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.
Final Destination: Barcelone (Barcelona)
All trains also call at: Figueres-Vilifant and Girona
2 - 4 x trains per day
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trainline | from €39 | |
Oui.SNCF | from €39 | |
Happyrail | from €39 |
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.
This is a journey of three distinct parts.
1: Between the outskirts of Paris and Nimes the trains travel on the high speed line.
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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This is one of more than 1000 journey guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.