RSSMadrid – Barcelona – Cerbere – Narbonne – Marseille – Nice
Train Tip: Many travelers ask about the seat reservation systems. Here’s a tip on one of the most popular summer routes, around the Mediterranean, and how to avoid waiting in line to pay for a seat reservation.
If traveling to the south of France from Barcelona, you can take the Talgo, and then the TGV, both requiring seat reservations. Or you can do as I tried on this trip, and take the regional trains from Cebere to Narbonne to Marseille to Nice, no seat reservations required. These regional trains require two more connection changes, and take about an hour longer than the Talgo/ TGV combination. But the regional trains wiz through cattle farms, sunflower fields and marshlands, providing for a scenic, and less costly, alternative.
Benjamin Thomas
31 comments to “Madrid – Barcelona – Cerbere – Narbonne – Marseille – Nice”
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About the Eurail Blog
I'm Benjamin Thomas from the USA and I've been accepted for a fellowship in Europe. During my stay I will use Eurail Passes to explore the continent. On this weblog I will share my (train) travel experiences. Intro
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I purchased a saver global pass for my two daughters and myself as we traveled through Europe for three weeks. The pass itself was a great value, but the whole train reservation system was a real joke. Since our pass was a first class pass there were almost always available seats in first class. I was very upset to realize that I had paid 55 Swiss francs for a reservation on the Cisalpino from Bern to Milan, that the attendant had made in second class! The second class car in which we were placed was hot, crowded with people standing up, was was pretty much like a cattle car. We went to the first class car, which was virtually empty, sat down and were never even asked about reservations. After that we didn’t make any reservations, except for sleepers and the Eurostar (which were very difficult to get and caused us to change our travel plans a couple of times). On the way back from Brussels to Koln, my daughter stood in line for over and hour because we were told that the ICE train that we wanted to travel on required reservations. When she finally got to the counter after an hour, the attendant tried to make second class reservations for us on a later train. My daughter insisted that we wanted to take the earlier train and was then told that she didn’t need a reservation. She was really upset after spending an hour in line. We boarded the train and found that most of the first class section was empty (with a few seats reserved from Koln to Frankfurt). I’m glad I didn’t waste the money making a reservation. We got on the TGV in Stuttgart without a reservation, because there was no one in the station at 6 am with whom to make the reservation. We had no problems finding a seat in first class for that trip.
hi, i am planning to visit paris,nice,rome,florence,venice, madrid,barcelona,ibiza,malaga,faro and any other must see place in portugal. could u please advise me on the roting by eurail and the pass to be selected for the same?
warm regards,arvind
Hello Arvind
It sounds like the Global Pass will be best for you. It allows you travel through many countries, which it sounds like you will do. Those are all great places to visit! Read some of my blogs for ideas. Have fun! Benjamin.
I like to know the price for tickets, from Madrid Spain to Alicante Spain, thanks.
Please refer to one of the individual on-line booking sites if you are booking individual tickets. Try http://www.renfe.com . But if you are using a Eurail Pass that includes Spain, then you don’t need to purchase individual tickets; the Eurail Pass will cover you on this route. Just check at the station if there is a need for any seat reservation. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi Antonietta,
We (family of 4) traveled around the same period as you (Aug. 2009) from Amsterdam, Brussels, Koln, Munich, and throughout Switzerland on Global Pass and never paid any cents beyond Pass cost. We never paid for any reservations since FirstClass cars are almost empty betwen those cities/countries. While planning, we avoided TGV’s, Cisalpino, and other trains that require reservations, but instead opted for alternatives which travel on the same line.
Next time you travel on ICE (on Global Pass), pick the very front car where the driver cockpit is. The Pass covers it since it is First Class. It was cool!
Percy
We (4: 2A, 2 young boys, 12-18) plan to travel from Paris, Nice, Monaco, Geneva, Zurich, Salzburg, Vienna, Venice and Rome by train.
I surfed internet and found that the train trip Geneva-Zurich and Zurich-Salzburg is quite long and not very convenient, it’s either need a number of changes or long travel and some arrive/depart at midnight.
What will be the better way to travel from Geneva-Zurich, Zurich-Salzburg?
Thanks.
Hello Sisca — There are direct trains from all of those city combinations. Look at deutschebahn.de to find the good times for you. Have fun, Benjamin.
I am planning to visit Aix en Provence this Christmas and from there would like to visit Nice, Monte Carlo, Lourdes and Avignon. Whats the best pass for me and my family all adults. Do I need reservations for these or can I go with regional trains?
hey..me and my sister plan to buy a global pass to travel to muich amsterdam paris , madrid barcelona rome and finally vienna. we plan to strt our trvael from vienna aswell. However, we plan to travel in end of dec and januray. we are evry confused about the reservations. Also its christmas and new years time and we worry tht the trains will be full. how can we paln our trip?
Hi Danny – The south of France is beautiful, it’s a good choice. Depending on the number of adults with you, you may be able to get Saver Passes. But if you are only traveling in 1 country, then you’d want only a 1 country Pass, and unfortunately France doesn’t have this Pass. So you may have to buy individual tickets in France. Check out this link to look at your options for Passes: http://www.eurail.com/eurail-find-the-best-pass Have fun, Benjamin.
Hi Hira – Yes, a Global Pass will get you to all of those cities. Once you have your Pass, figure out what train times you may want to take. You will get a Eurail Timetable book sent to you with your Pass, or you can use http://www.deutschebahn.de Then take those train times with you to the train station, with your Pass, after you arrive in Vienna. Ask which trains may need seat reservations. But as many as you want in Vienna. Yes, that is the holiday time, but if any trains are crowded, with the Pass, you can hop on the next train. HAve fun, Benjamin.
Our family [2A; 4K age 15-21] planning a trip 6/17-7/2 to incl Sweden-Denmark-Netherlands-France-Spain. Eurail Global pass looks best for flexibility – but – do we risk full trains, standing, waiting in lines, confusing seat reservations, getting bumped to next train, etc given our group of 6 as others have commented? Recommendation & tips please.
Helo Kelly -That sounds like a wonderful trip to make. Scandanavia is beautiful in the summer. Yes, the Global Pass will be your best bet, allowing for flexibility. What I would recommend is to map out where you’d like to go, on which dates. When you arrive in Europe, go to the train station and buy as many seat reservations as you can for your next trips going forward, as many as they will allow you to buy in Sweden. This will save you the time in other cities, so that you aren’t in line in each city buying your nex seat reservations. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi! I’ve a plan to go from Monaco-Nice-Marseille-Barcelona-Valencia-Madrid
What pass do you recommend? and I really dont know which train I have to make a reservation. Do you have any suggestion?
Hi Mickey — That is a beautiful trip to make along the Mediterranean. All of those cities are great to stop off and visit. Look at my blog pages for ideas in those cities. And I think the best Pass for you is the France-Spain pass. Look here: http://www.eurail.com/eurail-france-spain-pass?currency=eur Have fun! Benjamin
Hello I bought the global pass for my girlfriend and me (first class) however i had some problems to make reservation.
Ill go Paris to Lisboa with HTL-night train. I could not find the price for double.
Then will do Lisboa – Madrid
Madrid – Paris
i could not find the price either.
Hello Joao – Yes, you are correct, you will need a bed or seat reservation with that Hotel (HTL) train. You should buy those bed or seat reservations at the train station as soon as you arrive in Europe. Present your Global Pass at the train station. It’s a good route. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi i’m looking to go from barcelona to Italy, along the french rivera and maybe make some stops along the way…..what the best route.
Hello B — It is a beautiful route. Take a look at some of my blog postings from that region for ideas. I would recommend taking the local trains so that you can see more from the train windows, and make stops in differnt towns along the way. (The Rail Pass works on the local trains along the coast also.) In the French Riviera, you would probably choose best to base yourself in one central location, like Nice, and make day trips from there. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi Benjamin,
Wow – you seem to be popular with all the train information! I am currently planning a holiday to Europe (seeing all the hot spots) with 3 girlfriends. We are all 21. Initially we were going to book a Busabout tour starting in Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and San Sebastain) going up through France and Netherlands. I love that idea as we are young and I want to have the opportunity to meet other people etc etc. However the others are starting to like the idea of travelling on the trains (mainly because we are time poor, trains are quicker than buses and fit a bit better with our plans).
I am a bit hesitant to book trains purely as I feel I am missing opportunities that I feel I wouldn’t be able to achieve when on the train (i.e meeting other people, party atmosphere, tour guide = the general experience. My question to you is: what do you think? Would trains be appropriate (should we neglect the experience so we can gain time?) Are they very quiet when on board? I have this feeling that a train will be boring!
Thanks Benjamin.
Hello Meghan. I can understand your questions. My experience has been that the trains run more regularly and are more dependable, as they don’t have to deal with traffic concerns. I also like being able to walk around trains, meeting people, and eating and drinking. I think that train windows also allow you to see a lot more scenery, rather than highways. I personally prefer the trains. I have taken trains to those same cities you mention. Take a look at my blogs for some ideas. And since you mentioned that a total of 4 of you will travel together, if you decide to go by train, take a look on the Eurail.com website at the Saver passes. These cost less when multiple people are traveling the same routes. Whatever you decide, have fun! Benjamin.
I am looking at departing PARIS by train and finishing in barcelona. Which is the best and prettiest route? And which town would you recommend that we stay over in on the way? Ww would be travelling on the 30th and 31 st september.
How can we, when in London, use an unvalidated pass to use the
Eurostar discount to get to Paris?????????
Will Eurostar accept an open pass????
Hi Ross, your Eurail Pass doesn’t have to be validated before you travel with Eurostar. You can just use Eurostar’s special ‘Passholder fare’ and validate your Pass once you’re in Paris.
Hi Benjamin,
thanks for your personal expertise re travel in Europa!
My wife and I are hoping to train from Barcelona to Avignon in one day on 6/20 (Sunday). I know the times from Cerbere>Narbonne and Narbonne>Avignon, but can’t learn the critical departure time from Barcelona>Cerbere so as to plot connections.
Can you help?
Thanks very much,
Michael
Hi Benjamin,
I am Korea and im planning to do southern euro trip. I was thinking to go Lisbon-Madrid-Barcelona-Nice route. What is the best train pass option?
You have mentioned about travelling from Barcelona to Nice. How do you get from Barcelona to Cebere? and how long does it take for you to get from Barcelona to Nice by your route?
Thank you for your help,
Gan
Hello Michael. It seems that the problem you are encountering is also one that I faced recently. Most train systems make seasonal changes two times per year: in mid-December and mid-June. My guess is that you are not yet finding Barcelona to Cerbere because the Spanish train company hasn’t yet “loaded” in these new times for June 2010. Keep checking back at schedules on-line, (I use http://www.deutschebahn.de), but feel secure in that there will be at least a few trains each day from Barcelona to Cerbere. Have fun! Benjamin.
Hello Gan — You can easily travel those countries with a Rail Pass, yes. You should get a 3-country Select Pass for those 3 countries, France, Spain and Portugal, if that is where you wish to visit. Barcelona and Nice are both definitely worth seeing. You should decide which cities you want to visit and then use an on-line timetable to look at train times. Try http://www.deutschebahn.de Have fun! Benjamin.
Hi, my grandparents want to live in Madrid and want to travel to some sort of convent outside Florence. They have asked me to arrange their holiday, but frankly i haven’t a clue. It would be much appreciated if someone would help me on my task. If so can you please email me the criteria on matt.harrow@hotmail.com
They do not have any time restrictions or any budget on the cost. Along the way they wish to stop of at various locations at which they can paint the landscape (their hobby).
Thank you.
Hi Matt — Sounds interesting…for them. You are stuck with only the planning?
I would suggest getting a train map of Europe, and asking your grandparents where they would like to stop off between Madrid and Florence. I would suggest taking the trains along the Mediterranean coast…stopping perhaps in Barcelona, Marseille, Nice, and onto Florence. Take a look at some of my blogs for these cities for ideas. I think all of these cities would offer good inspiration for painting. Benjamin.