“I want to see the Alps by train, so I’ve the booked a ride south from Berne into Italy,” said Margot. We didn’t have the heart to tell her that a big chunk of the 90-minute run from the Swiss capital south to Domodossola in Italy is through tunnels. Of course, there is a lot » Read more
Train: Budget Travel Guide
Today is being called “Black Tuesday” here in France, the first day of three months of scheduled train strikes. The strikes, or “grèves”, have already caused chaotic scenes in train stations around the country, as commuters, intercity travelers and tourists grapple with how to get to their destinations. The train strikes, however, have at least » Read more
Getting from London to Amsterdam is about to get a lot easier. Eurostar is kicking off a brand-new route connecting these two European hubs with direct service starting on April 4th. Traveling at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour, this high-speed train journey under the English Channel will make traveling between the UK » Read more
Here’s an oddity that we came across today while booking train tickets on the TGV for our upcoming two-week trip to France: First class train tickets for our journey were actually cheaper than the second class tickets. But here’s the catch: By default, the SNCF website (the official French railway website, which is the only » Read more
EuroCheapo Flash: Eurostar has just announced €39 one-way tickets between Paris and London for summer 2016 travel. Planning to take the journey this summer? Book it now through the SNCF to get this sale fare. But don’t delay, as the sale fare has been limited to 100,000 passengers. Related: See all flash deals on European » Read more
Good news for Cheapos planning to take the train in France: The SNCF offers a “Best Price Calendar” that makes it simple to find and book cheap TGV tickets for your trip. But first, a quick reminder: Book your tickets in advance through the official site of the French railway, the SNCF. Why book through » Read more
Train operators across Europe have been under intense pressure from both low-cost flights and budget bus service in recent years. Cheap flights between European destinations have been very easy to come by for nearly two decades now, since the European low-budget airline craze took off in the 1990s. More recently, Germany started loosening rules on how bus companies » Read more
Heading from the Paris region to the south of France this summer? Now’s the time to snag the cheapest train tickets of the season, as Ouigo, France’s low-cost high-speed train, released 100,000 tickets for summer travel today for €10. Book early, as the price will increase once these ultra-cheapo seats disappear. As I mentioned in » Read more
It’s the moment cheapo French rail travelers have been waiting for. Tickets have just gone on sale for summer 2014 travel on Ouigo, the low-cost high-speed train service that operates between suburban Paris and eight destinations in southeastern France. Tickets are on sale now for travel between July 6 and December 9, 2014. And these » Read more
The decision last summer of the global travel business Thomas Cook to discontinue publication of its celebrated European Rail Timetable after 140 years was a mighty blow to rail travelers across Europe. However web-wise and connected a traveler may be, there is simply no substitute for a good printed timetable in revealing the overall pattern » Read more
Finding your way around Britain’s famously complicated maze of rail tariffs isn’t easy—and the challenge is all the greater for visitors with only a hazy knowledge of the various rail operators and the multiplicity of permitted routes between any two cities. But for those in the know, there are some superb deals to be found. » Read more
Strolling through St Pancras station in London, jumping on a Eurostar train and ending up in Paris just a few hours later has quickly become a common luxury for travelers between the UK and France. Well get ready rail fans, because an enticing new high-speed route is about to launch in two of our favorite » Read more
Planning to take the high-speed train in France anytime soon? Take a moment to understand which trains are available for your journey, and book those tickets as early as possible in order to snag the best deal. The importance of booking in advance was underscored to us yesterday when we received an email from the » Read more
With summer slipping slowly into fall, our thoughts turn to night trains. For many journeys across Europe, night trains make perfect sense — and as the evenings draw in, there is more good cause to hop aboard a train and snooze one’s way across Europe. Do note a common misunderstanding. Just because a train styles » Read more
In Belgium, Thalys is one of the strongest rail brands. With their bold red styling and chic contours, Thalys trains make a very visible addition to the national railscape. But Thalys also serves three other countries: the Netherlands, France and Germany. Thalys is one of those quintessential European brands — very grounded and yet very » Read more
There are some journeys worth making for their own sake. And others which merely bridge an essential gap from A to B. Many rail journeys to Berlin from nearby European capitals are often seen by seasoned travelers as more in the latter category. There is little by way of dramatic scenery in the region. Travelers » Read more
It is no surprise that, when Eurostar started operations, it immediately became the preferred option for business and leisure travelers heading from London to Paris. Almost 20 years later, the airlines cling to a small residual share of the market between the two capitals — flights are nowadays favored mainly by travelers who are making » Read more
Train stations are just like airports. Some are great spots for making connections, others make that change of train (or plane) rather less memorable. Change trains in Cologne and, even with just a dozen minutes between trains, you have a strong sense of having experienced something of Cologne. The German city’s landmark cathedral towers over » Read more
Eurostar is the slick train service that has for almost 20 years provided a reliable high-speed link between London and two capital cities on the continent: Paris and Brussels. Fair fares and high speed With adult return fares from London to Brussels and Paris currently available from £59 return, budget-conscious British travelers are well aware » Read more
Like us, you are probably already planning rail trips for 2013. Our New Year resolutions are to remember the slow train (always much more fun than the high-speed services) and give time to those smaller communities through which we have so often passed but which we have never taken time to explore. Europe at speed » Read more
We’ve already published many articles on the subject of booking train tickets in Europe, most of them by our go-to rail experts, the team at hidden europe magazine. I was reminded of their advice earlier this week when trying to find (and book) train tickets from Avignon, in the south of France, to Florence, Italy » Read more
For travelers well used to booking their European rail tickets months in advance, this time of the year can be frustrating. Following the general precept that many train tickets can be booked three months in advance, you’d have every reason to expect that tickets for Christmas and early January are just now becoming available. New » Read more
One of the questions we are often asked is “where do you recommend buying train tickets for journeys from Britain to the Continent?” The good news is that there are many vendors with which we have had very positive experiences in buying tickets (single or return) for journeys that originate in Great Britain. And our » Read more
“I really had to cover a lot of miles to make sure I got good value from my Eurail pass.” We’ve heard comments like that often, and you surely have, too. It is a refrain uttered by folk as they return home from a manic dash around Europe, sometimes even covering seven capitals in as » Read more
The European Commission, the Strasbourg Parliament and the Council of Europe have all done their bit to help shape Europeans’ perceptions of their shared continent. But, for many Europeans of a certain age, it was an innovation in rail ticketing 40 years ago this summer that did more than any institution to forge their views » Read more
