Are you coming to Barcelona and wondering what Barcelona taxis are like? Don’t worry, Barcelona taxis are a convenient and affordable alternative to other means of public transportation. Indeed, Barcelona cabs are not that expensive and don’t try to fool you as much as in other European countries.

I remember being completely nervous when I first arrived in Barcelona. I was looking for a BCN taxi and wondering if it would be like in Rome where the taxi driver took me on a joy ride and made me pay 68 €…

Actually, I have had only good experiences with Barcelona cab drivers. Barcelona taxis have rules and normally stick to them.  Read more...

Coming SOON: Linea 9!

Beating out the Metro Sur (40.9km) line in Madrid (previously Spain’s longest line), here comes Barcelona’s L9, the Orange Line, the longest in Spain, and yes, the longest European metro line ever!

Linea 9 in numbers

First of all, a few numbers about the longest metro line in Europe:  Read more...

• 4 km already in operation, 5 stations (Can Zam – Fondo – Can Peixauet are the biggest)
• 5 areas crossed (Barcelona, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Badalona, l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat).
• 6 year delay planned already for the completion of construction
• 48 km long (yes, it beats Berlin and Moscow’s longest metro tunnels…), of which 43.71km underground and 4.1km in viaduct (Zona Franca, for 5 stations)
• 52 stations
• 2003 – 2014 (?) construction time
• € 6.5 billion cost (instead of the originally projected € 2.25 billion…); € 1.6 billion come from private funds.

Barcelona Metro Tips

Here are some useful information and tips for newbies in Barcelona Metro: metro system, tickets and hours! Barcelona great metro system will take you everywhere quickly and easily. Having lived in places like Rome and Los Angeles where public transportation is kind of a hassle, I was ready for anything and obviously agreeably surprised as I noticed how developed Barcelona public transportation was.

Line system:

Barcelona subway system is composed of several subway lines managed by different operators and divided in 6 zones.

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) operates the mostly used lines: the Red L1, Purple L2, Light Green L3 and L11, Yellow L4 and Light Blue L5.

As a tourist and even as a student, if your school or university isn’t too far from the center, I advise you to consider Zone 1 as a priority and Zone 2 if you wish. Only then consider all other zones depending on what you want to do.  Read more...

Sometimes you just need to get away from it all for a day. Here are some recommended destinations for day trips from Barcelona:

Life’s a Beach!:

Sitges: Sitges is a small town just a 1/2 hour train ride down the coast. If you’re trying to escape the tourists, then this is not the place. However, the beaches are nicer and there is abundant nightlife. Big gay community here and during Carnival it’s off the hook!

How to get there: The fastest way is to jump on the RENFE (leaves every 30 minutes) train from Passeig de Gracia station. Shouldn’t cost more than about 5-8 Euros roundtrip. For rates and schedules check out www.renfe.es

Tossa de Mar: Tossa is truly a gem of the Costa Brava. This small town is host to a gorgeous beach, excellent restaurants, and even ancient ruins. Try the Pandora’s Box walking tour, or just lay out in the sun and throw the frisbee. Either way, you’ll be glad you got away for the day. Tons of info here: www.tossacostabrava.com  Read more...