Barcelona to London by train

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 10:30, the current 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 a little under three hours.

The train which departs Barcelona at around 14:30 arrives in Paris too late for as connection to be available into an onward Eurostar to London.

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 2hr 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 1hr 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

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'.
So as 'end-to-end' tickets booked in one transaction for this journey won't be classified by Eurostar as 'through tickets', you may need to re-book tickets for the Eurostar at the Gare Du Nord, in the unlikely event of a delay to the TGV train causing you to miss the Eurostar you are booked on to.

Because Eurostar in effect classifies the the tickets for the TGV and its train as separate bookings even when booked in one transaction, you can de-risk the need to re-book the Eurostar, at a last-minute more expensive price, by making two separate bookings - for the TGV from Barcelona and a later Eurostar on to London.

This option involves taking three trains instead of two, but it has two advantages over travelling via Paris:
1: the transfer across Paris by the RER train from the Gare De Lyon to the Gare Du Nord is avoided
2: The typical scheduled arrival time in London at 19:00 is around three hours sooner, so allows time to travel on from London to more distant destinations.

Making these connections typically involves departing from Barcelona shortly after 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 25min 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 50 minutes 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'.
So as 'end-to-end' tickets booked in one transaction for this journey won't be classified by Eurostar as 'through tickets', you may need to re-book tickets for the Eurostar at Lille Europe, if a delay to either of the preceding trains causes you to miss the Eurostar you are booked on to.

Because Eurostar in effect classifies the the tickets for the TGV and its train as separate bookings, you can de-risk the need to re-book the Eurostar, at a last-minute more expensive price, by making two separate bookings for the journey to Lille and a later Eurostar on to London.
Though the subsequent Eurostar typically departs from Lille three hours later!

This option 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.

Compared to option 2:

• The train on to Lille will depart from the same voie (platform/track) that the train from Barcelona will arrive at - so managing the connection in Nîmes is easier than making the transfer at Lyon Part-Dieu.
• The transfer time in Nîmes is around 25 mins longer than making the connection in Lyon, so more contingency time in the event of daily, though you will be in the waiting room on the platform / track at Nîmes station for more than an hour
• The connection in Lille is into the final Eurostar of the day on to London.

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 Nîmes is due into Lille more than 1hr 35min 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'.

So as 'end-to-end' tickets booked in one transaction for this journey won't be classified by Eurostar as 'through tickets', if delays to either of the preceding trains cause you to miss the connection into the final train of the day from Lille to London:

• you may need to re-book tickets for the Eurostar at Lille Europe
• and will have to fund any accommodation costs for what will then be a necessary overnight stay in Lille.

This option involves taking three trains instead of two, but the typical scheduled arrival time in London at around 19:40 is more than two hours sooner than the option 1 - with the direct train from Barcelona to Paris.
So it allows time to travel on from London to more distant destinations.

Making these connections typically involves departing from Barcelona shortly after 08:20, though the transfer time between trains in Valence TGV station will typically be around 32 mins - pretty much ideal if the train from Barcelona is on time, but it only allows around 30mins 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

At Valence - TGV station

The train on to Paris will depart from the same voie (platform/track) that the train from Barcelona will arrive at.

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 Valence arrives in Paris on time and the RER is as it should be, you will be at the Gare Du Nord around 2hr 15 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 Valence can arrive in Paris 1hr 30mins 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

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'.
So as 'end-to-end' tickets booked in one transaction for this journey won't be classified by Eurostar as 'through tickets', you may need to re-book tickets for the Eurostar at the Gare Du Nord, in the unlikely event of a delay to the preceding trains causing you to miss the Eurostar you are booked on to.

Because Eurostar in effect classifies the the tickets for the TGV and its train as separate bookings even when booked in one transaction, you can de-risk the need to re-book the Eurostar, at a last-minute more expensive price, by making two separate bookings - for the journey to Paris and a later Eurostar on to London.