Barcelona Girona Train: 5 Easy Day Trips

A day trip by train works best when you pick one town and leave the others for another day.

1. Girona: the Barcelona Girona train for one old town

Girona is the best first train trip from Barcelona, because trains leave Barcelona Sants for it all day. Renfe's route page says you can take a train from Sants to Girona from 06:55, and Girona station is open from 05:45 to 23:15. Renfe publishes no journey time or fare there, so look both up in the Renfe app for your day. It does say that tickets bought ahead cost less. The Girona tourism site gives the distance as about 100 km.

You can also take the regional line. The Rodalies R11 timetable runs from Barcelona Sants to Portbou by way of Granollers Centre and Girona. On workdays it lists trains leaving Sants at 6:16, 7:16, 8:16, 9:16, 10:16 and 11:16. Rodalies says an average weekday has 23 trains from Sants to Girona. It does not say in words that they are all direct, but the line runs straight through Girona, so check your train in the app. That is the 2026 timetable, so check the Rodalies app before you go.

Once in Girona, walk from the station into the old town. A guide helps with the history. The Girona small-group walking tour is from €35 a person, lasts 2.5 hours and has 4.8 stars from 844 reviews, with free cancellation. It starts at Plaça de Sant Feliu, and entrance fees are not included. Girona has many steps and slopes, so the tour is not suited to wheelchair users. It is a small-group tour, but the listing gives no group size.

Things to Do in Barcelona counted 528 GetYourGuide listings for Barcelona and nearby towns on 26 October 2026, and 19 of them mention Girona, with starting prices from €20 to €615. Most of those sell a full day with transport, so the train costs less if you only want the town, though Renfe publishes no fare to compare. The walking tour gets you a guide for 2.5 hours at the €35 price, and the €69 day trip gets you Girona and Figueres in 10 hours with transport. Go on your own if you are happy to walk and read signs. Book the tour if you want the history explained.

To stay over, try the Hotel Històric is in the old town next to the cathedral. The Hotel Ciutat de Girona is a short walk from the station. A night in Girona turns the day into a weekend, and you can leave the last train to chance.

Pro Tip Book the Girona train ahead on Renfe, because the route page says tickets bought in advance cost less, and aim for the 06:55 departure to see the old town before the day-trip crowds arrive.

2. Figueres: the Dalí museum by train

Figueres works as a day trip if the Dalí Theatre-Museum is your reason to go. The R11 regional line runs through Girona to the north, and Renfe lists Figueres Vilafant as a station with an early train to Sants at 05:30. Neither page publishes a journey time, so check the timetable for your day. Rodalies says an average weekday has 21 R11 trains from Sants to Figueres.

Check the museum's days before you book a train. The Dalí Theatre-Museum's own page says it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 to 18:00 from 1 October to 31 December. It is closed on Mondays in every season except July and August. General admission is from €18.50, and the guided visit is €26.50.

Many readers join Girona and Figueres in one day. A train can do it, but the day gets long. On your own you pay for two train rides and the museum ticket yourself, and the tour sets the times for you. The Girona guided tour with the Dalí Museum in Figueres is from €69 a person, lasts 10 hours and has 4.5 stars from 376 reviews, with free cancellation. It leaves from Carrer d'Alí Bei 80 in Barcelona and does not include hotel pickup. Cathedral admission in Girona is not included, and the Dalí ticket depends on the option you pick.

3. Sitges: a beach town on the R2 line

Sitges is the shortest train trip on this list, and it ends at the beach. The Sitges tourist board says the train station is central and that trains on line R2 run often. It places the town 38 km south of Barcelona, and it counts 19 beaches with rescue services.

The R2 Sud line serves Barcelona Sants, Barcelona Passeig de Gràcia, Sitges and Vilanova i la Geltrú. On weekdays Rodalies says one train runs every 15 minutes at peak hour and every 30 minutes off-peak between Sant Vicenç de Calders and Estació de França. Between Vilanova i la Geltrú and Estació de França it is every 10 and 15 minutes. Rodalies publishes no journey time for Sitges, and the tourist board says only that the train and the bus take about the same time.

Take a towel and a plan for lunch. The town has no tour in this article's picks, because the train does the job on its own.

Key Takeaway Sitges needs only a Rodalies R2 train from Sants or Passeig de Gràcia, while Girona and Tarragona need a Renfe or R11 ticket, so Sitges is the day trip with the least planning.

4. Tarragona: a long-distance train from Sants

Tarragona is a train day trip, but you will want to check the Renfe times. Renfe's route page says the first train from Barcelona Sants to Camp de Tarragona leaves at 05:50, on AVE or long-distance trains. Renfe gives no journey time, no frequency and no fare there, and says that tickets bought ahead cost less.

Book a seat before you go and keep a return time in mind. Long-distance trains can sell out on busy days, so a ticket in your hand beats a plan to buy at the station. Renfe also mentions a free Cercanías trip with the ticket, so ask when you buy which local trains it covers.

We left out the town's sights, because the tourist board page did not open for us. Look up the opening hours of any Roman site on its own page before you plan the day.

5. Costa Brava: the answer is a bus, not a train

You reach the Costa Brava from Barcelona by bus, and the timetable shows it. The Moventis line 2 timetable lists a daily service from Barcelona Estació del Nord to Lloret de Mar and Tossa de Mar. In the 2025-2026 winter timetable, the 09:15 bus leaves Estació del Nord and reaches Tossa de Mar at 10:35, which is 80 minutes. Six buses a day run each way from 1 November to 28 February, and the March 2026 timetable shows ten.

Trains stop at Girona and Figueres, so the coast needs a bus or a guide. The R11 train from Sants to Girona is the line we mean for Girona, and the coast has no train on these pages. For a boat, take the bus to Lloret de Mar and then the Lloret de Mar to Tossa de Mar ferry. It is from €33 a person, lasts 4 hours and has 4.6 stars from 709 reviews, with free cancellation. It starts at the Dofí Jet Boats pier at Passeig d'Agustí Font in Lloret.

To skip the buses, one tour covers Girona and the coast. The Girona and Costa Brava small-group tour is from €98.50 a person, lasts 10 hours and has 4.8 stars from 2,115 reviews, with free cancellation. It includes hotel pickup and a group of up to 8 guests, and it does not include tips. Timetables change each season, so check the current Moventis page.

How to choose your barcelona girona train or other day trip

Choose by what you want to do in the day. Girona suits a first trip, Figueres suits the Dalí museum, Sitges suits the beach, and the coast needs a bus. The picture below shows the usual order of a Girona day.

Going alone by train is easy for Girona, because the old town is a walk from the station. A tour is easier when you want a guide, a set return time or a coast stop with no bus. Our day trips page lists the guided options, and the ones built around food from Barcelona towns suit a slow lunch. If you want a mountain and not a town, the Montserrat day trip is another train trip from the city. The trains and buses here run on set timetables, so a late start can cost you the last ride home.