For most visitors heading to Plaça Catalunya or Plaça Espanya, the Aerobús is the simple choice. Line A1 serves Terminal 1 and line A2 serves Terminals 2B and 2C. It runs 24 hours a day, and the Aerobús purchase conditions list a return ticket at €13.30. The L9 Sud metro also serves both terminals, but you need a ticket valid at the airport stations, such as the airport ticket (€5.90 in 2026, according to TMB's fares page), and a single ticket or T-casual will not get you through the airport gates. Airport taxis run on the meter. There is no fixed €35 fare to the centre. The AMB taxi fare page lists T-3 fixed prices through validated taxi-mediation apps and the T-4 fixed fare for the airport–Moll Adossat route.
Pick a way in by terminal and destination
There is no single best option. It depends on where you land and where your bed is.
| You are going to | Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Plaça Catalunya, Plaça Universitat, Plaça Espanya | Aerobús A1 | Aerobús A2 |
| A hotel near an L9 Sud station or Fira | L9 Sud, Aeroport T1 | L9 Sud, Aeroport T2 |
| Sants or Passeig de Gràcia by rail | Free shuttle to T2, then R2 North | R2 North |
| A street address, a lot of luggage | Taxi rank, ground floor | Taxi ranks at T2A, T2B, T2C |
| Moll Adossat cruise dock | Taxi, T-4 fixed fare | Taxi, T-4 fixed fare |
| Arriving very late or very early | Aerobús, N17, N18, taxi | Aerobús, N18, taxi |
Each option is explained below.
Aerobús: lines, stops, fares and frequency
The Aerobús FAQ says the journey takes about 30 to 35 minutes, depending on the time of day.
Which line: the difference is only the terminal. A1 starts and ends at Terminal 1. A2 starts and ends at Terminals 2B and 2C. Ask your airline which terminal your flight uses, then take the matching line.
Stops, from the airport to the city:
- A1 from T1: Plaça Espanya, Gran Via-Borrell, Plaça Universitat, Plaça Catalunya.
- A2 from T2: T2B, T2C, Plaça Espanya, Gran Via-Borrell, Plaça Universitat, Plaça Catalunya.
The Plaça Universitat stop and the T2C stop are only for journeys from the airport. Going to the airport, you cannot board at Plaça Universitat or get off at T2C. Aerobús does not stop at Barcelona-Sants or Barcelona Nord stations. In the other direction, A1 leaves Plaça Catalunya, calls at Carrer Sepúlveda and Plaça Espanya, then reaches T1 (Arrivals and Departures).
Fares. The purchase conditions list these under "reduced rates or special prices":
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Return ticket | €13.30 |
| One-way Metro/Bus + Aerobús | €10.15 |
| Hola Barcelona 24h + Aerobús | €24.35 |
| Hola Barcelona 48h + Aerobús | €29.65 |
| Hola Barcelona 72h + Aerobús | €36.95 |
| Hola Barcelona 96h + Aerobús | €44.00 |
| Hola Barcelona 120h + Aerobús | €50.80 |
For the one-way Aerobús price, see the operator's rates page. It is on the Aerobús rates page.
How the combined tickets work, according to the Aerobús purchase conditions and FAQ: each Hola Barcelona + Aerobús pack includes a return Aerobús ticket and unlimited public transport for the selected duration, starting from the first validation of the Hola Barcelona pass.
- The Aerobús part has a QR code you show when boarding. The Hola Barcelona part comes as a voucher. At any Barcelona metro station, choose "voucher" on a ticket machine and enter the 13-digit code to get your card.
- The combined packs include a €1 charge for the reusable card the Hola Barcelona pass is loaded on.
- The one-way Metro/Bus + Aerobús ticket gives one journey on the TMB metro or bus network. It does not apply at the Airport T1 and Airport T2 metro stations.
Other ticket rules (Aerobús FAQ and purchase conditions):
- Tickets are valid for 90 days from purchase. On a return ticket, the return leg stays valid for another 90 days from the day the outbound trip is validated.
- The return ticket can be used from the other terminal.
- Children under 4 travel free.
- You can buy online, in the app, at self-service machines in the city centre and at the airport, from staff at the stops, or on the bus. Machines take cash (maximum change €20) or card. Tickets are not personalised, and you can show the QR code on your phone.
- The purchase conditions say online-only special offers may exist on some departures, always below the normal fare. They are not guaranteed, so do not plan around a permanent online discount.
- There is reserved space on board for large luggage, bikes, strollers and wheelchairs.
How often it runs (Aerobús line pages, every day including weekends and public holidays). Each table is for one direction only:
| Line and direction | Time | Every |
|---|---|---|
| A1 towards T1 (from the city) | 05:00-06:40 | 10 min |
| 06:40-21:55 | 5 min | |
| 21:55-00:35 | 10 min | |
| 00:35-05:00 | 20 min | |
| A2 from T2 towards the city | 05:35-23:00 | 10 min |
| 23:00-05:35 | 20 min |
For A1 city-bound or A2 airport-bound departures, check the operator's timetable for that direction.
L9 Sud metro and the airport ticket
L9 Sud links Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2 with the city every 7 minutes, according to TMB's airport metro page. The page gives about 30 minutes to Barcelona, and 32 minutes to the city centre in its text. The line does not go to Plaça Catalunya. Its stations run from the airport through Mas Blau, Parc Nou, Cèntric, El Prat Estació, Les Moreres, Mercabarna, Parc Logístic, Fira, Europa | Fira, Can Tries | Gornal, Torrassa and Collblanc to Zona Universitària.
You can change to other lines at these stations:
- Zona Universitària: L3
- Collblanc: L5 and L10 Sud
- Torrassa: L1 and L10 Sud
- Can Tries | Gornal: L10 Sud
Fira de Barcelona is served by the Fira station.
Which tickets work at the airport stations. On L9 Sud you can use the same cards as elsewhere in the metro, except at Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2, where only some tickets are valid. In 2026 (prices in force from 15 January 2026, per the TMB fares page), the numbers are:
| Ticket | Airport stations | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Airport ticket | Valid | €5.90 |
| Hola Barcelona Travel Card (1 to 5 days) | Valid, return airport metro trips included | From €12.50 |
| T-usual | Valid | From €22.80 |
| T-dia | Valid for one journey to and one from the airport | From €12 |
| Single ticket | Not valid | €2.90 (1 zone) |
| T-casual | Not valid | €13.00 for 1 zone (10 journeys) |
| T-grup | Not valid | From €91 |
| T-familiar, event tickets, T-escolar and some other cards | Not valid |
If you hold one of the invalid tickets, you must buy the airport ticket. If you arrive at the airport stations with an invalid ticket, TMB says you have to buy the airport ticket there and then to get out of the station.
The airport ticket is a single-person, non-integrated ticket for one metro journey that includes the two airport stations. Once validated, it is only valid until you leave the metro or the Montjuïc funicular. It can be loaded onto a personalised card or an anonymous card. Phone support (NFC) is listed as "coming soon".
Train and the free T1-T2 shuttle
Aena lists R2 North, Airport to Maçanet-Massanes, as the train line to the airport. Rodalies de Catalunya says R2 North runs from the airport to Maçanet-Massanes via Granollers. The page lists Barcelona-Sants and Barcelona-Passeig de Gràcia among the main stations of R2. Airport to Sant Celoni/Maçanet-Massanes runs one train every 30 minutes on weekdays.
Rodalies' line history says trains reach El Prat de Llobregat station and then take a short single-track branch to T2 of the airport. Aena's train page points train travellers to the free terminal shuttle. So from T1, plan an extra leg. For train fares and journey times, check Rodalies.
The shuttle between T1 and T2 is free and runs 24 hours a day, every day including public holidays (Aena):
| Time | Every |
|---|---|
| 05:00-08:00 | 7 min |
| 08:00-20:00 | 5 min |
| 20:00-00:00 | 7 min |
| 00:00-05:00 | 10 min |
Aena gives 10 minutes in the shuttle from T1 to T2 B and C, and 14 minutes from T2 to T1. Inside T2, Aena gives T2A to T2B as 2 minutes on foot, and T2B to T2C as 5 minutes on foot or 1 minute in the shuttle.
Buses: line 46 and the night buses
Aena's bus page lists these airport routes besides Aerobús:
- Line 46: a regular bus between the airport (T1 and T2) and Plaça Espanya, stopping at El Prat de Llobregat and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
- N17: a night bus between T1 and Plaça Catalunya (Ronda Universitat), stopping at El Prat de Llobregat and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat.
- N18: a night bus between T1 and Plaça Catalunya (Ronda Universitat), stopping at T2 on the way to Barcelona.
- N19: a night line between Castelldefels and El Prat de Llobregat, with stops at T1 and T2.
For timetables and fares for line 46 or the night buses, check the TMB and AMB pages linked by Aena.
Late-night and early-morning arrivals
- Aerobús runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. From T2 towards the city it leaves every 20 minutes between 23:00 and 05:35, and every 10 minutes from 05:35 to 23:00.
- Night buses: TMB says the Nitbus covers Barcelona and the first metropolitan ring, and all routes except N0 and N19 pass through Plaça de Catalunya, where you can change between routes. N17 and N18 both end at Plaça Catalunya (Ronda Universitat). N17 and N18 are the routes Aena lists from T1; N18 also stops at T2 on the way to the city.
- Metro: TMB's general hours are Monday to Thursday and midweek public holidays 05:00 to midnight; Fridays and the nights before public holidays 05:00 to 02:00; Saturdays start at 05:00 with continuous service through to Sunday night; Sundays end at midnight. TMB also lists continuous service on the nights of 23 to 24 June, 23 to 24 September and 31 December, and 05:00 to 23:00 on 24 December. Those end times refer to the last train leaving the terminal station at each end of a line. TMB gives no L9 Sud-specific hours, except that Mas Blau, Mercabarna and Parc Logístic are open 05:00 to 24:00 every day (closing at 23:00 on 24 December).
- Taxi: see below. From 20:00 to 08:00 the T-2 tariff applies.
Taxi from the airport
Taxi ranks are opposite the arrivals areas: on the ground floor at T1, and at T2A, T2B and T2C. Aena says the only official Barcelona taxi is black and yellow.
The AMB taxi authority publishes the 2026 urban tariff. The fare is the minimum fare plus either the price per kilometre or the waiting time.
| T-1 | T-2 | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Weekdays 08:00-20:00 | Weekdays 20:00-08:00, Saturdays, public holidays |
| Minimum fare | €2.80 | €2.80 |
| Per km | €1.35 | €1.66 |
| Waiting time per hour | €27.75 | €27.75 |
Surcharges published on the same page:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Airport (origin or destination) | €4.60 |
| Moll Adossat cruise dock (origin or destination) | €4.60 |
| Vehicle with 5-8 passengers | €4.60 |
| Fira Barcelona Gran Via (origin) | €3.30 |
| Estació de Sants (origin) | €2.55 |
| T-2 eve of public holidays, 8 pm to 8 am (23-24/06, 24-25/12, 31/12-01/01) | €4.60 |
Also on the page:
- The minimum fee for a journey with the airport as origin is €21.00, all surcharges included.
- If the customer chooses a route with tolls, the customer pays the return toll.
- Urban fares apply between municipalities in the Barcelona metropolitan area, or those with joint service agreements with the AMB. When the origin or destination is outside that area, the Generalitat de Catalunya sets the fare.
T-3, the fixed-price fare. Only apps of taxi mediation companies that meet the regulatory requirements and are validated by IMET can offer it. It includes travel to the waiting area and 5 minutes of waiting. The meter must read 0. The minimum amount of the service is €8. The price is worked out from the minimum fare, the distance, the minutes in real traffic and any applicable surcharges. The company must tell you the conditions before you hire.
T-4, the airport to Moll Adossat fare. See the cruise section below.
The page publishes tariffs, not a citywide airport fare, so what you pay from the rank to your hotel is what the meter shows.
Cruise passengers going to Moll Adossat
The official taxi page has one fixed fare for this route. T-4 applies both from the airport to the Moll Adossat cruise dock and from the dock to the airport: €46, all surcharges included, per the AMB taxi fare page.
Which should you choose?
- Your hotel is around Plaça Catalunya, Plaça Universitat or Plaça Espanya: Aerobús, A1 from T1 or A2 from T2. Luggage space is reserved on board.
- Your hotel is near an L9 Sud station, Fira or Zona Universitària: the L9 Sud metro, as long as you hold a ticket valid at the airport stations. If all you have is a single ticket or T-casual, buy the airport ticket.
- You are staying near Sants or Passeig de Gràcia and prefer rail: R2 North. Aerobús does not stop at Sants or Barcelona Nord. From T1, add the free shuttle to T2 first.
- You want to be taken to a street address: the taxi rank. The meter applies except for T-3 and T-4.
- You land at night: Aerobús runs all night. N17, N18 and the taxi ranks are the other options listed on the official pages.
- Your ship leaves from Moll Adossat: the T-4 taxi fare of €46.
Common questions
Is a taxi from the airport to central Barcelona a fixed €35? No. The AMB page shows metered T-1 and T-2 tariffs plus surcharges. T-3 is a fixed price quoted through validated apps for the specific trip. T-4 is the fixed €46 for the airport-Moll Adossat route.
Can I use a single ticket or T-casual on the airport metro? No. TMB says neither is valid at Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2 on L9 Sud. Buy the airport ticket (€5.90), or use a ticket from the valid list above.
Is there a train at Terminal 1? Aena's train page sends train travellers to the free T1-T2 shuttle, and Rodalies describes the airport branch as ending at T2. Plan the shuttle first.
What is the airport ticket? A non-integrated single-person metro ticket for journeys including Aeroport T1 and Aeroport T2. Once validated, it is only valid until you exit the metro.
Does Aerobús stop at Sants station? No. It does not stop at Barcelona-Sants or Barcelona Nord.
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