Travelling from Barcelona to Le Puy in late August.

[Stephen]

A flight to Barcelona from Belfast would avoid the hassle of travelling through London. How best to get from there to Le Puy?

 

[NualaOC]

Hi Stephen, that sounds tricky but I’m sure someone will chime in with a solution!

Have you considered flying from Dublin to Lyon? That’s what we did a couple of years ago.

 

[Stephen]

Hi Nuala,
I've a friend coming from Canada and Barcelona would suit her. Maybe from there to Lyon and a bus from there to Le Puy

 

[Tincatinker]

As usual https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Barcelona/Le-Puy-en-Velay provides some definitives but you are setting yourselves some interesting logistical challenges. A flight into Paris will probably add more in $ to the initial costs but the time and $ costs of making that hop from Barcelona...

That said, being obliged to spend a night in Barcelona while I sorted out the rest of my journey would not be an imposition.

 

[NualaOC]

Hi Nuala,
I've a friend coming from Canada and Barcelona would suit her. Maybe from there to Lyon and a bus from there to Le Puy

That’s a very good reason! It will be interesting to see if anyone has done this.

Edit: I did a quick rail search on my phone and it seems that there’s a train from Barcelona Sants to Lyon Part Dieux. A search for a random date in August showed an 8.25 departure. Journey time 4 hours 55 mins. It’s pretty easy to get to Le Puy from Lyon.

 

[Felipe]

It is a looong travel from Barcelona to Le Puy, no matter how you put it. Yes, there is a flight from Barcelona to Lyon, but that would be a quite convoluted way to go.
I suggest Lyon as your best opion. Alternatively, Marseille or Paris.

 

[NualaOC]

Hi Nuala,
I've a friend coming from Canada and Barcelona would suit her. Maybe from there to Lyon and a bus from there to Le Puy

Hi again Stephen, here's a screenshot of the train option from Barcelona to Lyon. It's expensive, but a very efficient way of making what seemed like a complicated journey.

There's a train at 15.05 from Lyon station to Le Puy. Journey time (including one change) is 2 hours 15 mins.

Bon Chemim!

Nuala

 

[TMcA]

If your friend would be able to visit Barcelona at the end of his or her trip, that might make things much easier. That's because the Le puy route traverses the Massif Central which will put you closer to the main French rail lines heading southwest. You could travel from Toulouse, France or Pamplona. Best to use the rome2rio travel site that Tincatinker provided to check yur options and get a feel for pricing.

 

[Carolethecatlover]

I flew from Australia to Paris in June 2018, and from under the Charles de Gaulle airport is a train station, and a direct high speed train to lyons, 2 and a half hours, and from there to Le Puy, (Paris to Le Puy 120 Aussie dollars) not so far, but another 2 and a half hours. I spent the night in Lyons, dead tired. But I wish I had gone to Le Puy, a lovely town with nice hotels, much cheaper and interesting streets and markets. Of course you have to get up early, to be at the 7am service at the cathedral. The service for pilgrims is heartfelt and the bishop delivers it in multiple languages and talks to everyone afterwards. This is a man who enjoys his job!
I walked as far as Cahors, the end of the first Maim Dodo guide to the GR65, 350 kilometres slowly over the next 4 weeks, took a train back to Paris overnight for 87Euro.
Bonne voyage.

 

[lindam]

If you are considering flying from Barcelona to Lyon, I would highly recommend Vueling (Spanish discount carrier). They operate frequent flights between these two cities for a reasonable price.

 

[harkmi]

Hi Nuala,
I've a friend coming from Canada and Barcelona would suit her. Maybe from there to Lyon and a bus from there to Le Puy

There is a direct Air Canada flight to Lyon from Montreal.

 

[intrepidtraveler]

In mid-August I will start the Chemin Le Puy. What seemed easiest to me was to fly Easy Jet from Barcelona to Lyon and then take the train from Lyon to LePuy.