Weekend Barcelona to Paris

Author: cbuqueras
Date of Trip: April 2003

Barcelona offers an ideal point of departure for an extended weekend to Provence and Paris.

Highlights:
An extended weekend provided an ideal opportunity to travel from Barcelona to Arles, France via auto. Crossing the Pyrenees in this fashion provides a wonderful first hand visual account of this scenic part of North Easter Spain (Catalonia) and Provence moving on to Paris via the TGV Mediterane leaving from Marseille’s St. Charles Station.

Quick Tips/Suggestions:
While the dollar has lost value (for the time being) against the Euro, Eurail Pass for the three of us proved to be the most economical way to travel from Marseille to Paris on the newest of the TGV tracks. At 200 mph from Marseille to Paris the trip took a little over 3.5 hours in first class confort.

Best Way to Get Around:
We found that renting a car in Barcelona (Europcar) then driving to Arles. This very scenic trip takes approximately 4 hours, of course travelling at 85 mph.