International trains from Spain

Spain is served by comparatively few international rail services.
Only four routes taken by trains cross its long border with France and just 4 to 7 trains per day, depending on the time of year, use the high speed line that connects the two countries.
Despite this comparatively sparse high speed train service, it apparently justified the removal of all the overnight trains from Spain to France.

On both the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts the local/regional trains are more frequent, but connections with trains on to other destinations in France need to be planned with care.

the high speed line from Figueres to Perpignan

French national rail operator, SNCF has been providing the direct TGV InOui service trains on the Paris ↔ Barcelona route, so there is two daily Paris ↔ Barcelona departures per day year round, plus and additional third summer service

Spanish national rail operator, Renfe, has revived the Lyon ↔ Barcelona and Marseille ↔ Madrid trains.
So these services are now available daily:

• Barcelona - Girona - Perpignan - Narbonne - Montpellier - Nimes - Lton
• Madrid - Zaragoza - Barcelona - Girona - Perpignan - Narbonne - Montpellier - Nimes - Avignon - Marseille

the route from Port Bou to Cerbere on the Mediterranean coast

The express trains from Spain to France on the Mediterranean coast take the high speed line, but French regional TER trains still travel on this older scenic route
They commence their journeys in Port Bou on the Spanish side of the border and travel to other cities in south-west France including Perpignan, Narbonne, Carcassonne, Beziers, Montpellier, Nimes and Avignon.
Other TER trains commence their journeys on the French side of the border in Cerbere.

There are regional Spanish trains from Barcelona to Port Bou, some of which travel over the border to terminate in Cerbere.
They are a mix of Regional-Express and MD services, but these are the only MD services in Spain on which seat reservations are not available.

The timetables on either side of the border isn't coordinated, as neither the French or Spanish trains operate to a regular timetable.
So the connections in either Cerbere can range from just 10 minutes between trains to more than 90 minutes.
The TER trains from Cerbere generally depart hourly - but don't serve the same destinations in each hour.
Some of the TER trains which commence their journeys from Port Bou only depart on Monday to Friday - and others are only available at weekends.

The departure times of the trains from Barcelona can also be different on a Sat/Sun than those on a weekday

Due to construction work, until further notice these trains will be departing from Sant Andreu station in Barcelona
This station is served by local Rodalies trains on lines R2 and R2 Nord, which call at [Barcelona Sants station](/train-travel-info/countries/spain/cities/barcelona/rail-stations/barcelona-sants/).

These trains to Port Bou also call at Passeig de Gràcia station, which is much closer to the heart of Barcelona than Sants station - those local connecting Rodalies trains also call at this station.

If tickets have sold out on the RENFE-SNCF high speed services from Spain to France, slower alternatives will be available
Particularly useful are the trains on to Avignon from Port Bou which typically depart at 14:04 (not Saturdays) and 16:04 daily.
Connecting trains usually depart Barcelona at 10:46 and 12:46 on Sat/Sun and at 11:16 and 13:16 on Monday to Friday.

Overnight from Barcelona to Paris:

A train to the French border town of Cerbere typically departs Barcelona Sants daily at 15:16 and it will arrive in Cerbere around 1hr 10 mins before the departure of an overnight Intercités de Nuit train to Paris at 19:07.
This train is available nightly until Sept 2nd,. but from then it typically departs on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, it is typically scheduled to arrive in Paris-Austerlitz station at 07:20.

Hourly local ‘Euskotren’ trains connect San Sebastian/Donastia to Hendaia/Hendaye via Irun.
Other hourly ‘Euskotren’ trains connect Bilbao to San Sebastian/Donastia.

So this can be a somewhat odd train journey across a border, as you'll be travelling on a train which has an aura of a metro service, but it is frequent and efficient.

In Hendaia/Hendaye the main railway station is steps away from the Euskotren terminus, so you can then connect into;

• TGVs to Paris which call in Biarritz and Bayonne and Bordeaux
• TER trains, on which rail pass users don't have to pay reservation fees, which take the same route as far as Bordeaux
• A daily direct TER train to Toulouse which typically departs daily at 10:19 and also calls in Pau, Lourdes and Tarbes; other connections to this route to Toulouse are available from Bayonne.
  Though plan connections with care as none of these train services on from Hendaye/Hendaia depart frequently.

This route threads a spectacular path through the Pyrenees mountain range.

Five trains per day depart Barcelona for Latour De Carol via Vic and Puigcerda; they are in effect commuter trains in Barcelona, that escape the city and head over the French border.

TER trains link La Tour De Carol to Toulouse on a route Foix, though the connections aren't generally conveniently timed.
Depart Barcelona at 06:01 or 08:31 daily, or at 11:31 on Monday to Friday, and you'll be hanging around La Tour De Carol for around 1hr 45mins - though you can cut this time down to only around 30 mins if you leave Barcelona at 11:31 on Sunday.

Your efforts will be rewarded as the middle section of the journey is fabulous.

The options for travelling from Madrid to Paris by train are:

Option 2: connecting in Barcelona

Depart Madrid at 09:30; arrive Paris at 20:18

Take the daily regular AVE train, which will depart Madrid Atocha at 09:30 and arrive into Barcelona at 12:37, to make what should be a straightforward connection into the 13:25 train on to Paris, which is typically due to arrive into the French capital at 20:18.

Option 2: connecting in Irun and Hendaye

This option can be cheaper.

Depart Madrid at 08:43; arrive Paris at 20:55

• Taking the train, which typically departs from Madrid Chamartin at 08:43, beyond San Sebastian to its final station call at Irun, where it is usually due to arrive at 14:33.
• Making a transfer from the mainline station in Irun, to the station in the town used by the local Euskotren trains, which are similar to metro trains. The station is named Irun Colon and the walk will take around 7 to 12 mins; go straight ahead and on to the main road which will curve round and up to the right in order to bridge the railway, the station entrance will then be ahead on the left, it's sandwiched between some shops.
• Take the Euskotren train over the border to its terminus station at Hendaia, this station is steps away from the main Hendaye station. The Euskotren trains depart every 30 mins and the journey to Hendaia will only take 4 mins.
• A TGV train to Paris Montparnasse usually departs Hendaye daily at 16:12 and typically arrives in the French capital at 20:55.

The train services between Spain and Portugal have been drastically impacted by the pandemic

The overnight Trenhotel services to Lisbon from both Madrid and from Irun via Burgos were the only direct trains from Spain to the Portuguese capital and they have now been permanently withdrawn.

from Tul in northern Portugal to Valenca

Two relatively new 'Celta' train services per day take this route: Vigo - Valenca - Vana do Castelo - Nine - Porto; they arrive at the main station in the city, Porto Camphana.
The trains usually depart from Guixar station in Vigo daily at 08:58 and 19:56 and the journey from Vigo to Porto takes around 1hr 30mins.

The journey experience is described in this fabulous article.

The morning departure from Vigo has good connections in Porto with an IC train on to Lisboa/Lisbon.
The evening departure from Vigo has a connection from a train that has taken an A Coruna - Santiago de Compostela - Pontevedra -Vigo route.

Madrid to Porto:
If you won't mind spending more than three hours in Vigo between trains, on Monday to Saturday there is an Alvia high speed train which typically departs Madrid Chamartin station at 11:20 and arrives in Vigo Urzaiz station at 15:38.
Note that the train on to Porto will typically depart from a different station in Vigo at 19:56.

the route through Badajoz to Lisbon and Porto

There aren't any direct daytime trains from Madrid to Lisboa/Lisbon or Porto, though travelling this route has become easier on the new timetable, thanks to additional trains and easier transfer times.

On Monday to Saturday an IC train to Badajoz will depart Madrid-Chamartin at 08:28 and call in Madrid Atocha at 08:50; though it leaves from the 'Cercanias' part of the station, which is mainly used by the local commuter trains.
In Badajoz it will have a conveniently timed connection into a newly added additional train over the border to Entroncamento in Portugal, where transfers will be available into trains to both Lisboa/Lisbon and Porto.
The connecting train on from Entroncamento to the Portuguese capital will call in Lisboa Oriente station at 16:52 before going on to arrive in Lisboa Santa Apolonia station at 17:00.
The train from Badajoz will also connect in Entroncamento with a train which arrives at Porto Camphana station at 18:52.

A daily connection is also available by departing from Madrid-Chamartin at 10:55 on a MD train heading to Sevilla which calls in Merida.
By making connections in Merida, Badajoz and Entroncamento, it's possible to arrive in Lisboa Oriente at 22:52 and into Lisboa Santa Apolonia at 23:00.
Though the transfer time between trains in Badajoz will be around 2hr 40mins.

Lisboa to Madrid

There are now up two options for making the journey from Lisboa/Lisbon to Madrid by train.

Daily:

A Portuguese IC express train to Entroncamento is typically scheduled to depart from Lisboa Santa Apolonia station at 08:15 and from Lisboa Oriente station at 08:23.
In Entroncamento it will have a 5 minute connection into train which will head over the border to Badajoz.
On arrival in Badajoz it will typically have an 80 minute connection into a train to Merida.
In Merida a 17 min connection will be available into a Media-Diastancia (MD) train service which is scheduled to arrive at Atocha station in Madrid at 19:38.
It will arrive at the 'Cercanias' section of the station which is mainly used by commuter trains.

Not Saturdays:

A Portuguese IC express train to Entroncamento is typically scheduled to depart from Lisboa Santa Apolonia station at 12:30 and from Lisboa Oriente station at 12:39.
In Entroncamento it will have a 7 minute connection into train which will head over the border to Badajoz.
On arrival in Badajoz it will typically have a 6 minute connection into a Media-Diastancia (MD) train service which is scheduled to arrive at Atocha station which will call in Atocha station at 22:04, before going on to terminate in Madrid-Chamartin at 22:18.

Porto to Vigo

Two relatively new 'Celta' train services per day take this route: Porto - Nine - Vana do Castelo - Valenca - Vigo, they typically depart from the main station in the city, Porto Camphana daily at 08:13 at 19:10.
They usually arrive at Guixar station in Vigo at 11:35 and 22:35; note that the journey in this direction is more than an hour slower than when travelling from Vigo to Porto.

Take the morning train from Porto and in Vigo there will be an easily timed connection into a train on to Pontevedra, Santiago de Compostela and A Coruna.

At 13:20 a high speed Alvia train usually departs Vigo Urzaiz station for Madrid, were it is typically scheduled to arrive in Chamartin station at 17:36.
Depart Porto at 08:13 and you will have 1hr 45mins to make the transfer between the two different stations in Vigo.

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