How to take a rail journey from Barcelona to Toulouse

Final Destination: Toulouse

This train also calls at: Caracassone

This direct train typically departs daily from Barcelona Sants at 18:30 between late March and late September only; it isn't due into Toulouse until around 21:45.
Though it has been suspended since the start of the pandemic and is yet to be confirmed for 2022

If you need or want to arrive by train in Toulouse earlier, OR travel on the dates when this direct train isn't departing, you can either:

(1) travel via Narbonne, or

(2) take the more spectacular, but slower, route via La Tour De Carol.

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 these trains to France depart 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.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date - usually

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, but on this route you may as well as book them at Barcelona Sants station - this train won't sell out.

Or avoid the reservation fees AND have a much more scenic journey by travelling via La Tour De Carol; highly recommended!

The direct train from Barcelona isn't scheduled to arrive in Toulouse until around 21:45.
It also doesn't operate at all between late September and late March.

So if you want to travel on the dates when it isn't running, OR want an earlier arrival in Toulouse, you can either take this route via Narbonne, OR take the longer, but more spectacular route via La Tour De Carol.

If you want to take this route, you can usually depart from Barcelona at 08;15 on the train heading to Lyon, or at 10:05 on the train heading to Paris.
The scheduled connection in Narbonne from either departure will then be around 55 mins.

So a plus is that making the connection can be virtually guaranteed, but a negative is that Narbonne isn't a particularly comfortable station, in which to spend that long waiting for a train; and it isn't conveniently located for the town centre either.

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 3 months ahead of the travel date

If you will be travelling on the dates when the direct train operating, you can reach Toulouse from Barcelona more than two hours faster.

Or on the dates when that train isn't operating, or if you want to arrive in Toulouse before late in the evening, you can travel from Barcelona to Toulouse with a change of train in Narbonne.

In contrast this route via La Tour De Carol is at least an hour longer - so why travel this way.

Two reasons:
(1) This route via La Tour De Carol doesn't go around the spectacular Pyrenees mountains, it travels through them.
So one of the most spectacular railway journeys in Spain, is swiftly followed by one of the most beautiful railway routes in France.

(2) If you will be travellling with an InterRail or Eurail pass, this route avoids the needs to pay any rail pass reservation fees; one of the few routes from Spain to France, on which that is an option.
So rail pass users will save at least €10 by taking this route.

If you'll need to buy tickets you won't find this end-to-end journey via La Tour De Carol for sale online, but this isn't a route, on which you can save by booking in advance.

So buy a ticket for the train to La Tour De Carol at Sants station and then either purchase a ticket for the train on to Toulouse on arrival at La Tour De Carol, or you can book this section of the journey on Oui.SNCF