I rolled into Barcelona Sants Estació from Paris to begin the second leg of my trip in Barcelona…read more Train stations tend to be chaotic, and they're prime spots for people to get pickpocketed, so I like to spend at little time in them as possible, and constantly be moving while there. This is the main train station in the city, and as such it's quite large with several different areas and connections. I was a little confused once we arrived as I needed to find the Metro, but after orienting myself it was no issue. Besides that, Barcelona Sants Estació is really no frills. It got me where I needed to go, and at the end of the day that's all that matters.

The main train station in Barcelona, therefore the busiest almost all the time…read more Currently there is a lot of construction work going on inside and out. So paths are a bit constricted and not clearly marked. I recently took the inOui from Paris to BCN, a 7 hour trip that was nicer than the bustle of air travel. Arriving at 10 pm BCN Sants was quite busy, but was able to pop up easily and get out of the station. I would have liked to have grabbed a sandwich to take to the hotel, but construction made it impossible to find a vendor. The outside construction and some rain made areas a muddy and rough mess. Bummer, it has been a great station in the past. Just be aware of pick pockets here.

One of my favorite train stations. Nice art Inside, and when you exit look up to notice the amazing…read morebuildings by Gaudi.

This is a major railway junction 40 miles to the south-west of Barcelona and 20 miles from…read moreTarragona. Named after a small hill-top village to the north, it's now surrounded by the pleasant but suburban and rather characterless seaside town of Coma Ruga. The station was originally opened on the first route from Barcelona to Tarragona via an inland route through Vilafranca in 1865. In 1881, the coastal route via Sitges and Vilanova opened, making Sant Vicenç an important junction. An inland route was also opened from here to Lleida via La Plana-Picamoixons, by-passing Tarragona, which until the opening of the high speed line also carried expresses to Madrid. Today, the station is still an important one, and always busy with people changing trains. It's the terminus of Lines 2 and 4 of the Barcelona suburban railway network, Line 2 providing a half-hourly off-peak service via the coast (including Sitges and Vilanova) and Line 4 providing an hourly service via the inland line via Vilafranca del Penedès (and the Cava wine-producing region). It's also served by all the Media Distencia services from Barcelona to Tarragona, Lleida, Tortosa and Reus and other places to the south, and a small selection of the fast Barcelona-Valencia coastal services. Although it has 11 platforms, the station buildings are rather modest: just two platforms have awnings, and a modern brick-built structure contains a ticket office, newsagents and a small café. There are very few facilities outside the station - there are no bars and the nearest shops are 10 minutes' walk away. There is however a decent sized car park in front of the station. Trains to Barcelona via Vilafranca (line C4) depart from the three terminating platforms just in front of the station buildings. All other services are accessed via the subway, most stopping at platforms 1-4. Like many Spanish stations, the platform numbering system is not sequential, which can be confusing for visitors. A new digital display system has just been installed, which should make things easier for travellers.

Average. Easy entrance and exit…read more Small. James C's review of 7/15/2016 is accurate.

Its a train station, a function which it performs adequately. There are a few ticket machines in…read morethe relatively small concourse, and staff are on hand to assist anyone who requires it. The platforms are a pleasant place to wait in the sunshine, though you don't have to wait long as there is a train to Barcelona every 15 minutes. For the airport there is a train every 30 minutes to El Prat de Llobregat where you need to connect to an airport train.

Eclipsed for the past thirty years as Barcelona's main station by the subterranean sprawl of…read moreBarcelona Sants, the França terminus station is nevertheless the much more attractive of the city's two main stations, and worth a look in its own right as a piece of early 20th-century architecture. Built in the 19th century as the main terminus for trains arriving from France (as the name suggests), it was rebuilt and reopened in 1929 for the International Exhibition held in Barcelona that year. With two huge, curving train sheds covering 12 platforms and a grand vaulted concourse with a polished marble floor, the whole project was conceived on a grand scale in a restrained fusion of the art nouveau and classical styles (although the external façade is a little too restrained for my taste). The construction of the east - west line through the centre of Barcelona via the modern Sants station in the 1970's rendered França somewhat redundant. Although it is close to Cuitadella Park and the trendy Barceloneta sea-front quarter, it is rather further from the current commercial centre of the city, although it is more convenient for the old Gothic Quarter. It isn't even connected to Barcelona's metro system Barceloneta station is a good five minute walk away, via the back streets to the west of the station - but the half hourly airport shuttle (line C10) will also take you into the centre. To-day, the station is the starting point for express trains to Madrid, Valencia and other Spanish cities, medium-distance services to other parts of Catalonia, the half-hourly train to Barcelona Airport (all which also pass through Sants) and a few overnight trains to and from France. The main concourse contains the ticket office, information centre, left luggage facilities and an incongruously huge cafeteria. The platform concourse also contains a quaint scale model of the station, complete with toy trains. Although beautifully maintained, the small number of passengers who use the station seem completely lost in its vast, echoing public spaces. But that also makes it easier to appreciate as a piece of public architecture, and the absence of crowds and queues makes arriving or departing by train a rare and pleasurable experience.

Arriving at this station early on a recent Thursday morning on my way to Primavera Sound festival…read morewas a highly confusing experience, entirely because I thought we were going to arrive at Estació de Sants (a station further north). Imagine my concern when I picked up a map from the information desk, found Estació de Sants on it, went out on to the street and couldn't make head nor tail of where I was! Thankfully after 10 minutes of confused wandering I asked a passerby for help and was surprised and very pleased to discover I was already near the guesthouse. Perfect! Estació de Franca was very convenient for my trip - just a few minutes walk away from Barceloneta Metro station, close to where I was staying and not far from the Barri Gothic and La Ramblas either. It's not a massive station either so finding my train home was easyhandy when there's only one overnight train per day to Paris - missing it would have been a calamity!

I am not sure why this station has such bad reviews but my experience was awesome…read more The price was very reasonable, the bathrooms were clean and the train departed/arrived on time.

This cable car takes you up to one of the MOST beautiful spots in Spain. For only a couple Euros,…read moreyou get brought up to the top of Montserrat, a Benedictine Monk retreat carved into the mountains. Located right outside of Barcelona, you can either take a train or drive to this area as a day trip. At the top, you'll find a few food shops, a huge church and some amazing hiking trails. We picked up some bread, meet, cheese, water and cookies from their little market store, hiked for about twenty minutes and had lunch overlooking the stunning view. We stayed up here for about three hours and could have done four or five, but that's it. It is truly magical and if it isn't on your bucket list, you should add it!

Just 1 hour outside of Barcelona. Montserrat is a beautiful village in the mountains with amazing…read moreviews. I took a day trip via a tour with bus so I was able to see some beautiful views on the way up. At Montserrat, you have an array of mountains, a hiking trail, great architecture, an abbey, church, hotel to stay, and of course, variety of restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops.

Vic's railway station is on the R3 commuter line from Barcelona to Puigcerda and La Tour de la…read moreCarol in France, the last remaining line between the two countries over the Pyrenees. The station has been substantially modernised; the original building at street level provides access to a large, modern 4-platform station in a deep concrete cutting, with lift and escalator access. The ticket office is in a modern building above the platforms. There's a cafe and waiting area. The station has a roughly hourly train service from Barcelona, most of which terminate here, with a handful going further north to the border. Trains take between an hour and 90 minutes, depending on the stopping pattern.