Spanish railway operator Renfe and its French counterpart, SNCF, have been in a rocky relationship recently. The latter stopped operating most Renfe cross-border services in France. This led Renfe to set up its own French subsidiary, which now offers good prices for both domestic trains in France and cross-border services into/from Spain.
For example, you can travel between Lyon and Montpellier for €9, Montpellier and Barcelona for €19 and Marseille and Madrid starting at €29.
These are the prices for these trips:
- €9 for domestic trains within France
- €19 for trains between Spain and Valence, Nîmes, Montpellier, Beziers, Narbonne, Perpignan
- €29 for trains between Spain and Marseille, Lyon, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence
These tickets are for Renfe’s Básico seats. While trains don’t really have luggage rules, Renfe allows you to take 3 pieces of luggage, weighing 25 kilos each. Selecting your seats costs extra and changes/cancellation are not allowed.
Search & Book
You can find these fares on Renfe’s website until October 31, 2023 or when tickets sell out. If you have a trip planned, we recommend booking early.
About the Trains
These are AVE 100 trains, where AVE stand for Alta Velocidad (high speed in Spanish). The line between Lyon and Barcelona will start on July 13. On July 28, the line between Marseille and Madrid will follow. The trains initially only run around the weekends (Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon) and daily from September and October.
You can see the timetable with all travel times on Renfe‘s website.