Barcelona Metro: map, timetable and useful information
Air conditioned and clean, Barcelona’s metro is very pleasant and it allows you to cross the city quickly and save time. It is made up of 8 lines (L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, L9, L10, L11), to which ferrocarrils (railway) lines L6, L7, and L8 have just been added. You can travel on all 11 lines with a standard metro ticket.
Barcelona metro map
To download and zoom on Barcelona’s Metro map, click here!
Barcelona metro timetable
Normal timetable
- Monday to Thursday from 5am to midnight
- Friday from 5am to 2am
- Saturday from 5am through to Sunday morning without stopping
- Sunday from midnight to midnight
Special timetable
- Holidays: from 5am to midnight
- Eve of holidays: from 5am to 2am
- 31st December, 23rd June, 14th August and 24th September: from 5am through the following night without stopping.
- 24th December: from 5am to 11pm
Which metro card to choose for a tourist stay?
Difficult to answer without knowing your program.
- If you plan to travel frequently by public transport, the T-Dia and Hola Barcelona cards are practical and interesting. Moreover, they are valid for travel by train, city bus and metro from the airport.
- Even if it can’t be shared, the T-Casual is convenient too and you’ll easily amortize it if your stay lasts more than a few days.
- If you are travelling in a group or family, the T-grup for a long stay and the T-Familiar for a shorter stay (on sale on March 1, 2020) are interesting because they can be shared.
The Barcelona Card combines visits and transport. It may be of interest to you.
If not? Think that during your stay in Barcelona, you can enjoy walking around, the city is perfect for it and you will discover wonderful things while walking.
Working out your Barcelona metro journey time
Here are some guides to help you calculate your journey time on the Barcelona metro and plan your travel
- Time between each stop: around 2 minutes
- Waiting time between metros: around 5 minutes (a little less at peak times, a little more at night and on Sundays)
- 10 minutes walk through station to change metro at Plaça Catalunya, Passeig de Gràcia and Sants.
People with reduced mobility
These days 86% of Barcelona’s metro stations are adapted for people with reduced mobility, and they aim to reach 100% soon. These stations have lifts, access ramps and special evacuation routes designed for disabled people.
- See the interactive network map on the official tmb.cat site for more information. By hovering your mouse over the stops, you can see which ones are adapted, indicated by the wheelchair logo.
- A tactile map is available from the information kiosk. All the metros have reserved seating for people who need them, and a special space in each carriage for wheelchairs.
Taking the Barcelona metro with your dog
Since 1st October 2014 it has been possible to take a dog on the metro:
- Dogs are permitted on the metro except from 7am to 9:30am and from 5pm to 7pm during the period from 11th September to 24th June. From 2nd June to 11th September they can travel on the metro at any time.
- Small dogs traveling in a handbag can be taken on the metro at any time.
- Passengers cannot take the metro with more than one dog.
- Dog should be on a (non-extendable) lead no more then 50 centimetres from their owner, and they must wear a muzzle.
- Dogs cannot take the escalator but they may use the lift.
- Any breach of these rules could result in a fine of up to €6000.
Our advice for traveling by metro in Barcelona
Save on your Barcelona metro tickets
A metro ticket or any public transport card is valid on all metro, bus, tram or train travel.
- From the moment you validate your ticket, you have 1 hour and a quarter to complete your journey on any mode of transport without paying more.
In practice, what does that mean? If you take a 20 minute metro journey and then walk around for 30 minutes, you still have 25 minutes to take another form of transport (bus, tram or train).
This way you can, for example, go to Diagonal avenue at Plaça Catalunya by bus and then return by metro while only paying for one journey if you validate your return less than 1 hour 15 minutes after you start out.
If you make your first journey by bus you can return by bus without paying a second time as long as you take a different bus line.
Avoid the metro in the old town
If you need to get from A to B in the old town, we advise against taking the metro. The interior of Barcelona’s historical centre is not very well connected due to the inability to build stations in the narrow little streets.
Instead we suggest you walk. The distances are easily walkable and it will give you a chance to look around.
Avoid the metro during peak times
The metro is packed during peak times, which are Monday to Friday from 8am to 9am and 6pm to 7pm. It is also full in Summer, especially line 4 going to the beach. Be very careful if you are using it during these times are there are a lot of pickpockets who make good use of the chaos and confusion.
Need more information? read our article about public transport in Barcelona.
