Getting to Barcelona

The most common way to get to Barcelona from abroad is by air. Barcelona's airport is located in the village of El Prat de Llobregat, which is 7 km south of the city. Additionally, low-cost flights of Ryan Air fly to Girona (a town 1 hour north of Barcelona) or Reus (a town 1 hour south of Barcelona).

Check the official website of the city of Barcelona for getting to the city .

To go from/to the Barcelona Airport to/from the center of the city we recommend the following ways. Please consider that the airport has two terminals (T1 and T2) which are far away from each other: when you go to the airport, it is important that you know which terminal your flight departs from .

• Taxi: obviously the easiest way, it takes about 25 minutes to go from the airport to any hotel in the centric areas of the city, and it costs from 25 to 30 euros. Taxi stops are right outside the terminals.
• Aerobus: there are official buses connecting the airport with plaça Catalunya, with a stop in Plaça Espanya. Buses leave frequently from outside the airport terminals and from Plaça Catalunya (for departing), and it takes about 25 minutes to complete the ride. You can also catch it in Plaça Espanya. Bus tickets cost about 5 euros, and are bought directly at the driver (have cash ready). Check the official website of aerobus for details. Note that plaça Catalunya is a very well connected point in the city, and from there it is easy to get to the subway or to take a taxi to get to your specific location in the city.
• The bus line 46 has some more stops than Aerobus, so it is slower, but you can use your T-10 card with it, so it is cheaper. You can take it at Plaça Espanya.
• A train from the Sants Estació main train station departs every 30 minutes and takes you to T2. An extra shuttle from T2 to T1 is required.

Moving around the city

Driving inside Barcelona is not recommended, especially in downtown. The public transportation system consists of metro and buses, plus a few internal train lines (FGC) and a couple of tram lines. It is safe, fast, and reliable. Check the official website of the transportation authorities of the city .

Metro : The metro system is probably easiest to use and will take you to most places of interest. Barcelona has five main lines (L1 to L5, color-coded). The metro is open until midnight Sunday to Thursday, until 2am on Friday and the whole night on Saturday. Exceptionally, it will also not stop during the night from Thursday 23rd to Friday 24th. If you plan to take more than 5 trips, we recommend that you buy a T-10 card (10 trips, 7.25 euros). Check the map of the subway (pdf) .

Bus : You pay on board. You can use the T-10 card, but not buy one on board, where you can only get single tickets using cash. Most bus lines stop around 11pm; there are few night bus lines ("Nitbus''), all of which except N0 pass by Plaza Catalunya. Lines N0, N1, N3, N4, N6 pass not far from the Conference Venue and the conference hotels near it.
You can use the same ticket (or T-10 trip) for a combined metro+bus journey, as long as it takes less than 1h 15min overall.

Taxi : Taxis in Barcelona are yellow and black. A taxi is available when the green light on top is on. There is a taxi stop in Plaza Catalunya next to la Rambla. Moving with taxi is relatively cheap, compared with many other European cities. A typical fare within the city is around 8 euros. Going to and from the airport is around 30 euros. All taxis can issue receipts (ask for a "ticket") but not all accept credit cards. Note that drivers may complain if you want to pay with a 50 euro bill or larger; ask first.

Tourist bus : If you have only 1 or 2 free days in Barcelona, the Bus Turistic is a reasonable option to see the main attractions. There are three routes (North, South, and Forum) and a ticket lets you get on and off the bus as many times as you want in a day.

The web http://www.bcn.cat/guia/ provides an interactive map of the city. Enter the address you are looking for, and optionally ask to display nearby transportation points (“Services” option). http://www.tmb.cat/ (choose “English" at the top) describes in detail all transportation options, and contains a useful “Want to go to” option at the right.

Transportation to conference events

To and from the conference venue : The metro stations closest to Casa de Convalescencia are Dos de Maig/Hospital de Sant Pau in L5 (blue) and Hospital de Sant Pau / Guinardó in L4 (yellow).

To and from the conference hotels : The metro stations closest to the conference hotels are:

• Amrey Sant Pau, Medium Aristol: Dos de Maig/Hospital de Sant Pau in L5 (blue) and Hospital de Sant Pau / Guinardò in L4 (yellow).
• Catalonia Atenas: Camp de l'Arpa in L5 (blue) or Clot in L1 (red)
• Medium Abalon: Dos de Maig/Hospital de Sant Pau in L5 (blue)
• Catalonia Aragón: Clot in L1 (red) or Encants in L2 (purple)
• Ayre Gran Via, Onix Fira: Espanya, in L1 (red) and in L3 (green)
• Ayre Caspe: Tetuán in L2 (purple), Girona in L4 (yellow), Triomf in L1 (red)
• Onix Rambla: Passeig de Gràcia in L2 (purple) and L4 (yellow), and Catalunya in L1 (red) and L3 (green)
• Catalonia Castellnou: Las Tres Torres in L6 of FCG. For going to the conference venue, take L6 direction Catalunya, leave at Provença to connect to metro L5 (blue) (Diagonal stop), and continue to Dos de maig - Hospital de Sant Pau.

To and from social events:

• Monday reception will be held at the main venue, Casa de Convalescència.
• Tuesday's poster session will be held in the Institut d'Estudis Catalans. The closest metro station is Liceu in L3 (green).
• Wednesday's banquet will be held in the Palau de la Música Catalana. The closest station is Urquinaona in L4 (yellow).
• Thursday's poster session will be held at the historic building of Universitat de Barcelona. The closest metro stations are Universitat in L1 (red) and, a bit farther, Passeig de Gràcia in L4 (yellow) and L2 (purple).

Please see the “Social Events” section for more precise indications.