Free Tours of Hidden Metro Sites Announced

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) will open several normally restricted transport facilities to the public as part of European Mobility Week 2026. The events include guided tours of the long-unused Gaudí 'ghost station', the historic Santa Eulàlia metro workshops, and the ZAL maintenance facilities. These visits will take place on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September. The public can register for free, but places are limited and advance booking is required. Registration opens on Monday 14 September via the Barcelona City Council's open days portal.

Explore the Unfinished Gaudí Station

The highlight of the programme is access to the Gaudí station, an unfinished underground station on the L3 line near Diagonal, which was constructed decades ago but never opened to passengers. Visitors will take 20-minute guided tours, with nine time slots available each day from 09:30 to 13:30 at half-hour intervals. Each tour will accommodate up to 20 people.

The Gaudí station offers a rare glimpse into Barcelona’s unbuilt transport history, a relic of mid-20th-century metro expansion plans.

This will be one of the few opportunities for the public to see the abandoned platforms and tiled walls intended to honour the architect Antoni Gaudí.

Visit Historic Metro Workshops

Two operational maintenance sites will also open their doors. The Santa Eulàlia workshops in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, built in 1922, are the oldest metro maintenance facilities in Barcelona and are designated a local cultural heritage site. Tours here last 25 minutes, with six daily slots and a maximum of eight visitors per group. The ZAL workshops, located in the Zona Franca industrial area, cover over 10,000 square metres and serve as a modern depot and maintenance hub. These 20-minute tours will run eight times per day, with 20 people allowed per group.

Classic Bus Exhibition on Passeig de Gràcia

Concurrent with the metro site visits, TMB, the TMB Foundation, Sagalés, and the Association for the Recovery and Conservation of Buses (ARCA) will host the Classic Buses of Barcelona exhibition. Over 30 vehicles will be on display, ranging from the historic 1922 Tilling-Stensens model, the first bus in Barcelona’s network, to modern sustainable buses. The exhibition will be held on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 September. On Friday, it runs from 12:00 to 20:00; on Saturday, from 10:00 to 19:00. The location is Passeig de Gràcia, between Plaça de Catalunya and Gran Via, in central Barcelona.

Extended X1 Express Bus Route Launching

On Monday 21 September, coinciding with the start of the academic year and the close of European Mobility Week, the express bus line X1 will extend its route to terminate at Zona Universitària. The new route will run from Avinguda d'Albert Bastardas, at the end of Avinguda Diagonal, replacing the previous terminus at Plaça Francesc Macià. The extension aims to improve fast connections between central Barcelona, particularly Eixample and Glòries, and the university district, while enhancing intermodal links with metro, tram, and regional buses from Baix Llobregat.

  • Registration for metro site visits opens: 14 September
  • Ghost station and workshop tours: 19–20 September
  • Classic bus exhibition: 18–19 September
  • X1 express bus extension begins: 21 September

Residents and visitors interested in attending the guided tours can book at the official booking portal when registrations open.

Primary sources: noticies.tmb.cat, ajuntament.barcelona.cat, Ayuntamiento de Barcelona, tmb.cat, Barcelona City Council. Reported by laciutat.cat, beteve.cat, Metrópoli, larazon.es, abc.es, metropoliabierta.elespanol.com, catalannews.com, 20minutos, Catalan News (in English), La Ciutat.