RENFE Train Tourism in Spain

 RENFE Tourism in Spain

 

 

RENFE is the state owned, but non-monopoly, railway company in Spain. (RENFE is of course an acronym; but only the most ardent hispanist would thank me for spelling the name out in full.)

 

RENFE operates many kinds of trains, from the AVE network (Alta Velocidad Espana – the high sleek high speed trains) to narrow gauge tourist trains of traditional pullman style.

 

In September we experienced travel at both ends of this spectrum, on a journey from Malaga on the Mediterranean in the South to Bilbao next to the Bay of Biscay in the North. This took three (planned) days: from Malaga to Leon, via Madrid, on the first day, and then from Leon to Bilbao, spending two nights on the tourist train called La Robla.

 

The AVE network and trains are extremely impressive, linking many main cities across Spain and beyond. On our journey north, once through the mountains behind Malaga, the country is largely flat. Olive trees, occasionally other crops, stretch away on either side. 

 

A personal screen shows the train’s position and speed. As this picks up the sensation, especially in the flat surroundings, is like being in a plane at take-off. Indeed, when the speed passes through the 280 kph mark on the way to the top speed of 300 kph, it is sobering to realise that, in an actual plane, one would have left the ground.

 

At Leon, there was an initial moment of bathos. We disembarked from the AVE and made our way to what I had assumed to be a coach to take us to the overnight hotel (we were in an organised group of some 25 people). Instead, we boarded one of those toy tourist “trains” that ply some Spanish towns – more or less open cars pulled by a tractor disguised as a locomotive, with a recorded tourist commentary in Spanish and English. After the instinctive cringe, the little journey did provided a welcome introduction to Leon, chugging through old and modern areas.

 

Leon is an ancient City, founded as the fortified base of a Roman legion. Hence the name, from Latin “legio”. But corruption of spelling and pronunciation has ended with the city being swallowed by the lion,“Leon”, that is now its name and symbol.

 

The Moorish invasions washed over Leon, but this area of Spain was always debatable because of the nearby Christian kingdom of the Asturias, the kernel of the Reconquista. There is nothing like the massive and splendid Moorish castles and palaces in southern Spain. Indeed, at the end of the 800s Leon became the capital of the expanded kingdom of Leon, replacing Asturia. The legacy of that development consists of Romanesque and early gothic churches of impressive design.

 

 

The Basilica San Isidro is a vast complex of Romanesque church, cloisters and former royal apartments. It is built into a length of surviving Roman wall. One of its treasures is a painted crypt where once early Leon monarchs were entombed.

 

The cathedral was constructed over the watershed between Romanesque and gothic styles. Its glory is its stained glass windows, on all sides and at every height, second only, we were told, to Chartres.

 

Apart from the Old Town, Leon possesses elegant avenues, prosperous business areas and the civic architecture of the Regional government of Castile y Leon, the modern successor to the old kingdom.

 

Leon is well worth a visit longer than a night and a day. But we had to join our tourist train.

 

Castile y Leon’s wealth was funded on mining. The railway we were about to travel was constructed to carry ore to the Basque coastal area. It’s a narrow-gauge affair, driven through mountain valleys and alongside torrents.

In many places the track is overhung by the thick foliage of valley woodlands, and the branches scrape and tap along the train’s windows.

 

The great disappointment of our onward journey was that we spent relatively little time travelling on our train through this compelling landscape. We were tourists after all; and tourists must be shown the sights of Castile, away from the wilderness of the track. So we were treated to hours travelling on a bespoke coach, which picked us up, moved us about between sights and returned us for the night to a stationary train, which had gone further along the track without us.

 

By and large the sights we were taken to were not such as to make up for loss of train time. A vast cave (but our party was from Nerja, well-endowed with a vast cave); small, heavily restored Romanesque churches on the Santiago pilgrim trail; the remains of a large Roman villa that by no means outshines the Roman remains in the South, apart from a magnificent floor.

 

Suggestion to RENFE: spend more tourist time in Leon and Bilbao and keep your passengers on the train in between.

 

The train (called La Robla) is a mixture of comfort and discomfort. There are three lounge/dining cars of traditional pullman design, where passengers may take breakfast and sit when permitted to travel with the train. Then there are very small couchettes of modern design, with little room to move and short bunks – and the tiniest ensuites possible.

Between the edge of the basin and the toilet is a minute gap. Quite how passengers of girth negotiate this sliver of space I do not understand; nor did I dare enquire.

 

There are plentiful staff on the train, all very efficient and friendly. They will serve you out of hours drinks and snacks. Although main meals, including wines, are part of the package, bar bills are separate and payable- although in our case they were all waived by announcement at the end of the trip.

 

La Robla train is an experience I am glad to have had. But it is not an experience to repeat as presently set up.

 

We ended in Bilbao, our second visit after a short stay last summer. 

 

Bilbao’s river is its fortune (the Bilbao Estuary). The city became an important port in medieval times, exporting wool and iron, but was never endowed with truly magnificent buildings compared to other Spanish cities. Industrialisation and the expansion of commerce in the nineteenth century rapidly increased the city’s size and wealth, producing the grand avenues and buildings of the centre.

 

When in the late twentieth century the port became to small for modern shipping and industry in the area declined, the river provided the setting for Bilbao’s regeneration. The vast silvery slopes and angles of the Guggenheim and assorted other daring bridges, conference and performance centres now grace the river. Bilbao’s economy switched to tourism and services.

 

The Guggenheim is a curious place. For its size it contains few permanent artworks. Its large spaces for temporary exhibitions do not on the whole host blockbuster displays by artistic stars. Altogether the experience is better outside than in, a consolation when the queues are too long. The building stands in a big, open concourse and the river walkway passes close in front.

 

Indeed, an evening stroll along the wide river embankment from the Art Deco railway station to the Guggenheim is recommended.

The curious bridges are lit up, the sunset reflects off the upper panels of the museum, and the moon rises over steep hills behind the old medieval quarter.

 

October 2024