Overnight train from Barcelona to Milan ?
 

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated - Accommodation, restaurant etc. ?

There is no direct train (day or night) on this route, unless you want to do something ridiculous like going up to Geneva first and then back down to Milan, with 3 or more connections.

All take tremendous amount of time and lots of changes. You may want to fly instead.

There is the "Salvador Dali" trainhotel Elipsos that leaves Barcelona at 8:30 p.m. and arrives in Milan at 9:10 a.m. It does NOT run every day, but on Tues., Thurs. and Sun. only It has 1st and 2nd class compartments and it also has 1st & 2nd Class T-4 (four beds). It has a dining car, and probably a bar/snack car that gets fairly packed with travelers at night. The Spanish trainhotels are fabulous!

Oh yes, and it goes direct.

Good info. Thanks, Surfergirl.

Surfergirl. That is the train we are on. Your name indicates that you possibly come from a similar climate to my own. have you travelled that line before ?

Well, I'm obviously not SurferGirl but I have traveled this route several times. The train runs daily during the later part of the Summer (July and August) as I recall; otherwise only on certain nights as mentioned above. The accommodations listed above are correct. The most expensive are in so-called "Gran Classe" which contain two berths, ensuite WC and a shower.

Although it is already set (if you already have reservations) the best views of the Mediterranean coast are from the right side of the train facing forward. The route takes you along the coast as far as Sete where the train turns northward to Lyon (splits there for the section running to Geneva and Zurich); the Milano section runs south and crosses the border at Modane, and runs through Turin and into Milano.

Thank you for your advice on train seating position and itinerary Singletail. I am not sure what time sunset will be in early September when we make the journey, but I will investigate. I guess we are coming close to the time when we need to firm up our reservations as I think we will search for that bit of luxury from both the bedding and the restaurant car. Hopefully there will be a few good Bordeauxs and Riojas or otherwise we may have to smuggle in our own. Thank you again.

Last time I took this was in mid-August; by the time we got out of PortBou and Cerbere it was dark, however there was a full moon that night and it was great looking out over the water until Sete. The SNCF roadbed is a smooth as silk, too.
Enjoy your trip.

I posted this question in another thread, but never received a reply. How can I purchase or reserve tickets in advance on the Renfe system. We are going from Barcelona to Perpignan, France, and the other day I was unable to make any progress buying 2 tickets on line.

Sydney,
I'm glad someone else was able to answer that question for you because, no, we didn't take that train. We took a trainhotel from Lisbon to Madrid, one from Madrid to Barcelona, and another one from Barcelona to Paris. The last one went along the same route to Montpellier, then drifted in a different direction through France up to Paris.

For each leg, we had two double first class sleepers (there were 4 of us); we didn't opt for the compartments with en suite toilet & shower -- I think in some cases, but don't know about these trains, when they add those, they cut out some of the room space to accommodate the WC/shower, and I prefer more room, even though I know I'll end up trucking down the hall to the toilet (there are toilets at each end of the car; there is one shower room at the end of one side of the car. The room itself has a wash basin and outlet for shavers. Behind the mirror is a cabinet with bottled water and amenity bags (toothpaste, toothbrush, etc.) which you keep. Each person is provided with a clean towel for washing up. Also, the conductor I believe provides you with a little slip of paper when you get on board. I didn't look at it for the trip from Lisbon to Madrid, only to realize later that part of the cost includes this paper which is a breakfast voucher in the dining car. Basic continental breakfast, but decent coffee.

The shower down the hall was huge, clean, and had good water pressure. Best of all, big clean towels.

You don't need to "smuggle" in wine. Just bring it on board (with a corkscrew) and a couple of glasses, or go down to the bar car, have a glass of wine (sometimes good, sometimes just okay) and take the glass back to your room to use.

We too are taking the Lusitania Express overnight from Lisbon to Madrid after staying in Sintra for three days in September. It seems like the best way to make the journey. Having not been on overnight European trains it will be an adventure for us. thanks for your help Surfergirl.

A first timer! People either love it, endure it, or hate it. I personally like the adventure and like meeting people from around the world (bar car). The sound of the train on the tracks is very pleasant to me.

You are picking some very good trains to try your first time. Hope you enjoy it!