Sleep in a comfortable couchette from Paris to the Spanish border, with pillow, sleeping bag, bottled water & amenities kit...

Paris to Barcelona by sleeper...

The direct trainhotel from Paris to Barcelona was sadly withdrawn in 2013.  But you can still travel between Paris & Barcelona overnight, using a French overnight train from Paris to either Latour de Carol for a local train through the scenic Pyrenees to Barcelona, or to Cerbère on the Spanish border for a local train to Barcelona.  This page tells you how, in either direction...

Option 1, Paris-Barcelona by sleeper via Latour de Carol

  Train times, Paris to Barcelona

  Train times, Barcelona to Paris

  How much does it cost?

  How to buy tickets

  What's the journey like?

  Travel tips

  Route map

Option 2, Paris-Barcelona by sleeper via Cerbère

  Train times, Paris to Barcelona

  Train times, Barcelona to Paris

  How much does it cost?

  How to buy tickets

  What's the journey like?

  Travel tips

  Route map

Option 3, Paris-Barcelona by daytime train

  See the Paris-Barcelona by TGV page

Option 1, via Latour de Carol

This is a relaxed & scenic but time-effective option, straight through the Pyrenees via the remote and lonely yet imposing international station at Latour de Carol.  Although seeing only a trickle of passengers, Latour de Carol's grand station is almost unique in being served by trains of three different track gauges:  Spanish broad gauge from Barcelona, French standard gauge to Toulouse & Paris, and French narrow gauge as it's the terminus for the celebrated Petit Train Jaune.

Paris ► Barcelona

• Step 1, travel from Paris to Latour de Carol by sleeper train, leaving Paris Gare d'Austerlitz at 21:14, arriving Latour de Carol at 09:06.

  This is a French Intercité de Nuit overnight train with 1st class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes & reclining seats.  WiFi is being fitted.  More information about Intercité de Nuit trains.

  If you want privacy you can book a whole 1st class 4-berth compartment for 1, 2 or 3 people (or a whole 2nd class 6-berth compartment for 5 people) by paying the Espace Privatif supplement.

  This train runs every day all year round, but engineering work sometimes affects it so check that it's running on your specific date using www.raileurope.com, www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com.  It should open for booking 4 months ahead, but sometimes less than this.

  The last hour into the Pyrenees is wonderfully scenic, past the castle at Foix (on the right hand side just after the station) and up into the mountains - at Porté-Puymorens (the last station just before Latour) the train reaches the highest point on any normal standard-gauge railway in Europe, 1,562m (5,125 feet) above sea level.  The railway from Toulouse to Foix opened in 1862, but the difficult line beyond Foix through the Pyrenees to Latour de Carol only opened in 1929.

  Latour de Carol is a vast but little-used border station in the middle of nowhere, ringed by mountains, where the French Railways standard gauge line ends and the Spanish Railways Iberian gauge line to Barcelona begins.  It's sometimes known as Latour de Carol-Enveitg, and in Catalan it's La Tor de Querol-Enveig.  You can have breakfast in the Bistro de la Gare on the station forecourt, www.facebook.com/bistrotdutrainjaune.

• Step 2, travel from Latour de Carol to Barcelona by local train, leaving Latour at 10:25 & arriving Barcelona Sants at 13:46.

  The local train is comfortable, air-conditioned with 2nd class seats.  It's a lovely & scenic run, twisting through the Spanish side of the Pyrenees before reaching the Barcelona suburbs.  There's no catering, so bring your own food & drink.

  You will not, I repeat, not find this local train on normal train booking systems, so read the following paragraphs carefully!!

  You can easily check times for the La Tor de Querol to Barcelona Sants train for your date of travel at the special Barcelona suburban trains website rodalies.gencat.cat/en, as this route is classed as a Barcelona suburban train in spite of being very rural.

  You can also check times at www.renfe.com, but it will not be shown in the main Renfe journey planner, you have to do it like this:  Click the globe symbol top right & select Ingles for English.  Ignore the main journey planner, hover over Cercanias (Commuter) top left and click on Rodalies Catalunya.  Search from La Tor de Querol-Enveig to Barcelona Sants.  Easy when you know how...

Barcelona ► Paris

• Step 1, travel from Barcelona to La Tour de Carol by local train, leaving Barcelona Sants at 14:31 arriving Latour de Carol at 17:51.

  The local train is comfortable, air-conditioned with 2nd class seats.  There's no catering, so bring your own food & drink.  It's a lovely scenic run up into the Pyrenees.  There's not much at Latour de Carol, a huge but under-used border station in the middle of nowhere, ringed by mountains, so bring your own supplies or check if the Bistro de la Gare on the station forecourt will be open, see www.facebook.com/bistrotdutrainjaune.

  You will not, I repeat, not find this local train on normal train booking systems, so read the following paragraphs carefully!!

  You can easily check times for the Barcelona Sants to La Tor de Querol train for your date of travel at the special Barcelona suburban trains website rodalies.gencat.cat/en, as this route is classed as a Barcelona suburban train in spite of being very rural.

  You can also check times at www.renfe.com, but it will not be shown in the main Renfe journey planner, you have to do it like this:  Click the globe symbol top right & select Ingles for English.  Ignore the main journey planner, hover over Cercanias (Commuter) top left and click on Rodalies Catalunya.  Search from Barcelona Sants to La Tor de Querol-Enveig.  Easy when you know how...

• Step 2, travel from Latour de Carol to Paris by sleeper train, leaving Latour de Carol at 18:50 & arriving Paris Gare d'Austerlitz 06:50.

  This is a French Intercité de Nuit overnight train with 1st class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes & reclining seats.  WiFi is being fitted.  More information about Intercité de Nuit trains.

  If you want privacy you can book a whole 1st class 4-berth compartment for 1, 2 or 3 people (or a whole 2nd class 6-berth compartment for 5 people) by paying the Espace Privatif supplement.

  This train runs every day all year round, but engineering work sometimes affects it so check that it's running on your specific date using www.raileurope.com, www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com.  It should open for booking 4 months ahead, but sometimes less than this.

  In summer when it's light, the first hour and a half twisting and turning through the Pyrenees is beautifully scenic.  At Porté-Puymorens, the first station after Latour, the train passes the highest point on any normal standard-gauge railway in Europe, 1,562m (5,125 feet) above sea level.  Watch out for the impressive castle at Foix, on the left.  The railway from Foix to Toulouse opened in 1862, but the difficult line through the Pyrenees from Latour de Carol to Foix only opened in 1929.

How much does it cost?

• Paris to Latour de Carol starts at €20 in a reclining seat, €35 in a 2nd class 6-berth couchette, €63 in a 1st class 4-berth couchette.

  A couchette is recommended!  Fares vary like air fares, so book ahead.

  Sole occupancy of a private 1st class couchette compartment by 2 people = a 1st class couchette ticket each plus one €50 Espace Privatif supplement.  Sole occupancy for 1 person = a 1st class couchette ticket plus a €70 Espace Privatif supplement.  More about Espace Privatif.

• Latour de Carol to Barcelona costs €12.

  This is a fixed price, any day, any date, paid in cash (not card) on the train southbound, or at the station in Barcelona northbound.

How to buy tickets

• Step 1, buy tickets for the overnight train between Paris & Latour de Carol at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com (in €, no booking fee) or www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com (both easy to use, in €, £ or $, small booking fee).

  If you want sole occupancy of a private couchette compartment, see the Espace Privatif instructions on the Intercité de Nuit page.

  You print your own ticket or can choose a mobile ticket to show on your phone.

  Booking should open up to 4 months ahead, but these night trains often open less than this, sometimes as little as 2 months, so don't be impatient.  There are odd dates when this train is affected by engineering work, and its timings can vary, but in principle at least it should run every day.

• Step 2, buy the ticket between Latour de Carol & Barcelona on the day, as follows:

  Southbound, just buy the ticket from the conductor on board the train.  Yes, it's that simple.  You cannot buy it online and don't need to, there are no reservations, just hop on & go.  And no, you can't buy this Renfe ticket from the SNCF ticket office at Latour de Carol, either!  It's a good idea to have cash on you in case their card machine doesn't work, but conductors on this route now normally take credit cards.

  Northbound, buy a ticket at Barcelona Sants, either from the staffed counters or self-service ticket machines.  There is no need to buy it in advance, it cannot sell out, it's just a local ticket.

What's the journey like?

The intercité de nuit sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare d'Austerlitz.  Photo courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

1st class 4-berth couchettes, refurbished.  Courtesy of @Bristol_Phil.  2nd class photos courtesy Dan Chester.		2nd class 6-berth couchettes		Chilling in the corridor.  Courtesy Dan Chester.

Upper berths, showing lighting & temperature controls.  You can see the normal lock & security deadlock on the door.  Photos courtesy of Dan Chester.		Each couchette comes with pillow, lightweight sleeping bag, bottled water, amenity kit with ear plugs & eye mask, reading light & power outlet.

Foix, the castle is on the right just south of the station.

Into the Pyrenees...  The sleeper train heads into the mountains beyond Foix.

More mountain scenery in the Pyrenees...

Latour de Carol, where two nations, two trains and three track gauges meet.  This is the huge international station building.  The station bistro is on the forecourt, just out of shot to the left.

The inexpensive Bistro de la Gare (above right) on the forecourt at Latour de Carol is ideal for breakfast or a coffee between trains, check opening hours at www.facebook.com/bistrotdutrainjaune.  Courtesy of Adrian Fuentes.

At Latour de Carol, the French standard-gauge overnight couchette train has arrived from Paris on the right.  On the left, the Spanish broad-gauge local train is about to leave for Barcelona.  The third gauge at Latour is the narrow-gauge Petit Train Jaune to Perpignan, its platform is behind the couchette cars shown here.

The air-conditioned local train from Latour to Barcelona.  2nd class only.  Bring your own food & drink.  The 'R' stands for Rodalies, Catalan for suburban network.

The snow gives way to autumnal browns & golds as the train to Barcelona wends its way south...

Travel tips

• Always book a couchette rather than just a seat, so you can sleep lying down in a safely-locked compartment.  To see more about what the sleeper train is like, watch the Intercité de Nuit video.

• You take luggage onto the train with you and put it on the racks.  There are no airline-style luggage limits, if you can manage it yourself it's fine.  On the sleeper, luggage fits under the lower berths, on a rack above the window, or in a big recess above the compartment door that projects over the ceiling of the corridor.  On the local train, it goes on the overhead racks or simply goes on the floor near your seat.

• There's no cafe car on the sleeper or the local train, so eat before boarding and take some supplies, perhaps a bottle of wine for the evening.

• There aren't many great eateries at the Gare d'Austerlitz, but when heading south from Paris, why not have dinner at the celebrated Train Bleu restaurant at the Gare de Lyon?  It's an experience in itself.  After dinner, it takes just 10 minutes to walk across the bridge over the Seine from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare d'Austerlitz on the far bank.

• At Latour de Carol, you can use the Bistro de la Gare on the station forecourt between trains, check opening times at www.facebook.com/bistrotdutrainjaune.

• Latour de Carol, Latour de Carol-Enveitg and (in Catalan) La Tor de Querol-Enveig are all the same place.

• To see what the scenery is like between Toulouse, Latour de Carol & Barcelona, watch the Slow train through the Pyrenees video.

Route map

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Option 2, via Cerbère

This is similar to option 1, but uses the Paris-Perpignan-Cerbère Intercité de Nuit rather than the Paris-Latour one.  It runs daily in summer, but usually only Fridays & Sundays in winter, leaving Paris coupled to the train to Latour de Carol.  It's a lovely scenic run along the coast between Perpignan & Cerebère, through Port Vendres & Collioure.  You then take a Spanish local train on the classic line from Cerbère (on the French side of the Spanish border) through Portbou, Figueres (for the wonderful Salvador Dali museum) & Girona to Barcelona.

Paris ► Barcelona

• Step 1, travel from Paris to Cerbère by sleeper train, leaving Paris Gare d'Austerlitz at 21:14 and arriving Cerbère at 10:03.  Exact timings may vary.

  This train runs daily in summer, but usually only on Fridays & Sundays at other times, check whether it runs on your date using www.raileurope.com, www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com.  Booking should open up to 4 months ahead, but it's sometimes less than this.

  This is a French Intercité de Nuit overnight train with 1st class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes & reclining seats.  WiFi is being fitted.  More information about Intercité de Nuit trains.

  If you want privacy you can book a whole 1st class 4-berth compartment for 1, 2 or 3 people (or a whole 2nd class 6-berth compartment for 5 people) by paying the Espace Privatif supplement.

  Beyond Perpignan, the train runs along the beautiful Côte Vermeille through Port Vendres & Collioure, with great sea views.

• Step 2, travel from Cerbère to Barcelona by local train, leaving Cerbère 10:12 on weekdays, arriving Barcelona Sants 13:10.  On Saturdays, leave Cerbère 09:34, arriving Barcelona Sants 13:10.  On Sundays, leave Cerbère 10:41, change at Portbou, arriving Barcelona Sants 13:40.

  This uses the classic low-speed line.  This is a local train and you won't find it in normal train booking systems, to check times see rodalies.gencat.cat/en.  It also stops at Figueres (for the wonderful Salvador Dali museum) and Girona.

Barcelona ► Paris

• Step 1, travel from Barcelona to Cerbère by local train, leaving Barcelona Sants at 15:16 arriving Cerbère 18:04.

  This uses the original line to the French border via Girona & Figueres.  This is a local train, you won't find it in normal train booking systems, but you can check times using rodalies.gencat.cat/en.

• Step 2, travel from Cerebère or Perpignan to Paris by sleeper train, leaving Cerebère at 18:32, arriving Paris Gare d'Austerlitz at 06:50 next morning.  Exact timings may vary.

  This train runs daily in summer, but usually only on Fridays & Sundays at other times, check whether it runs on your date using www.raileurope.com, www.thetrainline.com or www.sncf-connect.com.  Booking should open up to 4 months ahead, but it's sometimes less than this.

  This is a French Intercité de Nuit overnight train with 1st class 4-berth couchettes, 2nd class 6-berth couchettes & reclining seats.  WiFi is being fitted.  More information about Intercité de Nuit trains.

  If you want privacy you can book a whole 1st class 4-berth compartment for 1, 2 or 3 people (or a whole 2nd class 6-berth compartment for 5 people) by paying the Espace Privatif supplement.

  In summer when it's light, it's a lovely run from Cerebère to Perpignan along the Côte Vermeille coastline through Collioure & Port Vendres.

How much does it cost?

• Paris to Perpignan or Cerbère starts at €20 in a reclining seat, €35 in a 2nd class 6-berth couchette, €63 in a 1st class 4-berth couchette.

  A couchette is recommended!  Fares vary like air fares, so book ahead.

  Sole occupancy of a private 1st class couchette compartment by 2 people = a 1st class couchette ticket each plus one €50 Espace Privatif supplement.  Sole occupancy for 1 person = a 1st class couchette ticket plus a €70 Espace Privatif supplement. More about Espace Privatif.

• Cerbère to Barcelona costs a fixed-price €14 or so, any day, any date, buy at the station.

• Perpignan to Barcelona by high-speed train starts at €29.  Fares vary like air fares, so book ahead.

How to buy tickets

• Step 1, buy tickets between Paris & Perpignan or Cerbère at either www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com (both easy to use, in €, £ or $, small booking fee) or the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com (in €, same fares, more fiddly, no fee).

  If you want sole occupancy of a private couchette compartment, see the Espace Privatif instructions on the Intercité de Nuit page.

  You print your own ticket or can choose a mobile ticket to show on your phone.

  Booking should open up to 4 months ahead, but these night trains often open less than this, sometimes as little as 2 months, so don't be impatient.  There are odd dates when this train is affected by engineering work, remember this train only runs daily in summer and other peak periods, weekends only the rest of the year.

• Step 2, buy the local ticket from Cerbère to Barcelona at the station in Cerbère, buy the northbound ticket from Barcelona to Cerebère at the station in Barcelona.  It cannot sell out, there are no seat reservations, it's just a local ticket.

Travel tips

• Always book a couchette rather than just a seat, so you can sleep lying down in a safely-locked compartment.  To see more about what the overnight train is like, watch the Intercité de Nuit video.

• You take luggage onto the train with you and put it on the racks.  There are no airline-style luggage limits, if you can manage it yourself it's fine.  On the sleeper, luggage fits under the lower berths, on a rack above the window, or in a big recess above the compartment door that projects over the ceiling of the corridor.  On the local train, it goes on the overhead racks or simply goes on the floor near your seat.

• There's no cafe car, so eat before boarding and take some supplies, maybe even a bottle of wine! 

• There aren't many great eateries at the Gare d'Austerlitz, but when heading south from Paris, why not have dinner at the celebrated Train Bleu restaurant at the Gare de Lyon?  It's an experience in itself.  After dinner, it takes 10 minutes to walk over the bridge across the Seine from the Gare de Lyon to the Gare d'Austerlitz on the far bank.

• The local train between Cerebère & Barcelona Sants also calls at Barcelona Plaza Catalunya which may be more convenient for you.

Route map

Click for larger map Highlighted = Paris-Barcelona via Latour de Carol or Cerbère. Green = scenic sections of line. The map shows both the Latour de Carol route and the coastal route via Cerbère. Reproduced from the excellent European Rail Map with kind permission of the European Rail Timetable people. I recommend buying a copy of the European Rail Map for your travels, www.europeanrailtimetable.eu with shipping worldwide.

What's the journey like?

The intercité de nuit sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare d'Austerlitz.  Photo courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

1st class 4-berth couchettes, recently refurbished.  Courtesy of @Bristol_Phil.  2nd class photo courtesy Dan Chester.		2nd class 6-berth couchettes		Couchette car corridor.  Courtesy Dan Chester.

Upper berths, 2nd class, showing lighting & temperature controls above door.  Courtesy of Dan Chester.		Each couchette comes with with pillow, lightweight sleeping bag, bottled water, ear plugs & eye mask.

Wake up to coastal views like this...  Photo courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

The local train from Cerbère to Barcelona.  Courtesy of Philip Dyer-Perry.

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