Night Train to Lisbon

The Lusitânia night train departs Paris Austerlitz at 21:43. By the time you’ve found your couchette, argued pleasantly with the attendant about whether the heating works, and settled in with a book, the lights of the Paris suburbs are already giving way to the dark fields of the Landes.

Why the train?

The obvious answer: flying is boring. The real answer: there’s something about the pace of a night train that forces you to actually transition between places rather than teleport between airports.

Also, the carbon footprint is roughly one-tenth of flying. That’s not nothing.

The experience

The Lusitânia is operated jointly by RENFE and CP. The rolling stock is old — genuinely old — but the couchettes are clean and the rhythm of the track through the night is deeply conducive to sleep.

Breakfast arrives somewhere in Salamanca. You arrive in Lisbon Santa Apolónia at 17:00, having crossed Spain while you slept.

Would I do it again?

Already booked the return.