To Spain by train To Spain by train

Our second project meeting took place in Fraga and Barcelona, Spain, in April 2024. But how do you actually get from Germany to Spain without a plane or car? Patrick and I took the train - and it's even
possible in one day!

Trains run directly to Paris from many German cities. For us, Cologne is the nearest big city, and the Eurostar to Paris leaves every day at 08:44. Less than three and a half hours later, we arrive in Paris, at Gare du Nord, right in the middle of the city. That's hard to beat, even by plane. It's worth booking early so that the tickets are as cheap as possible.

We still have some time before the connecting train arrives. We take a short walk along the Seine and catch a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower between the trees. Then we make our way to Gare de Lyon, from where our train to Barcelona departs at 14:42. The best way to travel between Paris train stations is on the Réseau Express Régional, the RER. The RER is a faster and lower version of the metro. You can buy tickets on the Eurostar to save waiting time at the ticket machine.

We board the TGV Duplex at Gare de Lyon. The train has two floors, and the upper one is worth it because the view is fantastic: in good weather, you can see the summit of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, over 150 km away. You can spot flamingos between Montpellier and Narbonne. And some sections of the route between Montpellier and Perpignan run right by the sea. The view from the café is particularly good, especially when the train crosses one of the narrow embankments and the water can be seen on both sides. Then we head towards the Pyrenees. We cross the Spanish border in the tunnel and arrive in Barcelona at 21:27. A little exhausted, but on time and with the feeling of having made a real journey.

The next project meeting will take place in Estonia in the fall of 2024 - will we be able to get there by train?