Get to BCN & Madrid by high-speed train

Ever wanted to know how far Barcelona or Madrid is to Valencia and the best way to get there. In this article we break down the destinations from Valencia to Spain’s biggest cities and how to get there quickly and conveniently on Spain’s world leading train network. In this article The Inside Guide takes a closer look at Spain’s much lauded train network and how to get quickly to the other big cities in Spain.

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Travelling made easy

Compared to the UK, Spain is a big country. In fact Spain is about 2.1 times the size of all of the UK. This means that the big cities in Spain are comparatively far apart. Valencia is based on the east coast of Spain located south of Barcelona and North of the regions of Murcia and Andalucía. Travelling between the big cities used to be a time consuming all day affairs but fortunately these days are gone. Spain has invested heavily in its infrastructure and now getting across Spain is easier than ever, in-fact outside of China, it has the most high speed train lines in the world.

Valencia joaquin-Sorolla-Station where high speed trains go to barcelona and madrid — “File:Valencia-Joaquin-Sorolla-Station-300416.JPG” by FDV is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

There are currently several high speed train operators in Spain. The national service is Renfe but there are now two other companies now offering regular services. The new kid on the block is Iryo and we recently tried them out on a trip to Madrid and were seriously impressed. Valencia has two main train stations. Estación del Norte and Joaquín Sorolla Station. All of the high speed trains leave from Joaquín Sorolla while the more local services leave from Estación del Norte.

The inside of a highspeed RENFE train in Spain — “Preferente seating in Renfe Ave train in Málaga, Spain” by transitpeople is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

World class trains

For so many reasons they are the best way to travel across Spain. We have been on them a number of times and couldn’t rate them high enough. The trains are fast, comfortable and if you book in advance are a great price. They reach speeds of 300 km an hour yet somehow it never quite feels like that. The ride is smooth and relaxing. You could quite comfortably read a book, do some work or take 40 winks. There are also good food options, comfortable seats and reliable wifi. We all know the importance of reducing our carbon footprint and taking a train as opposed to a plane where possible is in our opinion a no brainer.

If you need to travel for a business trip or are planning a weekend away then these are the details on the train services between Valencia and the other big cities in Spain.