Eclipsed for the past thirty years as Barcelona's main station by the subterranean sprawl of…read moreBarcelona Sants, the França terminus station is nevertheless the much more attractive of the city's two main stations, and worth a look in its own right as a piece of early 20th-century architecture. Built in the 19th century as the main terminus for trains arriving from France (as the name suggests), it was rebuilt and reopened in 1929 for the International Exhibition held in Barcelona that year. With two huge, curving train sheds covering 12 platforms and a grand vaulted concourse with a polished marble floor, the whole project was conceived on a grand scale in a restrained fusion of the art nouveau and classical styles (although the external façade is a little too restrained for my taste). The construction of the east - west line through the centre of Barcelona via the modern Sants station in the 1970's rendered França somewhat redundant. Although it is close to Cuitadella Park and the trendy Barceloneta sea-front quarter, it is rather further from the current commercial centre of the city, although it is more convenient for the old Gothic Quarter. It isn't even connected to Barcelona's metro system Barceloneta station is a good five minute walk away, via the back streets to the west of the station - but the half hourly airport shuttle (line C10) will also take you into the centre. To-day, the station is the starting point for express trains to Madrid, Valencia and other Spanish cities, medium-distance services to other parts of Catalonia, the half-hourly train to Barcelona Airport (all which also pass through Sants) and a few overnight trains to and from France. The main concourse contains the ticket office, information centre, left luggage facilities and an incongruously huge cafeteria. The platform concourse also contains a quaint scale model of the station, complete with toy trains. Although beautifully maintained, the small number of passengers who use the station seem completely lost in its vast, echoing public spaces. But that also makes it easier to appreciate as a piece of public architecture, and the absence of crowds and queues makes arriving or departing by train a rare and pleasurable experience.

Arriving at this station early on a recent Thursday morning on my way to Primavera Sound festival…read morewas a highly confusing experience, entirely because I thought we were going to arrive at Estació de Sants (a station further north). Imagine my concern when I picked up a map from the information desk, found Estació de Sants on it, went out on to the street and couldn't make head nor tail of where I was! Thankfully after 10 minutes of confused wandering I asked a passerby for help and was surprised and very pleased to discover I was already near the guesthouse. Perfect! Estació de Franca was very convenient for my trip - just a few minutes walk away from Barceloneta Metro station, close to where I was staying and not far from the Barri Gothic and La Ramblas either. It's not a massive station either so finding my train home was easyhandy when there's only one overnight train per day to Paris - missing it would have been a calamity!

Used the Barcelona Metro on our Barkeno Free Walking Tour. It was interesting to have around 20-25…read morepeople have to all purchase tickets to get to the Sagrada Familia stop. Our tour guide was great and so patient as we bought our tickets and then filed together on and off the metro. A great way to explore Barcelona.

There's no better way around Barcelona than public transportation. Use a Barca card for unlimited…read moretravel by bus and train and also get discounts on lots of places, more than you'll get to. This station is an important connection as well as the nearest station to the Rambla. The station itself is nicely appointed.

Beach metro! This is the best way to get to the best beach…read morein Barcelona, in my opinion. This subway station drops you off as close as you can get to the action around here. This subway station is all handicapped accessible. It has tiny elevators that take you down to the shallowest of all the metro stations in the Barcelona area. It makes sense, you don't want to be digging deep subway stations at the beach, they'll flood. This station works, but it's nothing wonderful. The signage was clear here, and the platform was split down the middle with the L4 train coming right down the center. It's well lit and seemed safe. We didn't wait long for a train. The fare was fair. (har!) The elevators were tiny. Like the size of phone booths. Just big enough for a wheelchair. I wish there was more public art.

This metro is situated right around the corner from the beach on Line 2. Extremely convenient and…read morewill connect you to all other sexy metros with attractions. It is surrounded by street vendors, restaurants, and most popular hotels. Buleta (1 ticket) will cost you $2.50 euros and you can be on your marry way. And yes internet actually works on the subway!! Happy riding :-)

Named for the Placa de la Universitat, on the edge of Eixample district. The historic Barcelona…read moreUniversity is on the square above, a beautiful Neo Gothic building. This station is useful connecting lines 1 and 2, but make sure you're on the right level.

I like to this metro station. Easy access to the street. Good connections to everything. Plenty of…read morerestaurants outside. I didn't stick it once for the zona University.

The Barcelona Metro system is heavily used by the public. If you are a visitor, you may purchase a…read more2, 3, 4 or 5 day unlimited ticket. There are also separate tickets available to go to the airport. The kiosk is fairly easily to use although we wanted to speak with an agent to make certain we understood. An agent is available and we spoke to her. She only spoke Spanish and I was able to decipher what she was telling us. We ended up purchasing one of the unlimited tickets. Tickets become validated the moment you use them to enter the station. Outside of the station are Metro maps. Be sure to grab one so that you know which route to use. It is an easy system provided you're on the correct platform going in the direction desired. The locals will help you as some speak English. Luckily I knew the Spanish terminology. Clean and safe although the trains tend to be very crowded. Trains run fairly often. Just be aware of your important items.

Fairly easy Metro system to use, even for foreigners. I mistakenly thought I needed to register…read morewith T-Mobilitat, but realized that is not needed so I cancelled that registration. Purchasing tickets are easy through the ticket machines. I purchased a T-Casual as that was more than enough for me. That amounted to about 12 EUR. Note that because I arrived in Barcelona via the Renfe, I didn't need to worry about purchasing a separate airport ticket, which would've coughed up an extra 5 EUR. Google Maps and the Citymapper app helped me plot my journey across my time in Barcelona, but the stations clearly point out the stops as needed. They do go a bit deeper underground, but the stations itself are more accessible friendly due to the 92 Olympics. When inside the train, most of the announcements are indeed in Spanish, but you can figure out where you need to go. Just like most cities in Europe, remember to open the latch or press the button to exit the train. Overall, an easy and pleasant way to get around Barcelona.

An old but clean station. Easy access to the square where the beautiful fountain is. There is also…read morea lot of good retail and restaurants near this popular station.

Very useful Metro stop for all the connections and proximity to Parc Guell , a good public library,…read morea nice selection of restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and Hotel Ronda Lesseps. It's accessible, but otherwise be ready for a long hot climb out. You'll be less confused if you look at a Metro map before, I mean a real map NOT Google maps walking.

The Metro is very confusing, especially with all the lines that connect with each other with…read moretunnels and hallways that are as long as walking the above streets themselves. It gets hotter underground than above. It's easy to miss a turn and accidentally get on another line. I am really bad with directions and my best friend who is good with them got lost here and there. It does make it easier and accessible on a dime to get to some tourist and cool central stuff in the city. A lot of these are within 30 - 40 minute walking distance, however, there were some moments in which we just needed a rest. Price is less than 2 euros each way. This stop was really close to our hotel which was helpful.

Urquinaona is a useful station on the Barcelona Metro, it is on the Red (L1) and Yellow Lines (L4)…read morewhich is handy for changing trains. The station is very central with many of the city's attractions nearby, including Plaça de Catalunya (Barcelona's main square featuring the Apple Store). Due to being so central within the city and being across multiple lines, it is one of the busiest stations on the network. It is fairly easy to find your way around the station which I appreciate, it can be a bit of a walk between both lines, but I find that to be common for metro stations. You can see the colour of the lines dominant each platform - so you know which colour lines platform you're on which I think is handy and also makes the station look better. As with any station on the Barcelona Metro, the ticket machines do not accept contactless payments and you can't tap in/out which I find to be such an outdated system, and it did take a while to get my head around the departure boards. 3* - Certainly not the prettiest station but it gets the job done and is handy for location and access across multiple lines.

Nice corner with outdoor tables for people watching. Decent prices and we enjoyed everything we ate…read morethere.