The train ride is over 11 hours and I believe the last direct overnight train from Barcelona to Nice was discontinued, so it’s either all day with one connection or a very difficult night with several connections if you take the train.  I’d be looking for flights — you could try easyjet or clickair to Lyon if you can’t find a cheap flight on Vueling to Nice. 

Whether or not to buy a railpass depends on your specific itinerary.  It probably isn’t worth it for this one trip.

Lyon is pretty far north of my destination, I don’t think that is the best way.
 
For trains, would it be possible to do the train switch early on in the ride so that I could be sleeping later? Is there a way to search for train routes so I can see where a particular train might stop?

Use the German rail company website for schedules anywhere in Europe.  It’s the most complete and the most user-friendly in English: http://reiseauskunft…
Click on the specific train to see the connections and then click on “show intermediate stops” to see everywhere that train stops.

Just a follow up:

I did some more searching on google, turns out a good amount of people have tried to find the best way. People’s trips included:

Barcelona -> Perpignan -> Nîmes -> Nice
Barcelona -> Marseille -> Nice

and the most common:
Barcelona -> Cerbere -> Nice

other people recommend www.eurolines.com which runs from barcelona to nice.

It sounds like I’ll be traveling for 11 hours or stopping in a place on the way.
Either way, now I have a good idea of what that day will be like.

Thanks for your responses oldlady

I don’t know about flights, but would have a look at other city pairs: For example, Perpignan to Toulouse or an arrival in Marseille (Check various combinations).
By rail, the route will be through Cerbere, Collioure, Perpignan, Narbonne, Montpellier, Nimes, Arles, Marseille… and then along the coast, with likely stops at Toulon, les Arcs, St Raphael, Cannes, Antibes, and Nice.
Some trains won’t stop at all the places I’ve mentioned, but will pass through them.
In my opinion, Cerbere is nothing special; Collioure is a must-see; Perpignan can be skipped, as can Narbonne and Marseille. However, if at all possible, plans stops at Nimes and Arles. I think that Cannes and Nice are so simlilar that there’s no point seeing both. In my view, Nice is very over-rated (although the area is fabulous). Lots of potential stops along the coast, most of which you probably have never heard of: Cassis, Bandol, Sanary-sur-Mer, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes… all these have train service (some may require a transfer to a local train from Marseille or Toulon). Nice is just a bigger version of these small towns, although worth seeng if, for example, you’re interested in the Chagall Museum.

Ryanair is flying very cheap from Barcelona to Porto (Corsica) on the 18th and from Porto to Marseille the next day or a little later (just as cheap). From Marseille airport you can take a train to Nice for about 30-40 € (sncf.com) and that will take 3 1/2 hrs.

A little hassle, but just an idea

(and I’ve heard Porto is great)

Have you gone back to Vueling’s website? The flight leaves BCN at 21:20, lands in NCE at 22:40, and costs 35 euros + online credit card fee if I remember correctly, and a fee for checking a bag if you do so. Should still be under 50 euros.

I have booked a flight with Vueling on the Vueling website for October 2009 going late at night between Nice and Barcelona. The seats seem to go quickly. good luck.

Hello,
Could you share your itinery & trip specifics? This is our 1st Europe trip — on a budget ( pensionees & unemployed)! Number of days may vary for us.
Thank you.
Beau

Hello,
Could you share your itinery & trip specifics? This is our 1st Europe trip — on a budget ( pensionees & unemployed)! Number of days may vary for us.
Thank you.
Beau

I booked on the Veuling website tickets to travel from Nice to Barcelona and then Barcelona to Paris all in October. All very easy and cheap – but we haven’t travelled yet so don’t know of any drawbacks. Good luck