How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from Barcelona to London

On the latest timetable, the journey by train from Barcelona to London is theoretically easier than it has been for several years.

When taking the train which leaves Barcelona at around 09:30, the usual typical connecting time between arrival at the Gare De Lyon and departure time at Gare Du Nord, which is where the Eurostar will leave from, is two hours on Monday to Friday and Sunday - but three hours on Saturdays.

The train which departs Barcelona at around 13:30 arrives in Paris too late for as connection to be available into an onward Eurostar to London.
On Monday to Friday and Sunday, the arrival will be in Paris around an hour before the final Eurostar of the day departs for London, but because of the Standard Class check-in at the Gare Du Nord closing 45 mins prior to departure, this won't be sufficient time to make the transfer.

Departing from Barcelona Sants

Aim to be at Barcelona Sants a minimum of 20 mins before departure, in order to allow time to pass through the security checks.

At Barcelona Sants station this train to France departs from the part of the station used by the Spanish high speed trains - vias (platforms/tracks) 1 - 6.
So when you're in the station follow the signs that are pointing the way to the ' Alta-Velocidad' trains.

Final Destination: Paris (Gare De Lyon)

Checking-in at the Gare Du Nord:

At the Gare Du Nord the check in and waiting area for the Eurostar (the 'Hall Du Londres') is at an upper level, above the main concourse.
The access to this upper level is some distance from the voie/platforms/tracks that the Eurostars depart from.
The escalators leading up to Eurostar departures are located at the rear wall of the station building, on the opposite side of the concourse to voies/platforms/tracks 14 - 15.

When the service is operating normally, the transfer across Paris by the RER train will take less than 25 mins, from stepping off the TGV at the Gare De Lyon to being on the concourse at the Gare Du Nord.
So if the train from Barcelona arrives in Paris on time and the RER is as it should be, you will be at the Gare Du Nord around 1hr 30 minutes prior to the departure of the Eurostar.

Eurostar recommends that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets should arrive at the Gare Du Nord 90 minutes before departure, with access to check-in being closed off from 30 mins prior to departure.
Therefore the train from Barcelona can arrive in Paris 45mins late and you should still comfortably be at Eurostar check-in in time.

Eurostar recommends that holders of Business Premier tickets should arrive at the Gare Du Nord 30 minutes before departure, with access to check-in being closed off from 15 mins prior to departure.

The Eurostar on to London:

Final Destination: London St Pancras

Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earliest.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.

Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date

If you will be making this journey on a Saturday, you may need to book separate tickets per train, due to the three hour interval between arrival and departure in Paris.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.
It's worth comparing the prices on RailEurope and Trainline, both services will add a booking fee for this journey, but on Trainline the additional charge won't be apparent until the final stage of the booking process.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.

Your ticket will not include the RER train across Paris from the Gare De Lyon to the Gare Du Nord.

Making the connection in Paris:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier(s), including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

Though both SNCF and Eurostar are members of The Railteam Alliance which offers a Hop on the next available train (HOTNAT) policy.
It 'allows travelers to take the next high-speed service leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay on or cancellation of a preceding Railteam member’s high-speed service prevents them from making their originally-planned connection. This service is free of charge and is subject to the following conditions:

• HOTNAT only applies at the station at which the passenger originally planned to change trains and in cases of train delays and train cancellations.
• The approval of HOTNAT is subject to the available capacity on board each train. Seats are not guaranteed'.

So 'issues regarding missed connection and cancellations' should be 'handled' by Railteam's HOTNAT policy.
Though HOTNAT can't be applied if the arrival into Paris is after the final Eurostar of the day has departed for London.

This option involves taking three trains instead of two, but it avoids the transfer across Paris by the RER train**](/blog/gare-de-lyon-to-gare-du-nord-by-rer) from the Gare De Lyon to the Gare Du Nord

Though the arrival time into London will be only 30mins sooner than when making the connection in Paris.

Making these connections typically involves departing from Barcelona shortly before 08:20, though the transfer time between trains in Lyon will be 40 mins - pretty much ideal if the train from Barcelona is on time, but it only allows around 35 mins of contingency time to cover for a delay.

Departing from Barcelona Sants

Aim to be at Barcelona Sants a minimum of 20 mins before departure, in order to allow time to pass through the security checks.

At Barcelona Sants station this train to France departs from the part of the station used by the Spanish high speed trains - vias (platforms/tracks) 1 - 6,
So when you're in the station follow the signs that are pointing the way to the ' Alta-Velocidad' trains.

Final Destination: Lyon-Part Dieu

Checking-in at Lille-Europe:

The train from Lyon is due into Lille 1hr 40min prior to the departure of the connecting Eurostar on to London.

Eurostar recommends that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets should arrive at Lille-Europe 90 minutes before departure, but the access to check-in will closed off from 30 mins prior to departure.
So this won't be an issue even if the train from Lyon arrives in Lille up to an hour late.

The Eurostar on to London:

Final Destination: London St Pancras

Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earliest.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.
Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.

Making the connection in Lille:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier(s), including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

Though both SNCF and Eurostar are members of The Railteam Alliance which offers a Hop on the next available train (HOTNAT) policy.
It 'allows travelers to take the next high-speed service leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay on or cancellation of a preceding Railteam member’s high-speed service prevents them from making their originally-planned connection. This service is free of charge and is subject to the following conditions:

• HOTNAT only applies at the station at which the passenger originally planned to change trains and in cases of train delays and train cancellations.
• The approval of HOTNAT is subject to the available capacity on board each train. Seats are not guaranteed'.

So 'issues regarding missed connection and cancellations' should be 'handled' by Railteam's HOTNAT policy.
Though the subsequent Eurostar typically departs from Lille three hours later!
Though HOTNAT can't be applied if the arrival into Lille is after the final Eurostar of the day has departed for London.

This option, which is only available on Saturday involves taking three trains instead of two but it avoids the transfer across Paris by the RER train from the Gare De Lyon to the Gare Du Nord.

If the trains operate according to their usual schedules, it's also a comparatively easy end-to-end journey.
The train which departs from Barcelona shortly before 08:20, arrives into Valence TGV station around 30mins before the departure of a train on to Lille.
The transfer in Valence will simply involve waiting on the same platform/track (voi) for the onward train.
The time between arrival and departure in Lille Europe station will be under 40 mins - though the contingency in the event of a delay, is taking a Eurostar on to London, which won't depart until more than 3hr 30mins later!

Departing from Barcelona Sants

Aim to be at Barcelona Sants a minimum of 20 mins before departure, in order to allow time to pass through the security checks.

At Barcelona Sants station this train to France departs from the part of the station used by the Spanish high speed trains - vias (platforms/tracks) 1 - 6,
So when you're in the station follow the signs that are pointing the way to the ' Alta-Velocidad' trains.

Final Destination: Paris Gare De Lyon

Checking-in at Lille-Europe:

The train from Valence TGV is due into Lille only 40mins prior to the departure of the connecting Eurostar on to London.

Eurostar recommends that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets should arrive at Lille-Europe 90 minutes before departure, but the access to check-in will closed off from 30 mins prior to departure.
So this will be an issue if the train from Valence TGV is only 10 mins late!

The Eurostar on to London:

Final Destination: London St Pancras

Note that these trains will no longer be calling at Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International, until an unspecified date likely to be in 2025 at the earliest.

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.
Our guide to arriving by Eurostar in London is here.

Book Early And Save: Yes

Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date.

This end-to-end journey option isn't seemingly sold by the ticket agents, but all three parts of the journey can be booked on Trainline, but you will then have a 'bundle' of tickets.

Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.

Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.

Making the connection in Lille:

There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier(s), including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.

Though both SNCF and Eurostar are members of The Railteam Alliance which offers a Hop on the next available train (HOTNAT) policy.
It 'allows travelers to take the next high-speed service leaving from the same station as originally planned when a delay on or cancellation of a preceding Railteam member’s high-speed service prevents them from making their originally-planned connection. This service is free of charge and is subject to the following conditions:

• HOTNAT only applies at the station at which the passenger originally planned to change trains and in cases of train delays and train cancellations.
• The approval of HOTNAT is subject to the available capacity on board each train. Seats are not guaranteed'.

So 'issues regarding missed connection and cancellations' should be 'handled' by Railteam's HOTNAT policy.

Though HOTNAT can't be applied if the arrival into Lille is after the final Eurostar of the day has departed for London.