brought in fresh from the docks. Has vegetarian options. Family friendly.
BRISA PALAU DE MAR Brisa is located inside the historic Palau del Mar building in the Barceloneta neighbourhood and overlooks the port. It serves a wide range of dishes and has an extensive wine and cocktail list. Traditional seafood cookery including tapas, chargrilled specialities and rice dishes. Has vegetarian options.
CAELIS Chef Romain Fornell has held a Michelin star at his restaurant Caelis since 2005. Its three tasting and wine-pairing menus, one of them vegetarian, are particularly recommended. It also has a set lunch menu at a very competitive price. Has vegetarian options.
BODEGA JOAN The historic Bodega Joan opened in 1942, and since then it has served dishes that come in generous portions and have become truly iconic. Family friendly.
BALMES 103 A pioneering, dynamic restaurant with a seasonal menu. Clearly inspired by Mediterranean cuisine combined with international dishes and a philosophy that seeks to reflect the city’s cosmopolitan nature. Family friendly.
CASA MORITZ is the Barcelona Moritz brewery’s restaurant in the centre of Barcelona. At Casa Moritz you’ll find freshly brewed beer from the Fàbrica Moritz Barcelona and food prepared by the Michelin-starred chef Jordi Vilà. A spacious place to eat where beer takes centre stage. You can see the chefs at work in the semi-open kitchen. Non-stop service from noon to midnight. Family friendly.
BEMBÌ, MODERN INDIAN Bembì offers you a culinary experience that takes you on a journey to India without leaving Barcelona. Restaurant with its own distinctive style, serving authentic Indian dishes. A contemporary, elegant setting and a romantic, welcoming and relaxing atmosphere. Has vegetarian options.
AMAR BARCELONA Amar Barcelona is chef Raza Zafra’s restaurant at the Palace Barcelona. It specialises in seafood and takes its name from its love for Barcelona. It is the embodiment of the sea, the Mediterranean, and the city’s culture and traditions. Family friendly.