Barcelona Sants:  See location map...

It may win the award for Europe's most un-prepossessing station, but Barcelona Sants Estació is clean and modern inside.  It's Barcelona's main transport hub used by virtually all suburban, mainline, & high-speed trains - the TGVs from Paris arrive here too.  A few trains start at the classically beautiful Estación de Franca, but these often call at Sants afterwards.  You'll find plenty of shops, bars & restaurants at Sants station, including a MacDonald's, and there's also a Tourist Information Office.

The station...

Barcelona Sants uninspiring facade.  There's a car park on the roof.  The building above and behind the station is the 4-star Hotel Barcelo Sants, a good place to stay overnight between trains.

Baggage is X-rayed before access to long-distance & high-speed trains...

At Barcelona Sants and all other Spanish stations, there's a simple X-ray check of all baggage before you access the high-speed platforms.  This includes boarding a northbound TGV to France.  The photo below right shows the X-ray machines at Barcelona Sants at the entrance to platforms 1-6.  There are (or at the time of writing, were)  no metal detectors, so you can carry what you like on your person, it's only the baggage that's checked (make sure any penknives etc are in your pockets not your baggage so don't get scanned, to avoid a jobsworth refusing to allow them on, as happened to one passenger).  Beyond the baggage checkpoint is a small departures waiting area, with escalators down to each platform. There is no baggage check at any French station, just free & easy access to all trains.  The check only takes a minute, but don't arrive for your train with seconds to spare!

Luggage X-ray check on the main concourse before accessing the escalators down to platforms 1-6.

Platforms 1-6 standard gauge, 7-14 Iberian gauge...

The station concourse is at street level, the platforms are underneath, reached by lifts & escalators.  Platform numbers are clearly displayed on the various screens and departure boards around the station.  There are 14 platforms:

Platforms 1-6 are standard gauge (4'8½) for the TGV & AVE high-speed trains to Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Perpignan, Toulouse, Avignon, Marseille, Lyon & Paris, also the Alvia trains to San Sebastian & Bilbao.

Platforms 7-14 are Iberian broad gauge (5'6") and used by suburban trains and Talgo or EuroMed trains to Valencia & Alicante.

Left luggage lockers...

There are luggage lockers (Consigna in Spanish) on the left-hand side of the building as you walk in the main entrance doors.  See the left luggage page for opening hours & prices.  Bags are X-rayed just inside the entrance before being left.

Somewhere to eat or drink...

There are many retail and food outlets inside the station, including at least two cafes and Macdonald's.  For a cooked breakfast before catching your train, I recommend the €20 buffet breakfast in the top-floor restaurant of the Expo Hotel, it's the tower block across the road to the right when you walk out of the main station exit.  The top floor restaurant gives great views over Barcelona.

The Sala Club 1st class lounge...

Anyone with a Premium Comfort class ticket or international 1st class ticket can use the Sala Club 1st class lounge, including 1st class tickets for a TGV or AVE to Paris or France.  The Sala Club at Barcelona Sants is open 05:30-22:00 Mondays-Saturdays, 06:15-22:00 Sundays, with complimentary tea, coffee, snacks & beer.

Hotels near the station...

• If you just want a hotel near the station for an overnight stop between trains, here are some nearby hotels with good or great reviews:  Hotel Barcelo Sants (4-star, great reviews, directly above Barcelona Sants station itself, recommended), AC Hotel Sants by Marriott (4-star, just 50m from the station), Hotel Catalonia Roma (3-star), Hostal Baler (2-star), Hotel Transit (1-star), Meeting Point Hostel (inexpensive private rooms & dorm beds).

Hotels in the centre for a longer stay...

• If you're visiting Barcelona, I'd get a hotel in the old quarter, for example on or near La Rambla itself.  Here are some suggested hotels in good locations with good or great reviews:  Hotel DO Plaça Reial (5-star, fabulous, around £200+), Hotel Espana (4-star, around £190, one of Barcelona's most historic & well-known hotels in a quiet location just off La Rambla), Hotel MonteCarlo (4-star), Hotel Jazz (3-star with roof-top pool, from around £160 per night), Hotel Catalonia Portal de l'Angel (3-star with outdoor swimming pool, Gothic quarter, around £130 for a double), Hotel Curious (2-star, 50m from Las Ramblas, from around £90 for a double).

Walking, taxis, suburban trains, metro...

• Walking:  It's a 3.5 km 42-minute walk from Barcelona Sants to La Rambla in the old city centre.

• Taxis:  There are plenty of taxis available on the station forecourt.  Barcelona taxi fare calculator.

• Metro:  Barcelona's modern air-conditioned metro links Barcelona Sants (Estació Sants) with all parts of Barcelona, see the metro website www.tmb.cat.  Line L3 links Sants Estació with the Plaça Espanya and Liceu (the metro station half way along La Rambla) every few minutes.  You can buy a ticket from the touch-screen machines (which have an English-language facility) for a couple of euros and hop on the next train.

• Suburban trains:  Air-conditioned suburban trains link Barcelona Sants with the beautiful Estació de França every 10-20 minutes, journey time 15 minutes, line R2.  These also call at Passeig de Gràcia.  To check suburban trains routes & times go to www.renfe.com, click Welcome at the top for English, scroll down to Commuter trains and Feve then select Barcelona.