Le Train Bleu is the classiest dining option in the Gare De Lyon

Barcelona to Paris by train

How to take the rail journey from Barcelona to Paris

French high speed TGV services provide the only direct train services from Barcelona to Paris.

On Fridays only there is an overnight option.

  1. take the Regional Express train to Cerbere which departs Barcelona Sants at 15:16, it is due to arrive in Cerbere just before 18:00. (no reservations are available).
  2. At 19:10 an Intercite de Nuit train will depart Cerbere and it is scheduled to arrive in Paris-Austerlitz station at 06:52.
    This train conveys couchette coaches/cars with 4 or 6 bunks and reclining seats, it does not have sleeping cabins.
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Routes

From Barcelona Sants to Paris Gare de Lyon/Paris Lyon

Travel Information

These trains are now the only direct trains from Barcelona to France

Until July 7th
2 x trains per day

July 8th - Sept 3rd
The additional train will depart Barcelona at 16:10

From Sept 4th - Dec 11th
2 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

It can usually be worth comparing the prices between booking agents for this journey.

Seat Reservations:

Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey.

Rail Pass Users:

Rail pass users will need to be pay a reservation fee prior to boarding, but these reservations cannot be booked on the ticket agent's websites.

If you want the peace of mind of reserving before arriving at a Spanish station, you will need to use the Eurail and InterRail booking services to reserve your seats - and pay the booking fee for doing so.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline from €39

Trainline Guide

SNCF Connect from €39

SNCF Connect Guide

SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.

Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.

And it also recently launched SNCF Connect as replacement for its Oui.SNCF booking service.
You can set up a low price alert to let you know when the cheapest price is available for a future journey.

Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF Connect App, as booked tickets can therefore be stored on your mobile device, which can then be shown to the train conductors as proof of purchase.

SNCF Connect on Google Play

SNCF Connect in the App (Apple) store

SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope won't do so.
Though RailEurope will add booking fees when making a purchase

Happy rail from €39

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Download the SNCF Connect App *

On this journey

Journey Features

Coastal viewsHigh Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

Departing from Barcelona:

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)

Note that these trains arrive at the Gare De Lyon in Paris

This is a journey of three distinct parts; all of the videos were taken from trains travelling in the opposite direction

1:Between Barcelona and Perpignan the train travels on a high speed line.

2. Between Perpignan and Montpellier the train follows the coast, don't expect incredible seascapes, but there are some nice views as the train threads through the marshes, particularly north of Perpignan.

3. Between Nimes and Paris the train switches back to the high speed line until it reaches the outskirts of Paris, the videos were taken north of Lyon.

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