International trains from Spain
Summaries of how to take trains from Spain to France and to/from Portugal
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the high speed line from Figueres to Perpignan

French national rail operator, SNCF has been providing the direct TGV InOui service trains on the Paris â Barcelona route, so there is two daily Paris â Barcelona departures per day year round, plus and additional third summer service

Spanish national rail operator, Renfe, has revived the Lyon â Barcelona and Marseille â Madrid trains.

So these services are now available daily:

Barcelona - Girona - Perpignan - Narbonne - Montpellier - Nimes - Lton

Madrid - Zaragoza - Barcelona - Girona - Perpignan - Narbonne - Montpellier - Nimes - Avignon - Marseille

the route from Port Bou to Cerbere on the Mediterranean coast

The express trains from Spain to France on the Mediterranean coast take the high speed line, but French regional TER trains still travel on this older scenic route

They commence their journeys in Port Bou on the Spanish side of the border and travel to other cities in south-west France including Perpignan, Narbonne, Carcassonne, Beziers, Montpellier, Nimes and Avignon.

Other TER trains commence their journeys on the French side of the border in Cerbere.

There are regional Spanish trains from Barcelona to Port Bou, some of which travel over the border to terminate in Cerbere.

They are a mix of Regional-Express and MD services, but these are the only MD services in Spain on which seat reservations are not available.

The timetables on either side of the border isn't coordinated, as neither the French or Spanish trains operate to a regular timetable.

So the connections in either Cerbere can range from just 10 minutes between trains to more than 90 minutes.

The TER trains from Cerbere generally depart hourly - but don't serve the same destinations in each hour.

Some of the TER trains which commence their journeys from Port Bou only depart on Monday to Friday - and others are only available at weekends.

The departure times of the trains from Barcelona can also be different on a Sat/Sun than those on a weekday

Due to construction work, until further notice these trains will be departing from Sant Andreu station in Barcelona

This station is served by local Rodalies trains on lines R2 and R2 Nord, which call at [Barcelona Sants station](/train-travel-info/countries/spain/cities/barcelona/rail-stations/barcelona-sants/).

These trains to Port Bou also call at Passeig de GrÃ cia station, which is much closer to the heart of Barcelona than Sants station - those local connecting Rodalies trains also call at this station.

If tickets have sold out on the RENFE-SNCF high speed services from Spain to France, slower alternatives will be available

Particularly useful are the trains on to Avignon from Port Bou which typically depart at 14:04 (not Saturdays) and 16:04 daily.

Connecting trains usually depart Barcelona at 10:46 and 12:46 on Sat/Sun and at 11:16 and 13:16 on Monday to Friday.

Overnight from Barcelona to Paris:

A train to the French border town of Cerbere typically departs Barcelona Sants daily at 15:16 and it will arrive in Cerbere around 1hr 10 mins before the departure of an overnight IntercitÃ©s de Nuit train to Paris at 19:07.

This train is available nightly until Sept 2nd,. but from then it typically departs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, it is typically scheduled to arrive in Paris-Austerlitz station at 07:20.

The Regio trains that use the older 'classic' lines when travelling between Vigo and Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela and La Coruna also depart from / arrive at Vigo-Guixar.

The image above was taken at the station by Jon Worth ad downloaded from Wikimedia Commons - Jon is a campaigner for better cross-border rail services in Europe, hence his excellent website.

However, this station is now the secondary station in Vigo, as the city now has a shiny new station dedicated to high-speed train services, named Vigo-UrzÃ¡iz.

Hence Vigo-UrzÃ¡iz station is used by faster trains to/from Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela and A Coruna - And the trains which link Vigo with Madrid and Ourense.

to/from Barcelona via Leon and Zaragoza

The other train service which arrives at depart from Vigo-Guixar station is the 3 x days per week Alvia train on the Vigo â Ourense - Leon - Burgos - Pamplona - Zaragoza - Barcelona route.

It departs from Vigo on Monday, Thursday and Saturdays; and arrives in the city on Wednesday, Friday and Sundays.

On the other days of the week connections are required in Ourense when travelling from and to Vigo.

Though this train departs Vigo before the first train of the day will arrive from Porto; and the train from Barcelona arrives in Vigo after the final train of the day has departed for Porto.

So an overnight stay in Vigo is required when travelling between Portugal and the destinations served by the Vigo â Barcelona train.

On Google Maps it will look as though these two stations in Vigo are around 10 to 15 mins walk from each other, but the route is blocked by a highway and Vigo-UrzÃ¡iz is also at an upper level, on top of a hill in the city.

The local bus route / line 883039 links the two stations, but its service is so sporadic that taking a taxi is the only viable option for making a transfer between the two stations.

Though as will be seen below, an overnight stay in Vigo is often required when taking the longer rail journeys between Porto and the more distant locations in Spain.

Madrid to Porto

Depart Madrid-Chamartin: 11:20 not Sundays

Arrive Vigo Urzaiz: 15:38

Taxi to Vigo Guixar

Depart Vigo Guixar: 19:56

Arrive Porto-Camphana: 21:18

The alternative to spending more than four hours in Vigo between trains:

Depart Madrid-Chamartin: 14:41 not Saturdays

Arrive Santiago De Compostela: 17:42

Depart Santiago De Compostela: 18:32

Arrive Vigo Urzaiz: 19:25

Taxi to Vigo Guixar; note that this connection is not guaranteed

Depart Vigo Guixar: 19:56

Arrive Porto-Camphana: 21:18

A CoruÃ±a and Santiago De Compostela to Porto and Lisbon

Depart La Coruna-San Cristobal: 05:30 on Monday to Friday

Depart Santiago De Compostela: 06:11 on Monday to Friday

Arrive Vigo Guixar: 07:40

Depart Vigo Guixar: 08:58

Arrive Porto-Camphana: 10:20

Depart Porto-Camphana: 10:38 by IC train

Arrive: Lisboa-Santa ApolÃ³nia: 14:00

A CoruÃ±a and Santiago De Compostela to Porto (pm)

Depart La Coruna-San Cristobal: 15:50

Depart Santiago De Compostela: 16:34

Arrive Vigo Guixar: 18:03

Depart Vigo Guixar: 19:56

Arrive Porto-Camphana: 21:18

OR

Depart La Coruna-San Cristobal: 17:00

Depart Santiago De Compostela: 17:32

Arrive Vigo Urzaiz: 18:26

Taxi to Vigo Guixar

Depart Vigo Guixar: 19:56

Arrive Porto-Camphana: 21:18

the route through Badajoz to Lisbon and Porto

There aren't any direct daytime trains from Madrid to Lisboa/Lisbon or Porto, though travelling this route has become easier on the new timetable, thanks to additional trains and easier transfer times.

Note that work is ongoing on the construction of a high-speed route between Madrid and Badajoz, as a consequence the timetables of the trains between these cities are subject to amendment and cancellation,

So these timings below are provisional and may not be available on your travel date.

They have been included to give an idea of what the journey by train typically entails

Daily except Saturdays, an IC train to Badajoz will depart Madrid-Chamartin at around 08:30 and call in Madrid Atocha at around 08:40; though it leaves from the 'Cercanias' part of the station, which is mainly used by the local commuter trains.

In Badajoz it will have a conveniently timed connection into a newly added additional train over the border to Entroncamento in Portugal, where transfers will be available into trains to both Lisboa/Lisbon and Porto.

The connecting train on from Entroncamento to the Portuguese capital will call in Lisboa Oriente station at around 16:50 before going on to arrive in Lisboa Santa Apolonia station at 17:00.

The train from Badajoz will also connect in Entroncamento with a train which arrives at Porto Camphana station at 18:52.