Bastille Day
 

Will the trains be running in France on Bastille Day? I just discovered I'm traveling from Marseille to Wiesbaden using my rail pass on that holiday. Can't change my plans as reservations are already set. Too bad--instead of being on the train, I would have loved to be part of the celebrations.

Yes, plenty of them, probably on a Sun or Holiday schedule

Trains run every day of the year in France. I don't know of any country where trains completely stop on one day, actually, is there one?

Yes U.K. no trains Christmas Day and nearly none on Boxing day, Dec 26

Incredible and is only the case since the late 60s i believe.

What day is "Bastille Day"? Also, does anyone know how often the trains run from Paris to Barcelona? The eurail info shows just about every 1/2 hr? Need an overnite train to sleep on. Any suggestions?Dave

every 1/2 hour - hardly - a few optimal links a day, the Catalan Talgo to Montpellier then TGVs to Paris

The night train leaves nightly. www.rense.es - Spanish rail web site that is very fickle for schedules and in theory at least booking and look for specials. In U.S. i always advise calling BETS 800-441-2387 and ask for Byron who IME is an absolute expert in booking any train in Europe. That said prices will be likely cheaper if bought online the Spanish Rail web www.renfe.es but many people report extremely frustating experiences actually making the site work (see a current post on these trains to see what i mean!) so as they trains can be full in season at least use BETS as a last resort after trying to do it at renfe.es.

We were traveling (not TGV) on Bastille Day last summer which coincided with a Sunday- a "double whammy"- our early morning scheduled train to Arles was cancelled suddenly, no reason given, and we had to wait more than four hours for the next one- which was packed, and also quite delayed.

I used the trains extensively for over a month in France and learned that Sundays (and holidays) can not always go as planned! So just be ready to "roll" (as it were!) with whatever the day brings- I truly enjoyed part of the wait in a little cafe, watching the huge show being broadcast from Paris on the little TV in the corner.

Thanks for the responses. And daknlak, July 14th is Bastille Day.

my many experiences on French trains on Sundays or holidays are that they run according to schedule as usual - the Arles thing sounded more like some kind of strike or slow down, not simply trains being cancelled for no reason

there are no more sudden cancellations on Sundays or holidays than any other day (virtually none in my decades of French train travel)

Don't call it 'Bastille Day' when talking to the French. If they are not in the American-oriented tourist industry, they won't have a clue as to what you are talking about.

Those who speak English recognize the expression 'National Day' for 'fête nationale' but it is much easier to just call it '14 July' -- everybody understands that.