Overnight train from Paris to Madrid

That is a common practice. Second, hotels will often ask to keep your passport while they record your information. We have done it for years with no problems. But a lot of travelers get hung up over the idea of giving letting go of their passport.

I am one of them! I'll carry a secondary identification (expired driver's license most likely) for these circumstances. I'd rather wait the staff take note of my passport instead of letting it sleep away from me!

I appreciate the assistance in this matter. A secondary ID will be carried during my trip.

They often hold the passport to provide them to border security without waking passengers. Yes, they still do passport checks sometimes. There is no concern for handing over your passport for the night to the conductor. It happens all the time and I've never heard of any problems from it.

Appreciate the feedback on this, thanks.

AJ This is off point somewhat, but January non stop flights to Madrid are around $50 on discount airlines. 2 hours and 20 minutes. This is much cheaper than an overnight train. And you get a good night's sleep in a hotel. Just a thought. Check skyscanner.com for prices. The earlier you buy tickets the cheaper they are. Watch which airport they use or you will be travelling far to reach some of the ones near Paris. Bobbie

Bobbi, I did not think of that due to planning my entire trip via rail, but with this new information, I just might do that. Thank you very much for the new information. AJ