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Lisbon-Madrid Night TrainLusitánia Comboio Trenhotel
Lisbon
and Madrid are the two major capitals of the Iberian Peninsula, and no trip to
Portugal and Spain is complete without a visit to both. By air, the two cities
are only about an hour apart, but ground transportation, check-in time, and
security checks will add several hours to the trip (especially if you need to
wait for a checked suitcase).
A pleasant alternative worth considering is the
Lisbon-Madrid or Madrid-Lisbon Night Train--especially if you're traveling
with a Eurail or
InterRail pass, which provide
substantial discounts for passholders. By sleeping on the train, you'll save the
cost of a hotel for one night, and you won't waste your daylight vacation hours
at an airport. The night train between the Lisbon and Madrid--also known as the
Lusitánia Comboio Trenhotel--is operated
by Renfe, the Spanish national railways, on Portuguese and Spanish railroad
tracks. Departure and arrival times are: Lisbon - Madrid Madrid - Lisbon Times are subject to change, so check the
train's
at the CP Portuguese Railways site before going to the
station. (Enter Lisbon - Santa
Apolónia as your starting point, and when you see the results, look for "IN,"
Internacional train 335.) Please note: Madrid's time zone is one hour ahead of
Lisbon's, so remember to reset your watch before going to bed. If you're connecting between
Madrid and other major Spanish cities (such as Seville) by high-speed AVE
train, you'll need to transfer between Chamartin Station and Atocha Station
across town. This is easy, since local and regional trains run frequently
between the two stations. The Lusitánia Comboio Trenhotel isn't a luxury train like
the Venice-Simplon Orient Express or the Royal Scotsman. It's new, clean,
and
comfortable, but its purpose is to transport you between Lisbon and Madrid,
not to pamper you with the railway equivalent of a five-star cruise.
When you travel on the
Lusitánia Comboio Trenhotel, you'll need two
documents: A first- or second-class ticket or railpass for the trip between Lisbon and Madrid; A reservation card for your assigned seat or sleeping
compartment. (See photo above.) You can buy tickets and obtain reservations from: CP (Portuguese Railways); Renfe (Spanish Railways); Authorized travel agencies in Europe; International ticket vendors such as
Rail Europe. If you're traveling extensively by train, consider a rail pass
from InterRail (for residents of
Europe) or Eurail (for travelers from
outside Europe). Many different passes are available, including "Global Passes"
that work throughout Europe and regional or single-country passes such as
Eurail's
Portugal-Spain pass and InterRail's
Portugal and
Spain passes. With a rail pass, you won't need to buy a ticket between Lisbon
and Madrid: You'll need only a seat or sleeping-car reservation, which you can
obtain within a month of departure at a railroad station, an authorized travel
agency in Europe, or an online ticket and railpass vendor such as
Rail Europe. For more
information about the Trenhotel, see:
Renfe: Trenhotel
CP (Portuguese Railways)
About the author: Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation. After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post. For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials. Map scan copyright © Nicholas Belton. |
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