Barcelona to Tarragona distance

Barcelona to Tarragona by road

The fastest driving route is 96.8 km (60.2 mi) long and takes about 1 hr 20 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the C-32 (55.7 km), the AP-7 (10.3 km), and the A-7 (9.3 km).

The whole route stays in Catalonia. That’s an average of 73 km/h (46 mph), and at under two hours you can do it without stopping. The time is OSRM’s estimate with OpenStreetMap data: no traffic and speeds somewhat below the limits, so real trips can differ.

Straight-line distance and bearing

In a straight line, the shortest distance over the Earth’s surface, Barcelona and Tarragona are 82.8 km (51.4 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 17% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 117. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 40 Spanish pairs in this series, it ranks 31st for detour (the average is 24%).

From Barcelona, Tarragona lies to the west (bearing 249°), and from Tarragona, Barcelona lies to the east.

Halfway between Barcelona and Tarragona

Halfway along the straight line, 41.4 km (25.7 mi) from each city, is the point 41.2508° N, 1.7149° E. It falls near Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona, pop. 71,641), 3.1 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 48.4 km (30.1 mi) from each city, near Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona, pop. 71,641), 3.2 km away. The two midpoints almost coincide (0.6 km apart), because the road doesn’t stray far from the straight line.

The two cities

Barcelona sits at 13 m (43 ft) and Tarragona at 50 m (164 ft), 37 m (121 ft) higher.

Barcelona has 1.7 million people and Tarragona 143,649 people (INE population register, January 1, 2025).