price of train ticket from Barcelona to Madrid

Donna,
You can get a good idea of train ticket prices if you check the Renfe website

Just choose any date of this week, then check a date in 60 days from today.

If you book you tickets up to 62 days in advance, you can save money ;-)

Edit to add:

Here is an example:

I chose October 13... Tickets are €84.30 departing at 5:50am on 2nd class (Turista) vs € 141.95 departing at 11am on 1st class (Preferente), or €101.10 ( Turista Plus) departing at 7:25am.

Now to compare, I chose December 10th... Turista promo (discounted) tickets range from € 32 --€ 84.30 depending on what time you choose to travel.

Choose the following train stations when checking schedules:

• Barcelona-Sants
• Madrid- Puerta de Atocha

Bottom line.... If you want to save money, book your tickets way in advance! ;-)

While some discounted tickets can still be available on short notice (limited number of seats at each price), the full "Flexible" fare for Tourista class is €107.

A year ago, by booking about 60 days ahead, I got a ticket for 39 euros (turista) when the walk-up rate was something like 125 euros. Keep checking and book when you see the date you want posted. Turista is the cheapest rate, and it is about the same quality as a premium economy airline seat - lots of legroom, large tray tables, power ports, footrests, etc. They also show a movie.

I just looked at the renfre website. How do you know which station to leave from? We are doing the same thing from Madrid to Spain on the 30th. Staying at Hotel Europa in Madrid and then Flors on Las Ramblas in Barcelona.

This train only serves one station in each city: Barcelona Sants and Madrid Atocha and some departures don't even stop along the way. For your next destination, you can choose just the plain city name and results will tell you the station name.

I think the high-speed trains run from Barcelona Sants to Madrid Puerta de Atocha, but you can choose Barcelona (Todas) and Madrid (Todas) to be sure you are covered if you aren't sure. Slower trains sometimes stop at multiple stations within the large cities, and that can be helpful if you happen to have a hotel near one of the secondary stations.

Are you heading to Seville from Madrid? If so, use Sevilla-Santa Justa.