Tarragona Railway Station, Tarragona

Railway station in Tarragona is situated on the coastline, and beautiful approach to the city. The station is small and quaint at the foot of the steep climb to the town which can be reached by a winding road 10 minute walk which is very steep and winding, alternatively there are steps again very steep and difficult with luggage, not what you need after a long journey. To take a Taxi from the station to the top of the hill, the end of the rue de la rambla costs 10euros which is expensive for the two minute journey but well worth every penny after a long journey.

Tarragona is the principal stop on the main line between Barcelona and Valencia and a busy regional destination in its own right.

Rebuilt in the 1970s, the exterior is bleak and uninviting, but the interior is serviceable enough. For such an important station it only has four platforms in regular use, and a relatively small ticket hall, but there’s a small newsagents, a confectionery shop and a decent cafeteria. Outside there is a taxi rank, and a bus stop for line 2 of the city’s buses. One downside is that the only toilets (on the main platform) are two coin-operated cabins, out in the open. Let’s hope you have the right change when it’s pouring with rain.

For once, train information is plentifully provided, with electronic departure boards and TV screens everywhere. Don’t forget to validate your ticket in one of the orange machines if you haven’t bought it here, before boarding your train. The ticket office is open from 5h until 23.45h, and the reservations office for advanced ticket purchases from 7h until 21.30h.

Spanish trains go under a bewildering array of names, but essentially, Tarragona has a roughly hourly service of fast inter-city trains such as the ‘Talgo’ and ‘Estrella’ heading along the coast; and roughly half-hourly ‘Media Distencia’ services running to and from Barcelona, on their way to destinations such as Tortosa, Reus, Lleida and Zaragoza, most which are branded ‘Catalunya Exprés’ or ‘Regional Exprés’.

Since February 2008, train to Madrid on the new high speed line stop at Camp de Tarragona, 15km north of the City towards the village of Secuita.