1

Seat 61

Dave

2

The link WanderinWilco has provided you in #1 has all the relevant info about the Elipsos overnight train from Madrid to Paris (and v.v.). You can even see photos on the interior of the train in that web (take a look at What's the trainhotel link? after the info about train times in the link provided in #1).

3

I recently took this train, from Vitoria to Paris. I had a turista class sleeper. I didn't know about the 14 day advance purchase discount and bought from the RENFE website. For some reason I never got the confirmation email so I was very glad that I had noted down the reservation code. Using that code my hotel printed the ticket for me.

When I got to the station about an hour before departure, the train was listed as about 10 mins. late. After returning from dinner, it was now listed as just about on time. My compartment was full. The heat was turned way up and it was quite hot. I couldn't find the climate controls. The clientele, at least in my compartment, looked like laborers, not travellers

You arrive at Gare d'Austerlitz in the south. The advantage of that is that hotel prices in this area are noticeably cheaper than toward the center like in the 2nd arrondissement. I got a room for EUR 62; clean but small in an efficient business hotel.