Barcelona Metro Guide for Tourists 2026

By Joan. I have lived in Barcelona for 16 years and the metro is how I get to almost everything in this guide.

The Barcelona metro is the fastest way around the city: 8 lines, 165 stations and a train every 2-4 minutes in rush hour. It is also the part of the trip people overpay for, usually by buying the wrong ticket on the first morning. Here is which one to buy, which lines actually matter and the shortcuts I use.

Quick answer: On your own for 2 days, buy the T-Casual, €12.55 for 10 rides. It is the cheapest per journey and it cannot be shared, which is the catch nobody mentions. Travelling as a couple or a family, buy the Hola Barcelona Travel Card, €17 for 2 days or €39 for 5 days, unlimited and shareable across the trip. Key lines: L3 green for Las Ramblas and Park Guell, L5 blue for Sagrada Familia. Fares change, so check the current one before you buy.

The short version

• The T-Casual at €12.55 is the best value for one person, and one person only.
• The Hola Barcelona at €17 for 2 days wins the moment there are two of you, because it is unlimited and it covers the airport line.
• Single fares at €2.65 are for emergencies, not for a trip.
• Four lines cover almost everything a visitor does: L3, L5, L4 and L2.
• Keep the ticket until you are out of the station, because some exits check it.

How I would decide

The order here is simply cost per person for a short stay, worked out from the fares in the table below. I have not included the tourist attraction passes, because that is a different calculation and I have not done it honestly enough to publish. On transport alone, the arithmetic is easy: alone, count your rides, together, buy unlimited.

Ticket types at a glance

The tickets, in the order I would buy them

1. T-Casual, 10 rides

From €12.55. Ten journeys, which is more than most people use in 2 days, and the cheapest way to ride if you are alone. It cannot be shared with your travelling companion, so it stops making sense the moment there are two of you.

2. Hola Barcelona Travel Card

From €17 for 2 days, €39 for 5 days. Unlimited rides, and it includes the airport metro line, which the standard fares do not. For couples, families or anybody who hates counting journeys, this is the calm option and I would buy it without doing the sums.

3. Single fare

€2.65. Buy this only if you are making one ride and going home. On any real trip it is the expensive way to travel, and the machines make it very easy to do by accident.

Key lines for tourists

• L3 green: Las Ramblas (Liceu), Park Guell (Vallcarca), Passeig de Gracia
• L5 blue: Sagrada Familia, Diagonal, Placa de Sants
• L4 yellow: Barceloneta beach, Gothic Quarter (Jaume I)
• L2 purple: Sagrada Familia, Passeig de Gracia, Paral-lel
• L9 Sud: Airport T1 and T2 to the city (separate fare)

Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and the old town

From Plaza Catalunya, L5 blue takes you 2 stops north to Sagrada Familia and the exit puts you at the basilica. For Park Guell, take L3 green to Vallcarca and then a 10 minute uphill walk with escalators, which is the version I use and the one nobody tells you about. For the Gothic Quarter, walk 5 minutes south from Plaza Catalunya or take L4 yellow to Jaume I.

Before you tap in

• Keep your ticket until you are out of the station. Some exits check, and a lost ticket is a fine, not an apology.
• Watch your pockets on L3 through Las Ramblas and on crowded trains near the big sights. This is the one warning on this page I would repeat twice.
• Buses and trams work on the same Hola Barcelona ticket, so the card is worth more than it looks on the metro map.
• There is free wifi in all stations and it is spotty on the trains, so download the map before you need it underground.
• Fares here are from prices and they get revised. Check the current one at the machine rather than trusting this page.

Hola Barcelona Travel Card

Unlimited metro, bus and tram, plus the airport connection that the ordinary fares charge separately. If you are two people staying 2 days or more, this is the ticket I would buy before leaving the airport, because it starts working the moment you land.

None of this is complicated once you are through the barrier, and the network is genuinely good, which is not something I can say about every city I visit. Buy the right ticket on day one and you can stop thinking about transport for the rest of the trip.