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Lyon to Barcelona by train
How to take the thrilling rail journey from Lyon to Barcelona
The direct trains between Lyon and Barcelona have been removed from the new rail timetable which will be in place after December 11th and into 2023.
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Routes
From Lyon Part-Dieu to Barcelona Sants until Dec 10th
Journey Summary
4hr 57min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Barcelone (Barcelona)
The train also calls at: Figueres-Vilifant and Girona
The train is usually scheduled to depart from Lyon Part-Dieu at 14:35 and arrive in Barcelona at 19:32 in time for connections on to Madrid and on to Valencia.
1 x train per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date
When looking for tickets on Oui.SNCF tick the 'direct trains' box - on Trainline tick the 'fastest journeys' box.
Though it can be worth comparing the prices between booking agents for this journey.
The train is usually scheduled to depart from Lyon Part-Dieu at around 14:30 so target that time when looking up this journey.
Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey.
Travelling with an InterRail or Eurail Pass:
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 French station, you will need to use the Eurail reservation service or the InterRail reservation service but you will be charged a €2 booking fee per reservation.
Though you can avoid a booking fee if you do reserve at a station in France
Or avoid paying the rail pass reservation fee, by taking this alernative journey option.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trainline | from €44 | |
| SNCF Connect | from €44 | |
| Happy rail | from €44 (in £s) |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Journey description:
This is a journey of three distinct phases.
1: Between Lyon and Nimes the train travels on the high speed line.
2. From Montpellier to Perpignan the trains follow the coast, don't expect incredible seascapes, but there are some nice views on the left as the train threads through the lagoons, particularly south of Narbonne.
As can be seen in the video above, which was taken on a TGV train, what's unusual and rather fabulous about this part of the journey, is that the 'sea' can be seen from both sides of the train.
3. Between Perpignan and Barcelona, the train reverts back to using a high speed line.
From Lyon Part-Dieu to Barcelona (from Dec 11th)
Journey Summary
5hr 28min
Daily
Travel Information
The French national rail company SNCF and the Spanish rail company Renfe have opted to terminate their partnership which jointly managed the service of high speed trains between France and Spain.
As a result the long-standing direct trains between Lyon and Barcelona have been withdrawn, without any adjustment to any other train times to provide an equivalent indirect journey on a similar schedule to what had been available.
There will be a daily option for taking the train from Lyon to Barcelona departing shortly after 14:00, which is when the direct train left Lyon.
But this option has a journey time of around 7hr 15min, as it involves spending more than two hours waiting between trains at Nimes Pont Du Gard station.
This isn't the main city centre station in Nimes, which has nearby cafes and bars in which to await an onward departure, instead Nimes Pont Du Gard is a relatively new purpose built high-speed station in the middle of nowhere, so it has comparatively sparse facilities.
Hence taking this afternoon combination of trains is best avoided.
Therefore the better option is to take the train to Montpellier which typically departs from Lyon shortly after 11:00.
This train will usually have a 26 min connection into one of the two daily trains which will be still traveling the Paris to Barcelona route.
So this journey will be straightforward if the train from Lyon arrives on time, which it will do on the overwhelming number of travel days, but if it gets to Montpellier too late the journey will become problematic, as the the connection is in to the only direct train of the day from Montpellier St Roch station on to Barcelona.
Travel on Saturday and Sunday
If you will be departing Lyon on a Saturday and Sunday, it will usually be possible to extend the connecting time between trains in Montpellier to more than an hour by taking the TGV to Montpellier, which will typically be departing from Part-Dieu station at 10:10
Though if you want to take this combination of trains it seems as though you will need to book separate tickets per journey.
1 x optimum connection per day.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date
On SNCF Connect enter 'Gare de Lyon (Paris)' in the from box, on Trainline select Paris-Gare-de-Lyon.
Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey, but rail pass users will need to be pay a rail pass reservation fee prior to boarding.
Using rail passes
The removal of the direct trains has expensive consequences of users of InterRail and Eurail passes, because separate rail pass reservation fees will be need to be paid on both of the TGV trains.
The usual alternative that avoids any reservation fees, but isn't seemingly available on Sundays, is to depart Lyon at around 10:20 on a TER train to Avignon Centre.
If the trains are operating at their usual schedules, it will be possible to arrive in Barcelona before 22:00 having made connections between trains in Avignon, Perpignan and Port Bou.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| SNCF Connect | * | |
| Trainline | * | |
| Omio | * |
Train 1
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Montpellier St. Roch
This train will have travelled from Metz
This is a typical French high speed train journey, when the primary wow factor is provided by the fact that the train will be travelling at more than 275 km/h until it reaches the outskirts of Nimes; look out for the multiple crossings of the River Rhone.
Though the high speed line from the north to the south of France by-passes Lyon, so trains heading south have to travel for around 15 mins on conventional tracks before they reach it.
Train 2
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Barcelone (Barcelona)
The train on to Barcelona also calls at: Figueres-Vilifant and Girona
Journey description:
From Montpellier to Perpignan the trains follow the coast, don't expect incredible seascapes, but there are some nice views on the left as the train threads through the lagoons, particularly south of Narbonne.
As can be seen in the video above, which was taken on a TGV train, what's unusual and rather fabulous about this part of the journey, is that the 'sea' can be seen from both sides of the train.
Then between Perpignan and Barcelona, the train reverts back to using a high speed line.
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