powellretired

We have just returned from a great trip to Paris*.

Now we look toward a May 2007 vacation. I realize there is not yet a direct train from Avignon to Barcelona but a trip could be patched together. From someone who has done this:

-Would you first take a TGV train to Montpelier? How frequently do these run, e.g., daily, twice a day, etc?

-How frequently do trains run from Montpelier to Barcelona? Is it easy to make a connection from Avignon to Barcelona at Montpelier--same station, etc.?

I have been told this train trip would run about four hours - do you agree?

We plan to visit St. Remy de Provence then train to Barcelona for a first visit to that exciting city.

I seek first-hand experience, no web sites please. And, as always thank you; je vous remercie.

Anthony Spinelli

*(Please see my Paris trip report just published on Fodor's.)

PalenqueBob

There are a few Talgo trains a day between Montpellier to Barcelona - there are many other connections that involve a change of trains at the border but currently only these twice (?) daily Talgos go direct between Montpellier and Barcelona - at Montpellier there are connections to Avignon, Geneva and Paris. (a few years back the Talgo ran direct between Geneva and Barcelona in the day but it was broken into two separate train rides at Montpellier because TGVs cover the Mont-Paris/Geneva portion faster.

All other rail links require a change of trains at the Spanish-French frontier due to tracks in Spain being wider in gauge (width) than in France - thus most trains can't physically go thru the border, only up to it to either Port Bou (Spain) or Cebere, the French border station on the other side of a tunnel connecting the two countries rail systems. But to change at the border takes much longer and most local trains Port Bou-Barcelona are, in my experience, rather dumpy milk trains (as are locals on the Cebere-Perpignan-Montpellier local segment.)

So you want to be on the Montpellier-Barcelona Talgo - one leaves in the morning and one in the evening. Reservations required.

Schedules: easiest to me is the German Rail site (www.bahn.de) - an easy way to access its English schedule page is to go to: www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page click on the link "All European Railway Schedules" or some such title and this is link you to the English schedule page where you just put in a date and Avignon-TGV and Barcelona and you get all the links for that day. The home page referenced also gives several tips for using the Wunderbar German site, which i use for schedules all over Europe. You can get pricing info and buy tickets at www.voyages-sncf.com - be sure to reference MorganB's Guide to SNCF Ticketing to help you navigate the at time fickle process of actually booking your tickets on there. 4-5 hours seems about right.

powellretired

Palenque Bob,

Thank you so much. Rather than struggle with websites I have a phone number to SNCF -TGV that provides English service. I am rather a Luddite.

Anthony ([email protected])

Maribel

Anthony,
This very question I also need answered, as
I need to arrange train travel for a friend from Avignon to Barcelona next summer. I just checked Rail Europe and find this possibiity, thanks to the excellent "prep" work that PalenqueBob has given us.

You can take the 3:09 p.m. from Avignon, arriving Montpellier-St. Roch at 4:21 p.m.

Switch to the Talgo, departing Montpellier-St. Roch at 5:03 p.m., arriving Barcelona Sants at 9:45 p.m.

This is a journey of 5 hrs. 54 min.

The morning Talgo from Montpellier to Barcelona leaves at 7:26 a.m., meaning that you would need to depart Avignon on the 5:58 a.m. (yikes!) train to arrive at 6:59 a.m. to catch the Bcn train.

Hope this helps.

PalenqueBob

Though prices are usually cheaper online thru www.voyages-sncf.com you can try pricing RailEurope as well as this is not a big ticket train ride to begin with and doing the online thing can be frustrating if complaints of Fodorites about using the sncf site are to be believed. (Search for MorganB's Guide to SNCF Tickets (?) and this will answer all your questions about successfully using the www.voyages-sncf.com site) - but for any RailEurope product i always recommend calling BETS (800-441-2387) for their sheer expertise in my long experience with them - same prices as Raileurope who they work thru but better service. And i think if you will be in France a few days before this train you probably should not have problems buying tickets at the station. That said, there are only a few daily optimal connections and these feed in from Paris, Geneva, Milan and Nice so these trains can be crowded.

powellretired

Maribel and Bob, Thanks again.

By the way, while in Paris my wife and I discovered a great bookshop in the Marais, "The Red Wheelbarrow", in the Rue St. Paul. I picked up Peter Mayle's new work "Provence From A to Z". It is a gem.

PalenqueBob

Note that the Montpellier-Barcelona Talgo train terminates at Barcelona's Franca Station and then you take a commuter train from there to Sants. But the Franca station is right in the heart of town, Sants is a bit out so probably Franca is the best to end you trip. (According to www.bahn.de site). Sants is the main station in Barcelona but Talgo trains from France, including night Elipsos trains i believe have been changed to terminate at Franca. Not sure but check www.bahn.de to be sure.

Maribel

Sorry, Anthony and PalenqueBob.
The French trains do terminate at Francia station near the waterfront, and you can just taxi to your hotel from there.