Q: I've read through the excellent information on your site but have a query ... I intend taking the RENFE into town on arrival at the airport with my destination being Hotel Icaria I'd like to take a taxi rather than the metro/walk so which station would you recommend ? Looks like Franca Station is closest but are taxis freely available outside all the stations ?

A:  In summary there are taxis ranks available outside the following main transport stations and transport hubs: 

Train Stations:
Barcelona Sants (Sants Estacio), 
Placa Catalunya station,
Barcelona Franca station. 
Placa Espanya
Passeig de Gracia - situated at the intersections with Carrer Mallorca, Carrer Valencia and Gran Via Corts Catalanes.
Barcelona Franca Station. This taxi stop is right outside the main entrance to the station. However Barcelona Franca station is also on Avenue Marques De L'Argentera, which is a very busy road that has taxis travelling up and down it all day and night, you will therefore have no problems at all catching a taxi from Barcelona Franca station at any time.

Bus Stations:
Barcelona Nord: There is a large taxi rank outside this bus station.
Barcelona Sants (Estacio Sants): Right outside the main entrance of the station.
Placa Catalunya Station.

Barcelona Airport:
Taxi ranks are available outside all of the main terminal exists for Barcelona airport, that is Terminal A, Terminal B and Terminal C. Make sure to look for the direction of the nearest taxi rank when you leave the exit for the airport terminal. There will be a sign showing you the direction for the nearest taxi rank. Each taxi rank is no more than a few minutes walk from any of the Barcelona Terminal exits.

Barcelona Cruise Terminals:
Taxi ranks can be found outside Terminals A, B and C, and D (Palacruceros) at Moll Adossat. 
Terminal Bertrand.
There is also a taxi rank outside the Grand Marina Hotel at the World Trade Centre which is a short 5 minute walk from the North, East and South cruise terminals.

Availability And Location of Taxi Ranks In Barcelona City Centre
There are several hundred taxi rank stops around Barcelona city centre. If you don´t catch a taxi actually at a taxi rank you will still be able to flag down a cab from almost anywhere in the city centre. Taxis are readily available day and night throughout most of the city centre.  If you want to flag down a cab that is on the road find a location where the cab can pull in safely. Such locations include bus stop areas, natural enclaves you will see on some roads or at the corner of roads. If you choose a safer location for the cab to stop he is much more likely to stop to pick you up. Look for a cab with a green light on the top indicating that cab is available to hire.

For the locations of all the major Barcelona transport station hubs I recommend you visit our Barcelona Transport stations map page given below:

Barcelona Transport Station Hubs Map

Locations of all Taxi Ranks Around Barcelona City Centre

To find the location of any of the several hundred taxi ranks stops around Barcelona city centre  I recommend you visit the Barcelona Metropolitan Taxi Association website that list them all and has a handy  district map which you can click on to see the Taxi stops in that district.

Taxi Rank Stops In Barcelona By Area

Barcelona Town Council Taxi Rank Map

There is also a on-line map made by the town council showing the exact location for all the taxi rank stops around Barcelona. To use this map effectively you need to click your mouse in the button that says Apropa  then click on the section of the map you are interested in. This will Zoom in to the map. Note you have to click the Apropa button each time you want to zoom in otherwise you will get an error, not very efficient but it works.

Town Council Map Showing Taxi Rank Stops Linked To A Barcelona Map

Reserving a Taxi by Telephone
If you wish to have a taxi pick you up at your hotel or another specified location I recommend you visit the following web page on our site that lists the main taxi telephone numbers. Most of these agencies have someone that can speak English.

Barcelona Taxi Reservation Lines