By Train in Barcelona

Almost all long-distance trains arrive and depart from Estació de Sants. En route to or from Sants, some trains stop at another station on Passeig de Gràcia at Carrer Aragó; this can be a good way to avoid the long lines that form at Sants during holidays, though even better is dealing directly with www.renfe.es. The Estació de França, near the port, now handles only a few long-distance trains within Spain. For schedules and fares, call RENFE. Although overnight train travel is convenient, time efficient, and easy if you like to sleep on trains, beware: unless you get one of the fairly pricey compartment for two (or four), you will be packed in with strangers in a four-person compartment with often suffocating heat and windows that don't open. The air shuttle (or a scheduled flight) between Madrid and Barcelona can, if all goes well, get you door to door in less than three hours for only about EUR 40 more than the cost of a train. The AVE, the high speed RENFE train, now connects Barcelona and Madrid in two hours, 38 minutes, for EUR 120.40. Booking two weeks in advance can cut the ticket cost to EUR 48.

Train Stations

Estació de Sants (Pl. dels Països Catalans s/n, Eixample).