My wife and I are planning a Mediterranean cruise, late June 2026. Starting in Barcelona and ending in Ravenna Italy. We would like to take the train back to Barcelona while enjoying any other stops along the way. We would appreciate any feedback regarding the access and use of the Euro Trains as well as any suggestions on options to stay and visit during this section of our travels. Thank you for your time and ideas.
Posted by
New England
12109 posts
How long do you expect to spend traveling from Ravenna back to Barcelona?
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
7051 posts
You might start with the Man in Seat 61 website to familiarize yourself with the train companies you would have to deal with. At the very least you would be looking at travel on Trenitalia, SNCF, and Renfe (Italy, France, andc Spain respectively). Not sure what you mean by access and use. Do you have accessibility issues that would need to be addressed? How many days do you have for this part of your trip? How many overnight (or longer) stops enroute do you envisage?
Posted by
Irving
3548 posts
To get from Ravenna to Barcelona by train you’ll need to follow this route: Ravenna > Milan plus Varenna and Bellagio on Lake Como > Genoa (Cinque Terre) > Nice (French Riviera) > Marseille/Nimes (Provence) > Barcelona.
Posted by
Green Bay
23092 posts
What ports will you be visiting from Barcelona to Ravenna? No point hitting the same place twice.
Posted by
OP
12 posts
We would like to spend three days to get back to Barcelona. The ports we will visit on the cruise include Toulon France and Ajaccio France. The others are in not in this area. We do not have any access needs, just looking for tips on how to use the train systems and ideas on where to stay on the way back to Barcelona. Thank you.
Posted by
Irving
3548 posts
How many nights is three days? Following are the three national rail lines you’ll need to get from Ravenna to Barcelona. Do you need to be in Barcelona on the third night? Train travel isn't what it once was in Europe. With an explosion of low-cost airline carriers that fly from and to many cities in each country, many people fly instead of riding the rails.
IT: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
FR: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en
ES: https://www.renfe.com/es/en
Posted by
Lake District, England
11352 posts
You need to look at a Rail Map of Europe,
From Ravenna trains run hourly north to Bologna and south to Rimini.
So one idea would be Day 1- a 3 train ride to either Genoa or Milan
Day 2- a 2 train ride to Barcelona departing at 0625, with a 3 hour change at Lyon, Barcelona arrive 1923
OR
Day 2- every 90 minutes or so a 6 hour 3 train ride to Marseille then
Day 3- the direct 0804 train from Marseille to Barcelona, arrive 1236
OR Day 1- the hourly 4 hour, 2 train ride to Rome, Day 2 Train Rome to Civitavecchia (it is a ferry port as well as a cruise port) for the overnight Grimaldi line ferry to Barcelona- https://www.grimaldi-lines.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Orari_Civitavecchia_Barcellona_2026_01_21_ENG.pdf
(an 18 to 22 hour journey)- you could get to Civitavecchia on Day 1 with ease to arrive Barcelona on the evening of Day 2, but I'm making this into a gentle schedule, to give time in Rome.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17539 posts
I think it's at least 20+ hours on trains and maybe 4 or 5 different trains even without stops along the way.
How about taking a short train ride to Bologna, and then flying to Barcelona with RyanAir or Vueling?
Trains from Italy to Spain are not the best mode of travel. That itinerary is not short and not really well served by trains.