All roads lead to rome, and some railroads also lead to Barcelona. Coming from Stuttgart, Germany, there are two very scenic routes to Barcelona using the little-known French night train network. Start your journey in Stuttgart in the morning, spend a day to explore Paris and hop on an Intercité de Nuit to southern France. Wake up with views of the Mediterranean coast or winding your way up into the Pyrinees.
What a way to start your Erasmus+ semester!
[add direct route without night train?]
Wake Up in the Mountains or by the Sea?
Getting to Paris from Stuttgart is as easy as hopping on a fequent high-speed train. From Paris, both night trains are mostly the same: Same prices, same train cars, same departure station. Also: Rather cheap fares if you book early!
However, their destinations could not be more different: The first option goes to Latour de Carol, a small border village in the Pyrinees with a giant, comparatively speaking, train station. You’ll wake up with views of the mountains and you can grab a bite to eat at the small café at the train station before continuing on to Barcelona.
Getting to Paris
Getting to Paris from Stuttgart is easy: Just hop on any direct train! This will either be a German ICE or a French TGV. You can book both at int.bahn.de and sncf-connect.com, check which one is cheaper. If you have an interrail pass, you have to buy a 17€ reservation fee for these trains. You can get it here (learn more about reservations for this train at The Man in Seat61).
A Day in Paris?
Paris doesn’t have one central train station, meaning you’ll be arriving at the beautiful Paris Gare de l’Est from Stuttgart and departing from the much less beautiful Paris Gare d’Austerlitz. The two train stations are connected with, you guessed it, a train! Metro line M5, departing every 10 minutes, takes just 12 minutes from Gare de l’Est to Gare d’Austerlitz. Of course, especially when you’re travelling with lots of luggage, you should allow much more time for your connection. This is also important if your train to Paris is delayed—you don’t want to miss your night train! If you’re travelling in a TGV to Paris, you can save some time by buying your Metro ticket on the train. Ask a member of staff in the dining car! You can also buy metro tickets at the station or on your phone (more information here).
If you take an early train to Paris, you have half a day until your night train departs. There is a luggage storage facility at Gare d’Austerlitz (open 07:00–23:00, only accepts cash, more details here). A perfect opportunity to explore Paris, especially since Gare d’Austerlitz is so close to many sights: Notre Dame Cathedral, the Pantheon and the Louvre are just a comfortable walk from the train station! Make sure to be at the train station with some time to spare to retrieve your luggage and board the train. Again: You do not want to miss your night train!
Via Cerbère Along the Mediterranean
Before this: general section on French night trains (how to book, what to expect) Provide itinerary in table form, map for just this, tips and tricks for booking and what to do along the way
Don’t wake up at the last minute: You do not want to miss the beautiful views along the Mediterranean coast! go to a bakery to grab a pain au chocolat mmmh yummy yummy! theres one at the beach
Tickets start at just 29€ in a 6-berth couchette for the night train.
Via Latour de Carol through the Pyrinees
(same as above)