Paris to Barcelona by train

How to travel from Paris to Barcelona by train

The era of high speed rail travel has transformed taking the train from Paris to Barcelona, so despite the distance, this is a very straightforward journey.

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Routes

From Paris Gare de Lyon/Paris Lyon to Barcelona Sants

Travel Information

Final Destination: Barcelone (Barcelona)

All trains also call at: Figueres-Vilifant and Girona

2 - 4 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date

USUALLY between early June and early July there are there are 3 x trains per day, between early July and late August there are 4 x trains per day.

When looking for tickets on Oui.SNCF tick the 'direct trains' box, on Trainline tick the 'fastest journeys' box.

On Oui.SNCF enter 'Gare de Lyon (Paris)' in the from box, on Trainline select Paris-Gare-de-Lyon.

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey, but rail pass users will need to be pay a rail pass reservation fee prior to boarding.

If you will be travelling with an InterRail or Eurail pass, there is no viable alternative to taking these trains, if you want to travel from Paris to Barcelona in a single day.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline from €39

Trainline Guide

Oui.SNCF from €39

Oui.SNCF Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

Though a legacy of when SNCF sold international tickets under the Rail Europe branding is that OuiSNCF is available in multiple translations with the offerings on the site then tailored to international visitors to France.
However, some of the site's features, including the integration of mobility assistance into the booking path, are only available on the French language version.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF 'My Travel' phone app, so it's therefore often a good idea to book on the OuiSNCF mobile service.

Happyrail from €39

Happyrail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial)Coastal views

Good to Know

On departure the train heading to Barcelona will usually be attached in front of another train which will be terminating in Montpellier.
Therefore the coaches heading to Barcelona will usually be found towards the far end of the voie (platform/track) at the Gare De Lyon
So don't cut it too fine when boarding these trains, if you don't want to hurry, be at the Gare De Lyon at least 5 minutes before the train will be leaving.

From the left of the train between Narbonne and Perpignan From the left of the train between Narbonne and Perpignan
From the left of the train between Narbonne and Perpignan From the left of the train between Narbonne and Perpignan
From the left of the train between Perpignan and Figueres From the left of the train between Perpignan and Figueres

This is a journey of three distinct parts.

1: Between the outskirts of Paris and Nimes the trains travel on the high speed line.

  1. From Nimes to Perpignan the trains follow the coast, but don't expect incredible seascapes, the sea is often just out of sight on the right, but you're more likely to see it from the upper deck

Though what makes the part of the journey between Sete and Perpignan unusual is that between these two towns there are often sea lagoons which can be seen from the left-hand side of the train, particularly south of Narbonne when the railway seems to skim across the surface of the water

As can be seen in the video, what's unusual and rather fabulous about this part of the journey, as the train leaves Narbonne behind, is that the 'sea' can be seen from both sides of the train.

3, Between Perpignan and Barcelona, the train reverts back to using a high speed line.

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