Being a big international city, Barcelona can be easily reached from almost anywhere in the world. The natural arrival point is its international airport, offering direct connections to more than 200 international destinations and a myriad of low-cost flight possibilities. However, and especially when arriving from other parts of Europe, it is also possible to get to Barcelona by train, bus, ferry, or directly by car through high-speed motorways connecting to other parts of Spain and to the French border.

Contact us at arriving@sseasymposium.org if you need help in booking your transport to Barcelona. A mobile phone number will be set up for participants which are already in the city and have doubts on how to arrive to the Symposium Venue.

Airport

Barcelona counts with a world-class transportation hub, the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Located at 12 km from the city, 89 airlines operate business and low-cost flights to 212 worldwide destinations. Major airlines such as Iberia, Air France, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa or Norwegian, and low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling, Jet2, Germanwings, Wizz Air, LEVEL or Volotea operate at Josep Tarradellas’ Airport.

Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat airport as seen from above

The Airport has a good connection to Barcelona, with regular in-airport bus, underground, and train services going to the city centre, as well as an in-airport taxi and vehicle for hire terminal. A myriad of rental cars’ operators can be found as well in the Airport. The city centre is reachable in 20 minutes by highway, and in less than 40 minutes by underground or train.

International railway station

Barcelona has an international railway station right in its city centre, the Barcelona-Sants Station. Different daily services are operated to many relevant French cities, such as Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, and Paris. Train connections allow reaching Barcelona by train from almost any point in central Europe if transferring in stations such as Paris-Gare de Lyon.

Barcelona-Sants international railway station

The railway station is well connected to the rest of the city by underground (lines L3 and L5), bus (stops 3126, 3569, and 3167), and commuter trains (lines R1, R2, R2S, R2N, R3, R11, R12, R13, R15, R16, and R17).

International bus station

The city can also be reached by bus thanks to its centric international Estació del Nord bus station. There are connexions to other parts of Spain, the main cities of France, Germany, and Poland, and 12 other European countries. Low-cost companies such as Flixbus or ALSA operate at Estació del Nord.

Estació del Nord international bus station.

International ferry terminal

The port of Barcelona, quite near to the city centre, is one of the most important in the Mediterranean Sea. It offers direct connections to different places in Italy through GNV and Grimaldi Lines operators, and in Morocco through GNV and Algerie Ferries.

Barcelona’s international ferry terminal.

Highways

The city is very well connected by different highways, going to other important cities in Spain such as Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla, and Zaragoza, as well as Portugal. Barcelona is two hours away by car from the French border.

Location of Barcelona on a map with the main motorways.