Barcelona to Paris

Spain to France by high-speed rail

Routes on this map

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The TGV from Barcelona to Paris covers 1,073 km in about 6 h 40, at up to 320 km/h. SNCF runs it twice a day in each direction with double-deck TGV Duplex trains. At the Pyrenees it crosses the border through the 8.3 km Perthus Tunnel, the first rail link between Spain and the rest of Europe built without a change of gauge.

Poster of Barcelona to Paris — **On your wall**Barcelona to Paris on the Sverige 1931 map, as a 50 × 70 cm poster. The style, size and words are yours to change.

Route facts

Duration	6 h 39 – 6 h 50, two direct TGVs daily each way¹
Distance	1,073 km at up to 320 km/h¹
Operator	SNCF TGV INOUI (sole operator since December 2022)²
Border crossing	8.3 km Perthus Tunnel under the Pyrenees³
Reservations	All seats reserved, so every ticket includes one; passholders pay for a reservation¹
Fares (2026)	Advance from €39 (2nd) / €59 (1st); full-flex ≈ €259. Book up to 6 months ahead at sncf-connect.com¹
Direct since	15 December 2013³

Height along the route

The height of the track, from AWS Open Data terrain tiles along Trainmap's route. Through tunnels and over bridges, which come from OpenStreetMap, the line runs straight from one end to the other. The highest station is Paris Gare de Lyon, at 37 m.

Scenic highlights

Rhône Valley. The TGV runs through the valley at about 300 km/h, past villages, churches and the odd château.¹
The étangs. Between Narbonne and Perpignan the line passes coastal lagoons with flamingos in the shallows, and the Mediterranean comes into view now and then.¹
Fort de Salses. The 15th-century Catalan fortress appears just before Perpignan. Side to sit: right travelling south (Seat 61).¹
Mt Canigou. The 2,784 m Pyrenean peak fills the view as the train leaves Perpignan for Spain. Side to sit: right southbound, left northbound (Seat 61).¹
Ride upstairs. On the double-deck Duplex, Seat 61 advises an upper-deck seat, which looks over the barriers beside the line.¹

Stations on this route

Barcelona Sants
Paris Gare de Lyon

The cross-border high-speed line opened in stages, from Perpignan to Figueres in 2009 and through to Barcelona in January 2013. For almost ten years the joint venture "Renfe-SNCF in Cooperation" ran the route and carried more than 5.5 million passengers, until SNCF went alone in December 2022 (The New Barcelona Post). Seat 61 notes that flying between the two cities takes 4 to 5 hours in several separate stages, with roughly ten times the CO₂.