advantages of living in a university residence

New to the city?

You still don’t know how to get around Barcelona? Don’t worry; we’ll explain it to you. We’ll tell you how to arrive at an address by Barcelona public transport and how to use public transport in Barcelona.

Barcelona is a relatively small city, and the advantage that the residents have of the student housing in Barcelona, The Lofttown, is that it is to be found in a very good neighbourhood of the city, central and perfect to have access to all types of public transport.

Learning how to get around Barcelona will allow you to find the restaurants you are looking for to eat in Barcelona, watch your favourite series on the long train journey that will await you according to your destination or find your student housing and easily place it on the map.

Being a growing city and in a process of ecologic innovation which will be carried out in 2020, and will mean an increase of green areas and public transport, there are more and more  options to get about which do not harm or pollute the planet.

Following, we will explain to you the options that you have to get around Barcelona:

Public transport

• Metro: currently Barcelona has eight metrolines which can be identified by the number colour of the line: L1 (red), L2 (purple), L3 (green), L4 (yellow), L5 (blue), L6 (violet), L7 (brown), L8 (pink), L9N y L9S (orange), L10N y L10S (light blue), L11 (light green), and which cover the majority of the city and its surroundings.

• FGC (Ferrocarrils Generalitat de Catalunya): There is also an urban and metropolitan network of trains managed by the Generalitat of Catalunya (FGC), which complements the mentioned Metro network in Barcelona. There are 4 urban lines: L6, L7, L8 and L12. Apart from those which go to different parts of Cataluña: S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9.

• TRAM (tranvía): The tram has been running in Barcelona since 2004. This means of public transport, complementary to the metro, is an accessible, ecologic, fast and comfortable system. The tram is made up of two networks —Trambaix y Trambesòs—, 6 lines, a total of 29.2 km of track and 56 stops. The Trambaix network is made up of lines T1, T2 y T3, which have a common section of 6 km and pass through the municipalities of Barcelona, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat, Cornellà de Llobregat, Sant Joan Despí, Sant Just Desvern y Sant Feliu de Llobregat. The network has a length of 15.1 km, and 29 stops. The lines T4, T5 and T6 make up the Trambesòs network. The T4 and the T6 connect Barcelona with Sant Adrià de Besòs, and the T5 joins Barcelona with Badalona. The length of this network is 14.1 km and has 27 stops.

• Train (RENFE): If you want to arrive at a town outside Barcelona, check to see if there is a train station nearby. The Cercanías de RENFEnetwork will easily bring you near to the city centre. And, in the same way as with the tram, there are different options and lines.

• Bus:Barcelona has a fleet of more than 1.000 buses, which cover more than 80 lines to arrive at any area of the city. The buses are low-floor, and adapted for people of reduced mobility.

Do you want to go out to party and come back by public transport?

Barcelona has a service of night buses called Nit Bus, which cover a great part of the city and the surroundings.

• Going by bike or using Bicing: Barcelona has bike lanes, where you can go on your own bike, or hire it from one of the rental shops that you will find in the centre. The city is full of open spaces and parks. These conditions, and the mild climate, invite the use of a bike as alternative transport.

There is a public bike rental service which is called Bicing, mainly intended for residents, given that a yearly fee is paid.

Private transport

• TAXI service:Barcelona has a service of more than 11,000 taxis, easily identifiable by their yellow and black colours. The taxis that are free have a green light, you only have to hail them and they will stop if they see your hand raised. There is also a service of polyvalent taxis to transport people with reduced mobility.

• Own or rented car: during your stay in Barcelona/Cataluña you could consider buying a car or renting. Although it is a comfortable option if you have to often go to the city surroundings, we don’t recommend it; in Barcelona there is a lot of traffic and it is difficult to park, apart from the pollution which a car generates.

• Motorcycle: you will be able to see millions of motorcyclists in Barcelona, as it is easier to get about with them than by car, and they are much more economical. Nevertheless, we recommend that you look at options like Bicing or electric scooters, transport that although it may be private transport does not pollute.

You will be asking yourself: how much will all this cost me? What are the prices of the different options? How do I buy train tickets and what is the best fare for me?

To know the prices that each one of the options has, you can check on the webpage of each of them. Search in Google, for example: Metro Barcelona. There, it specifies what price you have to pay. If you haven’t looked on the webpage before, don’t worry, there are station personnel who will help you, and machines where you can buy tickets in the same place as you take the public transport that you choose.

With relation to the fares offered, as students we recommend to you that you see if there are discounts, because there are offers which will fit your requirement with a reduced price.

How to choose which public transport is best for me?

It will depend on which place in Barcelona that you have to go to, or on your preferences.

• If you like to see the urban landscape and get to know the city without going under it, then choose to go by Bus, Tram, Bicing or private transport.
• If the traffic and the number of people that are in the street are overwhelming, the Metro is a good option to get around without inconvenience; also they are very frequent and it is easy to identify the stops by their names, which specifically describe the street or place that you are looking for.
• If you have to go far from Barcelona, take RENFE or your own or hired car, as you like.

There are many options and it will be easy for you to find what best suits your needs.

In The Lofttown we believe in the need to preserve the environment and leave the smallest environmental footprint possible. For this reason we recommend that you choose the least polluting means of transport, or do exercise and go on foot.

If you have any doubt whatsoever, we are at reception: we’ll help you.

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