Train to Paris

[midwestsunshine]

Has anyone taken the train from Barcelona to Paris after a cruise? How much time should you allow from disembarking to boarding the train? Thinking about taking the 9:20am train after the Vision cruise. It docks at 6am.

[Danni3ll3]

I looked into taking the train from Barcelona to Nantes which means we probably would have had to go through Paris and then on to Nantes. The cost was a lot more than a plane ticket to Nantes. So my question to you is, have you looked into flying rather than taking the train? I booked my flight through Vueling and was very surprised at the great deal we got. I also saved a huge amount of time since the purpose of going to Nantes is to visit with family and I rather take a one hour flight than spending 18+ hours on a train to get there.

[Slopoke15]

Has anyone taken the train from Barcelona to Paris after a cruise? How much time should you allow from disembarking to boarding the train? Thinking about taking the 9:20am train after the Vision cruise. It docks at 6am.

 

I have. I was part of a group of 4 that got off a 7 night Mediterranean cruise in Barcelona, took a cab to the train station, and boarded the 9:20 AM TGV high speed train to Paris. We did this last October. We got to the train station in plenty of time. A couple suggestions for you.

 

1. if you can, do the express walk off, and target 7 AM to be walking off. getting through the cruise terminal in Barcelona was fast and we were in the parking lot before we knew it

2. consider pre booking your car service from the port to the train station. This isn't critical though as there are lots of cabs available at the port

3. we bought our tickets on line before leaving home. We paid a bit extra for 1st class tickets on the train, and pre selected our seats to be upstairs (second level), with a seat configuration of the 4 seats facing each other with a table in between. Seats were comfortable.

4. if you buy a first class ticket for the TGV, you can also sit in the 1st class lounge at the train station in Barcelona for a couple hours before getting on the train. Do this! Complimentary coffee, water, beer, and nice washrooms along with complimentary wifi.

 

The trip takes about 6 hours, and is very relaxing. Was our first time on a TGV high speed train.

 

We checked pricing etc of flights, and while they would have been cheaper and would have gotten us to Paris a bit sooner ... we had a more relaxed time on the train. Not much security check in Barcelona, and none in Paris.

 

We are very glad we took the train :)

 

We rented an apartment in Paris about 5 minutes from the Gare de Lyon, so the cab ride in Paris was very fast. I know that flying would have meant clearing security at the airport, and a much longer cab ride from Charles de Gaulle airport to where we were staying

Edited April 17, 2015 by Slopoke15

[midwestsunshine]

Slopoke15-thank you so much! exactly what I was looking for. What site did you use to booknyour train tickets?

Danni31313- thanks too. Luckily the train to Paris is high speed.

[Slopoke15]

Slopoke15-thank you so much! exactly what I was looking for. What site did you use to booknyour train tickets?

Danni31313- thanks too. Luckily the train to Paris is high speed.

 

:) ... give me a few minutes to round up the links

 

how many traveling in your party?

[Slopoke15]

Slopoke15-thank you so much! exactly what I was looking for. What site did you use to booknyour train tickets?

Danni31313- thanks too. Luckily the train to Paris is high speed.

 

I used this site for lots of useful information on traveling by train from Barcelona to Paris

 

http://www.seat61.com/Paris-to-Barcelona-by-TGV-train.htm#.VTG6FpNeypR

 

I used the site below to book the train tickets, as it allows you to pick seats, while other sites just assign seats without giving you the option to self select. Once paid for, I printed the tickets at home, and carried them with me

 

https://www.capitainetrain.com/en

 

Happy to help if you have any other questions. :) Sounds like you are going through the same planning process I did 9 months ago.

[English_in_Spain]

The flight might be faster but when you have factored in time spent getting to and from airports to city centre, the length of time from checking in to actual take off it is not really that much faster than high speed train.

 

The other disadvantage of flying (especially with low cost airlines) is the restriction and cost of checked luggage.

 

Try the train (especially as Slopoke15 says in first class). I think you will enjoy the experience.

 

[midwestsunshine]

Thanks. First Class sounds like the way to go. Now I'll just have to wait for the schedule to open.

[Slopoke15]

Thanks. First Class sounds like the way to go. Now I'll just have to wait for the schedule to open.

 

Excellent choice. Second floor has better view of the passing countryside.

 

One caution from something that happened to another passenger on our train. When boarding the train in Barcelona there was a guy "helping" people throw their luggage from the platform onto the train. In the commotion the passenger lost a small piece of luggage that had medication, plane tickets, money, etc ... Hard to imagine that someone would allow that out of their grasp, but they searched the train, and suspect that the guy helping might have taken it ... He was not an employee at the train station ... You carry your own luggage onto the train and place it in luggage racks

[Slopoke15]

anything new on your potential train trip?

[midwestsunshine]

anything new on your potential train trip?

 

We will on the train from Barcelona to Paris the end of October. I got 1st Class (on the upper deck) tickets and am looking forward to an enjoyable trip. I'll report back after the trip to let you know how it went. Thanks!

[Rom Com]

I live in Europe and the TGV is wonderful especially in 1st class. Yes planes can be cheaper but arriving in CDG sucks and the time to actually get into Paris proper and the time on the front actually makes it a fair trade. There are discounts if you book your tickets early.

[Slopoke15]

We will on the train from Barcelona to Paris the end of October. I got 1st Class (on the upper deck) tickets and am looking forward to an enjoyable trip. I'll report back after the trip to let you know how it went. Thanks!

 

excellent. I look forward to hearing how things went. :)

[Hlitner]

Agree that the train is a terrific option. Consider that the train gets you from center city to center city (or perhaps we should just say city). With the airport you have to get all the way out to the airport, be there about 90 minutes in advance, very possibly deal with a late flight (European skies are crowded and late flights common), and then once you land at Paris you still have to deal with getting into the city. And trains are a lot more comfy then most planes.

 

Hank

[Chairsin]

We did the train Paris to Barcelona in April. It was so nice and easy. We got a deal on first class buying well in advance. We bought s lovely bottle of wine, bread, cheese and cured meat and along with some chocolate from my favorite shop in Paris had a nice feast as we relaxed in our comfortable seats and watched the scenery as we flew by. No hassle with getting to the airport, security and check in. I would highly recommend it. The only drawback is their is surprisingly very little luggage space in the first class car ( we were downstairs).

[midwestsunshine]

We did it! We did self disembark and was off Vision of the Seas before 7a and sitting in the Barcelona Sants Train station by 7:30a.

 

Train ride was smooth. Scenery beautiful and seats comfortable.(We did splurge for first class).I would do it again! Paris Gare de Lyon was a little overwhelming but we managed to find the taxi stand. Just follow the signs.

 

Now we're enjoying the wonderful city of Paris.

[Slopoke15]

We did it! We did self disembark and was off Vision of the Seas before 7a and sitting in the Barcelona Sants Train station by 7:30a.

 

Train ride was smooth. Scenery beautiful and seats comfortable.(We did splurge for first class).I would do it again! Paris Gare de Lyon was a little overwhelming but we managed to find the taxi stand. Just follow the signs.

 

Now we're enjoying the wonderful city of Paris.

 

Excellent. I am so glad everything went smoothly and you enjoyed the train ride. Did you visit the first class lounge in Barcelona Sants before boarding?

[midwestsunshine]

Excellent. I am so glad everything went smoothly and you enjoyed the train ride. Did you visit the first class lounge in Barcelona Sants before boarding?

 

Yes, we did. I think we were there about 45 minutes. So nice to relax, have some coffee and cookies and use their wi-fi. Oh and the restrooms were in the lounge too!

[Slopoke15]

Yes, we did. I think we were there about 45 minutes. So nice to relax, have some coffee and cookies and use their wi-fi. Oh and the restrooms were in the lounge too!

 

excellent ... we used the lounge too ... for our group, the lounge added value making the decision to buy the first class tickets a good one for us :)

[Pmorton3360]

Has anyone taken the train from Paris to Barcelona the day of the cruise? Looking to fly into Paris and fly home from Barcelona. Not til October, but starting to do the numbers now. Thank you.

[Twickenham]

Has anyone taken the train from Paris to Barcelona the day of the cruise? Looking to fly into Paris and fly home from Barcelona. Not til October, but starting to do the numbers now. Thank you.

 

It's a 6 1/2-hour train ride. There's no way I would attempt this on the day of the cruise.

[Pmorton3360]

I kinda thought that would be the case, but hoping for an extra day in Paris. Thanks. Like I said, just started planning. Our flights are not out yet.

[Twickenham]

I kinda thought that would be the case, but hoping for an extra day in Paris. Thanks. Like I said, just started planning. Our flights are not out yet.

 

Well, you can always take the afternoon train leaving at 2 - that would give you the morning in Paris, plus time to have lunch at Le Train Bleu restaurant, in Gare de Lyon, which is quite gorgeous.

[Pmorton3360]

Isn't that the real problem? So many things to see and do. And not enough days. My son is traveling with me and plans to take 8 work days off.

[Slopoke15]

Isn't that the real problem? So many things to see and do. And not enough days. My son is traveling with me and plans to take 8 work days off.

 

I assume that means 8 work days plus two weekends, total trip of 12 days. You don't say how long your cruise out of Barcelona will be, but assume that will be at least 7 days. You can plan on the travel days from North America to Europe (and back) to consume the larger part of 2 days. That might leave you about 3 days for Paris and the 6.5 hour train ride, so more likely about 2 days to tour around Paris. You likely would not see everything you wanted to see in Paris in 7 days let alone 2 ... :D

 

You will have to check the high speed TGV schedule for your sailing day to determine when it gets to Barcelona, and compare that to boarding time for your cruise. It is not very far from the Barcelona Sants train station to the port.

 

Doable? Possibly. Tight? Definitely.