This section
specifically summarises the questions that affect people
with mobility, hearing and visual difficulties
BANK
OFFICES
Banks usually open weekdays for the mornings,
from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Not all the banking entities have accessible
offices or automatic cashpoint machines, for which we recommend “La
Caixa” as an entity that is gradually eliminating architectural
barriers from their offices. They have branches and cashpoint
machines all over the city. The majority of automatic cashpoint
machines are inaccessible for visually-impaired people.
POST OFFICES
Central Post Office
Pl. d’Antoni López, s/n
Tel. 93 486 80 50
Opening times from Monday to Saturday 8.30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and
Sunday 12 a.m. to 10 p.m. www.correos.es atcliente@correos.es
The building, the main entrance of which is reached via a flight
of stairs, has an alternative entrance to the left of the main
stairway. It is indicated with the international accessibility
logo, is on level ground from the street, has a bell and connects
with a spacious lift. You should take care on entering by this
door, since it coincides with the opening of the interior stairway,
which invades the passage of the door below 2.10 m. This entrance
connects directly with the accessible toilet facility in which
movement to the toilet seat must be made diagonally.
There are post offices in every district, which are usually open
from 8.30 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8.30 a.m. to
1 p.m. Saturday. To find out which ones are accessible, you can
write to the Customer Service Department.
TELEVISION,
VIDEO AND CINEMA SYSTEMS
In Spain, commercial videos and the majority of blank tapes
sold in video clubs, photographic shops, department stores, etc.
use the PAL system PAL (Phase Alternation Line). The SECAM and
NTSC systems are incompatible in Spain.
If the television has teletext it is worth checking the subtitling
page for people with hearing difficulties. We suggest consulting
the television listings in the pres to find out which programmes
have subtitles.
The only cinemas that provide subtitles are those showing films
in the original version (V.O.). We recommend you consult the
listings and check the language of the subtitles, since they
could be in Spanish or Catalan.
RELIGIOUS
SERVICES
There is just one Catholic church that provides mass in Catalan
sign language every Saturday at 6.30 p.m. Access to the church
in wheelchair must be made via the side entrance in Carrer Benet
Mercadé.
Parish church of Santa Teresa
Via Augusta 68
FGC L6, L7 (Gràcia)
THE
ELDERLY
Pensioners and retired persons can enter free of half-price
in the majority of museums and tourist spots. For more information:
Federation of Old People’s
Associations of Catalonia
València 281
Tel. 93 215 02 33 www.gentgran.org
EMERGENCY
AND INFORMATION TELEPHONES
Emergencies
•
Telephone 112
•
Fax 900 500 112 (for the deaf)
•
SMS 679 436 200 (for the deaf)
The 112 line is the emergency number for the European Union.
The free number gives direct access to all the emergency services
available to the public: health, fire service, police, traffic
accidents, civil protection, etc.
You can call from a mobile phone even though you have no coverage
or credit, and even if you enter the PIN or SIM numbers incorrectly.
It functions 24/7 and replies in several languages (Catalan,
Spanish, French, English and German). All mobile phones currently
have a key that connects directly with the emergency services.
Health emergencies
•
Telephone 061
Security services
•
Guardia urbana (Local Police) (traffic and minor
crimes): telephone 092.
•
Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan Police) (public
safety): telephone 088.
•
Cuerpo Nacional de Policía (Spanish N.P.)
(documentation, customs, foreigners and organised crime): telephone
091
•
Guardia Civil (Civil Guard) (tax crimes
and arms control): telephone 062.
Fire Service
•
Telephone 080
General information about Barcelona
•
Telephone 010 (in Spanish and Catalan)
Hospitals
All the hospitals within the public health system have a recognised
prestige regarding disabled persons. The main centres are:
Instituto de Neurorehabilitación
Guttmann
Camí de Can Ruti s/n
08916 Badalona
Tel. 93 497 77 00 www.guttmann.com
Centre specialising in spinal injuries
Hospital Universitari
Vall d’Hebron
P. de la Vall d’Hebron s/n
Tel. 93 274 60 00 www.vhebron.es
Clinics Clínica Oftalmológica
Barraquer
Muntaner 314
Tel. 93 209 53 11 www.co-barraquer.es
The main ophthalmologic centre in Barcelona
This is a selection of establishments to go to in case of a
puncture in a wheel or other incidents, or to buy any orthopaedic
product:
Gracare
Galileu 261
Tel. 93 490 26 29
Open all year
Instituto Técnico Ortopédico
Enric Granados 114, bajos
Tel. 93 368 42 15 www.itosa.com
Open all year
Movilidad y accesibilidad
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 320
Tel. 93 419 19 49 www.mya.es
Closed in august
Suministros ortopédicos Meridiana
Navas de Tolosa 283-287
Tel. 93 351 29 50 www.ortopediasom.es
Closed in august
Lifante
Gaiter del Llobregat 131
Pol. ind. Estruch
08820 El Prat de Llobregat
Tel. 93 478 08 48 www.lifante.net
Open all year
Óptica Cottet
Av. del Portal de l’Àngel 40
Tel. 93 301 22 32 www.cottet.es
Open all year
Shop specialising in glasses and hearing aids. It has several
centres in the city.
Vital Móvil Catalunya, S.L.
Biscaia 394-396
Tel. / fax 93 408 01 69 www.vitalmovil.com
Hire of manual or electric wheelchairs and scooters
TRANSPORT:
HOW TO ARRIVE
Plane
The airport at El Prat (Tel. 93 298 38 38, www.aena.es)
is 12 km from Barcelona. You can get to Barcelona from the airport
on public transport with the Aerobús (Tel. 93 415 60 20),
which is accessible and leaves every 15 minutes. There are several
stops, among them Plaça Catalunya and Plaça Espanya.
The journey lasts about 30 minutes.
Travellers with special needs must inform the corresponding airline
before the departure of their flight, so that it can provide
the services necessary according to the disability. We recommend
arriving at the terminal two hours before the flight departure
time.
Air companies are obliged to provide this service free of charge.
In the case of flights of more than two hours, they often require
that the person travels accompanied. It is essential to get the
valid information in the travel agency, since sometimes, depending
on the company, disabled people must fill in special forms.
Boat
Barcelona is reached by sea from several Spanish ports:
Algeciras, Alicante, Cádiz, Canaries, Mallorca, Valencia
and Tarragona. One of the biggest shipping companies is Trasmediterránea
(Tel. 93 295 91 00).
If you would like more information, you can contact the Port
of Barcelona
(Tel. 93 443 13 00, www.apb.es).
There are few routes adapted for disabled passengers, which
makes it essential to contact the different shipping companies
to obtain more information. Very recently, fast trips to the
Balearic Isles have been introduced that are adapted, and on
which it is possible to embark with your own vehicle.
Train
Barcelona has large railway stations, but sadly the
train is one of the least accessible means of transport for
people with physical deficiencies.
Renfe
Tel. 902 24 02 02 www.renfe.es Passenger Service Centres: Sants and Plaça de Catalunya
Stations
The majority of Renfe local train stations have stairs and
are not accessible. At Plaça de Catalunya station you
can get to the platforms by lift, but the only station that
has ramps and support staff for people with mobility problems
is the Sants terminal.
In order to be able to use a portable manual platform lift
to reach them, you should contact Renfe, or the travel agency,
at least two hours before the train departure. In any case,
you must inform the railway company by phone (902 240 202)
or contact in person the Passenger Service Centres.
There are adapted carriages on the Alaris and Euromed trains,
but they do not have accessible toilet facilities.
França Station
Av.
del Marquès de l’Argentera s/n
Tel. 902 24 02 02
Metro L4 (Barceloneta)
Bus 39, 51
The França Station is one of the gateways to the city
by rail. Its main entrance has ramps to the side of the façade
with a gentle slope. The open interior spaces are accessible,
and there is a mobile lift with wheels to provide access
from the platform to the few accessible trains. There are
adapted toilet booths.
The spaces in this station are multiuse and are also venues
for festivals and events in the city.
Sants Station
Pl. dels Països Catalans s/n
Tel. 902 24 02 02
Metro L3, L5 (Sants Estació)
Bus 32, 44, 78, 109, 30, 27, 43
Sants Station is the city’s main railway station. It
has a large underground car park used for loading or unloading
private vehicles or goods.
The entrance is on level ground. Inside the building there
are stairs, escalators and lifts that link with the lower
floor where the platforms are. The ticket offices are accessible.
There are special, adapted, but not very well equipped toilet
booths. All the shops and stands inside the station are on
level ground or have access ramps.
Ferrocarrils de
la Generalitat de Catalunya "Catalan Railway Network"
Tel. 93 205 15 15 www.fgc.net
Customer Service Centres: Barcelona-Plaça Catalunya,
Provença and Barcelona-Plaça Espanya stations.
All three are accessible.
The Catalan Railway Company (FGC)
has two city lines (L6 and L7 of the underground network)
and several local lines
that go from Barcelona Barcelona-Plaça Catalunya
and Barcelona-Plaça Espanya stations, both accessible.
More than 80% of the stations are adapted for people with
reduced mobility, so it is essential to check that the
ones we intend to use are in fact adapted. On the Metro
del Vallès and Metro del Baix Llobregat lines the
trains are boarded at the same height as the platform,
enabling ground level access, and have reserved and adapted
spaces for wheelchairs, prams, bicycles and other bulky
objects.
FGC is undertaking other adaptation measures on all its
lines, such as routes for the blind, and the automatic
ticket dispensing machines provide the possibility of people
with visual or hearing problems to purchase tickets. It
also has a loudspeaker service (in the stations and inside
the trains) that names the stops and the route for visually-impaired
people. For people with hearing difficulties, all the FGC
stations are adequately indicated and have visual communication
systems (information screens in the stations and illuminated
panels inside the trains).
Driving licence
Driving licences of European Union member states are valid in
Spain.
Parking
You may use the official European Community disabled person
parking card in the places on the public way marked for disabled
persons. These places are identified by the international accessibility
symbol .
The private reserved parking places on the public way are
recognisable because they include the international accessibility
symbol and have the registration number of the place owner’s
car marked. Other people are not allowed to park there.
Public car parks have parking places reserved for disabled
persons, and some of them, with several storeys, have a lift
that connects with the street.
In the centre of Barcelona there are no free parking spaces
on the public way. In what are called “green zones”,
only residents of the area are allowed to park their cars
there, whereas the “blue zones” are for paid
parking which is based on time parked. Holders of the official
European Community disabled person parking card can park
their cars free of charge for the length of time they require
to undertake their activities, but must always leave the
card visible. They may also park in loading and unloading
areas under the same conditions.
Vehicle adaptation
Caradap
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 320
Tel. 93 419 19 49 www.caradap.es
Closed in august
Hire of adapted cars
The following companies have an office in Barcelona airport
and several branches in the city. They hire vehicles without
the driver.
Hertz
Tel. 902 402 405
El Prat airport - Terminales B and C
Tel. 93 298 36 38
Fax 93 298 36 42 www.hertz.es
You should order your vehicle with 5 days notice.
Europcar
El Prat airport
Tel. 902 105 055
Fax 932 983 304 www.europcar.es
You must order the vehicle in advance. They have a special
discount rate for disabled persons. They have a branch in Sants
Station.
Adapted door-to-door accompaniment
Amiba
Jordi de Sant Jordi 11, bajos
Tel. 93 305 46 00 www.amiba.org
Barcelona is slowly but surely transforming
and renewing its transport system. Barcelona buses are accessible
and the metro is increasingly more accessible, but it is recommendable
to
check
beforehand which lines and stations are adapted. To do this
you can consult the metro, the public transport websites or,
to get more up-to-date information, you can ask at the municipal
entities
dedicated
to the disabled and the public transport companies.
Municipal
Institute for Disabled Persons
Av. de la Diagonal 233
Tel. 93 413 27 75
Fax 93 413 28 00
SMS:
Tel. 93 231 96 14 (for the deaf) www.bcn.es/imd
Transports Metropolitans
de Barcelona
Tel. 93 318 70 74 y 010 www.tmb.net
Customer Service Centre: metro stations of Diagonal (L5), Sagrada
Família (L5), Universitat (L1 and L2) and Sants Station
(L3 and L5).
Ferrocarrils
de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC)
Tel. 93 205 15 15 www.fgc.net
Customer Service Centres: Barcelona-Plaça Catalunya,
Provença and Barcelona-Plaça Espanya stations.
The three stations are accessible.
Tram •
Trambaix Offices
Av. de Barcelona s/n
08970 Sant Joan Despí •
Tram Besòs Offices
Av. d’Eduard Maristany s/n
08930 Sant Adrià de Besòs
Tel. 902 193 275 www.trambcn.com
Bus
100% of the conventional buses in Barcelona are accessible
in the bus stops. The majority have seats.
The adapted buses are low platform single-deckers and have a boarding ramp
for disabled passengers, and a space reserved for people with reduced mobility,
wheelchair users or with prams. They also have request stop buttons at a lower
position than usual. The ticket validating machines emit acoustic and visual
signals to ensure that people with visual or hearing problems can interact
with the machine and to know if their ticket has been correctly validated.
Here are also buses called “busos de barri”, or local buses, smaller
in size than the conventional ones, that are all adapted, as is the “Bus
de les Arts”, a night bus service that connects Plaça de Catalunya
with the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya and the Auditori.
Barcelona
Bus Turístic (Tourist Bus)
The tourist buses are double-decker open-top vehicles. They
cover routes around Barcelona, with stops at the main points
of interest: Plaça de Catalunya, Passeig de Gracia,
Parc Güell, the stadium of FC Barcelona, Plaça
de Francesc Macià, Sants Station, Plaça Espanya,
Poble Espanyol, the Olympic Ring, the Columbus monument, the
Gothic Quarter, the Sagrada Familia, the Forum area, etc. Their
frequency varies between every 5 to 20 minutes. Tourist guides
provide information throughout the route.
80% of the buses are adapted and are low platform and accessible
via a ramp. Wheelchair users cannot, however, go onto the upper
deck.
Barcelona Bus Turístic
Tel. 93 285 38 34 www.barcelonaturisme.com
Barcelona Tours (private
company)
Tel. 93 402 69 55
Metro
The Barcelona metro is made up of six lines run by
the Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) entity (L1
to L5 and L11) and another two lines run by the Ferrocarrils
de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC) (L6 and L7). Since 1992,
due to the holding of the Olympic Games, the metro stations
are gradually being adapted. They have guided pathway sections
to orientate the blind and in the majority of carriages there
is acoustic information. The newly-built and under construction
lines, L2 and L11, are accessible and are adapted for people
with motor or sensory limitations.
The adapted stations have lifts that connect the public way
with the inside of the station and with the platforms. In some
of them (those which TMB calls “partially adapted”)
the platform is still not at the same level as the carriage,
so that wheelchair users must have the help of another person
to overcome the step.
While the metro network is in the process of adaptation, it
is possible that the station entrance you use is adapted, and
in contrast, the station where you want to get out is not.
The station reforms are being undertaken slowly, due to the
high cost, but in the short-term the majority will be adapted.
Tram
The recently built and correctly adapted tram lines
connect the greater city area with the centre at its two extremes:
the River Besòs and River Llobregat.
Access to the carriages from the platform is on level ground
and there are adapted carriages, with telescopic ramps in the
doors and space reserved for wheelchair users and the elderly,
suitably indicated. There are also visual and aural indications.
Taxi
The adapted taxi company Taxi Amic (Tel.
93 420 80 88, www.terra.es/personal/taxiamic)
has taxis with a rear boarding and alighting ramp, and an interior
free of obstacles for a person in a wheelchair, with optional
anchorages. It is recommendable to book the service in advance.
All taxis are obliged to accept guide dogs for the blind without
any extra charge.
Montjuïc Funicular
This short section of funicular rail links the Montjuïc
mountain with the city. The line starts at the Paral•lel
station of the L3 and L2 metro lines. Most of the route goes
through tunnels.
To reach the platform there is stair lift platform and a ramp
with a steep gradient. Access to the adapted carriage is on
level ground.
Barcelona has excellent services for disabled
people. To find out about them you should consult the Council
website (www.bcn.es/accessible)
or get in touch with the corresponding municipal entity. Both
provide detailed information regarding everything related to any
disability:
Municipal Institute
for Disabled Persons
Av. de la Diagonal 233
Tel. 93 413 27 75
Fax: 93 413 28 00 www.bcn.es/imd
The municipal services that provide telephone attention
gave standard phones with the option of receiving SMS from
a fixed phone that has the facility or from a mobile phone.
People with communication difficulties can thus contact the
Council without problems.
Municipal attention services
accessible for people with hearing difficulties
Municipal Institute
for Disabled Persons
93 231 96 14 Occupational Assessment Team (EAL in Catalan)
93 231 96 41 Promotion and support service
93 321 96 67 Information service 010
93 486 00 98 Sports information service
93 424 13 56 Women’s Information and
Resource Centre (CIRD in Catalan)
93 321 96 74 Permanent office of social attention
93 319 18 97 Guardia Urbana (Local
Police)
93 321 58 86
General library
93 302 43 24 Office for non-discrimination
93 301 32 20 Virreina Information Centre (ICUB)
93 317 14 16 Resource Centre for the Hard
of Hearing (CREDAC in catalan)
93 423 60 96 Municipal Institute of Education
(IMEB in catalan)
93 426 12 23 Information and Assessment
Centre for Young People
(CIAJ in catalan)
93 443 38 05
Handicapped
persons associations
Physically handicapped
ASPAYM (Association of Paraplegics
and Handicapped)
Pere Vergés 1 (Hotel d’Entitats La Pau)
Tel. 93 314 00 65 www.aspaymcatalunya.org
COCEMFE (State Coordinating
Confederation of Physically Handicapped of Spain) – Federation
of Physically Handicapped ECOM-Francesc Layret
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 562
Tel. 93 451 55 50 www.ecom.es
ASEM Federation (Spanish Federation
of Neuromuscular Illnesses)
Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 562, principal 2ª
Tel. 93 451 65 44 www.asem-esp.org
Blind or visually-impaired
people
Catalan Association
of the Blind and Visually Impaired
Cardenal Reig 32
Tel. 93 447 04 04 www.accdv.org
Manuel Caragol Foundation
of the Blind
Girona 78, 3.º 3.ª
Tel. 93 265 39 09 www.funcaragol.org
ONCE
(National Organisation of the Blind of Spain)
Sepúlveda 1
Tel. 93 238 10 07 www.once.es
Deaf or hard of hearing
people
ACCAPS (Catalan Association
for the Promotion of Deaf People)
Providència 42
Tel. 93 210 86 27 www.acapps.org
FESOCA (Catalan Federation
of the Deaf)
Pere Vergés 1, 7º (Hotel d’Entitats La
Pau)
Tel. / Fax 93 278 18 42 www.fesoca.org
Mentally handicapped
people
Catalan Federation Pro
Mentally Handicapped People
Joan Güell 90-92
Tel. 93 490 16 88 www.apps.es
• Barcelona Tourist Information Centre
Pl. de Catalunya 17, S
Tel. 93 285 38 34
Opening times: open every day, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed
1 January and 25 December.
• Other information centres
As a reference point for visitors arriving in our city by train,
Turisme de Barcelona (Tourist Board) has an information centre
in Barcelona Sants railway station (Pl. dels Països Catalans,
s/n). Opening times: Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.;
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
In summer, every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed 1 January
and 25 and 26 December.
In the centre of the Gothic Quarter and on the ground floor
of the City Council (Ciutat, 2) is another tourist information
centre. Opening times: Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.;
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays and bank holidays
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Other tourist attention points are in the Rambla (Rambla dels
Estudis, 115), Sagrada Família (Pl. de la Sagrada Família),
Pl. del Portal de la Pau, Pl. d’Espanya and the Estació del
Nord.
Information centre for Catalonia
Palau Robert
P. de Gràcia 107
Tel. 93 238 80 91
Fax: 93 238 40 10 www.gencat.net/probert
Opening times: Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.;
Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2.30 p.m.
Tourism Head Office of the Generalitat de Catalunya (Autonomous
Government) in Barcelona.
El Prat Airport
Terminals A and B
Opening times daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Closed 1 January
and 25 December.
The Generalitat de Catalunya (Autonomous Government), the Barcelona
Regional Council and Turisme de Barcelona (Tourist Board) have
signed a joint agreement that has extended the tourist information
services in terminals A and B.
Telephone
010
To obtain all kinds of information, from opening times of museums
to city bus routes.
Our aim is to produce new editions of the
guide and enlarge it. If you want to include
any establishment of facility that we have
omitted and you think should be in the guide,
or if you want the authors to visit your
establishment to evaluate the possibility
of including it, you can write to the following
address:
info@rovira-beleta.com
.