Today I'm visiting Versailles - the park, and then travelling to Spain.
The entrance is through the main gate, where there is a security control.
It does not cost anything to visit the park - for the visit of the palace there is a fee.
It is good to have extra security in the park
After leaving the park, I could see a very long queue for the entrance of the palace
I'm walking to Gare de Versailles Chateau Rive Gauche
My plan is to get to the Gare de Lyon in Paris. Due to several construction works I will need to change trains in Paris
Ticket gates at the entrance. According to Rail planner, Interrail is not valid on Paris RER trains, but when asking at the ticket counter they give you a free ticket for the gate.
This is how the ticket for RER/Interrail looks like
RER Z2N train on line C
This station is a terminus and it opened in 1864
Z2N train is a double deck one, it has 2+3 seating
As I mentioned, due to reconstruction I can not travel all the way to Gare de Lyon (or Austerlitz which is the nearest station). Instead I will have to get off at Invalides and change to metro there.
The line is located above ground almost until the Eiffel tower
Invalides station underground
Changing to metro
At Gare de Lyon I can spot the famous "Le train bleu" restaurant
TGV Lyria at Gare de Lyon
I'm travelling to Spain, but as an Interrail traveller I'm not taking a direct train to Barcelona as it would require me to pay an additional seat reservation of 48EUR (in 1st class) which is besides impossible to purchase online. Instead I'm taking a TGV to Perpignan (the closest high speed station to Spain) and then take local trains for the rest of the way. Seat reservation in domestic TGV is 10EUR and it can be bought through oui.sncf website.
Ticket inspection is done at the gate platform entrance. Nobody seems to care about Interrail here.
TGV 2N2 Euroduplex
Manufactured in 2013 this is a 3UH version (Hispanic bicurrent, equipped with ASFA signalling system).
Before boarding, I've bought some food at the station
The trip goes without any issues at the high speed
The new Nimes - Pont du Gard station, due to open in December 2019
The first stop for this TGV is here in Nimes
Class BB 26000, Alstom Sybics
The new bypass line is already open, but there are not many trains operated here so far
Montpellier
Last stop for this train is Perpignan
Port Bou Espagne will be my next destination
SNCF Class Z 27500 AGC
Cerbere
Last station is PortBou
From Portbou there are trains to Barcelona
French freight trains arriving to Portbou for further transportation of the cargo on Spanish trains (as there is a wider track gauge in Spain).
Just as the French TER train is arriving to the first Spanish station, the Rodalies train is travelling all the way to Cerbere (the first French station) and back.
Renfe Class 447 trains are used for Rodalies regional services
Today there was a lot of freight activity here
The platforms are very low here in Portbou
Class 447 is manufactured by CAF and Alstom
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