Trains To Alicante

One of the best ways to see some beautiful parts of Spain, is to travel by train. Below are two of the most popular routes into Alicante. Perhaps whilst you are on holiday in Alicante, you may wish to have a weekend break in Madrid? If so, why not do it by train?

Paris To Alicante By Train - Stage 1

If you fancy travelling by train from Paris to Alicante, the 13 hour journey is fairly easy and is just over 1600 km (1000 miles) and therefore can be done in a day with just one change of train. Your trip will begin from Paris Gare de Lyon with a high speed TGV Duplex and head south to Barcelona Sants station with direct TGV trains to Barcelona leaving Paris between two and four times per day (with the frequency higher in summer than in winter). As the journey is focused on speed, there are not many stops en route (between 6 and 10 depending on which train you take), however all the trains stop at Montpellier, Perpignan and Girone. 

Paris To Alicante By Train - Stage 2

Once you have arrived in Barcelona, you will board the second train of your trip. Choose either a Euromed train or Talgo service to travel directly from Barcelona to Alicante. All trains on this route use Barcelona Sants station, but the Euromed trains begin their journey at Barcelona Estacio de Frana. The Talgo trains take up to 1 hour longer down to Alicante as they stop between 11 to 14 times en route, including stops at Tarragona and Valencia, whereas the Euromed trains stop only 3 times between Barcelona and Alicante (which also includes Tarragona and Valencia). If you can, a window seat on the Euromed or Talgo train from Barcelona to Alicante will give you excellent Mediterranean views. Renfe, the Spanish rail operator releases tickets for the trip from Paris to Alicante via Barcelona in batches, with the cheapest tickets coming on sale 120 days in advance. So, if you find Paris to Barcelona section is already available to buy, but the Barcelona to Alicante section is not, it is still worth purchasing your ticket for that first leg as the price often increases daily. You can then buy a cheap ticket from Barcelona to Alicante once they go on sale. 

Madrid To Alicante By Train

By far the best option of travelling between these two cities is by train with 7 to 10 direct AVE or Alvia trains travelling this route every day with the faster AVE service taking just over 2 hours. Both Alvia and AVE offer very comfortable high speed trains run by RENFE, the Spanish rail operator and leave from the Atocha station in Madrid with an afternoon train from Chamartin station in Madrid which then stops at Atocha 25 minutes after departing Chamartin. The journey from Madrid to Alicante is very picturesque and passes beautiful Spanish landscapes, crossing regions that tourists do not usually visit.

For more information on these and other trips, visit Trainline for reservations.