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Train & Rail Tours & Trips in Europe
Explore Europe with a train adventure that will take through world-renowned locations such as France (Paris), Italy (Rome, Venice and Florence) or the beautiful city of Prague. If you feel like going even further, Spain (Barcelona and Madrid) are a great choice. While you're in Europe, don't miss out on London and discover everything it can offer.
104 Train & Rail tour packages in Europe with 628 positive reviews
- Train & Rail
- Christmas & New Year
Venice, Florence, Rome: essential (3* hotels) low carbon tour by train
Das Hotel in Florenz ist leider nicht zu empfehlen. Sehr unhygienisch und sehr heruntergekommen. Das Hotel in Rom war gut aber leider nicht besonders zentral. Alles andere war Super!!!!
- 10% deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.
Glacier Express & Porsche 911 Rail & Drive Experience
- Sightseeing
Berlin to Venice (15 Days) (including Salzburg)
- Active Adventure
Mediterranean Express: Rivieras & Railroads
Hey is anyone going on the Mediterranean Express trip on 8th September, looking to get to know my fellow travellers a little before I arrive! :)
Paris to Barcelona: Tapas & Train Rides
Central Europe Group Rail Tour (18-35)
I am so happy I took this trip! I love that there is a planned activity in each city but you also get free days to explore on your own or with new friends. Every city was stunning and I met some great people as well. The thing that made me want to leave a review the most was honesty our tour leader , Cristina was a delight and a perfect balance for our group. She made this trip more memorable then I could have imagined and had great tips for each city too!!!!! Truly an unforgettable experience I would highly recommend. I wish I did the whole Europe tour instead of just central Europe.
Whole of Europe Group Rail Tour (18-35)
Our tour guide was always on hand when we needed him. Everything was organised from getting us to each destination and getting our daily travel tickets. All the activities were great but the gondolas in Italy (venice) were my highlight! Richard was always on hand when we needed him from getting lost around places and being a phone call away in helping. It was a good way to meet people when a solo traveller and everything is done for you! 5/5!
- In-depth Cultural
Berlin to Rome
All the places were amazing,but the hotels on Italy were not the same quality standards. They could be better.
Contrasts of Switzerland (8 Days)
Well coordinated and tour director was fabulous. Wonderful way to see the beauty of Switzerland but would have liked an additional layover day in Lake Geneva.
- £100 deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.
Eco-Comfort - Tour Of Italy By Train
I really liked the tour. I wished that more information was given around transportation from air/train to hotels as we had to find our own transport. .An indication of general transport would have been helpful. In Venice we had to take taxi/bus to the water taxi. We were not sure of this and information at the airport could not help. Stops for travel md modes of travel would be helpful as well as general intersections. Some hotels were in walking distance and we were told to take a taxi. All in all it was a good trip.
- £50 deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.
Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre & Venice in 7 Days
The beauty within the city is captivating and people that visit fall in love with it instantly. Italy has the most beaches in Europe with its 7,400 km coastline along with many marine parks as well. It was an awsome experience to be there..
Milan to Amsterdam Rail Express - 10 Days
We had a good time even though some things happened which weren't. We had to switch trains and my luggage did not make it off the train. Fellow passengers helped get the suitcases off but missed mine or it had been removed from the original location. (I think there should be temporary stickers or tags on our luggage so they would be more visible, in cases like this). I also missed 3 of the included lunches and dinners because I had to take a 4 hour train ride to retrieve my luggage at my own expense of $250.
Italy By Train
Our tour included a 2 day rail pass for Cinque Terre for a party of four, but it turns out what we received was only good for one day. We found this out when our tickets were checked by an official from TrenItalia. As a result we were each fined 55 Euros, plus we were required to purchase a ticket back to La Spezia. I have contacted Wingbuddy, but their after sales service is abysmal. They appear to be seriously understaffed. They no longer answer the phone for existing reservations, and they don't accept voicemail messages. As a result you need to send them an email, and it typically takes several days to get a response. This incident happened on Sept. 19, and as of Oct. 1 it has not been resolved. To date, I have received one email that says this will require investigation. While the rest of the experience was good, the poor customer service makes me very hesitant to recommend them.
London to Istanbul Rail Adventure + Cappadocia Extension
London to Istanbul Rail Adventure
Reviews of train & rail tours in europe.
We were happy with the arrangement put in place by Tourradar. Great help.
The best experience ever! This was my first solo travelling adventure that has encouraged me to travel more as the countries visited were incredible and the people a part of the tour became good friends in the space of a week!
This was the first time I ever solo travelled and being able to experience it with a group and knowledgeable CEO was life changing. I loved getting to experience the world in a new lens, and I cannot wait for the next trip
Travel Styles
- Best Train Travel Companies
- Best 3 Weeks Europe Itineraries 2024/2025 (with Reviews)
- 10 Best Luxury River Cruises & Lines 2022
- Hiking in Europe in February
- Hiking in Europe in January
- Hiking in Europe in March
- Hiking in Europe in April
- Hiking in Europe in May
- Hiking in Europe in June
- Hiking in Europe in July
- Hiking in Europe in August
- Hiking in Europe in September
- Hiking in Europe in October
- Hiking in Europe in December
International Versions
- Deutsch: Europa Zug- / Bahnreise Rundreisen
- Français: Europe : Circuits train et rail 2024/2025
- Español: Tren y ferrocarril Circuitos en Europa
- Nederlands: Trein & spoor Rondreizen in Europa
The best train rides in Europe: 10 amazing journeys for 2024
Jan 16, 2024 • 8 min read
Incredible scenery awaits traveling through the Bernese Alps; Jungfrau, Switzerland © Thomas Barwick / Getty
There’s something magical about a journey by train.
Sometimes the magic is inside – on a train you have room to move and meet people, dine in a restaurant car with white tablecloths, and sleep in a private compartment between crisp, clean sheets with the sound of steel wheels swishing on the rails beneath you. Sometimes the magic is outside, in the landscape the train traverses – an adventure, an experience, an insight into the heart of a nation.
Below are some of the most beautiful train rides in Europe – some well known, some less so, some luxurious and expensive, others true bargains. From countryside views and mountain villages to alpine passes and landmark bridges (with a little wildlife spotting thrown in for good measure), the continent offers up some of the most scenic train rides in the world.
The best European train trips include the fabulous Bernina Express, the most enchanting Swiss Alpine ride of all, and the spectacular railway from Belgrade to Bar through the mountains of Montenegro . The latter is one of the most scenic train rides you’ve probably never heard of, with a bargain fare of just €21. So here they are, the 10 best train journeys in Europe, extracted from Lonely Planet's Amazing Train Journeys .
1. Settle to Carlisle, England
Route: Settle to Carlisle Best bit? Marveling at the Ribblehead Viaduct, one of the great views of northern England , preferably as a steam train thunders over. Distance: 113km (73 miles) Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes
England’s Settle-to-Carlisle line has long been synonymous with the fight to preserve beautiful and historic stretches of railway. But this is no heritage line. Proudly part of the British rail network and served by regular mainline trains, the railway enjoys a double life as a frequent host of steam specials and, even rarer, steam-hauled mainline services.
Whether you have the whiff of steam in your nostrils or the hard-working growl of diesel-hauled regular trains in your ears, the views from the carriages are pretty much unmatched on the English railway network.
Passengers can feast their eyes on mile after mile of magnificent Yorkshire Dales and North Pennines scenery, interrupted only by stations so sweet you would expect to find them pictured on a box of biscuits.
2. Le Petit Train Jaune, France
Route: Villefranche-de-Conflent to Latour-de-Carol Best bit? Holding your breath as you cross the gravity-defying Pont Gisclard. Distance: 63km (39 miles) Duration: 4 hours 30 minutes
Since 1910, the dinky, sunflower-yellow carriages of the Ligne de Cerdagne have been rattling and clattering their way through the rolling forests and saw-toothed mountains of the Pyrenees , and they have secured a special place in the hearts of many French travelers.
Affectionately known as the Canary, or Le Petit Train Jaune (Little Yellow Train), this mountain railway is frequently cited as the most scenic in France , but it’s definitely not a luxury service – it’s a rollercoaster ride on which you will feel the wind in your hair and the chill of the mountain breeze as you ratchet your way up to the highest train station in France. On y va!
3. Belgrade-to-Bar Railway, Serbia and Montenegro
Route: Belgrade to Bar Best bit? Levitating atop the 499m-long (1637ft), 198m-tall (650ft) Mala Rijeka Viaduct, one of the planet’s highest railway bridges, before the train glides over the Balkans’ largest lake, Skadar. Distance: 476km (296 miles) Duration: 12 hours
Dramatic is the operative word for this route, which rumbles over an unsullied, mountainous landscape from Serbia 's capital, Belgrade , to Montenegro ’s Adriatic Coast . During the 12-hour journey, the train disappears into the Dinaric Alps, charges through canyons, teeters on stilted bridges spanning river gorges and skims atop an ancient, tectonic lake.
Like the region it serves, the railway, which chugs across the heart of the Western Balkans , eludes most tourists’ maps. The reward for treasure-hunting travelers, who are informed (or lucky) enough to know where to dig: an embarrassment of authentic culture and pristine geographic riches at every bend.
4. The Bernina Express, Switzerland
Route: Chur to Tirano Best bit? Marveling at the astonishingly turquoise Lago Bianco from the route’s highest station, Ospizio Bernina (2253m/7392ft). Distance: 156km (96 miles) Duration: 4 hours 30 minutes
We can wax lyrical about the glacier-capped mountains, waterfall-draped ravines, jewel-colored lakes and endless spruce forests glimpsed through panoramic windows on Switzerland ’s Bernina Express – but, trust us, seeing is believing.
Rolling from Chur in Graubünden to Tirano in northern Italy in around four hours, this narrow-gauge train often tops polls of the world’s most beautiful rail journeys. It's certainly one of the most scenic train journeys in Switzerland.
Beyond the phenomenal Alpine landscape, the railway itself is a masterpiece of early 20th-century engineering, taking 55 tunnels and 196 bridges in its stride. The line is on the UNESCO World Heritage List – and with good reason.
5. The Heart of Wales Line, Wales and England
Route: Swansea to Shrewsbury Best bit? Disembarking at lonely Sugar Loaf Station for a walk or picnic around the iconic nearby knoll of the same name. Distance: 194km (121 miles) Duration: 4 hours
This is Swansea to Shrewsbury the slow and, frankly, surreal way. This one-carriage train traverses track through Wales and England that might easily have been consigned to a museum or an out-of-print book, but that has somehow defied time and logic to survive as a passenger route.
Expect a spectrum of scenery, alternating from the sand-edged estuaries of South Wales, via bucolic farming towns and tracts of forest and hill country you probably never knew existed, through to one of England’s prettiest medieval cities. This four-hour, 34-station zigzag passes almost no major sights or countryside villages, but a very high concentration of spectacularly zany ones.
6. Munich to Venice on the Brenner Railway, Germany, Austria and Italy
Route: Munich to Venice Best bit? Stretching your legs at 1371m (4498ft) Brenner Pass, the highest point on the trip. Distance: 563km (350 miles) Duration: 6 hours 30 minutes
The Brenner Railway is attractive for two key reasons: mountains and wine. There may be more technically astonishing high-altitude trains, but this was the first to cross the Alps, in the 1860s.
On a surprisingly speedy day trip, you pass through three countries – Germany , Austria and Italy – and descend from the snow line to sea level. You’re rarely far from highways, but the vineyard views are still stunning. Bonus: great European cities with historic architecture – Munich and Venice – are at either end.
7. The Kyle of Lochalsh Line, Scotland
Route: Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh Best bit? Passing under the gentle grassy slopes of Fionn Bheinn – a munro rising high over Achnasheen. Distance: 135km (84 miles) Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Scotland has an abundance of windswept railways – the West Highland Line and the Far North Line to Thurso among them. Though comparatively unsung, perhaps the loneliest of all is the Kyle of Lochalsh Line – with trains rumbling doggedly from Inverness through desolate glens and past snowy munros, connecting the cold shores of the North Sea to the furious whitewater of the Atlantic.
It is a railway line full of poetry and beloved by aficionados – but it’s also a useful way for independent travelers to access remote nooks of the Highlands, and make a journey to the Isle of Skye.
8. Nova Gorica to Jesenice, Slovenia
Route: Nova Gorica to Jesenice Best bit? Catching a glimpse of picture-perfect Lake Bled’s church, castle and bright-blue water. Distance: 89km (55 miles) Duration: 2 hours
Here is a near-perfect railway adventure that most people have never heard of. Then again, you could be forgiven for missing it. The Bohinj Railway, after all, connects two places whose significance can be lost to modern travelers. Europe’s shifting borders and politics may have rather marooned the Nova Gorica–Jesenice line, but that only adds to the appeal.
An unassuming regional train rattling out of a faded-grandeur halt on the Italy– Slovenia border doesn’t even hint at what’s to come. The journey is a spectacular tour of Slovenia’s upland highlights, climbing through mountain towns and villages along the Soča River, passing through superb Alpine scenery close to Lake Bohinj , and past world-famous Lake Bled , offering photo opportunities galore.
9. The Centovalli Express, Switzerland and Italy
Route: Domodossola to Locarno Best bit? Taking in the Isorno viaduct, the site of Switzerland’s first bungee jump. Distance: 52km (32 miles) Duration: 2 hours
Often eclipsed by Switzerland’s more famous rail rides, this two-hour trundle from Locarno on the palm-rimmed shores of Lake Maggiore to Domodossola over the Italian border in Piedmont is something of an unsung beauty.
Brush up your Italiano to swoon in sync with fellow passengers as the dinky train clatters across 83 bridges and burrows its way through 34 tunnels. The views make for spirit-lifting stuff: waterfalls shooting past cliffside views, hillside vineyards, gracefully arched viaducts, slate-roofed hamlets, glacier-carved ravines and mile after mile of chestnut and beech forests, all set against the puckered backdrop of mountains that are snow-capped in winter.
10. Bergensbanen, Norway
Route: Oslo to Bergen Best bit? Gazing over the soul-stirring landscape of Hardangervidda between Geilo and Finse. Distance: 496km (308 miles) Duration: 6 hours 30 minutes
This astonishing train is one of the wonders of 19th-century railway building, and yet outside Norway hardly anyone knows about it. In just over six hours and some 490km (300 miles), it covers the spectrum of Norway ’s natural splendor: climbing canyons, crossing rivers, burrowing through mountainsides, swooping past fjords and traversing barren icescapes. All aboard for the Oslo to Bergen trainline, Bergensbanen: a mainline into Norwegian nature.
This article was first published August 2019 and updated January 2024
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28 best European routes where you should take a train instead of a plane
Editor's Note
Europe's train system, particularly for intracountry travel, is a well-developed and affordable option for travelers visiting the region. If you already live in Europe, it can be an incredibly easy way to travel without flying.
You won't have to deal with long airport security lines, airport commute hassles, luggage fees or a host of other problems. Instead, you can hop on a long-distance train from the center of virtually any major European city to reach your final destination.
Related: 4 European train loyalty schemes UK travelers should definitely check out
European trains often offer some complimentary conveniences; they give you the freedom to stretch your legs, stroll to a dining car and get something to eat or drink. Not to mention, trains rarely come with the problems that many European airports and airlines have faced over the last few summers.
Read on to discover some of the benefits of European train travel and learn about a few of the region's most notable routes.
Why you should take the train
Although traveling by train can sometimes take longer than flying, the benefits of slow travel shouldn't be overlooked. By taking a rail journey instead of hopping on a plane, you can eschew much of the stress associated with airports and security. Also, in many instances — if you plan properly and buy the correct fares — you'll get to see multiple destinations on one trip.
Sure, occasionally, flying might be the cheapest option, but it's not always the most rewarding. Plus, with rail travel in Europe growing more and more popular, we regularly see great deals on travel that dwarf the prices offered on even low-cost carriers. Here are some of the great benefits of taking a train around Europe .
No security and customs screening lines
Simply walking on and off trains with your luggage in hand is a time-saving luxury that air travelers haven't experienced for decades. The airport security screening process and sprawling lines at passport control and customs can add hours to the experience. As a result, what you had hoped would be a quick flight may feel more time-consuming (and exhausting) than traveling by train.
Free internet access
Many airlines don't provide Wi-Fi (especially budget ones), and they often charge a high price if they do. Most long-distance European trains come with Wi-Fi included in the ticket price. Additionally, you'll have much more legroom and tray table space to work on a train once you're connected.
No airport commute hassle
Taking a train from the central station of your favorite European city is typically far more convenient than schlepping outside the city to an airport. This is especially true if you're staying in or near the city center. Depending on where you stay, you may even find it possible to walk directly to or from the station or reach the main station easily via (cheap) public transport.
Fewer cancellations and delays
European trains are not subject to the same weather and air traffic control delays as airplanes and they have much more consistent schedules. Some overnight trains and those with longer, more complicated itineraries may have delays on the rails to make way for overnight freight traffic; however, in comparison to planes, delays are often less likely or impactful.
Less environmental impact
You may not regularly think about how environmentally friendly your trips are, but it doesn't mean your travels don't play a part in the larger conversation about the environment. Many experts agree there is a substantial environmental benefit to traveling by train instead of flying.
"A journey from London to Paris by air emits around 10 times as much CO2 as the same journey by rail," Tom Hall, a writer and train specialist at Lonely Planet (which, like TPG, is a Red Ventures-owned company) said. "As travelers look for more sustainable travel choices, longer-distance rail routes are gaining in popularity."
Related: How is aviation fuel changing to help fight climate change?
28 best European train routes
Trains departing from Austria
Vienna to paris.
Launched in 2021, this Nightjet sleeper train route runs three times a week and takes around 14 hours to go straight through from Vienna to Paris . It has notable stops along the way, including Munich and Strasbourg, France.
Vienna to Genoa and La Spezia
One of Nightjet's newer additions, this route was launched in summer 2023 and is an extension of the company's service from Vienna /Munich to Milan . The route runs daily and takes around 16 hours to go all the way to La Spezia in Italy, passing through Milan and Genoa en route.
You can book tickets for both routes on the Nightjet website.
Trains departing from Belgium
Brussels to berlin.
European Sleeper launched in 2021, and one of its first routes was the overnight service from Brussels to Berlin . The route stops off at Antwerp, Belgium, before heading through the Netherlands. There, you can hop off at Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Deventer if you're not looking to travel all the way to Berlin.
You can book tickets on the European Sleeper website .
Liege to Aachen and Maastricht (launching December 2023)
Launching in December 2023, this route is a collaboration between Arriva, SNCB (the National Railway Company of Belgium) and Nederlandse Spoorwegen. Connecting Belgium , Germany and the Netherlands, this will surely be a popular route with European city hoppers once it launches.
Brussels to Dresden and Prague (launching 2024)
Set to open at some point in 2024, European Sleeper will also be extending its current Belgian services by adding additional stops in Dresden, Germany, and Prague .
Trains departing from the Czech Republic
Prague to zurich.
Another relatively new sleeper service, this route launched at the back end of 2022 by the Czech Republic's national rail operator Ceske drahy. The full overnight journey takes less than 14 hours and passes through Frankfurt and Basel, Switzerland.
You can book tickets on the official website .
Trains departing from France
Paris to london.
Perhaps one of Europe's most famed train routes, Eurostar travels between London St Pancras station and Paris Gare du Nord station in just more than two hours. Services run almost hourly, seven days a week. For a closer look at this route, check out our recent Eurostar review .
You can book tickets on the Eurostar website .
Related: The best hotels in London
Paris to Berlin (launching 2024)
Following a partnership between German rail operators Deutsche Bahn and France's SNCF, this new high-speed TGV service is set to launch next year; it'll stop in Strasbourg on the night route service. The door-to-door journey is expected to take about seven hours.
Paris to Venice (launching 2025)
This new sleeper link between two of Europe's most romantic cities is set for a 2025 launch. French rail company Midnight Trains will operate the route, which will also stop off in Milan. If successful, the company aims to add additional Paris services over the coming years, with Copenhagen, Berlin and Edinburgh all already marked to receive their own Midnight Trains services.
Related: Go here, not there: Where to take the best photos in Paris
Trains departing from Germany
Berlin to stockholm with snalltaget.
This was formerly Swedish rail company Snalltaget's service from Berlin to Malmo, Sweden. Now, this route has been extended all the way to Stockholm; it passes through Hamburg, Germany, and Denmark before reaching its final destination. The full journey takes just less than 17 hours and is a direct service.
You can book tickets on the Snalltaget website .
Stuttgart to Zagreb and Rijeka
Another epic sleeper train from Nightjet (this time under its EuroNight partnerships) allows you to easily ride from Germany to Croatia on two different routes.
Both routes start in Stuttgart, Germany, and pass through Munich. One route ends in the Croatian capital Zagreb, and the other heads to the Croatian harbor of Rijeka. The trips take 14 and 15 hours, respectively. However, note that the Rijeka route is seasonal and finishes at the end of September. Trains to Zagreb, however, run daily throughout the year.
You can book tickets for both routes on the Nightjet website .
Berlin to Brussels
This route is already covered above under "Brussels to Berlin."
Munich to Genoa and La Spezia
This route extends the aforementioned route under "Vienna to Genoa and La Spezia."
Aachen to Liege and Maastricht (launching December 2023)
This route is covered above under "Liege to Aachen and Maastricht."
Trains departing from Italy
Milan to paris.
This speedy route, operated by Frecciarossa (part of the Italian national train company Trenitalia), will take you between two of Europe's most fashionable cities in just less than seven hours. If you don't want to go the full stretch, you can also hop off at Turin, Italy, or Lyon, France. The service operates almost hourly every day.
You can book tickets on the Trenitalia website .
Intercity travel around Italy with Trenitalia
Italy's national rail network is a great way to get around the country and escape airport hassles. The Trenitalia Pass is an affordable and flexible option to use as you travel from one Italian destination to the next. You can book several trips within a seven-, 15- or 30-day period for as little as $128.
If you don't want to commit to buying a pass, you can instead purchase individual tickets from Trenitalia. Fares for its popular route connecting Rome and Florence, Italy — which takes a little more than 1 1/2 hours — cost less than $60 per person round-trip.
Trains departing from the Netherlands
Amsterdam to austria.
Tui's "Ski Express" is a special winter service that operates every Friday night between Dec. 23 and March 31. It allows ski fanatics to hop between Amsterdam and the Austrian Alps' famed ski resorts, such as Gerlos, Kirchberg, Niederau, Soll, Zell am See and Westendorf.
You can book tickets on the Tui website .
Amsterdam to Zurich
Another Nightjet train, this route can whisk you between Amsterdam and Zurich in roughly 12 hours. It passes through Utrecht, Netherlands, and Cologne, Germany, along the way. The train runs daily from 8 p.m. and arrives at its destination the following day at 8 p.m.
Related: How to spend 1 day in Amsterdam
Maastricht to Aachen and Liege
This route will launch in December 2023 and is covered above under "Liege to Aachen and Maastricht."
Amsterdam to Barcelona
European Sleeper is further expanding by linking the Netherlands to Spain with this new route. It's expected to officially launch in spring 2025 and take approximately 17 hours. The route will stop at Rotterdam, Netherlands; Antwerp, Belgium; Brussels; Lille, France; Avignon, France; Montpellier, France; and Girona, Spain, among others. It'll become one of the company's most well-connected routes.
Trains departing from Spain
Madrid to marseille via barcelona.
New for 2023, the eight-hour route from Madrid to Marseille, France, by Renfe finally launched in July. This packed route connects 14 destinations across Spain and France, including Barcelona; Figueres, Spain; Montpellier, France; Nimes, France; and Aix-en-Provence, France, before its final stop at Marseille.
You can book tickets for both routes on the Renfe website .
Barcelona to Lyon
Along with the above route, Renfe also launched a new service connecting Barcelona to Lyon, with stops in Girona, Spain; Perpignan, France; Montpellier, France; Nimes, France; and Valence, France. The route takes around five hours if you stay aboard until the final stop.
Trains departing from Slovenia
Ljubljana to budapest.
One of the most affordable routes on this list, these tickets regularly cost as little as 16 euros (about $17). Operated by Hungarian Railways, the train travels from Slovenia via Graz, Austria, before its final destination of Budapest.
You can book tickets on the operator's official website .
Trains departing from Sweden
Stockholm to hamburg.
This daily service operated by SJ EuroNight will take you from Stockholm to Hamburg via Copenhagen. It departs at 5:30 p.m. and arrives at 6:30 a.m. the following day. Plush compartments are available — including some for one to three people, complete with a private shower. The train also has pet-friendly compartments should you wish to travel with your beloved pooch.
You can book tickets on the SJ website .
Trains departing from the UK
London to amsterdam, brussels, paris and the french alps.
Taking Eurostar from central London is a speedy and efficient way of traveling to Europe without the hassle of taking a plane. Starting at London St Pancras station, you'll travel through the Channel Tunnel, which connects the continent to the U.K. with various destinations and routes.
London to Amsterdam's city center takes less than four hours to complete. Round-trip tickets start around $80 per person, a reasonable price given how expensive taxi rides to Heathrow from downtown London can be on a busy day.
Traveling to Brussels from London St Pancras is just as easy and takes less than two hours with similarly low prices.
Related: What's the difference between Business Premier, Standard Premier and Standard class?
As mentioned above, under "Paris to London," you can also reach the French capital in just over two hours. Beyond Paris, between Dec. 16 and Deb. 3, you'll also be able to travel from London to the French Alps to visit various ski resorts in Chambery, Albertville, Moutiers, Aime-la-Plagne and Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
Bottom line
Despite budget airlines offering cheap fares to most European cities, an intercity train trip can still be more affordable. As a bonus, it's often far less stressful than transiting through airports, and you'd be surprised by just how far you can travel.
Rather than worry about delays and cancellations, lost luggage, long customs lines and more, you can focus on work, socialize with travel companions and admire your surroundings as they pass your window. You can also take comfort in knowing your trip is less harmful to the environment than if you were to travel by air.
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Best rail journeys in Europe
Sunday March 5 2023, 19:43pm
There’s something enduringly romantic about rail travel, from the rhythmic clatter of the train on the tracks to the vistas of mountains, lakes, rivers and cities as you speed across the continent. On longer journeys, you’ll have the added thrill of falling asleep in your private compartment and waking up at sunrise in a new place. Whether you opt for slow travel across the snow-covered Scandinavian Arctic, being whisked across rural France on the high-speed TGV or the unfettered luxury of black tie and bellinis on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, there’s a train journey for every budget. Here are the most exciting European rail journeys.
Main photo: Pinhao station in the Douro Valley (Getty Images)
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1. Mandas to Sant’Anna Arresi, Sardinia
Trenino Verde, or Little Green Train, trundles sedately across the mountains and valleys of the unspoilt southwest of Sardinia , crossing viaducts and dipping in and out of tunnels, a world away from the glitz and gin palaces of the northern Costa Smeralda. Starting from the medieval village of Mandas, it’s a day trip that’ll give you a real taste of the island that inspired DH Lawrence’s 1921 travel book Sea and Sardinia . Your home for the week is the sleepy town of Sant’Anna Arresi, a short hop from Porto Pino’s pristine beach.
2. Four trips in the Dolomites
The spiky Dolomites are criss-crossed by narrow-gauge railways and funiculars, which form the basis of four excursions in this week-long idyll on the banks of Lake Molveno, in Trentino. Take a deep breath as the improbably steep Mendola funicular cranks a terrifying 2,800ft at a 64 per cent gradient, with magnificent panoramas from the top your reward. The Railway Renon, too, is 18 minutes of lip-biting drama — the historic carriages haul you up to a high mountain plateau to see 25,000-year-old earth pyramids, bizarre rock spikes left over from the Ice Age.
3. Through French Catalonia and the Pyrenees
The Petit Train Jaune (Little Yellow Train) clatters along 100-year-old tracks over gravity-defying suspension bridges, through tunnels and across flower-filled Pyrenean meadows on its 40-mile journey from medieval Villefranche-de-Conflent, in French Catalonia, towards the Spanish border. The ride is one of the day trips on this week-long break to the Catalan region, travelling by rail from London and staying in the resort of Roses, on the Costa Brava. Rail fans will also revel in the day on the Nuria Rack Railway, which travels eight miles to the Nuria Valley, where mountain pastures fringe a blue-green lake. Visits to Girona — including to Figueres, for the Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation — provide a culture fix.
4. Scandinavia and the Baltics by train and ferry
Six countries in 15 nights, entirely by train and ferry: this trip just goes to show what you can pack in without flying. You’ll explore Copenhagen ’s colourful Nyhavn harbour, whizz over the graceful Oresund bridge and head north to Stockholm , then hop on the night boat to medieval Riga and Tallinn. You have two nights in Helsinki before a ferry to Travemünde and Lubeck in Germany. A final train journey will take you to Cologne for your last overnight stay. A tour manager smooths the way, and you’ll stay in smart, city-centre hotels.
5. London to Nice
You could arrive on the Côte d’Azur frazzled from hours on the autoroute — or you could just relax on the train, racing from London to Nice on the Eurostar and TGV and using the city as a base for forays along the coast by rail: swish Antibes, Cannes and pretty Villefranche sur Mer are all easy day trips. In Nice , people-watch on the Promenade des Anglais, admire the Chagalls and Matisses in their respective museums and take a front-row seat for salad niçoise and catch of the day at Le Safari on Cours Saleya, the famous old-town market.
- Eurostar guide: everything you need to know before you travel
6. Paris to Toulouse
The high-speed link from Paris Montparnasse to Toulouse puts this cool university city within quick-getaway reach of the UK. You’ll be in La Ville Rose, named for the dusky pink of its terracotta bricks, in nine hours, ready to plunge into the edgy food scene of the Vieux Quartier. Check out the No 5 Wine Bar, twice voted best in the world, with more than 500 wines by the glass. Load up on cheeses and pâtés from the Victor Hugo market before canoeing on the Garonne, or cycling along the Canal du Midi. The three-star Hôtel Albert 1er is a lovely boutique hotel with a fine line in slow-food breakfasts; coffee comes from Café Bacquié, one of the city’s oldest roasters.
thetrainline.com
7. Regua to Pocinho along the River Douro
Like the immaculately terraced vineyards, the railway along the Douro Valley snakes round the contours of the hills, making for one of the prettiest train journeys in Europe. On this rail-and-walk fortnight you’ll enjoy daily guided group hikes along the river, across hilltops, through wild olive groves and between the sprawling port wine estates, taking the train between overnight stays in hotels. The trip starts with four nights in edgy, enchanting Porto , with family-run hotels in Miranda do Douro and Regua offering comfortable bases after long days on foot.
ramblersholidays.co.uk
8. Paris to Prague
Getting there is half the fun on this romantic escape: jump on the Eurostar to Paris , then take the TGV to Zurich, where you’ll board the night sleeper. Look out for the moon reflecting on the snowy mountaintops as the track snakes along the curves of the Zürichsee and Walensee lakes. You’ll wake to a cup of tea and a lush Bohemian forest, arriving in Prague by 11am. You have three days to roam this unforgettably beautiful city, losing yourself in cobbled alleys and squares, admiring the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle, and drinking in the atmospheric beer gardens.
railbookers.co.uk
9. Montreux to Interlaken, Switzerland
This route — launched in December 2022 — winds its way from Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva to the glittering glaciers of Interlaken in three hours and 15 minutes. There are 150 seats spread over three classes to glide along in, second, first and prestige, the former with chairs that are warmed at the touch of a button and swivel to take in the 360-degree views from panoramic windows. It’s from these windows that the real magic unfolds: alpine valleys studded with bell cows, snow-dusted chalets and mountains reminiscent of those on Toblerone packets.
glacierexpress.ch
10. London to Venice on the Orient Express
For sheer opulence you can’t beat the classic journey on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, whisking you from London to Venice in a blur of black tie, bellinis and belle époque splendour. Doze off to the swaying of the train as it dashes through the night before being woken by your steward for breakfast amid the snowy vistas of the Swiss Alps. After two nights in Venice, the Frecciarossa — Italy’s flashy “red arrow” express — speeds you through the countryside to Rome for a further two nights.
- Best heritage railways in the UK
11. Lake Bled to Ljubljana, Slovenia
A tiny package of glacial lakes, ice-capped mountains, vineyards, meadows and a sliver of Adriatic coast, Slovenia is easy and rewarding to explore by rail. Your journey takes you from Lake Bled through a bucolic landscape of vineyards and cherry orchards to Goriska Brda, near the Italian border, before heading south to Ljubljana, the leafy capital. After two nights exploring its markets, intriguing streets and riverside cafés, you’re off to the improbably picturesque Piran — all Venetian façades, pretty squares and, around the marina, enticing seafood restaurants.
inntravel.co.uk
12. London to Essen
The dream for fans of steam: three days chugging along 87 miles of narrow-gauge lines on Germany ’s venerable Harzer Schmalspurbahnen. You’ll stay in medieval Wernigerode after a leisurely two-day train journey from London, then a Harz Rover pass gives you time to explore; the steam-hauled journey up the Brocken mountain is a highlight, as much for the Cold War museum at the top as the sweeping views. Half-timbered Quedlinburg can also be reached by steam train. The trip ends in Essen, with a chance to ride the Schwebebahn, a futuristic suspension railway that runs eight miles across the city of Wuppertal.
ffestiniogtravel.com
13. San Sebastian to Santiago de Compostela, Spain
This seven-night “rail cruise” across Spain’s northern coast is slow travel at its most indulgent. Aboard the opulent El Transcantabrico, polished, inlaid wood features heavily in its four lounge cars — beautifully restored Pullman carriages dating from 1923 — and the suites are pretty sumptuous, too, with private bathrooms and living quarters. You’ll sleep well, as the train remains stationary after dark. The route hugs the coast from San Sebastian west to Santiago de Compostela through Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia, rattling through lush countryside beneath the spiky Picos de Europa.
luxurytrainclub.com
14. Paris to Milan
Reaching Italy’s palm-fringed Lake Maggiore is a breeze on the sleek Thello, which speeds through the night from Paris to Milan . Your base is the comfortable Hotel Cannero, alongside the pink and ochre villas on the waterfront of the pretty resort of Cannero Riviera. From here, explore the lake on boat trips to the Palazzo Borromeo and botanical gardens on the Borromean Islands, or spend a day in arty Stresa, from where a cable car whisks you up to Mottarone for sweeping lake and mountain views.
expressionsholidays.co.uk
15. London to the fjords
Visiting Norway the slow way takes six days there and back by train, starting from London, but overnights in hip Hamburg and Gothenburg are all part of the adventure. You get two nights in Oslo before speeding past forest and lakes to the fjord-indented west coast. At the Myrdal mountain station, high in the vertiginous Flamsdalen valley, you’ll switch trains onto the Flam railway, one of the world’s steepest standard-gauge lines, slowly trundling in and out of 20 tunnels on its hair-raising journey down to Flam itself, a sleepy village at the head of Aurlandsfjord. After three days exploring the walking trails around Flam, board the ferry for Bergen, sailing the length of Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest fjord.
originaltravel.co.uk
16. Paris to Corfu
Lunch in Paris, dinner in Milan, then a beautiful train journey the length of Italy to the Adriatic port of Bari is the slow way to reach Greece . The night ferry to Corfu gets you in at sunrise, the Ionian sea sparkling against a landscape of forested hills and olive groves. You’ll spend seven nights in Corfu’s quiet northeast, at peaceful Kalami Bay, where tavernas line the shingle beach.
sunvil.co.uk
17. South through Italy to Sicily
Take in the antiquities of Rome , the ravishing Amalfi coast and chic Taormina in one trip, speeding across Italy’s rolling hills and lush countryside by train and staying in locally owned four-star hotels. Pack a picnic for the train journey from Naples to Taormina and settle back to marvel at the views, with mountains on one side and flashes of sparkling blue Mediterranean on the other. For the 20-minute crossing of the Strait of Messina from Villa San Giovanni in Calabria to Sicily , the train is actually loaded onto a ferry, passengers enjoying the spectacle from the boat’s upper decks. You have optional day trips to Pompeii, Capri and Etna — but throw in some fun with the more immersive tours on offer: gelato-tasting in Rome, pizza-making in Sorrento and dinner with a local family in Sicily.
citalia.com
18. London to Bordeaux
The Eurostar and TGV combo from London to Bordeaux is so efficient that you can whizz from work to wine country in just six hours. Bordeaux sweeps in a graceful half-moon along the banks of the Garonne, the salty scent of the Atlantic on the breeze. There’s loads to see in a weekend: the elegant Place de la Bourse with its reflecting water mirror, the futuristic La Cité du Vin museum, the grand, 18th-century city centre and riverfront cafés and markets. Stay at the cool, Philippe Starck-designed Mama Shelter boutique hotel in the centre; the rooftop bar buzzes on balmy nights.
mamashelter.com
19. Across Corsica
Napoleon claimed he could smell the maquis, an intoxicating perfume of wild brush and herbs, as he crossed the sea to his beloved Corsica . You’ll have plenty of chance to breathe in the mountain air and soak up rugged coastal scenery on this week-long exploration of the island by the quaint Trinighellu trains. Highlights include the atmospheric port of Calvi; the old capital, Corte, its extraordinary citadel teetering on a vertiginous rock outcrop; and the captivating train journey from here to Ajaccio, across Eiffel’s Vecchio viaduct and through forests of pine and chestnut.
arenatravel.com
20. Istanbul to Budapest
Mysterious, mist-shrouded Transylvania lends itself particularly well to old-fashioned train travel. This private adventure on the luxurious Golden Eagle Danube Express starts in Istanbul , crosses Bulgaria and climbs through the wild, forested Carpathian Mountains before speeding across the vast Hungarian steppes into Budapest . Stops include medieval Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria’s former capital, where a jumble of stone houses cling to the banks of the Yantra River, as well as the turreted Bran Castle in Romania — said to have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula . On board, expect lots of polished wood and brass, fine dining and cosy compartments with private bathrooms.
goldeneagleluxurytrains.com
21. Montreux to Lucerne
Connecting lakes Lucerne and Geneva, the GoldenPass Line in Switzerland is actually three separate trains that make the jaw-droppingly dramatic five-and-a-half-hour journey across the Bernese Oberland. A rack-and-pinion system cranks the train (and passengers) up over the Brünig Pass before you descend into Interlaken and rattle through valleys and meadows, past shimmering lakes and over high passes. Panoramic windows give uninterrupted views of the towering faces of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau along the way. You’ll bookend the adventure with overnights in Montreux and Lucerne.
switzerlandtravelcentre.com
22. Stockholm to Abisko on the night train
Journey across wintry landscapes on the night train from Stockholm to Abisko, deep inside the Arctic Circle on the banks of frozen Lake Tornetrask. Activities you might book include trekking through snow-laden forests on snowshoes; dog sledding; ice fishing; and spinning across the icy tundra on snowmobiles, keeping an eye on the sky for the rippling green curtains of the aurora borealis. You have three nights for Arctic adventures, following train travel there via Münster and Copenhagen , and two in Stockholm.
tailormaderail.com
23. Vienna to Salzburg
Vienna’s graceful baroque heart is easy to explore on bicycle, foot and tram. This eight-night holiday by rail gives you three nights in the Austrian capital and three in dreamy Salzburg, stopping in Frankfurt on the way out and Zurich on the return. Check out the Hofburg Palace and the State Opera, get your art fix at the Museumsquartier and gorge on coffee piled with whipped cream in the 19th-century cafés. In Salzburg, just two hours and 20 minutes away on the speedy Railjet service, there’s the legacy of Mozart and the von Trapps to explore.
planetrail.co.uk
24. Seville to Granada
Spain’s grand, belle époque Al-Andalus train takes a six-day circular route round the great Moorish cities of Andalusia , from Seville and Cordoba to Granada, sprawled at the foot of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. You’ll taste sherry in Jerez, poke around the ancient port city of Cadiz, tap your feet to flamenco in Seville and, of course, explore Granada’s exquisite Alhambra Palace. While the plush velvet and polished, inlaid wood make the vintage carriages a magnificent base, you won’t miss out on Andalusian cooking, as most meals are taken in local restaurants and you’ll stay two nights in Seville.
kirkerholidays.com
Additional reporting by Lucy Perrin
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The Man in Seat 61
A beginner's guide to
Train travel in europe.
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Train travel UK & Ireland...
Train travel in europe..., train travel in asia..., train travel in africa..., train travel in america..., train travel in australasia.
Breakfast in London, dinner in Barcelona
There's no need to fly within Europe. It's surprisingly easy, quick and comfortable to travel by train from London to almost anywhere: Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Prague, Helsinki, wherever... The difficult bit is finding out how to do it and where to buy tickets. That's where Seat 61 comes in.
This website explains the best routes, train times & fares from London to major destinations all over Europe, and between major European cities.
It explains the best way to buy tickets for your specific journeys, whether you live in the UK, mainland Europe, the USA, Australia, wherever.
Train times & tickets
If your journey starts in the UK , select your destination country in the upper drop-down box to see the best routes, train times, fares & how to buy tickets.
If your journey starts in another European country , select the city where your journey starts in the lower drop-down box - if it isn't listed, select one nearest to it in the same country.
Return to this page for general information & advice about European train travel.
Planning your trip
How to buy tickets, luggage, bikes, dogs & cars, about specific trains & routes, station guides, how to check train times.
If you only remember one European train travel resource
Apart from seat 61 of course - make it int.bahn.de . This has an excellent online timetable for the whole of Europe, probably the most useful European train travel resource on the net. Ask it for Palermo to Helsinki or Lisbon to Moscow and you'll see what I mean. These tips may help:
Place names
It recognises English-language place names & prompts with station or city names.
If you don't know which station to select
The safest option is to select the plain city name, often in capitals, for example PARIS or BERLIN. The system will work out which is the relevant station for your journey.
If it only offers specific stations, try to select the main station in that city, which may be shown as main station or (in Italy) Centrale , in the Netherlands as Centraal , in Germany or Austria as Hauptbahnhof, Hbf or HB (= main station in German), Hlavni in Czech or Glowny (Gl.) in Polish.
In Brussels, Brussels South Station is the main station, also known as Brussels Midi or Brussel Zuid . In Barcelona, select Barcelona Sants . In Verona, select Verona Porta Nuova . In Turin, the main terminus station is Torino Porta Nuova , but the TGV trains to/from Paris use Torino Porta Susa , which many trains leaving from Porta Nuova heading for Venice or Rome also call at. In Venice, Venice Santa Lucia is on the Grand Canal in central Venice, Venice Mestre is on the mainland. In Lisbon, select Lisbon Santa Apolonia .
It only holds data for the main rail operators
Plus some smaller operators, not for all trains everywhere. Notably it does not cover:
- Some private open-access operators such as Italo in Italy.
- The Circumvesuviana Railway, Naples-Herculaneum-Pompeii-Sorrento.
- Euskotren in Spain, operating narrow gauge local trains between Hendaye, San Sebastian & Bilbao.
- FEVE in Spain, who run narrow gauge local trains along the north coastal towns.
- Spanish suburban routes including Barcelona to Latour de Carol and Barcelona to Portbou & Cerbère.
- It doesn't always hold complete or 100% accurate data for the Balkans or Greek domestic trains.
For British train times it's better to use www.nationalrail.co.uk as this will show any engineering work alterations.
Timetable changes in June & December
It usually holds data only until the next Europe-wide timetable change , which happens twice a year at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in June & December. So don't be surprised if it shows no trains running in late December if you ask it in August, that's beyond the December timetable change. Data for dates after the December timetable change usually starts to come online by mid-October and isn't 100% reliable until early December. Also note that data for French, Italian & Spanish trains will only be held for the next few months, not for the whole timetable period.
This system is very good, but some railways (typically the Spanish, Hungarians, Polish & Balkan railways) can be late in supplying data, and data can be unreliable in some parts of the Balkans, for example. If you get strange results you can try the railway operator's own website instead, for example www.renfe.com for Spain or www.ose.gr for Greece. There's a complete list of rail websites on the useful links page .
You can adjust transfer time
By default the system allows the minimum time to change trains, whether changing into a local train that runs every 30 minutes or into a sleeper train which you can't afford to miss. It won't suggest impossible connections, it always allows enough time to walk from one train to the other if the first train is on time, but it doesn't take into account the possibility of the first train running 20 minutes late.
It's a good policy to allow more time for transfers, so click in the From box to open the details panel, then change Transfer time from Normal to (say) at least 40 minutes .
On a through ticket you're legally entitled to later onward travel if a delay means a missed connection ( more info on that here ), but with separate non-refundable train-specific tickets the risk is yours so you should allow more than the minimum, see more about how long to allow for connections here .
You can specify a route or add stopovers
Click Stopovers to set one or two via stations if you want to find journeys via a particular route. By adding a duration in hours and minutes you can specify stopovers at these stations.
Fares & tickets
int.bahn.de will show train times for virtually any journey in Europe, but will only show fares and sell tickets for journeys to, from or within Germany, plus a few cross-Germany routes such as Belgium/Netherlands to Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic. To check fares for other journeys, see the How to buy European train tickets page .
DB Navigator is a free online train timetable app for all of Europe, the app version of the German Railways all-Europe online timetable at bahn.de. It provided a journey planner, train details, and calling points, though it needs a WiFi or mobile data connection. To download, go to int.bahn.de/en/booking-information/db-navigator (please let me know if that link stops working).
Railplanner is a free offline train timetable app that you can download onto your phone to check train times & train calling points on the move without the need to be on WiFi or to use mobile data . It's blisteringly quick and covers almost all the train covered by the DB Navigator app. The whole European timetable sits on your phone, with updates automatically downloaded every month. It's created with Eurail and Interrail passholders in mind, but is useful for anyone. Download for iPhone or Android at www.eurail.com/en/plan-your-trip/rail-planner-app - please let me know if the link stops working!
Station arrivals & departures
Click here & enter a station to check scheduled train departures or arrivals at almost any station across Europe. This is an online equivalent of the printed departure posters displayed at stations. It shows real-time information for stations in Germany if you pick today's date, but for 'real time' information in other countries, see the real-time section below .
The European Rail Timetable
The world-famous European Rail Timetable is the train traveller's bible, with route maps and up-to-date timetables for trains, buses and ferries for all European countries, plus trains in Asian Turkey and Russia including the Trans-Siberian railway, ferries to North Africa & the Mediterranean islands.
Published since 1873, it had just celebrated 140 years of publication when Thomas Cook pulled the plug on their entire publishing department, and the August 2013 edition was the last to be published by Thomas Cook. The good news is that the dedicated ex-Thomas Cook team set up a private venture and a reborn European Rail Timetable continues to be published. Remarkably, the timetable has now survived its parent company, as Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019. What does it contain?
Buy online at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu for around £16.99 with shipping worldwide.
If you live in the UK you can also buy from www.amazon.co.uk , it's eligible for Amazon Prime next-day delivery.
Back to top
How to check fares & buy tickets
This section has turned into a bit of an essay . If you just want to know how to buy tickets, skip this section, go to the How to buy tickets page , select a specific journey and I'll tell you how to book it. If you're interested in how European train booking works (or doesn't), read on.
Reality check: No single website sells tickets for all trains in all countries
Although you can look up train times almost anywhere in Europe using int.bahn.de , there isn't a single website that can show fares & sell tickets for every European train in every country.
So you can't go to europeanrailways.com (there's no such site) and buy a Stockholm to Alicante ticket (there's no such ticket). It's perfectly possible to travel by train from Stockholm to Alicante, but we're talking 6 trains run by 5 different operators ticketed with at least 4 separate tickets. Ah, I see from the look on your face that realisation is beginning to dawn...
Each country has its own national operator with its own website
Each national train operator has its own website and its own ticketing system. Then there are various private operators, either genuinely independent such as Italo , Regiojet or Leo Express , or pseudo-independent such as TGV-Lyria created by the relevant national rail operator(s) to run specific international routes.
In fact, Europe has over 50 different rail operator websites selling train tickets for their own trains, even before considering third-party ticket resellers. You need to use the right website for the right journey. So which is the relevant operator for your journey?
If you go to the How to buy tickets page , select your starting city, and on the next page select your destination, you'll find my advice on how to book that specific route.
However, as a rule of thumb, if there's a named operator such as Eurostar or Regiojet you'd go to that operator's website, in this case Eurostar.com or Regiojet.com. If it's a normal international train jointly run by the relevant national rail operators, your starting assumption should be to use the national rail operator website for the country where your journey starts, then check the one where it ends.
The pseudo-independent operators can also be booked at the owning national operator sites
Eurostar is owned by French Railways (SNCF) and others, and Eurostar tickets can also be bought at SNCF's website www.sncf-connect.com . TGV-Lyria is owned by SNCF & SBB (Swiss Railways) and can also be booked at www.sncf-connect.com or www.sbb.ch. The national operator sites can of course book other trains in their respective countries too, in connection with Eurostar or TGV-Lyria. So London to Avignon by Eurostar & onwards French train can be booked as one transaction at French Railways www.sncf-connect.com , for example. It can be useful to know that!
International trains can usually be booked at the national operator website at either end
For international journeys, your starting assumption is to book them at the national rail operator website for the country where the journey starts. But if a train can be e-ticketed, you can also book using the destination country's national train operator website.
For example, Berlin-Prague trains are run jointly by German & Czech national railways, and can be booked at either German Railways int.bahn.de or Czech Railways www.cd.cz with print-your-own tickets.
Now it gets interesting, as this is one of the routes where each partner operator manages advance-purchase price levels independently. So the price at bahn.de might be €39 (with cheaper €19 & €29 tickets sold out), whilst €19 tickets remain available for the same train at cd.cz. It pays to check both!
In fact, even the fixed-price full-flex fare can differ between partner operators. As I write this, Austrian Railways (ÖBB) charge €64 for a full-flex on-the-day ticket from Vienna to Prague, but even if you were in the ÖBB ticket office at Vienna Hbf, it'd be cheaper to whip out your phone and buy exactly the same ticket for the same trains from Czech Railways for €42.
But a word of warning: Check ticket delivery carefully if buying from the operator at the destination end. For example, Austrian Railways oebb.at issues print-your-own tickets for Vienna-Venice trains so can be used for either direction. Trenitalia.com can also book these Vienna-Venice trains, but you must collect a hard-copy ticket from a Trenitalia ticket machine or ticket office in Italy - not much help if you're starting in Vienna!
There are exceptions to this rule, of course. The Paris-Milan Frecciarossas enter France on an open-access commercial basis, so can only be booked at Trenitalia.com, not SNCF-connect.com. Whilst the competing Paris-Milan TGVs enter Italy on an open-access commercial basis and can only be booked at SNCF-connect.com, not Trenitalia.com.
Some trains aren't bookable online at all
Another reality check: Slovenian, Croatian, Bulgarian & Turkish railways don't sell international tickets online, for example. Trains between Slovenia or Croatia & Germany can be booked online in either direction at German Railways int.bahn.de . Trains between Slovenia or Croatia & Austria can be booked online in either direction at Austrian Railways www.oebb.at . But the only way to buy tickets from Ljubljana to Zagreb or Zagreb to Belgrade or Sofia to Istanbul, is at the station.
Longer journeys often need to be broken down into stages
Many international journeys involve a change of train, often this means a change of operator. Operator websites may not be able to sell tickets for such journeys. Nice to Milan can't be booked at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com , because SNCF can't access prices or tickets for the Trenitalia train between Ventimiglia & Milan (Ventimiglia is the border station where you change trains). And the Trenitalia website can't book you from Nice to Milan either, because it can't access prices or tickets for the SNCF train between Nice & Ventimiglia. You need to book Nice-Ventimiglia at www.sncf-connect.com and Ventimiglia-Milan at Trenitalia.com . Two tickets, two bookings, on two different websites, such is the reality of Europe's rail network in the 21st century. But there are two specialist retailer sites that resolve this.
Introducing www.raileurope.com & www.thetrainline.com
Two ticket retailer websites deserve a special mention, www.raileurope.com & www.thetrainline.com . These connect to multiple operators, allowing tickets for trains across much of western Europe to be booked in one place.
They have their own journey planning logic, so (for example) they can work out a suitable journey from Nice to Milan using an SNCF train from Nice to Ventimiglia and a Trenitalia train from Ventimiglia to Milan, they then source the Nice-Ventimiglia ticket from SNCF and the Ventimiglia-Milan ticket from Trenitalia, and add them together to provide you with a Nice-Milan journey as one seamless transaction.
I often recommend www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com as they allow you to book tickets together in one place for journeys that would otherwise require multiple bookings on different websites. They are designed for international users, so happily accept overseas payment cards (some national train operator sites struggle) and are written in plain English (some national rail operator sites slip back into local language or use poor English translations). The downside is that they charge a small booking fee, but it's often worth paying that.
Raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com currently connect to the following national railways: Great Britain (National Rail), France (SNCF), Spain (Renfe), Italy (Trenitalia), Germany (Deutsche Bahn), Austria (ÖBB). They also both connect to private operator Italo . www.thetrainline.com also connects to Swiss Railways (SBB), the Benelux ticketing system (SNCB, NS & CFL) and private operators Regiojet & Westbahn .
Raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com come as close as you'll get to a pan-European train booking site, but even they don't yet connect to the Portuguese, Czech, Slovakian, Slovenian, Croatian, Hungarian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek, Romanian, or Polish Railways ticketing systems. So for a €15 Lisbon-Porto ticket you still need to go to Portuguese Railways www.cp.pt and the only place you'll find a €21 Prague-Budapest ticket is Czech Railways www.cd.cz. You get the picture?
More about who Thetrainline are . More about who Raileurope are .
Incidentally, you might also come across Omio.com . Omio has similar connectivity, but at the time I write this it doesn't have any journey planning logic. So although it can sell you a Nice-Ventimiglia ticket using its connection to SNCF if you ask it for Nice to Ventimiglia, and it can sell a Ventimiglia-Milan ticket using its connection to Trenitalia if you ask it for Ventimiglia to Milan, if you ask it for Nice to Milan it will say there are no trains (and will suggest a flight) because it lacks the capability to plan the journey itself and combine multiple tickets. It also says there are no trains for journeys where it lacks the necessary connectivity. For example, Omio says there are no trains from Budapest to Zagreb and suggests a bus, but you can easily buy a train ticket from €19 from Hungarian Railways at www.mavcsoport.hu . So it's important to understand a site's limitations. Omio does have some extra connectivity, for example it connects to Swedish Railways sj.se so can be useful to book Swedish trains if sj.se rejects your credit card, and to Portuguese Railways cp.pt which no other site does.
So which website should you use to buy tickets?
Don't worry! On seat61.com I'll tell you the right website(s) to use for any given European journey (well, almost). Go to the How to buy European tickets page and select your starting city. On the next page, select your destination city. I'll then explain the different ways you can make that specific journey and which website(s) to use to buy tickets.
To check fares & buy tickets in one country
You can check fares & (usually) buy tickets for domestic journeys at each country's national rail website, see the links page for a complete list .
To check fares & buy tickets for international journeys
The national rail websites listed above sometimes sell international tickets to neighbouring countries as well, but often only in a limited way, for example tickets for direct trains. However, you'll find detailed advice on how to book specific international journeys on the How to buy European tickets page . Here are some general rules of thumb.
Rule-of-thumb 1, try www.raileurope.com & www.thetrainline.com .
These connect to the British, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Austrian, Benelux systems and can easily book journeys including multi-operator journeys to, from and within those countries.
Be aware of their limitations: You still need to use other sites for journeys not covered, for example they don't connect to the Portuguese, Norwegian, Finnish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech or Hungarian ticketing systems. They also charge a small booking fee, you can avoid paying any fee by buying direct from train operator websites, using the following rules of thumb.
Rule-of-thumb 2 , if you know that the train you want is run by a specific operator, go to that operator's website:
- www.eurostar.com for Eurostar trains between London & Paris, London & Brussels or anywhere in Belgium.
- www.tgv-lyria.com or www.sncf-connect.com for TGV-Lyria high-speed trains between Paris & Switzerland.
- www.regiojet.com for Regiojet trains between Vienna & Prague or Prague & Bratislava.
Rule-of-thumb 3 , otherwise, simply go to the national train website for the country where your journey starts. Although there are many exceptions to this rule, as you can see below:
- For journeys starting in London :
www.eurostar.com for Eurostar to Lille, Paris, Brussels or anywhere in Belgium.
www.nsinternational.nl or www.b-europe.com for journeys to Rotterdam, Amsterdam or anywhere in Belgium or the Netherlands.
www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com for journeys to anywhere in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Milan, Turin, Germany.
- For journeys starting in Paris & France :
The French Railways site www.sncf-connect.com sells many journeys from Paris & French cities to neighbouring countries.
For journeys from Paris to Germany, it's better to use German Railways int.bahn.de .
For journeys from Paris & France to Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria it's better to use www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com .
- For journeys starting in Brussels, Bruges or Belgium :
The Belgian Railways international site www.b-europe.com will handle journeys to neighbouring countries.
For journeys from Belgium to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Czech Rep. it's better to use German Railways int.bahn.de .
For the Nightjet sleeper from Brussels to Vienna it's better to use Austrian Railways www.oebb.at or www.thetrainline.com .
- For journeys starting in Amsterdam & the Netherlands:
The Dutch Railways international site www.nsinternational.nl will handle journeys to neighbouring countries.
For journeys to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Czech Rep., Sweden it's better to use German Railways int.bahn.de .
For the Nightjet sleeper train from Amsterdam to Munich, Innsbruck & Vienna use Austrian Railways www.oebb.at or www.thetrainline.com .
- For journeys starting in Switzerland :
The Swiss Railways site www.sbb.ch can book journeys to neighbouring countries, for example Paris.
For journeys to Paris you can also use French Railways www.sncf-connect.com , it's worth checking prices there too.
For journeys to Italy, it's better to use Italian Railways www.trenitalia.com as SBB can't sell Trenitalia's cheap fares beyond Milan.
For journeys to Germany, Benelux & Denmark it's better to use German Railways int.bahn.de .
For journeys to Austria you'll often find cheaper prices at the Austrian Railways site www.oebb.at .
For the sleeper train from Zurich to Prague sleeper, book using Czech Railways www.cd.cz as Sbb.ch can't sell it.
For the sleeper trains from Zurich to Vienna, Budapest, Hamburg & Berlin use Austrian Railways www.oebb.at or www.thetrainline.com .
- For journeys starting in Italy :
The Italian Railways site www.trenitalia.com can book many international trains from Italy, but not the French-run trains Milan-Turin-Paris.
For journeys from Milan or Turin to Paris, use French Railways www.sncf-connect.com . Add connecting tickets from other cities at www.trenitalia.com .
It's better to use Austrian Railways www.oebb.at for Venice-Vienna day & sleeper trains, Rome-Florence-Vienna/Munich sleeper trains.
- For journeys starting in Germany :
German Railways int.bahn.de sells through tickets to most neighbouring countries.
For travel to Austria, it's often cheaper to use Austrian Railways www.oebb.at , so check this too.
For travel to Prague, it's often cheaper to use Czech Railways www.cd.cz , so check this too.
For Nightjet sleeper trains within Germany & to Switzerland & Austria, it's better to use Austrian Railways www.oebb.at .
- For journeys starting in Austria:
Austrian Railways www.oebb.at can book journeys to most neighbouring countries.
For travel to Germany, also check German Railways int.bahn.de as they can occasionally be cheaper for the same train.
For travel to Prague, check prices at Czech Railways www.cd.cz too as they can be cheaper than ÖBB for the same train.
- For journeys starting in Prague :
Czech Railways www.cd.cz can book journeys to most neighbouring countries.
For journeys between Prague & Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm also try German Railways int.bahn.de .
- For journeys starting in Budapest :
Hungarian Railways www.mavcsoport.hu can book journeys to most neighbouring countries.
For journeys to Germany, you can also check prices at German Railways int.bahn.de , but the Hungarians are usually cheaper.
For journeys to Austria, you can also check prices at Austrian Railways www.oebb.at , but the Hungarians are usually cheaper.
The sleeper trains from Budapest to Zurich & Munich can also be booked at www.oebb.at .
- For journeys starting in Slovenia or Croatia
Zagreb or Ljubljana to Germany can be booked at German Railways int.bahn.de .
Zagreb or Ljubljana to Austria can be booked at Austrian Railways www.oebb.at .
Other international journeys (e.g. to Belgrade or Budapest) cannot be booked online, you have to go to the station.
- For journeys starting in Poland :
Polish Railways haven't yet enabled online booking for international trains, except for than Berlin-Warsaw.
You can book from Warsaw or Krakow to German cities at German Railways int.bahn.de and print out your ticket.
The sleeper train from Warsaw & Krakow to Vienna can be booked at Austrian Railways www.oebb.at as you can print your own ticket.
All other international tickets starting in Poland can be arranged through reliable ticketing agency www.polrail.com .
- For journeys starting in Copenhagen :
Danish Railways www.dsb.dk can't sell international tickets.
German Railways int.bahn.de can sell tickets from Copenhagen to Germany, Brussels, Amsterdam, Prague, Switzerland.
- For journeys starting in Stockholm & Sweden :
Omio.com (formerly GoEuro) or www.sj.se can sell tickets to Oslo or Copenhagen or within Sweden.
German Railways int.bahn.de can sell tickets from Stockholm, Gothenburg & Malmo to anywhere in Germany.
German Railways int.bahn.de can also sell tickets from Stockholm, Gothenburg & Malmo to Amsterdam, Brussels, Switzerland & Prague.
Rule-of-thumb 4 , break the journey down
I have lost count of the times I've advised travellers to split the booking and book each section of the journey, or if necessary, each individual train, at the relevant operator's website.
For example, int.bahn.de comes up with silly-money €246 prices if you ask it for Paris to Vienna, a journey which passes through Frankfurt, but it will happily sell you a Paris-Frankfurt ticket from €39 and a Frankfurt to Vienna ticket from €29 if you break the journey down.
Similarly, Prague to Venice can't be booked online anywhere, but the Czech Railways site www.cd.cz/eshop will happily sell you a Prague to Vienna ticket from €14 and Austrian Railways www.oebb.at will book the Vienna-Venice sleeper from €59 with couchette.
There are endless examples of this all over Europe, some creative thinking is often required!
Rule-of-thumb 5 , some trains cannot be booked online
Remember that some trains simply cannot be booked online so will need to be booked by phone or at the station. For example Zagreb to Belgrade, Belgrade to Montenegro, or Sofia to Istanbul.
I'll say it again, for advice on which website to use for which specific European train journey, see the How to buy European train tickets page .
It matters whom you call! Some agencies are better for some journeys than others because of the ticketing systems they use.
You'll find a list of agencies with advice on who to call on the How to buy train tickets by phone page .
Maps of the European rail network
Free online rail maps.
This free online rail map of Europe is a good basic overview of the extent of the European railway network. It's intended for people using a Eurail or Interrail pass so leaves out many routes in non-Interrail/Eurail countries such as Russia & Ukraine, and leaves out many smaller lines even in countries covered by these passes.
For more detail, try the zoom-able online map of European (and indeed, world) railways at www.openrailwaymap.org .
You can also try the Swiss Railways all-Europe online map at maps.trafimage.ch . Zoom in for more detail.
For the best (and official) map of the UK rail system, click here .
For an online map of the French rail network click here .
For an online interactive map of the German rail network click here .
For the best (and official) map of the Swiss rail system, click here .
But for a decent map of all European train routes, you really need to buy one of the printed rail maps listed below.
Rail Map Europe: Buy here
Travellers' railway map: buy here, rail atlas of europe by ian allan: buy here.
Ian Allan Publishing do an excellent hardback rail atlas of Europe for around £21, available through Amazon.co.uk . You can also buy it in the USA at Amazon.com .
Rail Atlas of Europe by M Ball: Buy here
There's another highly-detailed European Railway atlas covering the whole of Europe, europeanrailwayatlas.com , price £24.95 in 122-page paperback book form covering 23,000 locations with free PDF version for your computer, tablet or phone.
Real-time train running information
Are the trains running on time? Delays, incidents, strikes or disruptions?
London to Paris or Brussels by Eurostar
Changing trains in paris.
Train journeys from the UK into Europe often involve a change of train and station in Paris. Eurostar arrives at the Gare du Nord , which is an easy 7 minute 500m walk from the Gare de l'Est but a metro or taxi ride from the other Paris stations including the Gare de Lyon .
See the Changing trains & stations in Paris page for advice on metro, RER and taxi travel, and an easy route guide.
The Paris metro website is www.ratp.fr .
If you want to spend some time in Paris, by all means take an earlier Eurostar on the outward journey or a later one on your return. There are left luggage lockers at several Paris rail stations if you need to leave your luggage somewhere.
You can avoid the hassle of crossing Paris when travelling to many French destinations, by changing at Lille , see the London to France page .
Changing trains in Brussels
The ferry alternatives, london to paris by train & ferry.
London to Paris 'sleeper' option via Portsmouth-Caen: There's an overnight train-ferry-train option where you can leave London Waterloo around 18:30, sleep in a comfortable cabin with en suite shower & toilet 22:45-06:45 on Brittany Ferries' overnight sailing from Portsmouth to Caen, then take a train from Caen to Paris St Lazare arriving around 11:05. This is not a bad option if you need an alternative to Eurostar. Times, fares & info for travelling from London & Portsmouth to Paris by overnight train & ferry are shown here .
London to Amsterdam by train & ferry
Uk to spain by ferry, other useful ferry routes.
DFDS Seaways ( www.dfds.com ) sail overnight from Newcastle to IJmuiden near Amsterdam, see the Newcastle-Amsterdam page .
Should you go 1st or 2nd class?
2nd class is absolutely fine for most travellers. There's no need to pay for a 1st class ticket to travel in comfort these days, especially on the fast modern air-conditioned express trains. So if you're on a budget, don't bother with 1st class unless you are offered prices that make it silly not to upgrade.
For most of us, 2nd class is the norm unless the Company is paying. If you're visiting Europe from overseas, rest assured that there are very few peasants and chickens in 2nd class these days.
What more do you get in 1st class?
First class gets you wider seats, plusher seats, more leg and elbow room, and fewer passengers per coach. In most cases, assume that is all. Luggage room is the same, perhaps with fewer passengers per coach using it, but this is not a sensible reason for paying a 1st class fare as there's always room for luggage in any class.
On a few premier trains including Eurostar , Spanish AVE trains & Lyria , some 1st class fares include an at-seat service of food & drink, but these are the exceptions. Unless you're told otherwise, you should assume that a 1st class ticket simply gets you a nicer seat with more leg and elbow room, surrounded by more business travellers with laptops and fewer families with kids. On German ICEs and Austrian railjets , food & drink is not included but in 1st class a steward will take orders and serve you at your seat, in 2nd class you have to go to the bistro or restaurant car.
Tables for two & solo seats: First class cars generally have seats arranged 2+1 across the width of the car (two seats abreast, then the aisle, then one solo seat), hence the wider seats with more elbow room compared to 2+2 seating in 2nd class. So in a typical first class car you'll find face-to-face tables for two and solo seats as well as tables for four - if you're a couple, facing each other across an intimate table for two, both of you getting a seat that's both window and aisle, is a key advantage of going 1st class. As is booking a solo seat if you're travelling alone, a seat that's both aisle and window, where you aren't sitting next to anyone else.
Train seat numbering plans : Click here for train seating plans
1st class can be an affordable treat
Don't decide until you see the price! Most train operators have airline-style variable pricing, you might find 2nd class costs €40 and 1st class only €45 because of the way the price quotas have worked in each class. In which case you'd be crazy not to pay an extra €5 to upgrade!
On sleeper trains, class is irrelevant
On sleeper trains, whether you have a 1st or 2nd class ticket is almost irrelevant, as your comfort depends on the type of sleeping accommodation you pay for: Seat, couchette, or sleeper. A 2nd class couchette is more comfortable (and more secure) than a 1st class seat. A 2nd class sleeper is more comfortable than a 1st class couchette (where such things exist). In fact, on most routes only a 2nd class ticket is now needed for a 2-bed sleeper. On nightjet sleeper trains , for example, all accommodation is now classified as 2nd class, even deluxe sleepers with shower. The options for travelling on overnight trains are explained here .
Should you make a seat reservation ?
Local, suburban & regional trains in most countries don't have seat reservations. You just get on and sit where you like, like the London Underground or New York Subway.
Long-distance trains in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden & Poland are usually all-reserved and every ticket comes with a seat reservation automatically included, free of charge. The same goes for international trains to, from or between these countries including Eurostar , TGV-Lyria , Paris-Barcelona TGVs , Paris-Milan TGVs , Paris-Milan Frecciarossas and Paris-Germany TGV/ICE trains . Such trains often don't have any displays showing which seats are reserved and which free because it's assumed that all passengers have a reserved seat.
Long-distance trains in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark & much of central Europe are usually reservation optional . You can travel without a reservation (the risk is you may have to stand at busy times) or you can pay a small fee to reserve a seat. If you don't have a reservation you can sit in any empty unreserved seat - an electronic display above each seat (or on older trains, a little printed slip in a slot) show which seats are reserved.
Making a short journey mid-week in February as a solo traveller I might not bother making a reservation, especially if I'm joining at the station where the train starts so will have my pick of the seats. But if you're making a long journey or travelling on a busy Friday or Sunday afternoon or travelling with your family or in a small group, I strongly recommend making a reservation to be sure of a seat. You are usually offered the option of adding a seat reservation when buying a ticket online, if you fail to add one you can sometimes make a separate seat reservation only booking later, the German, Austrian & Czech railway websites can do that, but not all websites.
Forward-facing seats
I know from experience that American visitors in particular (if you'll forgive me for saying so) are obsessed with facing forwards. Europeans less so, as we are used to trains with half the seats facing one way, half the other, and we know that it's no big deal as trains run smoothly on rails - think cruise liner restaurant, where half the diners are going backwards at 18 knots without noticing!
On most European trains you cannot specify which way your seat faces. The reservation system knows the carriage seat layout, but it cannot predict which way round the train will enter service that day. Indeed, on some routes the train reverses en route, for example on a journey from Rome to Venice, seats which are backward-facing from Rome to Florence will be forward-facing from Florence to Venice as the train changes direction at Florence SMN which is a terminus. Similarly, trains from Zurich to Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna change direction at Buchs, before the Austrian border.
There are a few cases where a forward-facing seat can be requested. Some operators including Eurostar keep their trains a particular way round, for example on Eurostar car 1 is always at the London end, car 16 at the Paris end. You can often select your seat from a seat map when you book such trains direct with the relevant operator, the direction of travel is often indicated on the plan so you can see which seats face which way. On a few TGV routes in France a clever dual numbering system allows the correct set of numbers to illuminate depending which way round the train is, which in turn allows the reservation system to offer a choice of forward-facing seat if you book at www.sncf-connect.com or www.thetrainline.com . In the UK, we have traditionally had a much simpler low-tech system. Two seats facing each other have the same number, say 15, the one facing is 15F and the one going backwards is 15B.
Remember that on trains where reservation is optional (domestic trains in Benelux countries, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, and much of Eastern Europe) you can sit where you like, and if you find your reserved seats not to your liking just sit elsewhere. However, in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, all long-distance trains are all-reserved so you usually have to stick with your reserved seats.
My favourite arrangement in first class on most European trains is a face-to-face table for two. Both of you get a window seat, and both an aisle seat, and one seat is always facing forwards. My wife usually gets that! It also means you get the full length of a window to look out of, not half a window.
Which side of the train?
On some routes the best scenery is on a particular side of the train, for example the left hand side going south along the Rhine Valley from Cologne to Mainz, or the right hand side from Switzerland into Austria through the Arlberg Pass. I try and mention which side to sit on the relevant pages of this site, if it matters.
However, many reservation systems won't let you choose which side of the train to sit as the train or carriage could enter service either way round. Only in some cases is direction of travel shown. On trains where reservation is optional (domestic trains in Benelux countries, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, much of central Europe) you can sit where you like so can move if your reserved seat is on the 'wrong' side.
First class lounges at stations
There are first class lounges at some major stations, usually with complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks or even beer and wine, plus WiFi and charging points. Sometimes the lounge is for anyone with a first class ticket (which may or may not include first class Eurail or Interrail passes), in other cases the lounges are only for holders of the most expensive premium-fare first class tickets or who have that train operator's frequent traveller loyalty card. Here's a quick guide:
Eurostar business lounges at London St Pancras, Paris Nord & Brussels Midi
Eurostar has a business lounge opening off the departures hall after security at London St Pancras , Paris Nord & Brussels Midi with complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks, wine & spirits, beer and snacks. The lounge has toilets, free WiFi and charging points. The London and Paris lounges also have a free cocktail bar, open afternoon until evening.
The business lounges are open to holders of Business Premier tickets or holders of Eurostar's top-tier Carte Blanche loyalty card. They are not open to holders of Standard Premier tickets or railpass holders.
Paris & France
Anyone with any 1st class ticket for TGV-Lyria trains from Paris to Switzerland can use the SNCF Salon Grand Voyageur at Paris Gare de Lyon in Hall 3 with free WiFi, hot drinks and water.
Apart from this, the Salon Grand Voyageur is only open to travellers with SNCF loyalty cards or the most expensive full-price 1st class Pro tickets. You can use it with any 1st class ticket if you have a Eurostar Carte Blanche loyalty card.
All the other major Paris termini and many big city stations across France have an SNCF Grand Voyageur lounge with free WiFi, hot drinks and water, but these are only for passengers with SNCF loyalty cards or the most expensive full-price 1st class Pro tickets. You can use them with any 1st class ticket if you have a Eurostar Carte Blanche loyalty card.
Brussels & Belgium
Eurostar (formerly Thalys) has its own lounge at Brussels Midi, only for Eurostar (formerly Thalys) passengers who have the most expensive Premium class tickets. Not open to holders of Comfort class (= regular 1st class) tickets or to railpass holders.
Apart from this there is no first class lounge at Brussels Midi , but I consider the bar at the Pullman Hotel to be the best VIP waiting room for the price of a beer.
Amsterdam & the Netherlands
There is an NS International Lounge at Amsterdam Centraal at the western end of platform 2 and there are similar lounges at Schiphol & Rotterdam Centraal . You can use these lounges with any type of 1st class international ticket including 1st class Eurail & Interrail passes.
Follow the signs for NS International Lounge, check www.nsinternational.nl for opening times. Tea, coffee, soft drinks and snacks available.
Switzerland
Unfortunately, SBB closed their first class lounges at Zurich & Geneva at the end of 2016, citing lack of use.
Trenitalia has Freccialounges at major city stations. These are only for holders of the most expensive Executive class tickets or who have Trenitalia's own frequent-traveller loyalty card.
Competitor Italo also has lounges at major city stations, branded Club Italo. These are only for holders of the most expensive Club class tickets or who have Italo's own frequent-traveller loyalty card.
There is a Renfe Sala Club lounge at Madrid Atocha , Madrid Chamartin , Barcelona Sants , Malaga Maria Zambrano, Seville Santa Justa, Cordoba, Valencia, Alicante, Girona, Zaragoza Delicias, Valladolid and several other stations.
The Sala Club is open to anyone who has paid the Premium fare, or who has a 1st class ticket for an international AVE (but not TGV ) to France. Typically open from 06:00 to 22:00 every day. You can use them from 2 hours before your train leaves until departure.
Tea, coffee, soft drinks, beer and snacks available. For details search www.renfe.com .
There are DB Lounges at major stations, but only for holders of the most expensive DB Flexpreis tickets. You cannot use the lounges if you have a 1st class Sparpreis or Supersparpreis ticket or Eurail or Interrail pass.
They don't admit holders of tickets for regional trains or trains operated without DB involvement such as Eurostar (formerly Thalys) , Nightjet , European Sleeper or the Munich-Prague trains .
However, if you have a Eurostar Carte Blanche loyalty card you can use a DB Lounge with any ticket.
There are lounges at Berlin Hbf , Bremen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main Hbf , Frankfurt Flughafen , Hamburg Hbf , Hanover, Cologne Hbf , Leipzig, Mannheim, Munich Hbf , Nuremberg, Stuttgart. Typically open 07:00-21:00 daily, follow signs for DB Lounge , search int.bahn.de for opening times.
There are ÖBB Lounges at Vienna Hauptbahnhof , Vienna Meidling , Linz, Salzburg , Innsbruck , Graz & Klagenfurt.
These Austrian lounges are really useful because you can use them for up to 90 minutes before or after your journey with almost any type of 1st class ticket or with a ticket for any type of sleeper for Nightjet or EuroNight trains and with a 1st class Eurail or Interrail pass.
There's one exception: You can use the lounge with a 1st class DB Sparpreis or Flexpreis fare, but not with a Super Sparpreis fare.
Typically open 06:00-21:00, for details see www.oebb.at & search for ÖBB Lounge . Tea, coffee, soft drinks, snacks & free WiFi available.
Budapest & Hungary
Budapest Keleti has an excellent business lounge on platform 9 , open 06:00-21:30 daily. This lounge is really useful as it can be used by anyone with a 1st class international ticket to, from or via Budapest, or a single or double sleeper ticket, or a 1st class Eurail or Interrail pass with a reservation for a train that day. Unfortunately, there's no lounge at Budapest Deli or Budapest Nyugati.
Prague & the Czech Republic
CD (Czech Railways) has a lounge at Prague Hlavni with newspaper and free WiFi, but it's also open to 2nd class passengers with tickets for the higher categories of train such as EuroCity and SuperCity so it's more upmarket waiting room than 1st class lounge. The excellent Fantova Kavárna upstairs in the historic station hall makes a better VIP waiting lounge for the price of a cup of coffee.
PKP Intercity used to have poorly-advertised lounges at Warsaw Centralna & Krakow Glowny , but strangely closed them in 2014 due to lack of users.
Copenhagen & Denmark
DSB Danish Railways have DSB1 lounges for first class passengers at Copenhagen , Aarhus and Odense. Open Monday-Friday only. Passengers with 1st class tickets for SJ trains to Stockholm or Intercity trains to Germany can also use it. For details search www.dsb.dk and use Google Translate.
Stockholm & Sweden
SJ have a first class lounge at both Stockholm Central & Gothenburg Central open to all first class ticket holders It's open Monday-Friday only morning until mid-evening, for details see www.sj.se .
Travelling overnight
Sleeper trains are a time-effective and romantic way to travel. Huge distances can be covered while you sleep, using less daytime time than flying and often saving a hotel bill, too.
Forget about first and second class on sleeper trains, these terms become misleading. The real classes on an overnight train are seat, couchette and sleeper. In fact, all accommodation on nightjet sleeper trains is now technically 2nd class, even a deluxe single-bed sleeper with shower. Although some operators still require a 1st class ticket for a single-bed sleeper.
Incidentally, trains don't have sterns or bows or port or starboard as they are not a ship. They also don't have cabins , the correct term has always been a sleeper or couchette compartment .
Click for sleeper & couchette car berth numbering plans , this answers the typical worry We have berths 21 & 25, are we in the same 2-berth compartment? Yes, you are!
...in a sleeping-car
A sleeping-car is the equivalent of a hotel : A cosy bedroom, with comfortable beds, washbasin, and room service. Sleepers come in 1, 2 & 3 berth varieties, depending on the route, whether you have a 1st or 2nd class ticket, and the price you want to pay. For the daytime parts of a journey, the beds fold away to reveal a sofa.
If you are travelling alone and don't want to pay for a 1st class single room, you can normally book just one berth in a 2 or 3-berth room and share with other passengers of the same gender (though this is currently not possible in Italian domestic sleepers).
In addition to the normal lock, sleeper compartments have a security lock which cannot be opened from outside even with a staff key, so you'll be both safe and snug. The most modern sleepers now have CCTV in the corridor, too.
On most sleeper train routes there are inclusive fares covering travel, sleeper & breakfast. If you have an Interrail or Eurail pass, you can look up the additional cost of a sleeper on the Interrail & Eurail reservations page .
For more detailed information about what to expect when travelling by sleeper, see the Travelling by Sleeping-car or Couchette page or the information about specific sleeper trains, including:
- Nightjet sleeper trains linking Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland.
- Prague to Krakow sleeper train .
...in a couchette
A couchette is rail's answer to a youth hostel or pensione: Economical and comfortable, it's an ordinary seating compartment for 4 or 6 people by day, with fold-out padded bunks for 4 or 6 people by night, each with sheet, rug & pillow which you arrange yourself. Male and female passengers normally share the same compartment (although there are 'ladies only' compartments on most routes), and apart from removing shoes & jackets, passengers do not normally undress.
A berth in a 6-berth couchette compartment costs around €20-€27 per berth per night, in addition to a 2nd class ticket or railpass. A berth in a less-crowded 4-berth couchette compartment costs around €30-€37 per berth per night, in addition to a 2nd class ticket or railpass.
In addition to the normal lock, couchette compartments have a security lock or chain which cannot be opened from outside, even with a staff key, so you'll be quite safe. 1st class couchettes (4 berths per compartment) are rare, they pretty much only exist in on the few remaining French domestic overnight trains .
There's more detailed information about what to expect when travelling by couchette on the Travelling by Couchette or Sleeping-car page . For more specific information, if your journey involves a nightjet, see the nightjet sleeper train page . If your journey involves a French domestic Intercité de Nuit overnight train, see the Intercités de Nuit page .
...in a seat
Although it's the cheapest option, travelling overnight in an ordinary seat is a false economy. It's not recommended however tight your budget, either for comfort or security, unless there's no other option. There's no lock on the compartment door, and no staff on duty. Think of it as the equivalent (almost!) of sleeping in a shop doorway. Always budget for at least the couchette supplement for a comfortable night's journey.
How early to be at the station?
There are some exceptions . Major Italian stations now have a simple manual ticket check between concourse and platform circulating area. In France some major stations have automatic ticket gates when boarding long-distance trains, scan the barcode on your ticket and they open, they're work until 2 minutes before departure. But it's still nothing like air travel.
Train composition posters
Is there passport control before boarding, how long to allow for connections , it takes just minutes to change trains, if your onward train is a local one, if your onward train is all-reserved, if your onward train is a sleeper, if connecting out of a sleeper.
Example You're catching the Cologne-Munich sleeper train, due to arrive in Munich at 07:10. There are onward connections to Salzburg at 07:25 and 09:30, both with cheap fares available which are only valid on whichever specific train you choose. Online systems and the European Rail Timetable suggest the 07:25. But is this a safe connection? No, it isn't. Even this excellent sleeper train can arrive 20, 40 or 60 minutes late, and it pays to be on the safe side. In this case I'd recommend booking the 09:30 and having a leisurely breakfast in Munich.
Through ticket or separate tickets?
Recommended connection times when changing stations in paris, travel tips, what happens if you miss a connection, if things go wrong ..., here's what you should know.
With a through ticket the international conditions of carriage (CIV) give you a cast-iron legal entitlement to travel on by later trains if a delay means a missed connection, so tight connections aren't necessarily a problem.
However, through tickets no longer exist for many journeys and you'll often be given separate tickets for each train. Unfortunately, CIV protection only applies to connections within each ticket, not between tickets.
The good news is that rail staff will usually help you out if there's a delay, as connections between separate tickets and different operators are often covered by the Agreement for Journey Continuation (AJC) or RailTeam/HOTNAT , which I explain below.
If you miss a connection
If you are on a delayed Eurostar and you realise you're going to miss your onward connection, Eurostar train managers carry a HOTNAT / CIV stamp and will endorse your ticket. They may walk through the train helping people with connections, or may announce that they are available in a particular car. Similarly, staff on other European trains can usually endorse or stamp your ticket if their train is delayed.
Tip: If crossing Paris by metro, buy a metro ticket in the Eurostar cafe-bar car to save vital minutes, you might still make your connection.
It's good to be aware of your rights under the international conditions of carriage or CIV and its limitations, and of AJC & HOTNAT .
An example... I was travelling from London to Bordeaux on a Eurostar running 40 minutes late. It looked like I would miss my connection in Paris, and naturally my onward ticket was train-specific & non-changeable! An announcement was made that the train manager was in the bar car to help passengers with connections. He stamped my ticket and told me to go to the ticket office at Paris Montparnasse to get myself rebooked on a later train. In the event, I bought a metro ticket from the Eurostar cafe-bar to save time at the metro station (important tip!), I walked to the front of the train as we approached Paris, I had allowed a little more than the recommended minimum 60 minutes to cross Paris in any case, and I made my connection!
If you miss a Eurostar due to a delayed train
If you miss a connection in brussels, your rights: civ conditions of carriage.
Unfortunately, this CIV missed connection protection only applies within a single contract for carriage, in other words, within one ticket.
If you have a through ticket from A to C changing at B, your connection at B is protected if there's a delay.
But if you have a ticket from A to B and a separate ticket from B to C, your connection at B is not protected by the CIV as this is two separate contracts for carriage and CIV does not apply between contracts. These days, many journeys have to be made using separate tickets.
For example, there are no through tickets between London and Germany, so if you book a journey from London to Berlin, even as one transaction on one website, you'll get a London-Brussels Eurostar ticket and a separate Brussels-Berlin DB (German Railways) ticket. This is two separate contracts for carriage and CIV does not protect you for a missed connection in Brussels, between the two tickets.
The CIV were written when through tickets were the norm for almost all European journeys, these days many through journeys have to be made using multiple tickets. Frankly, the CIV are no longer fit for purpose. I have spoken at the EU Parliament in Brussels on the subject!
Railteam & HOTNAT
Agreement on journey continuation ( ajc ).
The signatories to the AJC are:
SNCF (French Railways), DB (German Railways), ÖBB (Austrian Railways), Trenitalia (Italian Railways), Renfe (Spanish Railways), SBB (Swiss Federal Railways), BLS (Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway), CD (Czech Railways), SNCB (Belgian Railways), NS (Dutch Railways), CFL (Luxembourg Railways), DSB (Danish Railways), SJ (Swedish Railways), SZ (Slovenian Railways), ZSSK (Slovakian Railways).
Eurostar signed up to the AJC in 2023, as did MAV (Hungarian Railways), PKP (Polish Railways), HZPP (Croatian Railways) & European Sleeper .
The AJC doesn't currently cover some open-access operators such as Italo, Westbahn, Regiojet, Leo Express.
To qualify for help under the AJC:
Both trains have to be run by signatories to the agreement.
You have to be making an international journey, not a domestic one.
You must have allowed reasonable period of time between trains, meaning at least the minimum applied by official journey planners.
You may need to get proof of the delay from the delayed operator, which they are obliged to give you.
Onward travel has to be on the same operator on the same route. It is either the station staff or the train manager for the onward train you gives you permission, you should ask at the interchange station.
Remember that the AJC is a commercial agreement between operators, it's not a passenger right you can claim. So politely remind staff about it if they don't seem to know about it.
A traveller's report
A traveller reports: "I got to my local station and there were no trains going anywhere! There had been an emergency that stopped all trains for half an hour or so in the early morning rush hour, just when I needed to get to London for the 8.30am Eurostar to Paris and TGV down to Toulon, with train-specific tickets all the way. So what do you do? I just went to the ticket office when I reached London - they had the emergency flagged up on their computer screens and just wrote me a docket/stamped and signed it and on I went. At St Pancras, I did the same - went to the Eurostar ticket office and they stamped the unused tickets, issued new ones and off I went. At Gare de Lyon, I went to the ticket office, showed them all the dockets, stamped, stapled and initialled tickets and again they just issued me a ticket for the next train."
Holidays & tours by train
Railbookers , railbookers.co.uk.
Railbookers can custom-make a holiday or short break by train to most European countries for you, with train travel & carefully-chosen hotels, for however long you like, leaving on any date you like. If you tell them what you want, they'll advise you on the best trains, routes & hotels and sort it all out for you. They look after their customers well and get a lot of repeat business, so I've no hesitation in recommending them.
Byway, byway.travel
Byway ( Byway.travel ) is a UK-based eco-holiday firm with a 5-star TrustPilot rating . If you're nervous about booking train travel yourself, they'll book European trips for you as a package including hotels, starting from any British station. Byway includes package protection, a 100% Covid refund guarantee, free disruption & re-planning and on-demand WhatsApp support while you're away.
To see pre-configured packages from the UK to various destinations, use the journey planner on their website .
Tip: First book a one-way outward journey to your destination city on your outward date. Then change the direction of the arrow and book an inward journey on your return date. The journey back to the UK can be from a different location if you like, for example if you plan to travel around a bit before your return to the UK.
Alternatively they can build a trip to your requirements, email them or use the contact form . Please say you heard about them from Seat 61.
Rail Discoveries , raildiscoveries.com
Great rail journeys , greatrail.com, general country guidebooks.
People sometimes think a guidebook is an unnecessary expense, but it's a tiny fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip. You will see and understand so much more if you have a decent guidebook. For the independent traveller, I think the best ones out there are either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide. Both guidebooks are excellent, and you won't regret buying one!
Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk or buy in the USA at Amazon.com
H otels in europe, backpacker hostels.
www.hostelworld.com : If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about the backpacker hostels. Hostelworld offers online booking of dorm beds or ultra-cheap private rooms in backpacker hostels in most European cities at rock-bottom prices.
Car hire comparison: www.carrentals.co.uk
The award-winning website www.carrentals.co.uk compares many different car hire companies including Holiday Autos. That means not only a useful price comparison, but a wider choice of hire and drop off location.
Travel insurance & other tips
Always take out travel insurance.
You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer. It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit. These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself. Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here . Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.
Get an eSIM with mobile data package
Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a European mobile data package and stay connected. Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list . There's no need to buy a physical SIM card! Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data .
Get a Curve card for foreign travel
Most banks give you a poor exchange rate then add a foreign transaction fee on top. A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this. The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards. And you can get a Curve card for free.
How it works: 1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android . 2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses. 3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card. 4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app. You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.
I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader. The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out). I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great. See details, download the app and get a Curve card , they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.
Get a VPN for safe browsing. Why you need a VPN
When travelling you may use free public WiFi which is often insecure. A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi. It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply. See VPNs & why you need one explained . ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using this link you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription. I also get some commission to help support this site.
Carry an Anker powerbank
Tickets, reservations, hotel bookings and Interrail or Eurail passes are often now held on your mobile phone. You daren't let it run out of power, and you can't always rely on the phone's internal battery or on being near a power outlet. I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over. Buy from Amazon.co.uk or Buy from Amazon.com .
Touring cities? Use hill walking shoes!
One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa. They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities. My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!
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Traveling to Europe? Book one of these new train trips.
Europe is in the midst of a great rail revival. An increased awareness of environmental issues , the many hassles of air travel and the mental effort required to drive long distances are all reasons for people to get back onto trains. European passenger numbers are on the rise again, if not quite at pre-pandemic levels .
In response, operators across the continent are investing in new services, tracks and special offers. And it’s only going to get better: Dozens of projects are in motion from the Baltic states to Portugal, with the European Union aiming to double high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and supporting “10 pilot projects to establish new rail services or improve existing ones” right now .
My family’s summer will involve a train journey from Paris to Barcelona, down the Rhône valley and along the Mediterranean coast, but you don’t have to travel at 200 miles an hour to get the best out of Europe’s rail network.
From slow trains to high-speed bargains, there are plenty of options if you’re traveling in Europe in the next few months.
1. New sleepers from Belgium and Sweden
The sleeper train revival is picking up speed. They seemed to be on the way out in 2016, when the government of France, their last stronghold, decided to cut funding for a number of services. Happily, many of those have since been restored, and other countries around Europe — most notably Austria, under the brand name Nightjet — are investing heavily in night trains.
This summer sees the debut of a service between Brussels and Berlin, two key political centers, run by a new company called European Sleeper . Customers can leave Brussels at 7:22 p.m. (or Amsterdam at 10:34 p.m.) on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and arrive in Berlin at 6:48 a.m. Return trips depart on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. There are three types of tickets, starting at $85: a seat, a bed in a six-berth compartment or a bed in a three-bed compartment.
Other night trains have also recently been introduced, such as Stockholm to Hamburg , which started in the fall, or Paris to Vienna , which began in 2021.
I’ve traveled on night trains from Paris to the south of France on a number of occasions. The experience is not luxurious, but it’s generally cheaper than the cost of a flight and a room — and the beds, while slim, are surprisingly comfortable. Be warned, though: The romance of trundling across Europe in the dead of night can make it hard to sleep.
2. German rail pass for $50 a month
Last summer Germany’s national rail company, Deutsche Bahn, offered monthly passes for the country’s huge network for under $10, a response to cost-of-living problems caused by a sharp rise in costs for electricity, food, heating and mobility. The success of that project has led to the introduction of the Deutschland-Ticket , which will cost around $50 a month and allow unlimited travel on all trains, buses and city subway services, with the exception of the most direct and speedy intercity services.
The possibilities are enticing. Beer lovers, for example, could travel from Düsseldorf to Cologne to Bamberg and onward to Munich, hopping off for distinctive local brews along the way. Those in search of scenery, meanwhile, might prefer the West Rhine Railway, stretching down the Rhine from Cologne in the north to Mainz.
One thing to remember: The Deutschland-Ticket is only available as a rolling, app-based subscription. British train expert Mark Smith, better known online as the Man in Seat 61, recommends canceling by the 10th of the month to avoid being charged for more than a month.
3. The first 100-mph locomotive, in the U.K.
Given locomotives are a British invention, the rail network in the United Kingdom can be a disappointment. Yes, it’ll get you where you need to go, eventually, but services are often late, and there’s only one high-speed line, used by Eurostar and domestic services, from London into the Kentish countryside. The current national debate over ongoing construction of HS2 (High Speed 2) offers a reason: NIMBY -ish attitudes tend to triumph over the greater good.
No wonder Britons are wont to retreat into the past for comfort. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the world’s first fully authenticated 100-mph passenger locomotive, the Flying Scotsman; as a result, a number of special excursions are planned. For those who can afford it, the Centenary Weekender looks like the most appealing trip, from London to York and then Edinburgh, followed by a jaunt up Scotland’s beautiful East Coast.
The Flying Scotsman may be unique, but Europe is full of historical interest. There’s another anniversary, too: The Wuppertal Schwebebahn , a remarkable suspension railway that continues to operate, was completed in 1903 . And then there’s the Beaux-Arts Canfranc Station, opened as the crossing point from Spain to France in 1928, which was revived as a hotel this year .
4. A $7 high-speed train in Spain
Budget services are increasingly common in Europe, but no one is moving so fast as Spain’s Avlo , which runs high-speed, low-cost trains between Madrid and Barcelona, with tickets starting around $7. The network is expanding: From the start of June , there’s a new route from the Spanish capital to Andalusia, taking in Cordoba, Seville and Malaga.
In France, there’s Ouigo , which provides high-speed and standard services from Paris to cities all around the country, including Bordeaux, Marseille and Strasbourg. The advantage of the standard service — which offers tickets starting around $11 — is that prices don’t change, so you can get a last-minute bargain. The U.K., too, has a low-cost service , from London to Edinburgh via Newcastle, although tickets are not always such good value.
5. New subway lines in Turkey and England
Few cities have seen such huge investment and rapid improvement in subway provision as Istanbul. Earlier this year, a line connecting Istanbul Airport to the city opened, while other new lines and extensions are entering service all the time. It’s a remarkable turnaround for a city that had virtually no underground transport until 1989.
It’s not the only capital to be investing in underground trains, though. The experience of visiting Copenhagen has been transformed by the 2019 opening of the City Circle Line . Since last summer, visitors arriving at London Heathrow can reach the city center, and much besides , far quicker courtesy of 2022’s Elizabeth Line.
Paris, meanwhile, is in the foothills of a significant expansion program, Grand Paris Express , which will provide new connections in the city’s long-neglected suburbs. You can expect to see those services start to come online next year, when Paris hosts the Olympics and when Metro Line 14 will be extended to Orly, Paris’s second-largest airport.
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The European Sleeper train is extending to these cities next month
The European Sleeper service, which connects London and Berlin via Brussels, will extend to Dresden and Prague next month
After years of announcements of new routes, Europe ’s night train revival is now in full swing. All across the continent, trains are providing a much more comfortable, eco-friendly and sometimes even cheaper alternative to planes.
One of the continent’s most exciting new rail projects is the new European Sleeper train, which launched a brand-new route between Brussels and Berlin last year ( we even tried it out ourselves ). And next month, the rail company is expanding its sleeper service even further, with a route that will link up two of Europe’s most culture-packed capitals ( Brussels and Prague ).
European Sleeper’s Brussels-Prague route is an extension of that Brussels-Berlin route. Currently, the ‘Good Night Train’ stops at Antwerp, Rotterdam , Amsterdam and Berlin; the new service will also stop at Dresden, Saxon Switzerland, and the Elbe Valley before arriving in Prague. The whole route is expected to take around 15 hours, leaving Brussels at 7:22pm and arriving in Prague at 10:56am the following day. Thanks to the Eurostar connection in Brussels, the journey from London to Prague will be doable with just one same-station change in the Belgian capital.
According to European Sleeper’s website, the prices for European Sleeper’s upcoming service will start at €129 (£110) for seats and couchettes, and €169 (£144.50) for sleeper carriages. Excitingly, Interrail tickets will be accepted on the company’s routes. Since July 1, 2023, Interrailers have been able to reserve seats, couchettes and beds on European Sleeper trains.
The new, extended European Sleeper route from Brussels to Prague will launch on March 25 – and you can book tickets now . The service will run twice a week initially, on Mondays and Wednesdays, but is expected to run daily from March 2025.
The start-up wants to eventually increase its Brussels-Berlin service to once per day (it currently runs three times per week) and it also intends to launch a service from Amsterdam all the way down to Barcelona , in 2025 or 2026.
Find out more on the official European Sleeper website here , then read about why there’s no better time than now to ditch planes for travelling over land and sea .
The revival of rail travel in Europe
It’s clear that major change is happening in how we travel, with many of us becoming more conscious about travelling sustainably. Choosing flight-free travel is one of the most impactful ways to become a more sustainable tourist , and Europe’s rail revival is making that easier than ever. Time Out has extensively covered Europe’s train travel renaissance, from the brand-new sleeper trains that have launched this year to new high-speed services .
And it’s not just about convenience: many European countries are ensuring train travel can be done affordably. Countries such as Germany , Portugal and France have launched budget-friendly monthly transport passes.
Did you see that a new rail project will slash journey times between these European cities ?
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Your Eurail travel map
Start planning your Eurail adventure here. You can see the average train travel times between all the big European cities in 33 countries on the train map below.
Train routes through 33 countries
The map below shows the bigger cities in Europe, to which cities they are connected and how long it takes to travel between them. It's an interactive map, so start clicking around and planning your trip!
Click on the train icons to see the cities of each country, and click on the routes (the lines in between 2 train icons) to see travel times. The green lines represent trains; the blue lines are ferries.
Please note that routes may change throughout the year. This map doesn’t show any (temporary) disruptions on the rail network; find more information on disruptions here .
Don't know where to start? Use our Trip Planner to find the best Eurail Pass for you!
Traveling with a eurail pass.
With a Eurail Pass you can travel in all countries on the Europe rail map above, now including Great Britain. Please note that most high-speed trains and all night trains need an advance reservation . These are not included in your Eurail Pass. We can help you book your seat reservations for 95% of the trains in Europe.
Travel times for 10 most popular routes
Check out the travel times between Europe's most popular cities. If you'd like to know more about a specific route, just visit our Popular Routes section .
Feel free to also play around with the Europe travel map above to see where else you could go with your Eurail Pass!
European itineraries
The Eurail railway map is a great resource for planning the perfect itinerary. Check out some examples of spectacular European itineraries you can experience with a Eurail Pass.
Follow one or more of our itineraries, or use parts of them to create your own. Planning your trip is half the fun, and with these itineraries, you get to see the very best of Europe!
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Indian train drivers in crash that killed 14 were watching cricket, minister says
Collision in Andhra Pradesh state in October took place as India played England during one-day World Cup
The drivers of a train that missed a signal and ploughed into another train, killing 14 people, were distracted because they were watching cricket on a phone, India’s railways minister has said.
The fatal collision in Andhra Pradesh state in October took place as hosts India played England during the one-day World Cup.
“The recent case in Andhra Pradesh happened because both the loco-pilot and co-pilot were distracted by the cricket match,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
“Now we are installing systems which can detect any such distraction and make sure that the pilots [train drivers] and the assistant pilots are fully focused on running the train.”
Hundreds of millions of cricket fans in India watched the live broadcast of the match, which the hosts won.
Separately, officials sacked the station master and three other employees after a runaway freight train travelled 40 miles (70km) without a driver last month, the Hindustan Times reported.
The men were removed from their posts for negligence after about 50 carriages barrelled on solo for almost two hours.
India has one of the world’s largest rail networks, and there have been several disasters over the years, the worst in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in Bihar state, killing an estimated 800 people. In June 2023, a three-train collision killed nearly 300 people in Odisha state.
India has been investing huge sums of money to upgrade the network with modern stations and electronic signalling systems.
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The top 10 fastest high-speed trains in Europe
Since the development of the TGV, high-speed rail on the continent has steadily expanded. But what are the fastest high-speed trains in Europe?
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Europe has a long history of high-speed trains, being an early adopter after the first high-speed rail system, the Tokaido Shinkansen, began operations in Japan. Since France’s TGV network began development in the 1970s, the European high-speed rail network has grown to its current size of over 20,500km in length, including the Eurostar on the channel tunnel and the Trans-Alpine link through the Gotthard tunnel, with a further 14,500km currently under construction.
Following the initial European services in France, high-speed rail lines eventually grew across the continent, with notable networks now operating in Germany, Spain , and Italy.
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Looking ahead to the future, high-speed rail is also a vital component of the great modal shift . As the world tries to transition to more sustainable forms of travel, high-speed trains offer the perfect answer to short-haul flights , given the vastly lower environmental impact.
Indeed, some countries are already introducing measures to incentivise choosing trains over planes, and capital investment also reflects the high-speed boom – half of the ten most expensive construction projects in 2023 were high-speed rail projects. So, with that in mind, here’s an updated rundown of the ten fastest high-speed trains currently in service in Europe right now, by operational speed.
10. RZD Sapsan: 250km/h (Russia)
The Sapsan, also known as the Velaro RUS EVS, is an electric high-speed train. The train is part of the Siemens Velaro family, regionally known as the Siemens Velaro RUS.
The Sapsan, which takes its name from the Russian word for ’Peregrine Falcon’, is a Russian Gauge trainset with a maximum operational speed of 250km/h. It is the fastest passenger train currently operating in Russia , with a non-operational record speed of 290km/h.
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Sapsan trains operate from Moscow to Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, as well as from Saint Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod. The 250m trainsets normally operate in 10-car configurations with a capacity of 600 passengers.
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Siemens suspended its contract to supply additional trainsets, as well as announcing it would end maintenance and other services, with Russian Railways stepping in to continue their maintenance. A Russian court later ruled that Siemens’ termination of the contracts was invalid .
9. SBB Giruno: 250km/h (Switzerland)
The RABe 501 is an electric-multiple unit high-speed train used by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), intended to replace the existing ETR610 models on the Trans-Alpine route from Milan to Basel and Zurich. SBB also intends to operate the RABe 501 – originally called the EC250 and later also called SMILE – on services further afield to Austria and Germany.
Built by Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler, the 11-car trainsets operate at a top speed of 200km/h in Switzerland and 250km/h outside of Switzerland. The Rabe 501, nicknamed ‘Giruno’ from the Romansch word for ‘Buzzard’, has a capacity of 403 passengers – 117 in first class and 286 in second class. Two of the 202m train sets can be coupled together to accommodate over 800 passengers.
The Giruno is also known as the ‘Gotthard train’ since its main route uses the 57km-long Gotthard Base Tunnel , the longest railway tunnel in the world, which bores through the Swiss Alps.
The Giruno hit a record speed of 275km/h in testing and, according to Stadler, it is the world’s first single-decker low-floor high-speed train, and allows for step-free access. The RABe 501 also features signal boosters for 3G/4G cellular phone networks, power sockets for Swiss and international plugs, and large luggage racks.
Outside of Europe, the Philippine National Railways Bicol Express EMUs will be based on the Gruno, and Saudi Arabia Railways has also signed a contract for the supply of 10 trains which look to be shorter-length diesel multiple unit variants of the RABe 250.
8. Renfe Pendolino: 250km/h (Spain)
The Avant network serves mid-distance routes with high-speed trains specifically designed for short journeys. Spain’s national operator Renfe uses Avant Class 104 and Avant Class 114 Pendolino trains on Avan routes, built by Spanish manufacturer Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) and France’s Alstom .
Avant Class 114, or S-114, trainsets comprise four single-voltage electric railcars, measuring 108m in total. Able to hit 250km/h, the Class 114 has a capacity of 237 seats per trainset, with only one accessible seat for passengers with reduced mobility per train The S-114 – an upgrade of the 104 models – features an indoor public address system and both outdoor and indoor display monitors. Carriages are equipped with independent air conditioning systems in the driver’s cab and passenger berths; reclining and adjustable seats, and four toilets – with one adapted to people with reduced mobility. The trains also feature luggage racks inside the passenger lounges, equipped with anti-theft protection, and overhead roof racks.
The Avant 114 trains operate on the Madrid–Segovia–Valladolid high-speed line, as well as on high-speed services from Madrid to Puertollano and from Barcelona to Lérida.
7. Renfe Talgo 250: 250km/h (Spain)
Alvia is Spanish operator Renfe’s second-fastest long-distance high-speed rail service. The route uses Talgo 250 rolling stock, with the newest iteration being the Renfe Class 730, or S-730, manufactured by Talgo and Bombardier in 2012.
The S-730s, nicknamed ‘Patitos’ in Spain from the native word for ‘ducklings’, are dual gauge, dual voltage, and hybrid trains. An updated variant of the Renfe Class 130, Patitos can operate using either electric or diesel power on both Standard and Iberian gauge railways, able to change gauge at low speed without stopping using Talgo’s RD variable gauge system.
Each 186m trainset can reach 250km/h and comprises 13 cars – two electric power cars, two diesel-power cars, and nine Talgo VII tilting passenger coaches with a total of 265 seats. The passenger coaches are divided into six second-class coaches, two first-class coaches, and a dining car.
The Patitos operate on Alia routes where sections are not electrified, thanks to their hybrid-power configuration, including high-speed services from Madrid to Coruña, Ferrol, Vigo, Pontevedra, Lugo, and Badajoz.
6. Eurostar Velaro: 300km/h (France/UK/Belgium/Netherlands)
The British Rail Class 374, also referred to as the Eurostar e320, is an electric multiple-unit passenger train used on Eurostar services. The sixteen-car trains, which have a capacity of 900 passengers, operate across the Eurostar network on services from London to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam.
The e320 is part of the Velaro family, built by Siemens at its Krefeld facility in Germany. With a traction power of 16,000kW, the Eurostar e320 has a maximum operating speed of 320km/h. It uses eight identical but independent traction converter units and 64 axles, of which 32 are driven. Its traction system is designed to operate on 25kV AC and 1.5kV/3kV DC voltage systems.
Entering service in 2015 , the Eurostar e320 is equipped with a regenerative braking system, a rheostatic brake system, and a pneumatic brake system. It is also fitted with special fire extinguishing equipment and fireproof doors and is designed to be operable for 30 minutes using its onboard power to exit a tunnel in the event of a fire – particularly necessary as Eurostar services travel through the channel tunnel.
The Eurostar e320 roof is equipped with eight pantographs for dealing with Europe’s different power systems and contact line types across the Eurostar network.
5. Italo AGV: 300km/h (Italy)
Built by Alstom, the first customer for the AGV (from the French Automotrice à grande vitesse) was Italian open-access operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori (NTV), trading under the name Italo in the country. The AGV 575 is a non-tilting, electric multiple-unit train that can reach 360 km/h and has an operational speed of up to 300 km/h.
Privately-owned NVT uses 25 AGV 575 trains across many of its routes in Italy, including the Turin–Milan–Bologna, Rome–Venice, and Bologna–Florence–Rome–Naples routes. The AGV 575 entered service in April 2012 and was touted at the time as the most modern train in Europe, with 98% of its components recyclable, and its lifecycle cost and electric consumption 15% less than that of close rivals.
The AGV is powered by the Onix traction system , which comprises 6.5kV IGBT power modules, a 3,600v power bus, and permanent magnet motors. The traction system is integrated below the body shell of the cars, which saves space and enables it to carry 20% more passengers. Each motor axle is powered by an individual Onix power inverter.
Built at Alstom facilities in Savigliano, Italy and La Rochelle, France, the seven-car trains operated by Italo are 132m long, and the eleven-car configuration measures 200m. The AGV features large interior compartments, wide gangways, large window surfaces and an HVAC system. Passenger facilities include Wi-Fi, onboard internet and live television. A 39-seat cinema car on the train provides entertainment to the passengers onboard.
4. Trenitalia Frecciarossa: 300km/h (Italy)
Italian state railway operator Trenitalia’s ETR1000, or Frecciarossa, was by Alstom and Hitachi Rail as a joint venture . The newest version of the ‘Red Arrow’ after the ETR500, the ETR1000 is also operating on Spanish railways. Private high-speed rail operator Iryo also uses 20 S109 trainsets on its routes, which are derived from the ETR1000.
Trenitalia operates 200 metre-long eight-car non-articulated ETR1000 trains with the capacity to seat 457 passengers and an engineered maximum speed of 400km/h.
In operation, the trains reach speeds of 300km/h but one ETR1000 set reached 389km/h during testing in 2015. 50 trainsets were built, but one is currently out of operation following the Livraga derailment .
3. Renfe AVE: 310km/h (Spain)
Spanish national railway company Renfe uses the Renfe Class 103 for its AVE high-speed service . Also known as Series 103 or S103, the trains are manufactured by Siemens under the Velaro family.
26 trainsets with a capacity to seat 404 passengers operate at a top speed of 310 km/h on the 621km Madrid–Barcelona railway. An S103 reached a record top speed of 403.7km/h during testing in 2016, a record speed in Spain.
The 8-car configuration that Renfe operates comprises two identical four-coach half-trains. Each section has an independent power system, apart from a high voltage line that runs along the entire length of the train and the active pantograph.
The end coaches contain both passenger seating and the driver’s cab, with a glass screen separating them. This gives passengers the opportunity to see the same view as the driver – however, the driver can set the screen to opaque if required.
2. SCNCF TGV: 320km/h (France)
Initially running on Europe’s first high-speed railway in France, the Train à Grande Vitesse, or TGV, has repeatedly broken records for top speeds since its initial development.
The current record was set in 2007 when a Modified TGV POS reached a speed of 574.8kh/h, the current world record. The Alstom-manufactured trains are mainly operated by the French national railway SNCF , the TGV Duplex, Réseau, POS, and Euroduplex models operate at a top speed of 320km/h.
The newest model, the TGV-M, was unveiled in 2021 . SNCF has placed an order for 100 trains for €2.7bn, expected to enter service in 2024 with a proposed ability to operate at 350km/h.
1. DB ICE: 350km/h (Germany)
The Intercity-Express 3, or ICE 3, is a family of high-speed electric multiple-unit trains. The ICE 3 is operated mainly by Deutsche Bahn (DB), but also by Dutch Railway operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS).
The flagship of high-speed rail in Germany, the trains are manufactured by Siemens and Bombardier. ICE 3 trainsets also operate on cross-border routes to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The trains operate at 320km/h in Germany but the class 403 is also authorised to run at 330km/h on the high-speed line between Frankfurt and Cologne if required. Class 403 and 406 trains have recorded top speeds of 368km/h during testing.
Click here to read our list of the fastest high-speed trains in the world.
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Initially running on Europe's first high-speed railway in France, the Train à Grande Vitesse, or TGV, has repeatedly broken records for top speeds since its initial development. The current record was set in 2007 when a Modified TGV POS reached a speed of 574.8kh/h, the current world record.
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