Barcelona to Paris via train - questions
 

Hi all,

Been to Europe before but have never traveled by train. My next trip will include a probable train trip from Barcelona to Paris.

Not planning on the overnight trip as we want to see some of the countryside.

Probably looking at the Corail train from Barcelona Franca to either Montpelier or Narbonne with a transfer to a TGV train into Paris (an all day, but hopefully relaxing trip).

I've read a bunch of topics regarding the purchase of cheap train tickets via the TGV Europe site and picking them up in France, but what to do if you are begining your trip in Spain? Can you pick the tickets up at the station in Barcelona?

Is it less hassle (I know...more expensive) to purchase from Rail Europe and have them mailed to me in Florida?

Do I need to pre-purchase these tickets or can we just buy these tickets (5 of them) after we arrive in Barcelona (the apartment we are renting seems to be a short walk from the train station).

Any advice/comments appreciated.

Mike

I don't know for sure, but I don't think that RENFE will sell you a ticket for a train leg that is wholly outside of Spain. (I do know that SNCF won't do it for a leg that is wholly outside of France.)

If you take the Talgo train that leaves Barcelona Franca at 08:45, you'll arrive in Montpellier at 13:22. You'll have a one-hour layover before catching a TGV to Paris. That's plenty of time to buy a ticket. However, if you book well in advance (up to three months allowed) at tgv-europe.com, you can get a Prem's fare as low as €22 and print the tickets yourself. For any other discount fare or for regular fare tickets, you could also book those in advance and pick them up at the station in Montpellier.

One more reason for booking in advance, even if you have to settle for full fare tickets, is that you'll have a better chance of getting five adjacent seats.

You cannot book the international train on the Renfe web page, but you may be able to book it on the SNCF web site. If not, then you need to talk to a travel agent. I would keep away from Rail Europe because of their fees.

Tickets bought at voyages-sncf.com can be collected in France but not Spain, or in some cases printed out yourself.

Book the Montpellier-Paris TGV at www.voyages-sncf.com, then buy the Barcelona-Montpellier Talgo at the station when you reach Barcelona, at least a day or two before.

Thanks for the responses. Hopefully purchasing the 2 tickets separately will work out cheaper...there appears to be some really low fares (around 27 euros per person) for the Montpellier-Paris train.

If I understand correctly, once I get to Montpellier I can then go to a ticket window and pick up the TGV tickets to Paris?

If you get a Prem's fare for Montpellier-Paris, you print the tickets yourself. For all other fares you pick up the tickets at the station in Montpellier. You will need to present the confirmation number which you will receive by e-mail and the credit card you used to book the tickets.

The standard fare for the Talgo train from Barcelona to Montpellier is 56 E. I didn't find any discount fares on the tgv-europe site. You might as well buy those tickets when you arrive in Barcelona.

I have one additional question. I have figured out how to purchase the PREMS fares from the SNCF (French) website.

When going thru the booking process it asks for the purchasers name and e-mail address, but not the names of the individual travelers.

Is there ever a spot to put in the individual names for all travelers (5) or does this matter?

Yes, even though you are making one booking using your name, credit card, and e-mail address, at some point in the booking process you will be asked to enter individual names. Be sure to use the names as they appear on each person's passport. Each ticket you print will have a person's name on it plus that person's seat assignment. The conductor will ask to see the passports to match each person with the ticket he or she is using.

Just to clarify for anyone else reading this (and I've had people worry that their names weren't on all their tickets):

Names aren't normally important on train tickets. You usually en up with a lead passenger's nam printed on all tickets, but even if no nme was shown there'd be no problem.

But with print-your-own tickets names ARE important for each passenger, as each ticket is specific to one person. That's an anti-fraud measure to stop people printing out multiple tickets.

So long as we're talking about printing, here are two more points. (1) Don't worry if your printer jams or runs out of ink. You may print new tickets. (2) The default paper size called for probably will be A4, but 8.5 x 11 works fine,

Hi,

I'm hoping to travel by day train from Paris to Barcelona. I'm trying to grasp all the great suggestions from this page - and am unclear about purchasing the 2 legs separately (Paris - Montp; Montp-Bar).

On this site http://www.voyages-sncf.com/ if I translate (and don't pick the GB flag as it takes me to tgv-europe and then to rail europe (and that ends up being more expensive, right?))

I can go on May 13 for about 138 Euro $183. Via Rail Europe it's $196 - identical trip. Yet it seems, from above, that buying 2 tickets and not this 'single' trip is best?

I saw the Prem/Mini Couple fare on Elipsos.com only 71 (Euros, I think)- but it can't be purchased on that site from the US. Can I get the discount elsewhere? The sites it suggests are the same I mentioned above (www.voyages-sncf.com, or www.tgv.com).

Any help is appreciated - I also hope to travel from Barcelona to Seville by day train and will research that next (and welcome advice).

Thanks

anjgupta,

You can book Paris-Barcelona with a connection in Montpellier all in one shot at www.tgv-europe.com. To keep the site in English and avoid being bumped to the Rail Europe site, choose Great Britain as your country of residence. Pick up your tickets at any SNCF station in France. tgv-europe.com is a multi-language SNCF site and the fares are the same as what you'll find on voyages-sncf.com.

You can book the Elipsos Trenhotel night train on either tgv-europe.com or voyages-sncf.com. However, you cannot pick up your ticket at a station. You will have to have it mailed to an address in France (like your hotel).

Thanks -

Can you please give me a bit more info on how to find Elipsos on the tgv site? I don't see that option with my simple search.

Got it, nevermind.

Is there some reason you don't want to fly. It takes 2 hours to fly and about 40 euros on easy jet or vueling. I know train travel is romantic, but...

I know - the romance of it - being able to see the countryside. With my short trip, I think flying might be best.

Thanks

Hi,

For some reason, I'm unable to purchase the Elipsos tix on the voyages site. The Prem's 71 euro seat is listed - but when I try Female (or even Male) I get an error message.

However - the rail europe site appears to allow a purchase - with a premium for shipping.

It this expected?

Nevermind - purchased the rail europe tix yesterday - only to have them inform me more than 24 hours later that the train's sold out. Total crap and now I'm in a real bind. I think it's poor business on their part.

It's not possible, by air, to get from Paris to Barcelona between 5pm on May 12 and 9am May 13 for less than $300. Drat.