Catalonia
We Tested the Best Legitimate Train Booking Sites for Spain to Get the Best Deals and Smartest Routes
There are lots of sites that offer to sell train tickets for Spain. So my team and I ran dozens of searches on them to see what’s best—and we’ve been monitoring them this way (as we travel) for years. The starting for many looking to take a train is the official site for the national …
The Best & Cheapest Ways to Travel Between Paris and Barcelona: Train, Bus, and — If You Must — Plane
I’ve long lived in the lovely, romantic French capital Paris and the lively, sexy Catalan capital Barcelona — these are absolutely my favorite two cities in the world. But how to travel between them? There are lots of websites that promise to sell you tickets between the two cities. A lot of them are terrible, …
Ouigo, Iryo, Avlo, and Ave: The Key Differences in High-Speed Train Options in Spain—at a Glance
Renfe’s two high-speed train services: Ave and Avlo. Photo credit: Smiley.toerist CC 4.0. We’re spoiled for options for crossing Spain and Catalonia by train. There are four operators running daily high-speed trains here and all of them are comfortable, fast, and often pretty cheap. The standard-bearer from the national operator is Renfe’s Ave service; Renfe …
What Is Iryo? And Are These High-Speed Trains Worthwhile in Spain?
Iryo is one of Spain’s very affordable train services and offers a comfortable, quick connections between key cities. This site’s editor updating this review while on an Iryo train from Barcelona to Zaragoza. Iryo currently runs trains between Madrid and Barcelona more than a dozen times per day in each direction and also runs South …
An Insider’s Guide to Barcelona Sants Train Station—from a Local Who’s Lived next to it for 15 Years
Barcelona Sants is not exactly one of Europe’s more gorgeous train stations, but it effectively connects Barcelona to places throughout Catalonia and in Spain and France Barcelona Sants Station is unlovely but clean and well equipped with a range of services. It’s not huge, but can seem a bit bewildering to newbies. So let me …
What Is Ouigo? And Is This Budget Train Worthwhile for Crossing Spain, Catalonia, and France?
Ouigo, put simply, is a railway answer to the budget airline. Here I am riding a Ouigo train in Spain with the distinctive (gaudy?) color scheme of the seats behind me; I’ve taken these budget trains in France for years as well The tickets are cheap, and there are no frills, but you get to …
The Coolest Flask/Wine Skin/Road-Drinking Companion/Picnic Wine Vessel: The Bota!
Sure, you could take a bottle of wine on a picnic in Italy, on a flask of vodka on the overnight train from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. But the best road drinking gear comes from Spain: the bota. These drink sacks are made from leather with an inside lining of goat bladder, pitch or — nowadays …
Renfe’s Avlo Reviewed: Is This Cheap High Speed Train Worthwhile for Spain and Catalonia?
Spain’s national railway company Renfe’s budget train service, Avlo, zips you from Madrid to a handful of major cities at very low cost. Photo by André Marques. I tested out the Spanish national railway’s new ultra-cheap service for a trip from Barcelona to Madrid and was pleasantly surprised with this modern (though no-frills) rail experience. …
Senior Savings on European Train Travel: The Ultimate Guide to the Discounts
Savvy seniors over the age of 60 can get a range of discounts on the European railroads. For frequent travel in a specific country, you can purchase a country-specific senior discount pass. There are also Interrail and Eurail discounts that work out OK for heavy travel in a short period. However, most countries offer no …
What To Expect on Spain’s Renfe AVE Trains—Tips from My Travels
Yes, I wrote this article while riding AVE I’ve enjoyed AVE and love high speed trains generally in Europe. They offer an excellent, comfortable, low-carbon alternative to flying. For example, the Barcelona-Madrid trip on AVE is just 2.5 hours, which makes it much faster than flying when you figure in the time for getting to …