Despite the fact that Barcelona has a population of approximately 1.6 million people, it is actually quite small. The city only has a land area of forty square miles. In comparison, Boston, Massachusetts is eighty square miles and New York City is around 470 square miles. My hometown, which has only about 60,000 people is forty eight square miles. In Barcelona's limited space, there are more people than the entire state of Rhode Island put together! Barcelona's government has always needed to make traveling easier for both its residents and the 32 millions tourists that visit each year. Which brings us to the public transport system: the metro and the buses!
Barcelona has many options for transportation. My personal favorite is walking. That might seem surprising, but remember that Barcelona is actually quite small, and I can get almost anywhere I want to go in a twenty minute walk! Besides the ease of it, walking lets you see more of the city, and every building here is beautiful. Other than walking, many people have motos (motorcycles) that weave in and out of traffic. Most prominent, however, is the metro system, which includes both buses and trains. To use the metro system, you need a ticket. A single ride costs about 2.2 euros or $2.52. You can buy passes for a certain number of days or for a certain number of trips.
