Let us take you on a journey to Spain

The Pyrenean Foothills & Catalan Coast by TGV via Paris

During 2022,  post pandemic rail timetables are gradually becoming more frequent so between 14th and 30th June and between 1st and 30th September, it will be possible to complete this route in a day’s travel from London. For other dates during 2022, you may need an overnight stay in Paris but do check with our rail specialists as more connections are being added. 

Considering the distance you’ll be covering over the course of a day’s travel, you start at a surprisingly civilised hour, with a mid-morning Eurostar from London to Paris.

Crossing Paris to the Gare de Lyon is simple when you know how; we include directions with your metro tickets. We allow ample time so that you can connect comfortably between trains.

Leaving Paris mid-afternoon, the train glides at 186mph between wheat fields, then through Burgundy’s forests, meadows and vineyards towards Lyon, before following the course of the River Rhône into warm Provençal landscapes of sunflowers and vineyards.

After passing Avignon, you turn south-west through increasingly Mediterranean scenery of garrigue, olive groves and the Costières de Nîmes vineyards towards Montpellier. The train then slows, passing along a narrow causeway between the sea and a saltwater lagoon, ideal for wildlife-spotting. The train soon weaves inland again through the vineyards of Languedoc. South of Narbonne there is another series of coastal nature reserves as the Pyrenees beckon ahead.

It takes just 5-and-a half-hours to cover the 600 miles from Paris to Figueres Vilafant, where a pre-arranged taxi awaits to take you through the volcanic Garrotxa foothills to the From the Pyrenees to the Sea and the Catalan Pyrenees walking holidays.

For holidays on the Catalan Coast, stay on the train for a further 15 minutes to alight at Girona for your taxi to our Along the Catalan Coast and Flavours of Catalonia walking holidays or the Catalan Coast and Villages cycling holiday.

Castile & Andalucia – with an overnight stay in Avignon

It is simple to travel to our holidays in Spain by breaking the journey with a convenient overnight stay in Avignon. 

Leave London in the late morning, changing platforms at Lille to take the high speed line south down the Rhône Valley to arrive at Avignon TGV at around 6pm. From Avignon’s sleek state of the art TGV station 4km outside of the town centre, a 5 minute rail shuttle “La Virgule” , or the comma, runs twice an hour to Avignon Centre station, which sits just outside the city walls, 

Nestling just inside the city walls, the  Hôtel Cloitre Saint-Louis a 4 minute walk from Avignon Centre station with plenty of good restaurants within easy strolling distance. 

After breakfast the following morning, take the Virgule shuttle to Avignon TGV station to step aboard Spain’s high-speed AVE train direct to Madrid arriving at mid afternoon.

For longer journeys to Castile and Andalucia, travel to Montpellier as for holidays to the Pyrenees above. The following morning after breakfast, take the direct high-speed AVE to Madrid.

Avignon to Madrid

From Avignon, it takes just over 7 hours to reach Madrid on the direct high-speed AVE. The AVE reaches the Mediterranean coast at Sete, running past saltwater lagoons, nature reserves and vineyards, cutting through the Pyrenees and heading southwards through green hills and olive groves to call at Barcelona. From Barcelona, the AVE continues through cava-producing vineyards and onwards to the plains of Aragon. Continuing west, you meet the mighty River Ebro and follow its valley around Zaragoza, then wind easily through the Sierra de Armantes and its impressive red-clay rock formations. On the other side of the sierra stretch the plains of Castilla La Mancha.

You arrive at Madrid’s Atocha station mid-afternoon for your onward connection to Castile or Andalucia. Beneath the station’s Victorian glass and wrought-iron roof is a lush botanical garden with palm trees, surrounded by cafés.

...onwards to Castile

For the Classical Cities of Old Castile touring holiday, you change stations in Madrid, taking the metro a few stops to Chamartin station, where you board a high-speed train for the 30-minute journey to Segovia.


...onwards to Seville, the Grazalema Sierra & the Aracena Sierra

When connecting from Madrid Atocha, allow 25 minutes for baggage scans on entry to the high-speed platforms.  

Take a direct AVE across the windswept, fertile plains of Castilla La Mancha and cross the wooded hills towards the Sierra Garganta, traversing a short tunnel under the mountains. Descending from the mountains, you follow the Guadalquivir Valley westwards through olive groves and orange orchards. Just 2-and-a-half hours after leaving Madrid, you arrive at Seville’s Santa Justa station. Here, you alight and either take a taxi for holidays such as the Trail of Three Cities touring holiday or White Towns & Rugged Mountains walking holiday, or collect a hire car to reach our Treasures of Aracena walking holiday (if you prefer to avoid driving through the city centre, you can make your way to the airport and collect your hire car there).


...onwards to the Alpujarras

To reach our Valleys of Las Alpujarras, Valleys & High Slopes of Las Alpujarras and Life in an Alpujarran Village walking holidays, take a direct AVE south from Madrid through Córdoba to Málaga (2hrs 45mins). From Málaga Maria Zambrano station, you can avoid city-centre congestion by taking a suburban train three stops to the airport to collect your hire car. You then have a splendid two-hour drive towards the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada.


...onwards to Almería (with an additional overnight stay)

For the Coast of Almería walking holiday, take a high speed AVE  train south from Madrid to Córdoba (1hrs 45mins) for an overnight stay before embarking on a high speed train to Granada to embark on a scenic ride through the Nacimiento and Andarax river valley with views towards the Sierra Nevada mountains  which become more dramatic closer to Almería. Our taxi driver will meet you at Almería station for the one-hour drive to Las Negras.