Why take a train from Barcelona to a tiny village just over the border in France?
Well there are three reasons:
Final Destination: Latour-de-Carol
All trains also call at: Puigcerda
There are 5 x trains per day, but on Sat/Sun the trains operate at different timings to those on Mon-Friday.
Connections in La Tour De Carol:
The connections in La Tour De Carol between the arrival of these trains from Barcelona and the departure of TER trains on to Toulouse had been greatly improved in recent years.
Though yet again SNCF, the French national rail operator, has recently changed its timetable with apparently no regard for the timings of the trains on to Toulouse, so all of the connections are rather random.
TER trains link La Tour De Carol to Toulouse on a route Foix, though the connections aren't generally conveniently timed.
Depart Barcelona at 06:01 or 08:31 and you'll be hanging around La Tour De Carol for around 1hr 45mins, though you can cut this time down to only around 45 mins if you leave Barcelona at 11:31 on Sat/Sun or at 14:31 on Monday to Friday
5 x trains per day
Tickets for this journey aren't sold online, so book them at the station in Barcelona, you'll need to use the Media-Distancia ticket desks.
Rail Pass Users:
Take these trains and connect in Latour-de-Carol and not only will you avoid the reservation fees charged on the RENFE-SNCF trains (2nd class pass users will save at least €15 and 1st class pass users will save at least €20) - you'll also have a much more scenic journey!
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
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SMTJ has cheated by classifying the trains used on this route as Regional Express trains.
What they in fact are Rodalies trains, the trains used on the local and commuter routes around Barcelona.
They happen to have their regular journeys from Barcelona extended, so that they cross the border into France.
The majority of this train ride is an absolute delight
Though best of the views are around 20-30 mins from journey's end on the left hand side of the train.
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This is one of more than 100 train travel 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.