Montjuïc has two separate systems that meet at one station. The funicular is part of the TMB metro network and gets you most of the way up for the price of a metro ride. The cable car is a separately ticketed attraction run by a TMB group company, and it is the only one of the two that reaches the castle. All prices and times below were checked on the operators' own pages on 12 October 2026.
How the two connect
The TMB line FM page lists the Montjuïc Funicular Railway as a metro line. It runs from Paral·lel, which the cable car operator lists as served by metro lines L2 and L3, to Parc de Montjuïc station. TMB's cable car page says the cable car's base station sits next to the Parc de Montjuïc funicular stop, so the change is a short walk, not a bus ride.
From there the cable car climbs to Montjuïc Castle. The operator's information page gives the line as 752 metres long with an 84.55-metre climb, 55 cabins for up to 8 people each, and a capacity of up to 2,000 passengers an hour; its other pages round the length to 750 metres. There are three stations: Parc de Montjuïc, the Mirador de l'Alcalde viewpoint and Castell. According to the operator's home page, the outbound trip from Parc de Montjuïc runs straight to the castle with no intermediate stop, and the Mirador stop is offered on the way back down.
Funicular: tickets and hours
TMB's fares page lists the single ticket at €2.90, "valid for metro, bus, and Montjuïc funicular". The single ticket page adds that it is not integrated: it is valid only until you leave that means of transport, so a metro ride to Paral·lel plus the funicular on single tickets costs two fares.
The T-casual is the better buy if you are already using one. ATM describes it as 10 integrated journeys "across all modes of transport" for €13 in zone 1, with up to three transfers within 75 minutes of the first validation. Neither the ATM page nor TMB's T-casual page names the funicular separately; TMB runs it as metro line FM, so expect to validate it like a metro line. If a gate does not accept your card, the €2.90 single ticket is the fallback. The Hola BCN travel card page does name the funicular as included. For which ticket suits the rest of your stay, see T-casual and the fare zones.
The funicular keeps its own seasonal hours, set out on TMB's operating hours page:
| Period | Monday–Friday | Saturday, Sunday, public holidays |
|---|---|---|
| 30 March – 25 October 2026 | 07:30–22:00 | 09:00–22:00 |
| 26 October 2026 – 28 March 2027 | 07:30–20:00 | 09:00–20:00 |
Cable car prices
These are the operator's 2026 fares from the fares and prices page, checked 12 October 2026:
| Ticket | Adult | Child 4–12 | Under 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return, ticket office | €19.00 | €13.00 | Free |
| Return, online (10% off) | €17.10 | €11.70 | Free |
| One way (ticket office only) | €12.00 | €10.00 | Free |
The Hola Barcelona ticket page, TMB's official store, defines "adult" as over 12. The discount applies to return tickets bought through Hola Barcelona online or in its app; the same tickets at full price are sold at the cable car ticket offices and at the Hola Barcelona store in the L3 lobby at Catalunya station. One-way tickets can only be bought at the cable car ticket offices, in cash or by card. Groups of more than 25 can ask for special prices through the operator's contact form.
What each ticket lets you do, per the fares page:
- One way: board at any station and get off at one of the other two, once.
- Return: ride one way, get off, walk around, then ride again. Return tickets must be used on the day of issue.
- Online vouchers: show them on your phone or on paper at the ticket office.
The cable car is a separate product from city transport. The Hola BCN travel card page states plainly that "the Montjuïc Cable Car is not included", and nothing on the TMB or ATM pages says a T-casual covers it.
Cable car hours and closures
The cable car opens every day at 10:00. Closing time depends on the month, per the timetables page:
| Months | Hours |
|---|---|
| January–February | 10:00–18:00 |
| March–May | 10:00–19:00 |
| June–September | 10:00–21:00 |
| October | 10:00–19:00 |
| November–December | 10:00–18:00 |
| 25 December, 1 January, 6 January | 10:00–14:30 |
Last access is 15 minutes before closing, and 20 minutes before closing if you want to ride the full route. In October that means boarding by 18:40 for the full line; in November, by 17:40.
If the service is suspended, the general conditions say the fare will be refunded or alternative transport provided. Lost, stolen or damaged tickets are not refunded or exchanged. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Example totals: couple and family
All figures use the checked fares above: funicular €2.90 on a single ticket or €1.30 per journey from a €13 zone 1 T-casual (€13 ÷ 10), cable car as listed. Each person needs their own validation; ATM says a T-casual "cannot be used by more than one person at the same time".
| Plan | Couple (2 adults) | Family (2 adults, children aged 6 and 10) |
|---|---|---|
| Funicular up on T-casual journeys, cable car return bought online | €2.60 + €34.20 = €36.80 | €5.20 + €57.60 = €62.80 |
| Funicular up on T-casual journeys, cable car one way up, walk down | €2.60 + €24.00 = €26.60 | €5.20 + €44.00 = €49.20 |
| Funicular up and down on T-casual journeys, no cable car | €5.20 | €10.40 |
| Funicular up on single tickets, cable car return at the ticket office | €5.80 + €38.00 = €43.80 | €11.60 + €64.00 = €75.60 |
The family rows assume each child rides the funicular on their own T-casual journey or single ticket: TMB's terms of use exempt only children under four, so children aged 6 and 10 need a validated ticket like everyone else. A family of four can also look at a multi-person ticket, covered in the fares guide linked above; the same terms say the number of validations must match the number of people travelling together.
Which option to choose
Use the funicular alone if you are heading to the lower and middle parts of the hill rather than the castle. TMB's cable car page lists the Fundació Joan Miró, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Poble Espanyol and the Olympic Stadium as reachable from the area; for the museum, see MNAC tickets and free entry.
Switch plans in these situations:
- Early start: the funicular runs from 07:30 on weekdays and 09:00 at weekends, but the cable car does not open until 10:00.
- Late afternoon in winter: from November the cable car closes at 18:00, while the funicular runs until about 20:00 from 26 October. A visit that starts after about 17:00 should skip the cable car.
- Weather or strike notice on the operator's site: go up on the funicular and use the buses below, or walk.
- Pushchair or wheelchair: the cable car is fully adapted and holds UNE 170001 universal accessibility certification from December 2008, according to its information page. TMB's pages read for this guide do not describe step-free access at the funicular stations, so check that before relying on it.
Buses to the cable car
The two official pages disagree slightly. The operator's how-to-get-there page lists bus 55 (Parc de Montjuïc) and bus 150 (Castell de Montjuïc) to the Av. Miramar – Estació del Funicular stop, plus the Barcelona Bus Turístic Red Route to its Telefèric de Montjuïc stop. TMB's cable car page lists buses 50 and 55. Line 55 appears on both. TMB buses take the same single ticket or T-casual journey as the metro; check the line in the TMB app before you set out, since the bus line pages could not be loaded for this guide.
If you are arriving in Barcelona the same day, getting from El Prat to the centre covers the airport leg before you reach Paral·lel.