#TGV Duplex trains are
capable of travelling at speeds of up to 199mph |Route: London to Barcelona |
Miles: 946 | Notable passengers : George Orwell (when trains were much slower)
| Dining car: TGVs have a buffet car serving risottos, croquet monsieurs and French
wines | sit on: the top deck on the left-hand side, for the best views of the
Mediterranean coast
ON paper, a train
to Barcelona surely beats a flight: no scrum for the best seats on board, no
tedious wait for departure after you have checked in. until recently, the sheer
length of the journey made it impractical, but now there’s no real excuse not
to take the train: a newly opened high-speed rail link from Paris to the
Catalan city means it’s possible to reach Barcelona from London in around 10 hours-three
hours faster than previously possible. Begin by catching an early morning
Eurostar service to Paris, before changing for the direct ‘Duplex’ service to
Barcelona – a double decker train that can go faster than a jumbo jet on
takeoff. Reserve a seat on the upper deck for views of Rhone Valley vineyards,
crumbling chateaux, hilltop villages and Mediterranean lagoons (keep an eye out
for flamingos), before the tain slips past the Pyrenees on its final approach
to Barcelona Sants station.
London to Paris Eurostar trains take around 2 hours 20
minutes, and it’s roughly 6½ hours from Paris to Barcelona on the
TGV (visit the website :uk.voyages-sncf.com).
