Barcelona to Granada distance

Barcelona to Granada by road

The fastest driving route is 837 km (520 mi) long and takes about 9 hr 25 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the AP-7 (249 km), the A-7 (174 km), and the A-92 (161 km).

It goes through 5 autonomous communities: Catalonia (193 km), the Valencian Community (272 km), Castilla–La Mancha (12.6 km), the Region of Murcia (187 km), and Andalusia (172 km). That’s an average of 89 km/h (55 mph). Spain’s traffic authority (DGT) recommends a break every two hours or 200 km: with 4 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 10 hr 45 min. 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 Granada are 683 km (424 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 23% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 123. That’s a normal detour between two cities. Of the 120 Spanish driving pairs in this series, it ranks 58th for detour (the average is 24%).

From Barcelona, Granada lies to the southwest (bearing 229°), and from Granada, Barcelona lies to the northeast. The straight line reaches Granada on a bearing of 225°: on a sphere the bearing keeps changing along the way, which is why the shortest route looks slightly curved on a flat map.

Halfway between Barcelona and Granada

Halfway along the straight line, 341 km (212 mi) from each city, is the point 39.3145° N, 0.7971° W. It falls near Dos Aguas (Valencia, pop. 340), 2.8 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Picassent (Valencia, pop. 23,202), 29.8 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 418 km (260 mi) from each city, in Llanera de Ranes (Valencia, pop. 1,062). The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Xàtiva (Valencia, pop. 31,008), 5.1 km away. The two midpoints are 39.9 km apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

By plane

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 20 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 683 km straight line at 800 km/h (about 497 mph), a typical airliner cruising speed. Real schedules depend on wind, routing and airports, and not every pair has a direct flight.

The two cities

Barcelona sits at 13 m (43 ft) and Granada at 682 m (2,238 ft), 669 m (2,195 ft) higher.

Barcelona has 1.7 million people and Granada 233,975 people (INE population register, January 1, 2025).