Understanding Barcelona’s Public Transport Zones

Fares on Barcelona’s public transport network are based on zones, much as they are in London and Paris. Unlike London, the entire city of Barcelona and some adjoining towns are within Zone 1. Zones 2 to 6 cover surrounding towns and cities, which are also included in the integrated fare system.

Different maps, different zones

Many people don’t realize that the zones on the ATM map (Barcelona’s metropolitan transport system) aren’t exactly the same as those on the RENFE map (Spanish train network).

The differences are minor and only affect a few stations, so it’s hard to spot if you check the individual maps online.

However, if you compare the maps side-by-side, you’ll see that there are several discrepancies. One of which is especially interesting for budget-minded travellers visiting Barcelona.

Photo of the train and metro zone maps of Barcelona shown side by side
RENFE and ATM public transport zone maps compared

Firstly, Sitges and Mataró are both in Zone 3 on the ATM map and Zone 4 on the RENFE map. More importantly, Barcelona airport is in zone one on the TMB map and zone 4 on the RENFE map!

This means that if you purchase a single RENFE ticket from the airport to Barcelona Sants train station, it will cost you €4.60, whereas if you purchase a T-casual travel pass (10 journeys by bus, metro, tram and train), the same journey on the same train will cost just €1.22.

Another advantage of the T-casual is that it allows you to transfer to the metro or bus as part of the same journey, whereas the single train ticket or Bonotren only covers the train.

Important information about the L9 sud Airport metro

Despite the fact that both airport metro stations are within ATM zone 1, neither the T-casual nor the standard single metro ticket is valid for the airport metro stations. Instead, you have to purchase a special airport ticket, which costs €5.50 for a single journey and is only valid for the metro*.

If you do decide to use the metro to get to and from the airport, you should think about purchasing a Hola Barcelona Travel Card, which allows unlimited transport within zone 1 by metro, bus, train and tram and costs €16.62 for 48 hours when purchased online.

Find out more about Barcelona sightseeing passes and discount cards

If you mistakenly use a standard single-journey ticket or a T-casual to travel to one of the airport metro stations, you will have to purchase an airport ticket in order to be able to exit through the ticket barriers.

*Note: The T-casual and standard single journey tickets are valid when travelling to or from any of the other stations on the L9 sud metro line. You only need the special airport metro ticket when boarding/alighting at the airport T1 or T2 stations.

Map of the Barcelona railway network showing the six travel zones
RENFE map of public transport zones

Zone two towns which sometimes count as zone one

If you look carefully at the ATM zoning map, you’ll see that some areas of Zone 2 (2A, 2B and 2C) are coloured dark green, the same as Zone 1.

The 18 towns in these areas are covered by the Tarifa Metropolitana (Metropolitan Fare). This means that if you start your journey in zone one, the towns are effectively in the same zone, and you can use a one-zone ticket or travel pass. On the other hand, if you begin your journey in zones two or more, then they are in zone 2.

This might sound confusing, but it basically means that if you are travelling from the city centre, then these towns, which are effectively suburbs of Barcelona, are in zone one. On the other hand, if you are travelling from outside Barcelona, they are in zone 2, also saving you the price of an extra zone.

Map of the Barcelona rail, tram and metro system with the zones marked
ATM map of public transport zones

How many zones? Which ticket do I need?

As can be seen from the maps linked above, there are a total of six transport zones radiating out from Barcelona city centre.

When you purchase a single-journey ticket, you can simply select your destination; no need to worry about which transport zone it’s in.

If you will be travelling outside of Zone 1 and want to save money by purchasing a multi-trip travel pass (T-casual, T-Jove, etc…), you will have to decide the number of zones needed.

To do this, you simply need to work out how many successive zones you will be travelling in, to a maximum of six zones.

For example, if you will be travelling from Barcelona (zone 1) to Mataró (zone 3), you need a 3-zone ticket, travelling in zones 1-2-3.

From Calella (zone 4) to Blanes (zone 5), you need a 2-zone ticket, travelling in zones 4 & 5.

The only exception is if you will be travelling between two consecutive stations, which happen to be in different zones. For example, from the last station in Zone 3 to the first station in Zone 4. In this case, you only need a 1 zone travel pass.


As always, if you’ve any questions, comment below, and I’ll do my best to answer them.


All prices and fares mentioned in this post were checked and updated in February 2024.

545 comments

  1. Hello Richard,
    thanks a million for a comprehensive overview.
    Could you please advise where I can find the 50% discount for the T-usual ticket? Also, could you please share how the T-familiar ticket works in practice i.e. how two people use it when entering and leaving the tube?
    Thank you so much for your help with this.
    Have a nice day.

    1. Hi Barbora,

      The discount is applied automatically, and is already included in the prices which are shown in this post and on the TMB site.

      If you are arriving at Barcelona airport, you can purchase the T-ususual from the ticket machines at the metro and train stations, and it comes with the 50% discount applied.

      Note that both the T-usual and the T-familiar work with the new T-Mobilitat system, via either an app, a plastic smart card, or a cardboard smart card. The best option for tourists and short term visitors is the cardboard smartcard, which costs 50 cents and is included when you purchase the T-usual at the machines. I’ve explained this in more detail in this post.

      When you purchase a T-familiar and share it each person has to validate the card every time you travel.

      In practice, this means that, when entering the metro station, the first person validates the card by holding it above the white sensor on the ticket barrier (as shown in this photo) until it the sensor emits a beep, turns green and the barrier opens. They then hand the card back to the next person before walking through the open barrier. The next person then does the same.

      You don’t validate the card again when leaving the metro, the barriers open automatically. Once again, it’s all explained in the post I linked to earlier.

      The process sounds quite involved when you write it down, but it’s quite intuitive really ;-)

  2. Hi Richard
    I’m staying 4 nights in Carrer de la Riera Blanca, 10
    08903 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat
    Barcelona. What ticket do I need from airport to there and to also travel around to see the sights please? It’s very confusing, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

    1. Hi Donna,

      The best way to get to that location by public transport from the airport is to take the metro L9S to Collblanc.

      If you only want a travel card, I’d normally recommend a four day Hola Barcelona Travel Card for this location which costs €31.63 if purchased online, but the T-Usual is currently discounted 50% which makes it slightly cheaper.

      You can purchase the T-usual from the ticket machines at the airport metro.

      There’s more information about the different passes in this post.

  3. Hello, I made a reservation at B&B HOTEL Barcelona Viladecans
    (Avinguda Olof Palme, 24 next to Carrer de la Tecnologia
    08840, Viladecans)
    I searched Google Maps and the map showed that I need to either take r2n from airport terminal 2 to r2s to the hotel , and if I want to visit scenes I need to take r2s every day from Viladecans
    Take the train platform to Passeig de Gràcia or other attractions.(I think it’s fast) but I don’t know if T-casual can over my travel. Could you tell me if T-casual over R2S and R2N? Thank you very much!!!

    1. Hi Susan,

      That’s correct. There aren’t any direct trains from the airport to Viladecans. You need to catch the R2 nord train from the airport to El Prat de Llobregat (one stop) and then change trains to either the R2 or R2 sud, which you take to Viladecans.

      This journey is covered by the one-zone T-casual, as is the journey into Barcelona.

      The T-casual covers regional trains operated by RENFE (R1, R2 etc) plus metro, buses and trams within Barcelolna. It doesn’t cover middle distance, long distance or high speed trains.

  4. Hello Richard,

    Thanks a lot for sharing all the details and taking your time to respond to the comments.

    I am planning to travel to Girona from Barcelona and planning to buy AB Recurrent pass. I see from Renfe maps that I can travel till Granollers Center using R2N or Massanes using R1. Post that google maps is suggesting me to take regional/MD trains. Just want to check whether those trains are also covered by the pass and do you recommend any other options? Also, is it possible to buy the tickets online for regional/MD trains?
    Many thanks.

    1. Hi Sam,

      The Abono Recurrent mentioned in this post doesn’t cover Middle Distance trains, only Regional trains (called Rodalies).

      It’s worth asking at the train station to see whether your Abono Recurrent cover’s the journey on regional trains from Barcelona to Girona. My understanding is that it won’t be covered, but I haven’t checked.

      There is a similar scheme available for Middle Distance trains (more info here in Spsnish) although it costs €20 and, unlike the regional pass, which is valid for the entire network radiating out from the city where you purchased it, The MD version of the pass is only valid between two specified stations, and is therefore less useful unless you’re commuting. I can’t remember how much the MD train from Barcelona to Girona costs, but I don’t expect that it’s much more than €10 each way, but I haven’t checked.

      Middle Distance and Regional train tickets can only be purchased at train stations.

      To be honest, if it’s for a day trip, I think it’s woth paying a little extra to save time and would book return tickets on the AVANT, which is the exact same train as the AVE just a different ticketing system and usually costs around €13 each way. There are also a few AVLO trains which are cheaper still.

      The only exception would be if you are staying near to one of the smaller stations where the MD trains stop but the AVE doesnt (El Clot for example) in which case the fact that you have to travel to Sants to catch the AVE negates the time saving, and makes the Middle Distance train a good choice.

  5. Many thanks for the useful posts!
    We (2 people) are travelling to Sitges soon and we’ll arrive to Barcelona airport. We are planning to spend at least 1 day in Barcelona + our last half day as well.
    So we would need for sure:
    – get from Barcelona airport to Sitges when we arrive (single ticket by bus 8 EUR pp.)
    – get from Sitges to Barcelona city centre (single 4.2 EUR pp.) and do some travel in zone 1 on at least one of the days
    – get from Sitges to Barcelona city centre (probably to main train station to use the luggage room), possible use public transport a bit more, then get back from train station to Barcalona airport in the afternoon (single 4.6 EUR pp.)
    As I understand we can buy a 3-zone T-familiar ticket (27 EUR) and it will cover our 4 journeys between Sitges to Barcelona + Barcelone centre to airport + 3 further occasions of travelling by metro/bus in zone 1.
    If we need further journeys, we can buy a 1-zone T-familiar for 10 EUR for 8 further occasions.
    Do I get it right? Is it correct that the 8 journey for T-familiar is 8 journey for the both of us (so 16 single journeys) and not only 4 for the both of us?
    Thank you in advance!

    1. Hi Kincso,

      Unfortunately, the T-familiar covers eight journeys in total, so if there are two of you travelling together, that’s four journeys each per T-familiar.

      If you’re travelling before the end of December, and want to do this as cheaply as possible, then you could purchase aa Abono Recurrent train ticket each (€10 per person) and use that to travel by train from the airport to Sitges (from the train station at terminal 2), from Sitges to and from Barcelona, and from Barcelona city centre to the airport on the last day. Note that this ticket only covers regional trains operated by RENFE, and not the metro, tram or bus services.

      You’d then just need a one zone T-familiar (€10) for any additional journeys within Barcelona.

      There’s more information about the train to Sitges in this post and more info about the Abono Recurrent in this post. If your flight lands at terminal one, you can catch the free shuttle bus to terminal two as mentioned in this post.

  6. i heard that the T Usual ticket is cheaper this year and i am trying to find out if this will cover transportation to all the areas we want to visit including Montjuic.

    1. Hi Carl,

      Yes, that is correct, the T-usual is currently discounted by 50% which makes it very good value for stays of three days or more, especially if you plan to use the airport metro.

      A one zone T-usual will cover the city of Barcelona, including Montjuïc.

  7. Hi, we have a Abono recurrent passes and will travel from Sitges to Latour de Carol tomorrow to get the sleeper to Paris. I’m confused over where we should buy tickets from at the end of zone 6 – is it Vic or Sant Quirze de Besora (6h)?
    Also, can I buy the tickets from any Rosalia machine? We will probably get the R2 from Sitges and change at Sants. Thank you

    1. Hi Heather,

      I believe that the Abono Recurrent for the Barcelona area will cover you as far as Sant Quirze de Besora (line R3 zone 6h). When I purchased my first Abono Recurent, I was told by RENFE staff that it covered the entire area shown on the RENFE map shown in the post above.

      The Abono Recurrent can be purchased from the orange and black coloured RENFE ticket machines at all RENFE regional stations.

      There’s more information in this post.

  8. Hey

    Just wanted to double check I understood everything and what we have planned to get is correct, we will be going from El Prat airport to hotel atenea port in mataro, then into Barcelona from the hotel a few times for sightseeing, then from hotel back to el pratairport. Planning on getting a t casual 10 pkt zone 3 each. We are in Barcelona for 4 days.
    Thanks

    1. Hi James,

      Normally I’d say yes, you understood correctly, that’s the best choice.

      However, there’s currently a discount train pass available which costs €10 and gives free unlimited travel on regional trains within the Barcelona area until the end of December.

      There’s more information in this post.

      You could use this pass to travel from the airport to Mataró by train and then from Mataró to Barcelona city centre each day.

      Then, depending on what you plan to do, purchase a one zone T-casual if needed for travel within the city on the metro/bus/tram.

      To get to the Atenea from the airport, catch the R2 nord train from Barcelona airport terminal 2 to Barcelona El Clot train station and change there to the R1 train to Mataró.

      All northbound R1 trains, no matter which final destination, stop at Mataró and depart from platform 4 at El Clot station.

      When you arrive at Mataró, turn left as you exit the station and walk to the end of the station building (on the street outside) where you will see the entrance to a pedestrian tunnel which takes you under the railway tracks to the beach. As you come out of the other end of the tunnel you will see the Atenea to your right, about 100m from the tunnel entrance.

      Note: The airport train station is at terminal 2, if your flight lands at terminal 1, there’s a free shuttle bus which runs between the terminals as described in this post.

      Note 2: The first R2 train of the day, which departs from the airport at 5:42 in the morning, doesn’t stop at Barcelona – El Clot, in which case you should change trains at Barcelona – Sants. All the other trains from the airport stop at El Clot.

      There’s more information about the airport train in this post and more information about the T-casual, T-familiar and other sightseeing/travel passes in this post.

      1. Hey Richard

        Thank you for replying and going into so much detail, it is super helpful. Much appreciated.
        We are traveling through the rest of Europe with a eurail global pass, do you think the R1 and R2 trains operated by RENFE are included in the pass?

        1. Hi James,

          You’re welcome.

          I’m sorry but I’ve no personal experience with the Eurail pass. I’ve just done a quick search online and the results were unclear. As you say, the regional “Rodalies” trains are operated by RENFE, so it looks like they may be covered although I’ve not found a difinitive answer online.

          If I were you, I’d ask at the train station at the airport before purchasing your tickets. There’s a staffed ticket office plus uniformed staff on hand near the ticket machines. By the way, if you have time, I’d apreciate it if you could leave a comment afterwards letting us know whether you were able to use the Eurail pass.

          By the way, I noticed a typo in my previous reply where I said T-10 when I meant T-casual.

  9. Hi, Richard, your answers are very valuable, thank you!
    Could you please advice me the optimal way to get from Badalona to Tarragona and back three days in a row, 21, 22 and 23 of September. May I buy t casual, if yes, which zone? It is quite confusing for me. Thank you so much in advance!

    1. Hi Steve,

      The optimal way to do this would be to take the R1 train from Badalona to Sants (aka Barcelona Sants) followed by either a Regional or Regional Express train to Tarragona (could be R14, R15, R16 or R17). The total journey time, including the change of trains, will be around an hour and forty five minutes.

      Note: There are also high Speed trains (AVE) from Barcelona to Camp de Tarragona, but the Camp de Tarragona train station is outside Tarragona, and, in addition to being more expensive, by the time you factor in the bus from the station to the city centre, it ends un taking longer than the regional trains. This is explained in more detail in this post.

      Unfortunately, the T-casual doesn’t cover this journey, because Tarragona lies beyond the area covered by the ATM network.

      Single tickets Badalona – Tarragona cost €7.70 for regional trains, or €8.80 for the regional expres, so a total of €46.20 for the six journeys you mentioned.

      There is currently a special offer on for Regional trains, which I describe in this post. However, I believe that this will only cover you as far as Sant Vicençe de Calders, and not all the way to Tarragona, but I recommend you ask about it at the train station before making a purchase, just in case I’m wrong.

      By the way, if I am wrong, I’d apreciate it if you could post back and let me know.

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