Explore Spain on its high-speed trains

Madrid-Seville lineTravel time: from 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 - Calatayud - Guadalajara - Madrid - Ciudad Real - Puertollano - Córdoba - Sevilla.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 6 hours.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 a 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. The second is an area of the Valencian Community known for its wines. Meanwhile, Castellón is a coastal city in the same region.

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-Gijón lineTravel time: from 3 hours and 40 minutes (Gijón).Stops (depending on the train): Segovia - Valladolid - Palencia - León - Oviedo - Gijón.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.The AVE continues north from León and reaches the coast, stopping at the two large cities of Asturias: Oviedo, capital of Asturias, known for its outstanding Pre-Romanesque heritage and culinary tradition; and Gijón, with its stunning beaches on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea, which boast its rich monumental and seafaring heritage.

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-A Coruña lineTravel time: 3 hours 30 minutes.Stop: Zamora - Ourense - Santiago de Compostela - A CoruñaThe AVE also connects with Galicia with two variants that have two major Galician cities as their destinations: A Coruña and Vigo.On the line from Madrid to A Coruña you will find several interesting intermediate stops. You can stop in Zamora (just an hour from Madrid by high-speed train), known for its twenty Romanesque churches. Or continue to the thermal city of Ourense, with an important Roman past and its famous hot springs, some of which are open to bathers.Along the route, you will find Santiago de Compostela, World Heritage City, with its cathedral being the destination of one of the most famous pilgrimage routes in the world. You can also stop at A Coruña and enjoy the impressive Roman Tower of Hercules lighthouse.

Madrid-Vigo lineTravel time: from 4 hours.Stops (depending on the train): Zamora - Sanabria - A Gudiña - Ourense - Santiago de Compostela - Vilagarcia de Arousa - Pontevedra - Vigo.The other variant for the AVE to take you to Galicia also ends in the Atlantic, but much further south, in the Rías Baixas. It shares the route and some stops with the one that ends in A Coruña, but it takes a detour in Santiago and will allow you to visit, for example, the beautiful city of Pontevedra. The AVE takes just a few more minutes to reach Vigo station, from where you can visit, for example, the fabulous Cíes Islands.