Barcelona’s Montjuïc cable car offers a relaxing ride high above the Catalan capital. Its glass cabins provide panoramic views and you’ll see Gaudi’s still-in-construction Sagrada Familia and other top Barcelona sights from the sky.
Barcelona is bursting with history, culture, and style. There are top-class sights and museums from the historic Gothic Quarter to the museum of the modernist Picasso. There are plenty of great places to visit on Mount Montjuïc too. The Montjuïc cable car is an easy-to-use way of traveling to Montjuic Castle, the Joan Miró Museum, and the Barcelona Olympic Park. So here’s your guide on how to get to Montjuïc.
How to get to Montjuïc cable car by Metro
The best Metro station for the Montjuïc cable car is Paral-lel, served by lines L2 and L3. Barcelona’s Metro has 11 lines and reaches far across the city and its neighborhoods. You can identify the lines by color and number. Trains run frequently; every 2 to 5 minutes at peak times. The metro operates long hours too: from 05:00 to 23:30 from Monday to Thursday, and with a later finish on Fridays, Sundays, and public holidays. On Saturdays, it runs for 24 hours.
It’s easy to work out how to get to Montjuïc cable car from Sagrada Familia. Take line 2, the purple line, direct from the Sagrada Familia metro station to Paral-lel. Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia can get very busy, especially in high season, so it’s worth booking Fast Track Tickets with Tower Access in advance. Line 3, the red line, will take you directly to the Montjuïc cable car from Las Ramblas (Drassanes station) and Casa Mila (La Pedrera) (Diagonal station). When you arrive at Paral-lel Metro station, head for the upper floor to the funicular railway to take you to the Montjuïc cable car. For the simplest journey, make sure you book your tickets for the Montjuïc cable car in advance.
How to get to Montjuïc cable car by funicular railway
The best way to get to Montjuïc cable car from Paral-lel Metro station is to take the funicular railway. You’ll find the entrance to the funicular on the upper floor of Paral-lel station. The funicular travels direct from Paral-lel station to Park Montjuic where you join the cable car. And if you’re wondering, what’s a funicular and how does it work? A funicular is a type of railway system that connects points on a track on a steep slope. The carriages are linked and counterbalance each other as one moves up and the other moves down. And in the Catalan capital, it’s simply a great way to get to the Montjuic cable car.
The funicular is part of the Metro system for ticket purposes, so you don’t need to buy a separate ticket. It operates from 07:30 to 22:00 on weekdays, and from 08:00 to 22:00 on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays in the summer. There are slightly reduced hours in the winter; always check before traveling.
How to get to Montjuïc cable car by bus
How to get to Montjuïc cable car by bus? Your cable car journey starts at the Parc Montjuïc halt and ends at Montjuïc Castle. Local bus route 55 will take you to Parc Montjuïc. Route 55 starts at the Placa de Catalunya, which is handy for the Gothic Quarter, Las Ramblas, and Gaudi’s Casa Batlló. Your journey to Parc Montjuïc by bus should take 25-30 minutes.
You can buy bus tickets at bus stops or as you get onto the bus. Or use a bank card to buy a single ticket digitally – just tap on and off with your bank card. The most useful option is to get a 72, 96, or 120-hour Barcelona Card. This gives you unlimited public transport in the city, skip-the-line entry to the Picasso Museum, and discounts on other attractions. There’s also the Barcelona Bus Turistic, a hop-on, hop-off tour with an audio guide available in English and 13 other languages. This has over 40 stops across the city including one for the Montjuïc cable car.
How to get to Montjuic cable car by bike
Cycling lanes in Barcelona are clearly marked and often found on wide main roads. The city is mostly flat, too, making it accessible for cyclists of all levels of fitness. But the notable exception to this is Mount Montjuic, where the clue is in the name; it’s a large hill.
The Catalan capital has a city-wide bicycle rental service called Bicing, but this is open to Barcelona residents only. There are plenty of rental bike options though. Just bear in mind that cycling to the Montjuïc cable car is not for the faint-hearted, and getting an e-bike would be sensible.
