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4.6The most popular ways to travel from France to Spain
The beauty of traveling between these two remarkable countries is the sheer wealth of travel options available for you to book online, via Omio. Ultimately, the best mode of transport between France and Spain depends on what you’re prioritizing for your trip: budget, speed, or sightseeing.
Trains from France to Spain
By taking one of many France to Spain trains, you can enjoy the luxury of high-speed travel while soaking in the views. Both countries have developed efficient railway systems, bridging the border thanks to a partnership between their two largest operators: Renfe and SNCF.
Buses from France to Spain
The bus from France to Spain is the most affordable option. Traveling by bus also gives you the most options in terms of your starting point and destination, with services running regularly between most major French and Spanish cities.
Flights from France to Spain
As you might expect from two of Europe’s largest and wealthiest nations, there is a proliferation of airports throughout both countries, with connecting flights that can save you serious travel time on your trip. This is the fastest option between the two countries. Taking a France to Spain flight can also sometimes save you money over other travel options, like the train.
Cheapest tickets to travel from France to Spain
At Omio, we know that saving cents on travel tickets can not only extend your vacation but may also result in a better travel experience on the ground: seeing a country the way it was meant to be seen. The cheapest tickets from France to Spain are always, without exception, on the bus.
How many hours do I need to travel from France to Spain?
There’s a lot of ground to cover across France and Spain, not to mention food, art, history, and boundless tracts of unspoiled nature. Of course, if you’re primarily concerned with getting from one end to the other, you’ll need to know how many hours you can expect to be on the road. France to Spain travel time differs depending on your mode of transport, as well as your start and end points.
The distance from France to Spain by train can be as great as 654 miles (1,052km), from Paris to Madrid, which would take you around 14 hours and 12 minutes or as short as 50 miles (80km) from Perpignan to Girona covered in close to 41 minutes.
The distance from France to Spain by bus is much greater compared to both trains and planes. Taking the above examples, a bus from Paris to Madrid takes around 17 hours 45 minutes, and from Perpignan to Girona around 1 hour 14 minutes.
Unsurprisingly, of course, the distance from France to Spain by plane is barely noticeable! A flight from Paris to Madrid can have you on the ground and in a tapas bar for a bite to eat in just 2 hours and 5 minutes. While your options for departure and arrival points are more constricted than with trains and buses, you could hop on a plane in Marseilles (north of Perpignan) and arrive in Barcelona (south of Girona) in less time than the bus between the latter two.
Old City Valencia. Source: Unsplash
What companies run services between France and Spain?
Train providers
As we touched on before, France and Spain are well-known for the efficiency of their train networks and operators. Spain’s national railway company, Renfe (and high-speed branch Renfe AVE) teamed up with France’s SNCF to offer trips between the two nations. SNCF is also nationalized, linking Spain to France with a high-speed TGV line operating along the Mediterranean coast.
Bus providers
Spain’s main bus company, Alsa, is also one of the largest bus companies in Europe. It runs services to almost every city in Spain, connecting the country with cities on the French side of the border. Another giant of motor travel is Flixbus, a German company that serves as the second biggest shuttler of holidaymakers between France and Spain. You may also often find your bus tickets from France to Spain provided by BlaBlaBus, a company that prioritizes affordability as well as your safety, or a subsidiary of French railway company SNCF, Ouibus.
Airlines
There are a wealth of different airlines transporting customers between France and Spain, though the two most important to mention here are the respective national operators: Air France and Iberia. In addition to both, there are also France to Spain flights available through budget airlines like easyJet, Ryanair, and Spain’s own Vueling, based out of Barcelona.
The most popular routes from France to Spain
With so many different ways to travel from France to Spain, each with its own unique set of advantages, it’s easy to find yourself a little lost. Let’s take a look at five of the most popular routes you can take between these European neighbors.
- Paris to Sevilla (plane): A quick, roughly two-and-a-half-hour flight takes you 900 miles (1,450km) from the bustling metropolis of France’s capital to the ancient, Moorish heart of Andalusia.
- Marseille to Barcelona (bus): For next to nothing, you can hop on a bus in the port city of Marseilles and enjoy a rolling 210-mile (338km), roughly 7.5-hour bus ride all the way south along the stunning Mediterranean coast to Barcelona.
- Bordeaux to San Sebastián (train): Europe’s Atlantic coast is cooler and less forgiving than its southern counterpart, but this quick 125 mile (201km) and approximately two-hour-thirty-six-minute train journey from French wine country to the home of Basque hospitality proves the Atlantic coast is well worth a visit.
- Toulouse to Zaragoza (bus): One-hundred-and-eighty miles (290km) up and over the strikingly impressive Pyrenees makes for a trip to remember. A bus ride of about six hours will take you from La Ville Rose (“The Pink City”) through the snow-capped mountains, and down onto the Iberian Peninsula in Spain.
- Paris to Barcelona(plane): From Parisian streets adorned with cute cafés, Michelin star restaurants, and chic boutiques, to the vibrant art and late-night culture of Barcelona’s more bohemian quarters. The flight takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes, so you can have breakfast at the Louvre in the morning and be sunning yourself on a Spanish beach in the afternoon.
Retiro Park Madrid. Source: Shutterstock
The most popular stations in France & Spain
Wherever you are in France, there will be a host of departure hubs from which you can hop on a plane, train, or bus down south to Spain. Here is a quick list of some of the most popular departure stations in France:
Arriving in Spain, you’re likely to find yourself disembarking at one of the following popular destination stations:
Best destinations & highlights in Spain
Spain has something for everyone. Here are five unmissable destinations in Spain, with some suggestions of things to do and sights to see once you get there!
Best time to travel from France to Spain
No matter what time of year you choose to visit Spain, you’re in for a treat. The weather is typically good, while both city breaks and rural getaways offer plenty to do, eat, drink, and see all year round.
Having said that, it’s worth noting that peak tourist season runs from late June through to the end of August, during which time the weather is very hot, and the best beaches and top sights are overcrowded. As such, it’s better to visit during late spring (March-May) or at the beginning of autumn (September-November). Visit in spring and you may even be lucky enough to witness the colorful and unique celebrations during Semana Santa (Holy Week).