hazardnc

Is it possible to travel by train from Collioure to the Barcelona airport?

If so, how and where do you transfer from the French trains to the Spanish trains?

Thanks

grandmere

I don't know about getting to the BCN airport, but I think Portbou, a border town, is the place where you change trains.

blackduff

There is a direct train to Barcelona but I'm not sure if it will stop in Collioure. It will stop in Perpignan though. From Barcelona, you'll have to take the train to the airport.

Blackduff

PalenQ

I believe the few-daily Talgo trains may well stop in Couliere but check www.voyages-sncf.com, French rail site to be sure.

Normally trains cannot run between France and spain due to a different in track widths (gauges) - France using Continental normal gauge and Spain using wide gauge.

Talgo trains are the only ones to have wheel bases that can be cranked apart or together at the border while you stay on the train.

Otherewise with non Talgo services you must change at the border, causing a big delay normally and involving trains on each side that i would consider the dumpiest i've ever ridden in Europe.

So the Talgo is the optimal train - one leave Perpignan and the border (border is very close to Couliere so it Talgo does not stop there take the local forward to the border station where you change to a Spanish train.

Since there are just a few daily Talgo trains providing thru service they can be full IME and you should reserve in advance AMAP - and reservations are obligatory (but not on most regional trains which serve as a backup if Talgos are full)

To book in advance head to www.voyages-sncf.com - French rail site that seems virtually impossible for Americans to sucessfully use with lots of built-in roadblocks it seems. In the U.S. tickets are thru RailEurope (www.raileurope.com) though as always i always advise calling RE agent Budget Europe for their expertise and service www.budgeteuropetravel.com

sglass

Collioure was absolutely one of the highlights of six weeks I spent in France last summer- I did not want to leave! But one day I used the train to go to Figueres, for the Dali museum (incredible) and Portbou was the tranfer point at the border. So try searches with Portbou as your start...also, trains went north to Perpignan from Collioure, also.

However, it is a small station and even in summer, peak of tourist season, there was ever only one agent- you should pick up your Spain tix upon arrival, if you decide to not do it ahead of time online.

hazardnc

I love Collioure, too - and prefer it over Figueres. I am helping my sister plan a trip from Paris to Collioure before she flies to Florence. I can get a cheap ticket to Perpignan, but to get her from there to Florence, I need to at least get her to the Girona (another gorgeous town) airport. I have had a devil of a time figuring out the TGV schedule for points south. On their interactive map, they indicate Perpignan is the last stop, but I know there is a train that goes to Cerbere.

I will kepp researching - thanks for your input.

PalenQ

Collioure does indeed have regular regional train service and also the Paris-Port Bou night train halts there.

so take a regional train to Cerbere to join the twice-daily i think Catalan Talgo to Barcelona. the Talgo apparently does not stop in Collioure according to www.bahn.de - but does at Cerbere, the border point where wheels are cranked apart to continue on wider Catalan trains to Barcelona - Collioure-Cerbere by local train is just 20 minutes.

PalenQ

To catch the morning Catalan Talgo train from Collioure - hop the local train from there to Cerbere at 8:33, arriving 8:33 and then take the Talgo from Cerbere at 9:31, arriving Barcelona 11:46. If you do not do the Talgo and have to change to regional trains at the border the journey takes about twice as long. Again reservations are mandatory on Talgos and since there are so few of these and they feed into TGV trains from Paris, Geneva and the Riviera they can be rather full - reserve as far ahead as possible IMO