Barcelona International Airport (IATA: BCN, ICAO: LEBL), also known as El Prat, is a major transport hub and fields flights from all over Europe and beyond.
Terminals: There are now two terminals, T1 and T2, the latter with A, B, and C subdivisions. T1 and T2 are linked by a bus shuttle (every 6 to 8 minutes, travel time 10 minutes).
at the gate
T1, the new terminal, opened in June 2009 and hosts Spanair, Iberia, and a variety of major international airlines, including SAS, TAP, Lufthansa, Austrian, American, and British Airways.
Sectors A, B and C of T2 are all within fairly easy walking distance of each other. T2 B is used by a large number of smaller carriers.
T2 C is smallest and hosts EasyJet.
T2 A is closed for renovation as of October 2011.
Please be aware that you can check in for your flight only at the respective terminal T1 or T2, and since they are miles apart and there is little information available at the train station and bus stops, it's good to know which terminal you need before arriving at the airport. AENA provides information about the allocation of airlines to terminals .
Transfer to/from the airport: The airport is only about 10 km away from the city center. Airport transfers can be arranged for groups, taxis are available but expensive (€20-30 to the city center). Taxis and Minibuses can be pre-booked online . Luxury car can book online on EuropeShuttle . A cheaper and often faster option is the half-hourly RENFE R2 (Nord) suburban train line calling at Sants (travel time is 20 minutes, but up to 40 minutes if slow or late), Passeig de Gràcia (25 minutes) and El Clot in the city center. Please be advised that this airport train has changed, and no longer terminates at Estació de França (it now goes through the center of Barcelona and into the suburbs, so it is important to know at which station you should get off). The train terminates next to T2 by section B, with a connecting green colored bus service to T1 (plan for an extra 15 minutes of travel). The drawback of arriving at T2 by train is that you'll have several sets of stairs--think twice if you have huge luggage, a stroller or a wheelchair. A single ticket is about €1.45, but you can also buy a T-10 ticket (€8.25 for ten trips, including all bus and metro transfers made within 75 minutes) instead. You can buy a T-10 from the ticket vending machine at the airport station.
Also bus 46 runs from both terminals (downstairs at T1) to Magic Fountains (1 hour).
Alternatively, the Aerobús A1 line stops at T1 and between T2A and B and travels along Gran Via to Plaça Catalunya (at the El Corte Ingles). Buses depart every 11 minutes, the published journey time is 35 minutes (although can take considerably longer during rush hour) and costs €5.35 one-way (cash only). Buses are heavily air-conditioned in summer: have something extra to wear during the journey. Aerobuses stop running at midnight, but you can catch a Nit Bus night bus service instead (Nit Bus N17, between 22.00 and 05.00. The ride from Plaça Catalunya to Airport El Prat takes about 40 minutes).
Duty-free shops. Open from 6/6:30AM to 9:30PM (few to 10PM). Shops are numerous and some are hard to find elsewhere in the city. After security check, most shops are before the passport control; there are only one or two afterwards.
Tax-free shopping refund. Office closes at 10PM without compromises. After that time checks can be processed only by mail: complete your tax-free forms with your passport data and addresses, hvae them stamped by the customs office (a window next to arrivals gate door; they don't ask to see your purchases); put them into the envelope you were given in the shop--and wait for several months.
Cafes, pre-security check. Limited options, sub-standard fare. Food at Ars is awful and not cheap. Pans & Company have almost no hot meals.
Cafes, post-security check. Numerous options, all close at around some time between 10PM and 11PM.
Parking: Costs €1.35/hour, €9.45/day, €6.75/day from the 6th day.
Luggage lockers: Baggage storage is €4.60 per day for a large locker that easily fits 2-3 large suitcases. Left-hand end of Terminal 2B, behind the Ars cafe.
Departure gates: For T2, poorly conditioned at ground level (at least gate #57, sector 2A, after 11PM). T1 is hyper-modern and comfortable.
WiFi: Available throughout the airport, operated by KubiWireless : €7.5 for 45min, €9 for 1 hour, €15 for 24 hours.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Barcelona
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Barcelona Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
