Relax with a glass of red at a 1st class upper deck table for 2 on a TGV Duplex from Paris to Barcelona.  Speed along the Rhone Valley at 186mph past pretty French villages, watch for the flamingos on the étangs (lakes) in the South of France with glimpses of the Mediterranean.  Skirt the Pyrenees to arrive in central Barcelona, 6h25 from Paris.  Flying takes 4-5 disjointed hours with 10 times the CO2 emissions.  See the photos...  Watch the video... Mt Canigou (2,784m) in the Pyrenees is clearly visible on your right as your train leaves Perpignan & heads into Spain...

Paris to Barcelona from €59...   Watch the video!

On 15 December 2013, direct double-decker TGV Duplex high-speed trains started running from Paris Gare de Lyon to Figueres, Girona & Barcelona at up to 199 mph.  Paris to Barcelona centre to centre in around 6h25, compared to almost 5 hours by air once ground transportation, check-in time and airport security are included.  Initially 2 trains per day, this will double to 4 daily trains at the end of March.  Forget flying, chill out with a glass or two of red wine and enjoy the ride along the scenic Rhone Valley, watch for the flocks of flamingos on the étangs (lakes) in the south of France, and glimpse the coast and the Pyrenees before arriving in the centre of Barcelona...

  Paris-Barcelona TGV timetable

  How much does it cost? 

  How to buy tickets

  What's the train like?

  What's the journey like?

  Travel tips - definitely read these!

  Overnight trains between Paris & Barcelona

  Suggested hotels in Barcelona near the station or Old Quarter

  Train travel in Spain, a beginner's guide

  European train travel general information:  Luggage, dogs, bikes etc.

Train times...

Read downwards, each column is a train you can take.

* = This train runs daily from 31 March 2014, now confirmed.

** = This train will start running from a date still to be announced.

Check train times when you book, some of these times still need to be confirmed.

Barcelona Sants station:  Map of Barcelona showing location of railway station.

Figueres Vilafant station is 5 kilometres from Figueres city centre, taxis available.

How much does it cost?

Cheap fares = Prems or Leisure fares = Book in advance, price varies like air fares, limited or no refunds or changes.

Full-price = Refundable and flexible.  There are no senior or youth reductions.

Child fare = Child 4-11 years, use an adult special fare if cheaper, as it often is. Children under 4 free.

How to buy tickets...

• Bookings usually open 92 days before departure, although bookings for dates immediately after the timetable changes in mid-June & mid-December may open late, perhaps only 60 days ahead.

• You can buy Paris-Barcelona TGV tickets online at these websites, they all charge similar prices although booking fees vary and some sites offer seating options, some allocate your seat.  They all issue print-at-home e-tickets.

    www.loco2.com - you can use wherever you live, no booking fee, usually offers choice of upper or lower deck.

    www.raileurope.com if you live in the USA, small booking fee, seat allocated.

    www.raileurope-world.com if you're in Canada, Australia, NZ, Asia, Africa or South America, small booking fee, seat allocated.

    www.capitainetrain.com which you can use wherever you live, no booking fee, choice of upper or lower deck.

    uk.voyages-sncf.com (formerly www.raileurope.co.uk) if you live in the UK, no booking fee, seat allocated.

      Unfortunately, uk.voyages-sncf.com can't currently book this route for any dates after 28 February due to a glitch.

• To buy tickets by phone in the UK, call International Rail on 0844 248 248 3, lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday.

• Click here for TGV Duplex seat numbering plans.  Seat numbers 11-58 = lower deck.  61-128 = upper deck.

• MONEY-SAVING  TIP:  Save money by split-ticketing at Perpignan!  I strongly recommend checking fares when you split the booking at Perpignan, especially if you see Paris-Barcelona fares in excess of €100 on your date of travel.  For example, on one date I picked, Paris-Barcelona by direct TGV cost €125.70.  But if you booked Paris-Perpignan and then Perpignan-Barcelona on exactly the same date and train this cost €50 + €39.60 = €89.60, a 29% saving.  On another date, I found Paris-Barcelona €170, when splitting the ticket cost €60 + €29 = €89, a 47% saving.  You'll need to switch seats at Perpignan of course, as you are unlikely to be given the same seat for both parts of the trip.  Splitting the journey won't always save money, but it happens so regularly on this route it's well worth checking.

• Coming from London, Brussels, Cologne or Amsterdam?  You can buy connecting Eurostar tickets between London & Paris at www.eurostar.com.  Connecting Thalys tickets between Amsterdam, Cologne, Brussels & Paris can be bought at www.b-europe.com.

• How to buy onward train tickets within Spain:  Onward trains from Barcelona to Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Granada, Seville & Malaga can be booked at the Spanish Railways website www.renfe.com or if you have any payment problems, www.raileurope-world.com instead, as they have a link to Renfe's system, same prices and same print-at-home tickets but with a small €4 fee.

What's the train like?          Watch the video

• The Paris to Barcelona trains are impressive TGV Duplex double-decker high-speed trains.  They operate at up to 186mph (300km/h) on the Sud-Est high-speed line between Paris and Nimes, and up to 199mph (320km/h) on the new high-speed line between Perpignan and Barcelona.

• You board the train at the lower level through a wide sliding external door into a small entrance area at one end of the lower deck.  Here, there's a toilet and the door into the lower deck seating area.  A wide, short & easy flight of stairs leads from the entrance area to a landing at one end of the upper deck, with an upstairs toilet and a door to the upstairs seating area.  You walk along the train from car to car at the upper level.  There are luggage racks both upstairs and downstairs, at the coach ends and between the seats.  Seat numbering plan for the Paris-Figueres TGV Duplex here.

• There are power sockets for laptops and mobiles at every seat and there are baby-changing facilities and designated spaces for passengers in wheelchairs.

• There's a cafe-bar serving drinks, snacks & light meals broadly similar to this sample menu from another French TGV, or you're free to bring your own food & wine along for the journey. 

• When booking, you can choose a seat on either upper or lower decks if you use either www.capitainetrain.com or www.loco2.com or book by phone, but not if you book at any of the Rail Europe sites which assign your seat.  If you have problems with stairs or very heavy luggage, the lower deck might be best.  But for the best views (over the top of the occasional sound barrier along the high speed lines!), definitely choose an upper deck seat.  For couples in first class, an upper deck club duo face-to-face table-for-two is easily the best option, selectable at www.capitainetrain.com.

A double-deck TGV Duplex at Paris Gare de Lyon.  You can travel from Paris to Barcelona in 6h25 by TGV, a relaxing journey catching up on your reading with a glass of wine.  Watch the video guide		The upstairs landing on a TGV Duplex showing the stairs down to the entrance door...

2nd class seats on TGV Duplex upper deck.  There's a mix of unidirectional seating & tables for four like this...		The cafe-bar on the upper deck in car 4, serving tea, coffee, soft drinks, wine, beer, snacks and microwave-style hot meal dishes....

1st class seats on TGV Duplex upper deck.  That's a club duo on the left & a club quatre on the right.		A TGV Duplex to Paris, at Barcelona Sants station.  The red near the door indicates 1st class, pale green 2nd class.

What's the journey like?

1.  Departure from Paris Gare de Lyon...   The train to Barcelona leaves from the magnificent Gare de Lyon in central Paris.  Why not have lunch (or at least a drink in the bar) at the fabulous Train Bleu Restaurant inside the Gare de Lyon (pictured above right) before catching your train to Barcelona?

2.  The Rhone Valley...  The train soon joins the high-speed line and accelerates smoothly to 186mph through the Paris suburbs, soon emerging into open country.  The train powers down the rural Rhone Valley, past pretty French villages with picturesque churches and the occasional castle.  On a clear day you can see the snow-capped French Alps in the far distance to the left, and the dark line of the Massif central mountains on the far side of the valley to the right.

3.  Béziers...  The train calls at Nimes and Montpelier, then passes non-stop through Béziers station.  As the train crosses the River Orb just west of the station, look right for a great view of Béziers' 13th century cathedral.  Above left, lunch from the cafe-bar, a magret de canard avec pommes de terre and some red wine from the cafe-bar.  By all means bring your own picnic and bottle of wine!

4.  The Mediterranean coast...  Between Montpellier & Perpignan the train skirts the glistening Mediterranean coastline with deserted beaches & marshland...		5.  Vineyards.  The train passes countless vineyards, all the way to the Spanish border.

6.  Étangs & flamingos...  The train passes numerous étangs (lakes), look out for colonies of flamingos feeding one-legged in the shallows.

7. The Fort de Salses...  Just before Perpignan, the train passes right by the impressive Fort de Salses on the right, a 15th-century Catalan fortress captured in 1642 and French-held ever since, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_de_Salses.

8.  Mt Canigou & the Pyrenees...  One of the highest mountains in the Pyrenees, the 2,784m (9,137 feet) high Mt Canigou is visible on the right all the way from Perpignan to Girona, see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canigou.

9.  Barcelona Sants station...  A modern station in central Barcelona, with plenty of taxis, and a metro to all parts of Barcelona.  There are left luggage lockers (consigna) and a Sala Club 1st class lounge which you can use if you have a 1st class ticket for the TGV for up to 2 hours before it departs, although not on arrival.  More information about Barcelona Sants. X-ray check when boarding:  At Spanish stations including Barcelona Sants, there's a quick X-ray check of all baggage before you can go onto the high-speed platforms, which includes boarding a northbound TGV to France.  The photo above left shows the X-ray machines at the access point to platforms 1-6 at Barcelona Sants.  There are no metal detectors, so you can carry what you like on your person, it's only your baggage that's checked.  There is no such check at any French station, where there is free & easy access to the train.

Video guide:  Barcelona to Paris by TGV Duplex...

The video takes you on a journey from Barcelona to Paris by TGV, showing the train and the scenery.

Travel tips...

Back to home page