El Prat and Girona

All about the airports

Word to the wise: If catching the Aerobus at Plaça de Catalunya, be sure to join the right queue - buses A1 (Terminal 1) and A2 (Terminal 2) stop in different places.
Barcelona's main airport at El Prat is located very close to the city and is easy to travel to and from.

By far the best option is the Aerobus, an express service between the airport terminals' main exits and Plaça Espanya and Plaça de Catalunya, with several stops along the way. Tickets cost EUR 9.75 for a round-trip and can be bought from the driver. A1 buses run every 5-10 minutes, A2 buses slightly less frequently. Allow forty minutes travel time in case of traffic jams, but the journey is usually shorter.
If you travel much after midnight you'll have to catch the Night Bus N19, which runs from 9.50pm until 4.50am and costs EUR 1.50. Otherwise, taxis can be picked up outside the main airport exits and, obviously, throughout the city. Be prepared for a surcharge on each bag and an overall cost of around EUR 25-30.

If you're flying Ryanair, bad luck: you'll disembark at Girona airport which, as the name suggests, isn't actually in Barcelona at all. Buses wait for each flight and travel to Estació del Nord: the 90km trip takes 1h 15mins and costs EUR 21 for a round-trip. A taxi for the same journey is about EUR 120.