Explore Spain on its high-speed trains

Madrid-Seville lineTravel time: around 2 hours and 30 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Seville.Madrid, the capital of Spain, is connected by high-speed train to Seville, in the very heart of Andalusia. In around two and a half hours you can go from the most famous monuments in cosmopolitan Madrid –such as the Royal Palace and the Prado Museum– to enjoy the culinary delights and the charm of Seville's most beautiful sites, like the towers of the Giralda and Torre del Oro.There are several stops on the way. The first is in Ciudad Real, a land that was famously immortalised in Cervantes' Don Quixote. The second stop is Puertollano, and the third is Cordoba, where the whole historic city centre is a World Heritage site, and where you'll be able to see famous monuments such as the Great Mosque-Cathedral, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Barcelona - Seville lineTravel time: from 5 hours. 18 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Camp de Tarragona - Lleida - Zaragoza - Madrid - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Seville.Get from Barcelona to Seville in just over five hours on the AVE high-speed train. Imagine the possibilities! For example, you can wake up beside the Sagrada Familia in the morning and enjoy a walk round María Luisa Park in Seville in the evening. 

Valencia - Seville lineTravel time: from 4 hours and 23 minutes. Stops (depending on the train): Requena-Utiel - Cuenca - Madrid - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Seville.You can also travel to Seville from Valencia on the AVE high-speed train. The fastest journey takes you between these two major tourist destinations in just over four hours.

Madrid - Malaga lineTravel time: from 2 hours and 40 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Puente Genil - Antequera - Malaga.The AVE can take you from Madrid to Malaga in Andalusia, just over 130 kilometres from Cordoba, where you will be amazed by its Roman theatre, its historic centre and the Picasso Museum, one of its most famous art venues. 

Barcelona - Malaga lineTravel time: from 5 hours and 30 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Camp de Tarragona - Lleida - Zaragoza - Calatayud - Guadalajara - Madrid - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Puente Genil - Antequera - Malaga.You can also travel to Malaga from Barcelona on the AVE high-speed train. This enables you to travel from practically one end of the Spanish Mediterranean coast to the other in six hours or less.

Madrid - Granada lineTravel time: from 3 hours and 30 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Puente Genil - Antequera - Loja - Granada The AVE from Madrid to Andalusia also stops at Granada. Take the opportunity to visit a city famous for its atmosphere, its tapas tradition, and most of all, the astounding Alhambra. Don’t miss the Albaicín neighbourhood and its lookout points with wonderful views of the Alhambra and its gardens. Both of these have been awarded World Heritage status.

Barcelona - Granada lineTravel time: from 6 hours and 25 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Camp de Tarragona - Lleida - Zaragoza - Madrid - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Cordoba - Antequera - Loja - GranadaThe fast train between Barcelona and Granada lets you see spectacular sights such as Park Güell and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra in Granada in just a few days. All of these monuments are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Madrid - Barcelona line Travel time: from 2 hours and 30 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Guadalajara - Calatayud - Zaragoza - Lleida - Camp de Tarragona - Barcelona.Another option is to take the AVE to Catalonia, in north-eastern Spain. Barcelona is the regional capital and one of the country's most important cities. It has excellent transport connections thanks to the AVE, with a journey time from Madrid of two and a half hours non-stop. You can discover heritage buildings like the Sagrada Familia and the cathedral. The AVE also connects Barcelona to Girona and Figueres (where you can catch a direct train to Paris from the Figueres Vilafant station, arriving in five and a half hours). In Girona, you can enjoy its ancient Jewish quarter and its cathedral. And in Figueres, the Dalí Theatre-MuseumSome services on this line also stop at Zaragoza on the Ebro river. Zaragoza is the fifth largest city in Spain and home to the famous Basilica del Pilar cathedral. You can also stop at Lleida, which is overlooked by the Castillo de la Suda castle and the Seu Vella Cathedral, and Camp de Tarragona, just over 10 kilometres from Tarragona, where the Roman heritage melds with the Mediterranean.

Madrid - Valencia lineTravel time: from 1 hours and 50 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Cuenca - Requena-Utiel - Valencia The AVE's Madrid-east coast corridor offers a daily high-speed train service that includes numerous trains that directly link Madrid and Valencia in 110 minutes. Perfect for visiting places such as the spectacular City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.All the other trains on this line also stop at Cuenca and Requena-Utiel, with some going a little further to Castellon de la Plana. Cuenca is a World Heritage City, in Castilla-La Mancha. Requena-Utiel is in a well-known wine-making area of the Region of Valencia. Castellon is a coastal city in the Region of Valencia.

Madrid - Alicante - Murcia lineTravel time: from 2 hours and 15 minutes to Alicante and 2 hours and 45 minutes to Murcia.Stops (depending on the train): Cuenca - Albacete - Villena - Alicante - Elche - Orihuela - MurciaAlicante is situated in the heart of the Costa Blanca and is one of the main tourist destinations in the Levante area. The historic quarter and Santa Bárbara Castle are a must. In 2022, this line was extended to the city of Murcia, which has one of the tallest bell towers in Spain. Before Murcia, it stops in Elche, which is famed for its enormous palm grove, and Orihuela, where the old town has been declared a Historic and Artistic Site.

Madrid - Huesca lineTravel time: 2 hours 20 minutes.Stops (depending on the time): Guadalajara – Calatayud – Zaragoza - Tardienta - Huesca.Although there is only one direct AVE connection a day, the relaxed city of Huesca - the 'gateway to the Pyrenees' with its impressive cathedral - is only two and a quarter hours from Madrid.

Madrid-León lineTravel time: 2 hours.Stops (depending on the train): Segovia - Valladolid - Palencia - Leon.In Leon you can find one of Spain's most beautiful cathedrals and enjoy the nightlife in the district known as “El Húmedo”. If you prefer, you can get off before Leon, in Palencia. You'll love its medieval heritage buildings and delicious food. 

Madrid-Valladolid line Travel time: from 55 minutes.Stops (depending on the train): Segovia - Valladolid.The attractions in Valladolid, a little over 200 kilometres from Madrid, include its 16th-century cathedral and its enormous Plaza Mayor square. This line also stops in the World Heritage city of Segovia, where you'll be amazed by its spectacular Roman aqueduct and Alcazar castle.

Madrid - Ourense lineTravel time: 2 hours 15 minutes.Stop: Zamora.The AVE now also reaches Galicia. At the end of 2021, the AVE reached the last cardinal point of Spain, stopping at the spa city of Ourense, with its important Roman past and famous hot water thermal baths, some of which are freely accessible to bathers. You can also get off at the intermediate stop of Zamora (just an hour from Madrid by high-speed train), which is home to more than twenty Romanesque churches.