How to Get from Barcelona Airport to the City Center: Every Option, Priced (2026)
Every way from Barcelona airport, El Prat, into the city center with the price, the journey time and the catch, drawn from the AfterYouLand Barcelona guide and checked against the operators.
Cheapest by day is bus 46 at €2.90 to Plaça Espanya, and the R2 Nord train is €5.50. Fastest is the train, about 20 minutes to Sants station. Door to door is an official taxi at about €30 to €40, or a pre-booked transfer at a fixed price agreed before you fly.
Kiwitaxi, booked before you fly. The driver waits at arrivals with a name sign, and the price is fixed when you book. Affiliate link: AfterYouLand may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
1 The options, compared
R2 Nord train.
The fastest cheap ride in the city, with one catch: it leaves from Terminal 2 only, so Terminal 1 arrivals start with the free shuttle.
Bus 46.
A normal city bus at a normal city fare, and the T-Casual travel card works on it. The stops make it a ride, not a dash.
L9 Sud metro.
Handy for the southwest of the city. For the center it needs a change, and the T-Casual does not cover the airport stations; you need the airport ticket.
Aerobús.
The airport bus done properly: every 5 to 10 minutes, direct to the top of the center, and it runs day and night from both terminals.
Taxi.
Metered black and yellow cabs from the official rank outside your terminal. Skip anyone offering a ride inside the building.
Pre-booked transfer.
A driver waits at arrivals with a name sign and the price is agreed upfront, which settles the Terminal 1 question before you land.
Fixed price, agreed before you land. The alternative is Welcome Pickups, linked in the Barcelona guide.
2 Late night and first trains
The Aerobús still runs through the night, and night buses N17 and N18 cover the airport. After the trains and metro stop, the bus network is the airport network.
The guide data does not print first train times, and they change by season, so check Rodalies on the day if you land at dawn. The all night Aerobús removes the risk entirely.
3 Groups and luggage
At four people the taxi is the cheapest door to door ride per person, and it costs about the same in total as four Aerobús tickets (€31), with no change at Sants and no shuttle to Terminal 2.
Luggage: the train ride can start with a shuttle between terminals and ends at a station, not your door. With large cases, the taxi or a pre-booked car is the calm option.
4 Where you board
Terminal 2
The R2 Nord station sits at Terminal 2. The Aerobús A2 and the L9 Sud metro also serve this terminal, and the taxi rank is outside arrivals.
Terminal 1
A free shuttle links Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 and its station; the two terminals sit 4 km apart. From Terminal 1 itself, take the Aerobús A1 or the L9 Sud metro, or a taxi from the rank.
Which terminal?
Check your terminal before you land. It decides whether the train is a walk or a shuttle ride, and it is printed on your booking, not on the plane.
5 Questions
Bus 46 at €2.90 a single, and the T-Casual travel card is valid on it. The R2 Nord train at €5.50 is faster and still cheap. Both beat the €5.90 airport metro ticket and the €7.75 Aerobús.
The R2 Nord train reaches Sants in about 20 minutes and Passeig de Gràcia in about 27. A taxi takes about 25 minutes to a central address and goes door to door.
About €30 to €40 on the meter for a central address, depending on traffic and your exact destination. Take a black and yellow cab from the official rank outside your terminal.
Terminal 2. From Terminal 1, ride the free shuttle to Terminal 2 for the train, or take the Aerobús A1 or the L9 Sud metro from your own terminal.
Yes. The Aerobús runs day and night, and night buses N17 and N18 cover the airport after the trains and metro stop for the night.
6 Sources
- Aerobús: fares and schedules, aerobusbarcelona.es (official operator, Monbus). Last verified October 2026.
- TMB (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona): metro and bus fares and the T-Casual, tmb.cat. Last verified October 2026.
All prices and journey times are taken from the AfterYouLand Barcelona guide, checked in October 2026.
First night in Barcelona.
Stay near Plaça de Catalunya and the Aerobús drops you at the door of the old town; stay in Sants and the train is the whole trip. The guide scores the first night areas and names its hotel picks.
See where to stay in the guideThis page is the transfer chapter of the full guide: the Barcelona first hour guide covers landing, money, data and your first night.
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