Train Travel in Europe

Train Travel in Europe

Train travel map

The Travelerโ€™s Handbook to European Railroads

(or: How to Cross a Continent Without Losing Your Sanity)

Why Trains and Not Planes?

Airports are fineโ€ฆ if you enjoy early wake-ups, removing your shoes in public, and arguing with security about whether your toothpaste is โ€œdangerous.โ€ But in Europe, trains often beat planes hands down: stations are downtown, thereโ€™s no security theater, and you get to watch castles, vineyards, and cows roll by instead of clouds. Plus, you can bring wine on board without hiding it in your sock.


Meet the Rail Royalty

Every country has its own train overlords, each with their quirks:

  • Germany โ€“ Deutsche Bahn (DB): Legendary for speed and delays. If your train is on time, buy a lottery ticket. โ€“ www.bahn.com
  • France โ€“ SNCF/TGV: Fast, sleek, and strikes often enough to keep life exciting. โ€“ www.sncf-connect.com
  • Italy โ€“ Trenitalia & Italo: Stylish, affordable, and sometimes more dramatic than a soap opera (platform changes at the last second are an Olympic sport). โ€“ www.trenitalia.com | www.italotreno.it
  • Spain โ€“ Renfe (AVE): The trains are as fast as the tapas are tasty. โ€“ www.renfe.com
  • Switzerland โ€“ SBB: Punctual to the minute. If they say 12:07, they mean 12:07. Germans look at Swiss trains and whisper, โ€œWow.โ€ โ€“ www.sbb.ch
  • Austria โ€“ ร–BB: Comfortable, cheap-ish, and home of the excellent Nightjet sleeper trains. โ€“ https://www.oebb.at

For cross-border bragging rights, youโ€™ve also got:

  • Eurostar (London โ€“ Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam in a tunnel under the sea) โ€“ www.eurostar.com
  • Thalys (Paris โ€“ Amsterdam โ€“ Cologne, merging into Eurostar soon) โ€“ www.thalys.com
  • Railjet (connecting Austriaโ€™s heart to neighboring gems) โ€“ www.oebb.at

High-Speed or Slow and Scenic?

  • High-Speed Trains: These are your continent-hopping bullets, zooming at 300 km/h. Paris to Lyon in two hours? Easy. Madrid to Barcelona in three? Done. Just book earlyโ€”prices rise faster than the trains move.
  • Regional Trains: Slower, cheaper, and perfect for spontaneous adventures. Want to hop off in a random village because you spotted a castle? Regional trains are your best bet. They rarely require reservations, and sometimes theyโ€™re free entertainment (imagine Italian grandmas gossiping louder than the trainโ€™s engine).

Tickets, Passes, and Other Ways to Confuse Yourself

  1. Point-to-Point Tickets
    Buy for a specific journey. Great if youโ€™re only going A โ†’ B. Just donโ€™t expect last-minute bargains on high-speed routesโ€”Paris to Zurich bought on the day can cost more than a small car.
  2. Eurail/Interrail Passes
    • Eurail = for non-Europeans
    • Interrail = for Europeans
      Think of them as all-you-can-eat buffets for trains. You choose how many โ€œtravel daysโ€ you want in a month. Perfect if your travel style is โ€œLetโ€™s see where the next train goes!โ€
      Warning: Some trains still demand seat reservations, which can feel like being invited to an exclusive clubโ€”except you pay a few euros instead of wearing fancy shoes.
  3. Seat Reservations
    On French TGVs, Spanish AVEs, or Italian Frecciarossas, theyโ€™re mandatory. On regional German trains, no one caresโ€”you can sit next to the bathroom door if you want.

Border Crossings: So Easy, Itโ€™s Suspicious

Thanks to the Schengen Agreement, traveling between most European countries is as simple as crossing the street. No passport checks, no visa stampsโ€”just a gentle shift in the train announcements. Youโ€™re in Belgium, then suddenly the announcements are in Dutch, then French, then both at once, and then you give up and look at the icons on the signs.


Night Trains: Beds on Wheels

Europe is reviving the romance of the night train. With ร–BB Nightjet and other services, you can go to bed in Vienna and wake up in Venice, all while avoiding hotel costs. Cabins range from โ€œcozy couchette with snoring strangersโ€ to โ€œprivate sleeper with chocolate on the pillow.โ€ Pro tip: if you want the latter, book earlyโ€”everyone else has the same idea.


Scenic Routes Worth Missing a Flight For

  • Glacier Express (Switzerland): Slow, pricey, but jaw-droppingly beautiful. Itโ€™s basically Instagram on rails.
  • Bergen Line (Norway): Fjords, mountains, and probably snow, even in July.
  • West Highland Line (Scotland): Hogwarts Express vibes. Donโ€™t forget your butterbeer.
  • Cinque Terre Local Train (Italy): Not โ€œscenicโ€ in the Swiss sense, but youโ€™ll hop between seaside villages while tourists battle for gelato.

Tips for Surviving European Train Life

  1. Pack Light: Youโ€™ll thank yourself when youโ€™re sprinting to platform 14 with 3 minutes to spare.
  2. Validate Tickets: In Italy, France, and elsewhere, unstamped paper tickets are as useful as Monopoly money.
  3. Snacks: Bring your own. Dining cars exist, but a โ‚ฌ7 sandwich tastes better when you bought it for โ‚ฌ2 at the station bakery.
  4. Mind the Strikes: France and Italy, in particular, enjoy a good transport strike. Always have a Plan B (or C).
  5. Donโ€™t Panic About Delays: Trains run late sometimes. But heyโ€”if youโ€™re stuck in Cologne, thereโ€™s always beer.

A Sample Interrail Itinerary

Want to feel like a seasoned rail traveler in two weeks? Try this:

  • Day 1โ€“3: Paris (croissants, Eiffel Tower, obligatory TGV ride)
  • Day 4โ€“5: Amsterdam (take Thalys/Eurostar, eat fries with mayo)
  • Day 6โ€“7: Berlin (night train or ICE, history and hipster cafes)
  • Day 8โ€“10: Prague & Vienna (cheap beer, classical music, palaces galore)
  • Day 11โ€“13: Venice & Florence (yes, Trenitalia is late, but the pizza forgives everything)
  • Day 14: Zurich (end with Swiss punctuality, chocolate, and mountains).

Final Thought

European rail travel is equal parts practical and poetic. You get from A to B, yesโ€”but you also watch landscapes shift, languages change, and cultures unfold, all without ever removing your belt at a metal detector. If you travel smart, pack light, and embrace a little unpredictability, the European train network will deliver more than just transport: itโ€™s the journey itself that becomes the story.

๐Ÿš† Train Tickets and Passes (with Links)

Point-to-Point Tickets

Rail Passes

Seat Reservations & Specialty Booking