Traveling in two months to Spain. I'm reviewing the trains and wondering what train and or station is best to travel to Figueres from Barcelona. And this question my be elementary but how do you know which car to get into? I know they are numbered but sometimes we hit it right or NOT. Where do you find that information on your ticket?
Also, What is the average price for a taxi- Airport to Barcelona into the city? Short trips around town?
Any other information would be helpful.
Thank you
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
European express trains usually stop at only one station in each big city (and don't stop at all in small towns). All trains along the same route tend to go to the same station (and depart from the same station at the origin), so there's not usually any choice about your departure and arrival points. In most cases you start typing the name of the city on the ticketing webpage, and once a list appears, you either select just the name of the city (typically in all capitals) or an entry that means "all stations"--"Todas" in Spain. The website knows which departure and arrival station will work for your trip if you don't specify anything more than city names.
Figueres trains depart from the Barcelona-Sants station. As it happens, Figueres has two stations used for trains from Barcelona. Figueres Vilafant is the station used by the fast trains (AVEs, etc.). The "Figueres" station is used by the regional trains. The Dali Theatre-Museum is roughly between those two stations, a bit closer to Figueres. There's a city bus that runs between the two stations and makes a stop a few blocks from the Theatre-Museum. I don't believe that bus runs very frequently; it seems scheduled to meet the fast trains. Unfortunately, my fast train was late enough the bus had already departed, leaving me with a walk of about a mile--totally doable, but beware of planning too tight a schedule. I can't guarantee there will be a taxi waiting at the station, though there might be.
I don't remember what term is used for train carriages on Spanish rail tickets; it might be "vagon". I'm sure someone else will be able to help us out here.
These days, I think the express trains mostly have electronic signs mounted on or near the door of the carriage, showing the carriage number and probably the range of seats that should board at that end of the car. Your ticket may also show a boarding zone (I think in the form of a capital letter). Look on the platform for signage (could be electronic) that tells you approximately where to stand for your zone so you'll be well-positioned for your car. I don't always get my platform positioning right, so I watch for the carriage numbers posted on the train as it slowly rolls past me. In most cases the carriages are in numeric order (could be either ascending or descending). It's not usually a problem to work this out. It's more important to be on your toes when you are encumbered by luggage than when you're taking a day-trip.
Here's the Renfe website: https://www.renfe.com/es/en
I believe folks have said taxis from Barcelona-El Prat into the city are quite reasonably priced. I just took the Aerobus, which was less than 10 euros back in 2016. Those buses run very frequently and drop you off at Placa de Catalunya. If your hotel is not near there, a taxi becomes more attractive than it would have been for me.