# A Saturday on the Blue Train from Zaragoza to Canfranc International Station

You travel up from Zaragoza on the Blue Train, with historic 1920s and 1930s carriages, visit the International Station, have lunch in Canfranc and return on the same train.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/spain/aragon/canfranc/itineraries/blue-train-and-international-station · Revisado: 2026-11-13

## El día
- 08:30 · Salida: 2 h by car (to Zaragoza station; the access check closes 5 minutes earlier)
- 08:42 · The Canfranero, from Zaragoza to Canfranc on the Blue Train (Trenes Turísticos · Blue Train · from €33) · Trenes Turísticos, From €33 per person
  - 10 min on foot
- 12:30 · Restaurante Universo (charcoal grill and ternasco · open every day) · Restaurante Universo, €€
  - 10 min on foot
- 16:00 · Guided Tour of the Canfranc International Station (Tourist Office · €5 · afternoon slot according to the online calendar · meet 10 min beforehand)
- 18:30 · Vuelta: 3 h 30 by train (the Blue Train leaves at 18:45 in winter and at 20:08 in summer)

Reaching Canfranc by train is understanding why its station was built: an enormous building for an international line that crossed the Pyrenees. El Canfranero makes that journey one Saturday a month on the Blue Train, restaurant and sleeping cars from the 1920s and 1930s preserved by an association in Zaragoza, and leaves you the afternoon to see the station from inside.

## How the day goes

8:42 · Zaragoza. The train leaves on time and the access check closes five minutes before; seats are numbered. It is about three and a half hours of climbing through the Hoya de Huesca and the Aragón valley.

Around 12:15 · Canfranc Estación. You get off at the very station you are going to visit. For an early lunch, Restaurante Universo, on Avenida de los Arañones, has a charcoal grill, ternasco and a set menu.

16:00 · The International Station. The Tourist Office's guided visit goes round the tracks, platforms and concourse of the 1928 building, in a good hour, and ends at the new station. It costs €5 from age 11 and €2 for ages 6 to 10, and can be booked online up to two hours beforehand, with limited capacity: look for an afternoon slot that ends before the train leaves. You meet ten minutes early at the Tourist Office, in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

Return. When the visit ends you are next to the platform. The return leaves at 18:45 in winter and at 20:08 in summer; you reach Zaragoza after dark.

## The train

The Blue Train is not a made-up regular train: its carriages are declared Bien Catalogado of Aragón's Cultural Heritage and are preserved by AZAFT, the Zaragoza railway friends' association. The operator advertises the route from €33, but its listing does not detail prices by age or what is included: check when booking.

## Cómo llegar

### Without a car
All by train from Zaragoza. From Huesca there is no stop announced in the listing: ask the operator.

### By car
If you come from Huesca, it is about 80 minutes to Canfranc. You can drive up and do only the visit, but the plan is the train.

## Consejos

### Book the visit when you buy the train
The International Station visit runs in slots and is bought separately: match the time with your arrival.

### Wrap up warm for the return
In November, by the time of the return, it is already dark in the valley.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### When does El Canfranero leave?
On the last Saturday of each month except January, February and August, at 8:42 from Zaragoza.

### How long does it take from Zaragoza to Canfranc on this train?
About three and a half hours.

### Does it include the station visit?
The operator's listing does not say; the visit is booked separately on the Canfranc town council website.