Hi, <BR>I am in the midst of making Honeymoon plans and I am not sure how to get from Spain (i guess we have to leave from madrid) to Paris. <BR>Please help. I also need to know when the best time to do this is, so if it is scenic, not to miss anything. And how many hours the trip will take. <BR>Thanks, <BR>Libby

The only straight through train from Madrid leaves at 7pm and arrives Paris at 8:30am; not a lot of scenery-intaking at those hours. <BR> <BR>You could put together an itinerary of Madrid&gt;Barcelon&gt;Perpignan&gt;Paris, as an example, with stopovers, but you'll have to consider the number of days that will take. <BR> <BR>You might be better flying....

Might be a whole lot cheaper to fly via Brussels on www.virgin-express.com - - the train from Brussels to Paris is fast and reasonably priced. And you might find Belgium - - Europe's OTHER French-speaking country worthy of a day or more of your time. <BR> <BR>And yes, I know that Europe has four other French speaking countries as well, bsides B and F. I've been to Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Andorra also.

Fodors <BR> <BR>The reference library of a city near you may have the Thomas Cook European Timetable. Tables 46 and 47 show that the direct trains run by night, from Madrid at 1900 and Barcelona at 2005, have restaurant cars and sleepers, and reach Paris next morning. Or you can make day trips, with buffet car trains and a change at the Pyrenees, if you leave Madrid at 1000 or Barcelona at 0845 and reach Paris at .2305 or 1828. <BR> <BR>The scenery's nothing special on either of these routes. To see the good scenery of the Massif Central you want to travel from Bezieres or Nimes to Clermont Ferrand, on fairly slow trains. Something like Barcelona 0845, Bezieres 1239. Stay the night. Bezieres 0939, Clermont Ferrand (no change) 1554, Paris 1938. Or Barcelona 0845, Montpelier 1316 to 1327, Nimes 1352. Stay the night. Nimes 0816, Clermont Ferrand 1302 to 1314, Paris 1656. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR>

Libby, as it is your honeymoon, unless you have a notion that a night train may be romantic, do fly. You should have no trouble getting non-stop flights from Madrid, Seville or Barcelona to Paris. <BR> <BR>And if you do choose the train, get a private sleeper car if possible. A six bunk couchette is not at all romantic.

Libby, <BR>Air Europe has low cost one-way fares (when I priced them,lower than Iberia and Spanair) from Madrid to Paris-trip takes 2 hrs. I just purchased a one-way ticket, Paris-Madrid for $147, less expensive than the night "hotel train Francisco de Goya", which would have cost $170 p.p. in a double sleeper (Preferente class-no shower). The Gran Clase double sleepers with shower cost $194 p.p. I was going to take the train but changed my mind when I compared prices. <BR> And as Brian says, besides from Madrid you can also fly to Paris from Seville, Barcelona and Bilbao. <BR>Hope this helps you to decide.

Fodors <BR> <BR>You may think, as I do, that the right comparison is between the 170 dollar sleeper and the cost of 147 dollars for a flight ticket plus a hotel night at 70 dollars or so, total 217. This is more than a Gran Classe sleeper with shower. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR> <BR>

I recently had the same issue. We had been considering taking an overnight train from Paris to Barcelona, but found it to be costly as well as time-consuming. <BR> <BR>As we were on a budget, we thought flying would be out of the question. Fortunately, we found Europe By Air (europebyair.com) that has vouchers for $99 (airport tax not included). These are one-way tickets. And, although they do not fly directly in/out of Paris, I found flying in/out of Brussels was a good option. From Brussels you can get to/from Paris via rail for @ $30 in about 1.5 hours. <BR> <BR>This not only saves money, but about 7 hours of precious time. Hope this helps.

Thank you all for all of your help! i really appreciate it. i still haven't decided, but will consider all the comments. <BR>thanks, <BR>Libby