I’ve been struggling to find reasonably priced and direct trips from barcelona to nice. The date I plan to leave barcelona is June 18th.
If I flew, whichbudget recommends vueling, but they don’t have tickets that far in advance. Through kayak and other sites i’ve found direct flights for 800, which is how much i’m paying to get to europe. There are cheaper flights but they stop in belgium or other out of the way places.
It might be better to take the train. Railsaver does not seem to work for me. (too far in advance?) I know the 5 days in 2 months pass is an option (i’ll be traveling into italy later), but i was hoping to see how quickly i could get to Nice for planning purposes.
Best circumstances would be a relatively direct night train from barcelona to nice. Is this possible?
Thanks for your help
The train ride is over 11 hours and I believe the last direct overnight train from Barcelona to Nice was discontinued, so it’s either all day with one connection or a very difficult night with several connections if you take the train. I’d be looking for flights — you could try easyjet or clickair to Lyon if you can’t find a cheap flight on Vueling to Nice.
Whether or not to buy a railpass depends on your specific itinerary. It probably isn’t worth it for this one trip.
Lyon is pretty far north of my destination, I don’t think that is the best way.
For trains, would it be possible to do the train switch early on in the ride so that I could be sleeping later? Is there a way to search for train routes so I can see where a particular train might stop?
Use the German rail company website for schedules anywhere in Europe. It’s the most complete and the most user-friendly in English: http://reiseauskunft…
Click on the specific train to see the connections and then click on “show intermediate stops” to see everywhere that train stops.
Just a follow up:
I did some more searching on google, turns out a good amount of people have tried to find the best way. People’s trips included:
Barcelona -> Perpignan -> Nîmes -> Nice
Barcelona -> Marseille -> Nice
and the most common:
Barcelona -> Cerbere -> Nice
other people recommend www.eurolines.com which runs from barcelona to nice.
It sounds like I’ll be traveling for 11 hours or stopping in a place on the way.
Either way, now I have a good idea of what that day will be like.
Thanks for your responses oldlady
I don’t know about flights, but would have a look at other city pairs: For example, Perpignan to Toulouse or an arrival in Marseille (Check various combinations).
By rail, the route will be through Cerbere, Collioure, Perpignan, Narbonne, Montpellier, Nimes, Arles, Marseille… and then along the coast, with likely stops at Toulon, les Arcs, St Raphael, Cannes, Antibes, and Nice.
Some trains won’t stop at all the places I’ve mentioned, but will pass through them.
In my opinion, Cerbere is nothing special; Collioure is a must-see; Perpignan can be skipped, as can Narbonne and Marseille. However, if at all possible, plans stops at Nimes and Arles. I think that Cannes and Nice are so simlilar that there’s no point seeing both. In my view, Nice is very over-rated (although the area is fabulous). Lots of potential stops along the coast, most of which you probably have never heard of: Cassis, Bandol, Sanary-sur-Mer, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes… all these have train service (some may require a transfer to a local train from Marseille or Toulon). Nice is just a bigger version of these small towns, although worth seeng if, for example, you’re interested in the Chagall Museum.