Getting There

By Plane

From North America -- Flights from the U.S. East Coast to Spain take 6 to 7 hours. The Spanish national carrier Iberia Airlines has routes into Spain, with daily services from most major U.S. cities (New York, Washington, Chicago, Atlanta) either direct to Barcelona (BCN) or via Madrid (MAD). Other major U.S. and Spanish airlines also fly from all over the U.S. daily.

From the U.K. -- Major British carriers, budget, and charter airlines serve Barcelona from airports throughout the United Kingdom.

Charter and budget flights to the regional Catalan airports of Reus (REU) and Girona (GRO) leave from many British regional airports. Girona is located about 90 minutes outside Barcelona and connected by train. Girona also serves travelers heading to the Costa Brava, north of Barcelona, while Reus is mainly used by holidaymakers to the resorts of the Costa Daurada, in the south.

The websites www.flightcentre.co-uk, www.cheapflights.co.uk, and www.expedia.co.uk are good sources of cheap travel tickets.

From Australia & New Zealand -- From Australia and New Zealand, there are a number of major carriers flying to Spain via stopovers in several Asia countries and London Heathrow.

Getting into Town from the Airport

El Prat, Barcelona's airport, is 13km (8 miles) from the city center and there are several options you can use to get into town.

By Car -- Many of the world's biggest car-rental companies, including Avis, Budget, and Hertz, maintain offices throughout Spain and in all the airports around Barcelona as well as the city center.

The usual minimum-age limit for car rentals in Spain is 21 for compact or intermediate-size cars, but some van or larger car rentals require drivers to be 25 years of age. Upper-age requirements reach 70 to 75 for certain vehicles. Book ahead online to be sure of getting the best hire rates and make sure that comprehensive insurance is included in your deal. For details of driving in Catalonia and Spain, please

Most cars hired in Spain are stick-shift (i.e. with gears), not automatic. Most are air-conditioned and nearly all use unleaded fuel.

By Bus -- Aerobús services A1 and A2 travel between the airport and the city center. Buses leave from outside Arrivals at all three terminals every 15 minutes from 6am to midnight, and stop at Plaça Espanya, Gran Vía de les Corts Catalanes, Plaça Universitat, and Plaça de Catalunya. Journey time is about 40 minutes to the last stop.

By Train -- The half-hourly RENFE rail service departs between 6:15am and 11:15pm from the El Prat train station to Estació Barcelona-Sants (Plaça dels Paisos Catalans), taking 25 minutes. On the way the trains stop at Plaça de Catalunya, Arc de Triomf, and Clot-Aragó. From these stations there are connections with the Metro and bus services.

By Taxi -- There are black-and-yellow taxi ranks outside all three airport terminals. They should be metered. Don't use the ticket touts in the Arrivals halls. Tip between 5% and 10% of the fare. There's a supplement from the airport after 10pm.

By Car

If you're touring Europe in a rented car, the routes to Barcelona by road from France are: Via Toulouse, take the A-61 to Narbonne, and then the A-9 to the border crossing at La Junquera, crossing the Pyrénées. You can also take the RN-20, with a border station at Puigcerdà.

Barcelona is tucked away in the northeast corner of Spain, just south of the Pyrénées. Main highways within Spain from the city run west and south and the best connections are with Madrid (N11) and Valencia (E15).

Ferries link Portsmouth and Plymouth in the U.K. with Santander and Bilbao. The quickest way to get to Barcelona from these north-coast ports is to take the A68 to Zaragoza and then the A2 to Barcelona center. From Santander or Bilbao allow 12-15 hours for the drive across the Basque Country and Aragón to Barcelona.

If you're driving to Spain from the U.K., book the cross-channel ferry well in advance, as traffic is very heavy, especially in summer. The major crossings between the U.K. and France connect Dover and Folkestone with Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. Newhaven is connected to Dieppe and Plymouth to Roscoff. The shortest crossing is from Dover to Calais on P&O Ferries (www.poferries.com) and takes 1 1/4 hours. Norfolkline (www.norfolkline.com) operates a ferry service from Dover to Dunkirk that takes 2 hours. The drive from Calais to the Spanish border takes about 15 hours.

The Channel Tunnel links the U.K. (Folkestone) and France (Calais) by road and rail. Tickets for train services between London and Paris or Brussels are available from Eurostar (www.eurostar.com). From Calais, it's about an 18-hour drive to Barcelona.

Driving Rules -- As in all mainland European countries, Spaniards drive on the right-hand side of the road, overtaking on the left. On highways and toll roads, impatient local drivers may flash their lights at you if they feel you are driving too slowly, even if you're in the inside land. At roundabouts, vehicles already circling from your left have the right of way.

Driving in Catalonia -- Signs are standardized all over Europe, but here are some pointers for Catalonia. Roads marked A are autopistas (toll-paying express routes), those marked N are highways or autovías, while those marked E are standard main highways. To leave the autopista, look for signs saying "salida" in Spanish, "sortida" in Catalan. On most express highways, the speed limit is 120km/h (75 mph). On other roads, speed limits range from 90km/h (56 mph) to 100km/h (62 mph). There is often scant regard for the speed limit.

After Greece and Portugal, Spain has the highest driving-accident rates in Europe, but figures have dropped in recent years thanks to strict breathalyzer tests and a points deduction scheme for traffic infringements. Spain's highways are among the best in the world, making cross-country journeys a positive pleasure. Less advisable is trying to negotiate the traffic in congested Barcelona. Here public transport -- in particular the Metro -- comes into its own.

If you must drive through Barcelona, try to avoid morning and evening rush hours. Never park your car facing oncoming traffic, as that is against the law. If you are fined by the highway patrol (Guardia Civil de Tráfico), you must pay on the spot. Penalties for drinking and driving are very stiff (breathalyzers are now being far more strictly used than in the past). The limit is now 0.5 milligrams per milliliter of blood. That's just one glass of wine or a caña (small beer); better still, drink no alcohol at all if you're driving.

By Train

All trains in Catalonia are operated by Spanish State Railways (RENFE, tel. 90 224 0202. www.renfe.com). For day and overnight trips, the comfortable TALGO, TER, and Electrotren high-speed trains are in operation.

Catalonia itself has a comprehensive network of rail lines. Hundreds of trains arrive every day at Barcelona's Sants (Plaça dels Països Catalans. Metro: Sants Estació) and França (Avinguda Marquès de l'Argentera, 6-12. Metro: Barceloneta) railway stations from towns around the region and far-flung destinations including Paris, Madrid, southern Spain, and Milan.

For long-distance and overnight journeys on Spanish trains, seat and sleeper reservations are mandatory. See www.renfe.com for more information.

In the U.S. or Canada, tickets for travel around Catalonia can be purchased at any reputable travel agent or online at www.renfe.com.

To get from London to Barcelona by rail, take Eurostar (www.eurostar.com) to Paris's Gare du Nord before traveling across Paris to Gare d'Austerlitz. Trip time from London to Paris is 2 hours 20 minutes; from Paris to Barcelona is about 12 hours, which includes 2 hours spent in Paris changing stations.

A variety of InterRail Passes are available, and the most practical and economical of them all for Spain is the One Country Pass, which allows various numbers of days of travel within any month. See www.raileurope.co.uk for instructions on how to book them.

If you're already in Europe, traveling to Spain by train is easy and cheap, especially if you have a Eurail Pass (www.eurail.com). Rail passengers visiting from France should make couchette (bunk beds in a sleeper car) reservations as far in advance as possible, especially during the peak summer season. Book online through ACP International: www.acprail.com/tickets-and-reservations/europe.

Rapidíssimo! -- The Spanish railway system is getting faster and more efficient by the year. The AVE high-speed train service, launched in 2007, now connects Barcelona with Madrid in 2 3/4 hours, stopping en route at Lleida and Zaragoza. The train travels at a speed of up to 300km/h (190 mph). Also increasing in speed and frequency is the rail service to neighboring France. From 2012 there will be eight AVE trains a day (in addition to the current 10 slower trains) from Barcelona's Estació de França via Figueres to Perpignan: 150km (93 miles) and a mere 45 minutes away.

By Bus

Bus travel to Spain is possible but not popular -- it's quite slow. Coach services operate regularly from the major capitals of western Europe to Barcelona. The busiest routes are from London and are run by Eurolines, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0AU (tel. 0990/143-219; www.eurolines.co.uk). The journey from London's Victoria Station to Barcelona takes around 27 hours, with a stop at Lyons in France.