El Prat Airport is located 10 kilometres from the centre of the Catalan capital. It is one of the largest international airports in Spain.
Barcelona airport consists of two terminals – Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, with the latter being divided into Terminals A, B and C. Free shuttle buses link the terminals.
The official website of the airport is https://www.aena.es/en/josep-tarradellas-barcelona-el-prat.html.
From the airport to Barcelona
There are two easy and cheap ways to get to the city centre from the airport.
By train. From Terminal 2, walk through a special corridor to the RENFE commuter train station (see airport map) and buy a ticket from a ticket machine, which must be stamped at the entrance to the platform. The ticket costs €2.60. After taking the train, in 25 minutes you’ll be at Placa de Catalunya, Barcelona’s main square, where you can transfer to the metro, if necessary.
The trains leave from the airport every half hour – from 6:13 am to 11:40 pm. For more information on timetables and fares, please visit the carrier’s official website – www.renfe.com.
By bus. Aerobus buses also depart from Terminal 2 towards Placa de Catalunya. Journey time is about 30 minutes. Buses run every 15 minutes – from 6 am to midnight. The cost is €3.90.
If you arrive at the airport late at night, the only way to get into town (with the exception of taxis of course) is to take bus number 106 to Plaza de España. However, it doesn’t run for more than an hour.
If you take a taxi, the journey to downtown Barcelona will cost you about €20.
From Barcelona to the airport
By far the quickest and most reliable way to get to the airport from the city is by train. It’s written above about how to do that.
The bus is also convenient.
Important: from Placa de Catalunya towards El Prat there are buses from 05:30 am to 11:15 pm (at weekends and on public holidays from 6:00 am to 11:20 pm).