Traveling by bus in Barcelona makes every location easily accessible. Another advantage of the bus is that you get to see more of the city than when traveling by metro. You can get a map showing the timetables and bus routes at the tourist office. These routes are also displayed at the bus shelters at the stops. Also good to know: you can board the bus with the same card as in the metro and the rest of public transport.
Buses in Barcelona
Barcelona’s bus network, with over 1,080 buses and 2,573 stops, is very extensive and efficient. The buses operate all day and night. As you can see in the map below, buses are available all over the city.
Bus Lines in Barcelona
There are different types of buses and bus lines in Barcelona:
- Line Bus (Autobús): During the day, regular line buses, recognizable by their red color, operate around Barcelona. These always have a number and a specific route that can be read at the front of the bus. At the bus stops, there are shelters and information boards about the bus routes.
- Neighborhood Bus (Bus del Barri): Generally, the Bus del Barri are small-scale buses that serve a specific neighborhood. The route of these buses can be found at the bus stop. In the most mountainous and sparsely populated parts of Barcelona, such as Torre Baró, the municipality offers a bus that works on request, called El meu bus. You can request the bus by phone or via an app and use the existing bus stops.
- Horizontal and Vertical Bus Lines (RETBus): The newest addition in Barcelona are the horizontal and vertical bus lines that crisscross the city in a faster and more efficient way. These buses are longer to offer a larger capacity, and they are faster because there is more distance between the stops and because they do not take turns. The horizontal bus lines are recognizable by the ‘H’ and the vertical routes by the ‘V’. Information about the routes of these buses can be found at the bus stops.
- Night Bus (Nitbus): The buses that run at night are called Nitbus and are especially handy when the metro is closed, and you don’t want to take a taxi. There is a bus every 20 minutes. Many of these buses depart from or arrive at Plaça Catalunya. The night bus is recognizable by the ‘N’. A useful night bus is N17, which runs from Plaça Catalunya to the airport Terminal T1 and N16, which runs from Plaça Catalunya to Terminal T2. Here you can find a map of all night buses in Barcelona. For more information about the night bus, visit the page of ambmobilitat.cat.
- Aerobús (Airport Shuttle Bus): The Aerobús is the bus that takes you to and from Barcelona Airport. These shuttle buses leave every 5 or 10 minutes from Plaça Catalunya. You have line ‘A1’ for terminal T1 and ‘A2’ for terminal T2. The journey takes about 35 minutes, and a one-way ticket costs around €5.
- Tourist Bus (Bus Turístic and City Tour): There are two types of hop-on-hop-off buses in Barcelona that offer tourists enjoyable routes in their convertible buses to show the city in a fast and pleasant way. These bus rides also include an audio guide, and you can get on and off whenever you want. Prices start at €24.30 per day.
How the Bus Works in Barcelona
On the bus, the following rule applies: people who want to travel by bus board at the front near the driver and validate their own public transport card in the available machines. If you don’t have a ticket yet, you can buy one from the driver. You then pay €2.20 per trip, regardless of the destination. People who want to get off, exit through the rear doors of the bus.
Tickets for the Bus
The same public transport card used in the metro applies to the bus (except for the Aerobús and the tourist bus). Bus tickets are also available at the counters and machines in metro stations.
It’s also possible to buy a ticket directly from the driver if you don’t have a card. For this, you have to pay €2.40 per trip in cash.
Tourists can also use the bus in Barcelona with the Barcelona Card and the Hola Barcelona Travelcard.
Note: Children up to 4 years old travel for free.
⭐ Book your public transport pass here!
Timetable
The line buses in Barcelona usually run between 6:30 AM and 10:00 PM. After that, the night buses start. Waiting times for the bus can vary, especially depending on how busy the traffic is. But on average, you can expect a 15-minute wait, although there are now electronic boards at most bus stops where you can clearly see when the next bus will arrive.
Buses around Barcelona
Buses around Barcelona If you live or are visiting a city around Barcelona, you can take the regional bus.
Cities with good bus connections to Barcelona include Badalona, Castelldefels, Cornellà de Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat, Gavà, l’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Montcada i Reixac, Montgat, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sant Feliu de Llobregat, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Just Desvern, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Tiana, and Viladecans.
If you stay within zone 1, you can often travel with your regular ten-trip card, the Hola Barcelona Travel Card, and the Barcelona Card.
For routes outside Barcelona where no TMB bus operates, the Hola Barcelona Travel Card and the Barcelona Card are not valid, and you need to use a ten-trip card or a single ticket. For more information about these bus lines, visit the page of ambmobilitat.cat.
Detailed information about which towns and cities fall into which zone can be found here.
Bus Stations in Barcelona
Barcelona has three long-distance bus stations: Estació del Nord, Sants, and Fabra i Puig. From Estació del Nord, many regional, national, and international buses depart. Buses to Girona airport also leave from Estació del Nord. Other important boarding points are Sants Estació (for buses to Reus airport) and Fabra i Puig. Separate tickets are required for these buses. You can always buy bus tickets at the bus station.
More information about bus travel from Estació del Nord can be found here, for Sants Estació click here, and for Fabra i Puig here.
