is there anywhere in barcelona to buy a train ticket other than sants train station?
 

I am arriving in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon (2 days from now). I am leaving Monday morning on an 8:45 am train from Barcelona to Perpignan (France). Since this is a talgo train it appears that reservations ahead of time are a good idea. Can I buy a ticket in Barcelona somewhere or do I have to go to the train station? How far a walk is the train station from the eixample area (hotel condes de barcelona). Is the train station open Saturday/Sunday? Are there hours of opening/closing I should be aware of?

Originally I thought I would just take a cab monday morning and arrive at the station about 1/2 an hour before departure - is this a bad idea.

It is too late for me to book online now since the tickets won't arrive in time.

Is the walk from Eixample to Sants pleasant? If so I will fit it into the itinerary on Saturday or Sunday. Any thoughts?

When I was last in Barcelona, in December, the wait for advance bookings at Sants station was two hours or more. I eventually made a booking at another RENFE station in the city centre - I don't have a map of the city to hand so can't be more precise. Travel agencies will also do train reservations. Sants station is open every day and the ticket office may be less busy in the early morning or evening. Barcelona has a very good metro and getting around the city is easy.

topping

Besides Sants, there are the following RENFE stations in Barcelona.

Plaça Catalunya

Passeig de Gracia - in Eixample area, 5 minutes walk Plaça Catalunya.

Estacio de França - near the harbour/olympic village, the farthest from Eixample area.

I have no personal experience reserving trains at above but used all these, mostly arriving from France. I suppose you could get your reservation at one of above.


Good luck!

You can also do it through one of the numerous travel agencies in the city.

lexluther,

I would go to any travel agency or to the Corte Ingles department store on Plaza Catalunya to purchase the tickets.

There is also a train station at Barcelona airport, but it's a bit of a hike from the terminals and I'm not sure that the ticket window there also sells long distance tickets. The same goes for the local station on Passeig Gracia right by your hotel.

Hope this helps,
Andre