I plan on visiting London, Paris and Barcelona with my family (10 yr old, 6 yr old) and was thinking I would fly to Paris return and then take a return Chunnel to London and an overnight sleeper train from Paris to Barcelona and back. Can anyone suggest if there is a better approach - e.g. using low cost airlines? How do I go about pre-booking a sleeper for my family in advance … and which train - e.g. Eurostar? Thanks, any guidance appreciated! -Ariel
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Travelling Paris, London and Barcelona
Best answer by thibcabe
I'd look at flying into London and leaving from Barcelona (so called open-jaw/multi-city tickets). It might be a bit more expensive than flying to Paris return but you avoid double-backing, saving time and money in the end!
There are no night trains to Barcelona as Spain and Portugal use a different loading gauge + other issues. One day they'll come (back) though!
What you can do now is taking a night train from Paris to the border : Latour de Carol in the Pyrénées (daily) or Cerbère along the Mediterranean (not daily outside summer). The following morning it's a 2h30-3h journey towards Barcelona.
I don't think a Eurail Pass would be good value but it's always worth to compare tickets vs pass+reservations. Always book tickets through the railway company : eurostar.com, sncf-connect.com,…
High-speed train tickets vary like air fares so it's worth booking as soon as your dates are set.
Eurostar has the monopoly on the London - Paris route.
SNCF runs direct TGVs to Barcelona and the night trains as far as the border.
RENFE runs trains in Spain + international connections to Lyon and Marseille.
Also note that Paris is hosting the Olympics this summer so expect very high prices, more crowds and extra security measures.
I'd look at flying into London and leaving from Barcelona (so called open-jaw/multi-city tickets). It might be a bit more expensive than flying to Paris return but you avoid double-backing, saving time and money in the end!
There are no night trains to Barcelona as Spain and Portugal use a different loading gauge + other issues. One day they'll come (back) though!
What you can do now is taking a night train from Paris to the border : Latour de Carol in the Pyrénées (daily) or Cerbère along the Mediterranean (not daily outside summer). The following morning it's a 2h30-3h journey towards Barcelona.
I don't think a Eurail Pass would be good value but it's always worth to compare tickets vs pass+reservations. Always book tickets through the railway company : eurostar.com, sncf-connect.com,…
High-speed train tickets vary like air fares so it's worth booking as soon as your dates are set.
Eurostar has the monopoly on the London - Paris route.
SNCF runs direct TGVs to Barcelona and the night trains as far as the border.
RENFE runs trains in Spain + international connections to Lyon and Marseille.
Also note that Paris is hosting the Olympics this summer so expect very high prices, more crowds and extra security measures.
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