Barcelona, la Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts), is the charming capital of Catalonia, a small country in the northwest corner of the Mediterranean sea. Barcelona had two epochs of architecture splendor, the medieval ages and the period from the late XIX century to the first half of the XX century. The Barri Gòtic ("Gothic Quarter”) concentrate most of the Roman and Medieval buildings. Most of the modernist building are located within the Eixample quarter, specially around Passeig de Gràcia. There are many interesting museums, among the most important ones are Fundació Joan Miró, Picasso Museum and the The National Museum of Art of Catalonia. The weather at the beginning of June is typically warm and sunny with high/lows around 25 /17 C (75 / 65 F). For more information about Barcelona you can check the Barcelona wikipedia page.
Warning! In Barcelona there are pickpockets especially in the subway and in the most touristic zones of the city. Their main targets are tourists so common-sense behavior, normal for large cities, will save you time and money.
From Airport to Barcelona:
Barcelona’s airport, “El Prat”, is located about 13 km south of the city. It has two terminals: Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. There are several modes of transportation from the airport to the city:
- Taxis. The minimum fare from the airport is 20€ but the typical fare to get to Barcelona’s center is 30 to 35€. Only few taxis allow payment by credit card.
- Commuter train line “R2 nord”. The station is close to Terminal 2. There is a bus that connects Terminal 1 with the train station. Trains run every 30 minutes from 5:42am to 11:38pm. It takes about 20 minutes to get to Barcelona Sants station, which has correspondence with metro lines L3 and L5; and 26 minutes to Passeig de Gràcia station, which has correspondence with metro lines L2, L3 and L4. The fare is 3.00€, although you can use the 10 rides ticket “T-10 1 zona” (see below).
- Direct bus to Barcelona’s center: Line “A1” from Terminal 1 and line “A2” from Terminal 2. Buses run every 5 to 10 minutes from 6:00am to 1:00am. The buses stop at Plaça Espanya (correspondence with metro lines L1, L3 and L8), Gran Via - Comte Urgell (correspondence with metro line L1), Plaça Universitat (correspondence with metro lines L1 and L2) and Plaça Catalunya (correspondence with metro lines L1, L3, L6 and L7). Fare is 5€ (payment by cash or by VISA credit card).
- Night Bus line “N17” (stop at Terminal 1 and 2). Buses run every 20 minutes from 21:50pm to 04:50am. This line has many stops between the airport and Plaça Catalunya.
- Other bus lines: 45, 109, L77, etc. These are metropolitan lines and, except for line 45, they do not go through Barcelona’s center.
Barcelona Public Transportation.
Barcelona has a very good public transportation system. The subway (metro) is the fastest way to move around the city, but the bus and tramway lines are also convenient for short rides. Most of the labels and information in the metro are trilingual (Catalan, Spanish and English).
Single fare is 1.40€, but it is more convenient to use the “T-10 1 zona”, a 10 rides ticket (7.85€), valid on Barcelona city buses, metro, tramway, commuter train lines (from the two different companies Renfe Rodalies and FGC) in the Metropolitan area Zone 1 (which include Barcelona city, as well as other surrounding cities such as Hospitalet, Esplugues, Cornellà, El Prat, Badalona, Santa Coloma, etc). There is free transfer between different modes within 1 hour 15 min.
Subway schedule is from 05:00 to midnight from Monday to Thursday. From 05:00 to 02:00am for Friday. For weekends the subway is open from Saturday 05:00 all the way to Sunday’s midnight.
For more information and to check itineraries check:
http://www.tmb.cat/en_US/home.jsp
Getting to the conference location at the Facultat de Biologia
The Facultat de Biologia building (located at Diagonal 645) of the University of Barcelona is just next to the subway line L3 station Palau Reial. It is also next to the tramway station with the same name (T1, T2 and T3 lines). Bus lines 7, 33, 67, 74, 75, etc, also stop near the Facultat de Biologia.
Getting to the Sunday’s Reception at Hall of the UB Historic Building
Located at Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 585 in front of Plaça Universitat. The subway station of the same name served lines L2 and L1. Nearby Plaça Catalunya subway station serves lines L1, L3, L6 and L7 as well as several commuter train lines from RENFE and FGC.
Getting around from/to the Hotels:
Catalonia Castellnou
- Located close to the subway station Les Tres Torres of the FGC line L6.
- From/To the Airport by public transportation: take the bus lines A1 or A2 to Plaça Catalunya. Then take FGC subway line L6 (subway entrance in the La Rambla and Plaça Catalunya corner) and stop at Les Tres Torres station.
- From/to conference location. It is within walking distance, but you can also take the bus: go downhill through Castellnou street until you reach Ronda del General Mitre. Go to the bus stop and take line 74 (to Zona Universitària). Stop at Palau Reial.
Rigoletto
- Located close to the subway station Maria Cristina of the line L3.
- From/To the Airport by public transportation: take the bus lines A1 or A2 and stop at Plaça Espanya. Then take subway line L3 to Zona Universitària, and stop at the station Maria Cristina.
- From/to conference location. It is within walking distance!.
Gran Catalonia
- Located close to the subway station Diagonal / Provença of the lines L3, L5 and FGC lines L6 and L7.
- From/To the Airport by public transportation: take bus line A1 or A2 to Plaça Catalunya. Then take subway line L3 (subway entrance in the La Rambla and Plaça Catalunya corner) to Trinitat Nova, stop at the station Diagonal.
- From/to conference location. Go to subway station Diagonal and take line L3 to Zona Universitària, and stop at the station Palau Reial. Alternatively you can go to the bus stop at the Diagonal and Balmes uphill corner. Then take a bus from lines 7 or 33, stop at Palau Reial.
Duques de Bergara
- Located close to the subway station Plaça Catalunya of the lines L1, L3 and FGC lines L6 and L7.
- From/To the Airport by public transportation: take bus line A1 or A2 to Plaça Catalunya.
- From/to conference location. Go to subway station Plaça Catalunya (subway entrance in the La Rambla and Plaça Catalunya corner) take line L3 to Zona Universitària, and stop at the station Palau Reial.
Col·legi Major Penyafort
- Located close to the subway station Palau Reial of the line L3.
- From/To the Airport by public transportation: take bus line A1 or A2, stop at Plaça Espanya. Then go to the subway station Plaça Espanya of the line L3. Go to Zona Universitària and stop at the station Palau Reial.
- From/to conference location. It is within walking distance!.
