Our final train trip on a 35-day trip will be from Paris to Spain. We are visiting Madrid and Barcelona. I can do these two cities in either order as the flights home are identically priced. Both night trains are the Elipsos Hotel trains and we'll be getting the double sleeper w/ wc and shower. My question is this - is one of the routes better than the other - Paris>Madrid vs. Paris>Barcelona?
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
I haven't taken either one, but they should be the same. And it'll be night so the scenary isn't an issue.
Posted by
OP
Greenville, SC, USA
263 posts
Still hoping someone with some actual experience will answer my inquiry. But speculation is always welcome too, I guess.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
I would choose to end up in Barcelona. It is an easy trip from Las Ramblas to the airport by bus.
Posted by
OP
Greenville, SC, USA
263 posts
Since I've never taken a night train, I was just thinking that maybe one of the two routes has fewer stops during the night or early morning.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Both trains will stop at the French-Spanish border so the wheel axle length can be adjusted to compensate for the different gauge tracks in each country. That stop will be later in the morning on the Paris-Barcelona route than on the Paris-Madrid route.
The Paris-Barcelona train stops at Limoges-Benedictins at 23:50, Figueras at 06:24, Girona at 06:54, and Barcelona Franca at 08:24.
The Paris-Madrid train stops at Poitiers at 22:09, Vitoria/Gasteiz at 04:05, Burgos Rosa de Lima at 05:20, Valladolid Campo Grande at 06:22, and Madrid-Chamartin at 09:10.