Spain’s luxury trains
Three trains run multi-day luxury journeys across Spain, all operated by Renfe’s Trenes Turísticos de Lujo and booked in the Americas through Palace Tours. Two cruise the green Atlantic north; one crosses the Moorish south. Here is each, in full.
El Transcantábrico Gran Lujo
Spain's most luxurious train. Just 28 guests in 14 Deluxe Suites — at roughly 12 square metres with private hydro-sauna and steam bath, the largest cabins on Spanish rails — ride the narrow-gauge line along the Bay of Biscay from the Basque coast to the end of the Camino de Santiago. Four restored lounge cars, a pub car with a dance floor, and eight days of Green Spain: the Guggenheim, the Picos de Europa, Gaudí's El Capricho, the Playa de las Catedrales and Santiago's cathedral.
- 14 Deluxe Suites of ~12 m² — the largest cabins on any Spanish train, each with hydro-sauna and steam bath
- Maximum 28 guests with a near one-to-one crew ratio
- Four restored heritage lounge cars, including a pub car with bar and dance floor
Al Ándalus
Europe's most spacious heritage train. Carriages built in 1928–1930 — originally for the British royal family's journeys to the Côte d'Azur — restored into a Belle Époque palace on rails. Seven days between Seville and Madrid through five UNESCO World Heritage cities: flamenco and the Alcázar in Seville, the Mezquita of Córdoba, dancing horses and sherry in Jerez, Roman Mérida, walled Cáceres and imperial Toledo.
- Four lounge cars built 1928–1930 with original Belle Époque interiors
- Five UNESCO World Heritage cities in one week: Seville, Córdoba, Mérida, Cáceres, Toledo
- The Jerez equestrian ballet and a tour of a historic sherry bodega
Costa Verde Express
The train that invented the Spanish rail cruise. First run in 1983 as El Transcantábrico — the pioneer of luxury tourist trains in Spain — and relaunched in 2022 as the Costa Verde Express. Six days between Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela: the Guggenheim, Altamira, the Cabrales cheese caves, Oviedo, the fishing villages of the green coast and the end of the Camino. The best value in Spanish luxury rail.
- The original 1983 Spanish train cruise, fully refreshed for its 2022 relaunch
- 24 Gran Clase Suites, each with a private en-suite bathroom
- Four lounge cars including a pub car with bar and dance floor
Not sure which? Read Which Spanish luxury train is right for you? or compare all three side by side.