The view from the high speed line north of Figueres

Barcelona to Valence by train

How to take the rail journey from Barcelona to Valence

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Routes

From Barcelona Sants to Valence TGV

Journey Summary

Travel Time
4hr 15min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Information

Valence TGV station is served by an AVE train, heading for Lyon, which is usually scheduled to depart from Barcelona at at 08:15

Departing from Barcelona:

Final Destination: Paris or Lyon

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.

Arriving in Valence:

Valence TGV station is some distance from the town of Valence.

There are local trains from Valence TGV station to Valence-Ville station, which lives up to its name with a town centre location.
All of these trains from Barcelona have good connections with these local trains, though if you take the 10:05 departure you'll need to hurry, and have booked tickets to Valence Ville in advance, because you'll only have five minutes to make the transfer.

3 x trains per day

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date

This direct train is usually scheduled to depart daily from Barcelona at 08:25 so target that time when looking up this journey

It can often 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 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.

Though you can avoid a booking fee if you do reserve at a Spanish station.

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

Happyrail from €39

Happyrail 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.

Renfe from €39

Renfe Guide

Renfe is the national rail operator in Spain and it has recently simplified the range of tickets it sells for express and regional train journeys in Spain.
Which is convenient as there are big savings to be made if you book ahead online.

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial journey)
The view from the high speed line north of Figueres The view from the high speed line north of Figueres
Crossing the marshes between Perpignan and Narbonne Crossing the marshes between Perpignan and Narbonne
The view of Beziers from the left just before Beziers station The view of Beziers from the left just before Beziers station

This is a journey of three distinct phases:

1: Between Barcelona and Perpignan the train will travel at up to 280 km/h on 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 Valence  the train switches back to the high speed line for the final 15 mins of the journey.

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