Barcelona: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Barcelona is a city of 1.7 million people in Spain (Catalonia), 47 m (154 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), 12 km (7 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 3,733+ places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Barcelona runs from about 9 h 14 min a day in late December to 15 h 14 min in late June (computed for 41.39° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Barcelona is served by 3 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), 12 km (7 mi) from the centre, whose 11,000-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are Girona-Costa Brava Airport (GRO, 76 km), Reus Airport (REU, 87 km).
Flights to Barcelona: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Barcelona · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 3,733+ places to stay in Barcelona (statistics below are from the first 1,000). Of the 889 with a star rating, the largest group is 4-star (470), and 51 are five-star. Across 914 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.5 out of 10. Guests have left 2,110,769 reviews in total.
Hotels in Barcelona: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Marseille, 339 km (France) — flights · trains · buses
- Valencia, 302 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Zaragoza, 255 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Toulouse, 253 km (France) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Palma, 207 km — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 6 km
- Montpellier, 284 km (France) — flights · trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Terrassa, 23 km — tours
- Badalona, 10 km
- Sabadell, 18 km — tours
Common questions
Which airport serves Barcelona?
Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), 12 km (7 mi) from the centre, plus 2 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Barcelona?
About 1.7 million people live in Barcelona (GeoNames).
What time zone is Barcelona in?
Europe/Madrid, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Barcelona?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Barcelona?
Our booking partner lists 3,733 or more places to stay in Barcelona, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Barcelona?
Marseille (339 km), Valencia (302 km), Zaragoza (255 km), Toulouse (253 km), Palma (207 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.