Barcelona Getting There By Road

In Barcelona, traffic drives on the right and no person under 18 years may hire or ride a vehicle over 75cc. Speed limits are 120kph (74mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on dual carriageways, 90kph (56mph) on roads outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) within towns, unless otherwise stated. A valid driving licence and third-party insurance are required to drive in Spain. National licences from EU countries are accepted, although drivers are advised to obtain an International Driving Permit. A Green Card is strongly recommended for all visitors and is compulsory for those from outside the EU.

Motoring information can be obtained from the Real Automobile Club de Catalunya (RACC) (tel: 902 452 452; www.racc.es).

Emergency breakdown service
RACC (tel: 902 106 106).
Alternatively drivers should contact the Ayuda en Carretera, run by the Guardia Civil, via the roadside SOS telephones located on both sides of the carriageway at 2km (1-mile) intervals.

Routes to the city
The A7 motorway is the main route to Barcelona from France and runs down the coast past Valencia, as far as Alicante to the south. The A2 heads inland to the west for Zaragoza and connections to Madrid. The A19 hugs the coast for a short distance to the northeast of the city.

Approximate driving times to Barcelona
From Zaragoza - 3 hours 15 minutes; Valencia - 3 hours; Madrid - 5 hours 30 minutes.

Coach services
Eurolines international coach services (tel: 902 405 040; www.eurolines.es) use Estació Autobuses de Sants, situated next to the Central-Sants train station, Carrer Viriato, although services to France also stop at Estació del Nord, Avinguda Vilanova. Most long-distance coaches from other parts of Spain operate from the Estació del Nord. There are Eurolines services to major European cities, including Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Prague and Rome.