Barcelona to Rome distance

Barcelona to Rome by road

The fastest driving route is 1,360 km (845 mi) long and takes about 14 hr 45 min without stops or traffic. It runs mostly on the A1 (272 km), the A9 (225 km), and the A8 (224 km).

Of the 1,360 km, 160 km are in Spain, 532 km are in France, and 655 km are in Italy. That’s an average of 92 km/h (57 mph). Spain’s traffic authority (DGT) recommends a break every two hours or 200 km: with 7 stops of 20 minutes, the trip takes about 17 hr 5 min. At about 8 hours behind the wheel a day, it’s a 2-day drive. 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 Rome are 862 km (536 mi) apart. That’s the geodesic on the WGS84 ellipsoid, the distance “as the crow flies”.

The road is 58% longer: for every 100 km in a straight line you drive 158. That’s a big detour: the fastest route strays quite far from the straight line. Of the 34 Spain–Europe driving pairs in this series, it has the biggest detour (the average is 31%).

From Barcelona, Rome lies to the east (bearing 83°), and from Rome, Barcelona lies to the west. The straight line reaches Rome on a bearing of 90°: 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 Rome

Halfway along the straight line, 431 km (268 mi) from each city, is the point 41.7534° N, 7.3240° E. It falls in the water; the closest place is Cargèse (South Corsica, France, pop. 1,032), 114 km away. The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Ajaccio (South Corsica, France, pop. 54,364), 119 km away.

By road, the halfway point is 680 km (423 mi) from each city, in La Turbie (Alpes-Maritimes, France, pop. 3,188). The nearest town of 20,000 people or more is Monaco (Municipality of Monaco, Monaco, pop. 32,965), 2.6 km away. The two midpoints are 222 km apart: if you want to meet halfway, the one on the road is the useful one.

Time zone and flight

Barcelona and Rome share the same time all year: both are on Central European Time.

A direct flight would take about 1 hr 35 min. That’s an estimate: 30 minutes for takeoff, climb, descent and landing, plus the 862 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 has 1.7 million people (INE population register, January 1, 2025) and Rome 2.3 million people (GeoNames).