Overnight train from Barcelona to Madrid. How do I book it?

Hi there,

I'm so glad to have found ur website. I'm a Torontonian living in France for a semester. I'm leaving for Barcelona for the weekend of Feb 5. We are taking Ryan air and don't land in Barcelona until midnight. How can we book an overnight train to Madrid? Train 373 or 875? I don't speak Spanish and don't know how to reserve the seats. I understand they can go as cheap as 6 or 9.5 euros for a 2nd class seat? That would be awesome. Hope you guys can fill me in? I went to the Renfe website but the prices are a lot more expensive. What's prefencial and tourista. Is it their seat classes?

Hugs and Kisses from France

Chris

I would actually try having a look on www.bahn.de

They have a great route planner for all over Europe, and even now show international prices!

Check it out - The site is initially in German, but you can click a button on there and turn it into English.

Off hand I'm not sure the best night train to Madrid from Barcelona. I took a night train from Paris to Barcelona, and from Bordeaux to Madrid, but that's it.

Anyways - hope that helps!

Matt

I'd be very surprised to see prices that low, as a train trip locally within Catalonia is around that price, not all the way to Madrid. There is no rail competition to Renfe, so the prices are higher.

What I have heard on the news here (BCN) lately is that Iberia and Spanair are having a price war for domestic tickets, with prices as low as 7 to 8 € (plus taxes etc.). It might be too late to get them now, but you can often get flights with Spanair or AirEuropa for about 100€ one way, and it is much faster than the train. It is only a 50 minute flight, so people treat it much as the Toronto-Montreal shuttle here.

> What's prefencial and tourista. Is it their seat classes?

Yes.

Turista: tourist class
Preferencial: Business (preferred) class.
Gran class: First class

Paul