Train Travel in Europe – An unforgettable experience
Europe has endeared itself to us with its charm and elegance whenever we have had the opportunity of travelling there. We have always been bowled over by its natural beauty and old world charm which has a dreamlike quality. Europe for us has always been a beautiful and ethereal dream.
But this post is not an ode to the beauty of Europe but rather a paean to the excellent Rail network that connects the cities and countries of Europe. You can travel from easily from Zurich to France to Venice to Amsterdam in the comfort of these beautiful carriers which transport you over the lush European countryside and across snow clad mountains.
The fact that the Schengen Visa allows one to travel to 22 countries in the EU makes the travel by Rail hassle free.
In our last trip to Europe, we covered most of Switzerland, Paris and Venice in a space of 5 days thanks to RailEurope which is a distributor of European rail products representing over 50 railroads throughout Europe.
We had conveniently booked our tickets online well in advance in our local currency (INR) and had the tickets couriered to us. We had opted for a multi-country pass for 5 days and this proved very economical and convenient to us as we moved across Switzerland from Zurich to Lucerne and Interlaken marveling at the natural beauty of the land. One word of caution here is that the pass is not valid on the Mountain trains for which one needs to take tickets separately. We also travelled from Zurich to Venice and from Venice to Paris and again back to Zurich on the TGV.
We travelled first class and the coaches were pretty much empty with impeccable interiors and service. The train travel itself was an experience we would never forget as we looked out at verdant meadows, snowy landscapes, we did not fail to admire the Swiss watch precision of the trains as they ran like clockwork.
We would like to go back again and again to Europe and every time we do that we shall board one of the European beauties (read train).
We would recommend hassle free and comfortable travel by train to all travelers, check out the following sites for more information:
You can check out RailEurope.
You can also watch our short video about Swiss Trains. If you liked this post, you can check our other post – The enduring romance of trains. We recommend you to check out our fellow bloggers’ post on itinerary and costs here and choosing a Eurail pass here.
True, travelling with train is like a little miracle!
True, it is so convenient especially in Europe
Did you find it cost effective? We haven’t travelled cross country via train, in Europe yet and I wonder how it compares to car etc?
We took the pass for 3 countries and found it cost effective. We have not tried car though.
We might do a train pass next time and see how it goes. I like the idea of no driving!
Yes, it will be a good idea to sit back, relax and enjoy! 🙂
Exactly!
I have heard so many good things about the train travel in Europe. I love the fact that they have the sleeper trains to be able to travel where you need to, while you sleep so as not to waste sightseeing time!
True. We have traveled in both the day as well as night trains. While it was scenic and enjoyed every moment of the journey in the day trains, the night trains made us sleep comfortably and relax. 🙂
That’s one of my dream things to do in Europe. I love and fancy its transport system. I wish I could do it this year.
You should definitely travel in train in Europe Jessica. It is a wonderful experience! 🙂
So true. I love train-travelling through Europe. For me it is so much better than flying or driving a car, since you get to sit down and enjoy the way without the hassle of airports and with much more comfortable seats 🙂
We always try to use the trains when we travel.
I agree Orli. Especially in Europe the trains are very convenient and looking out of the window in a relaxed seat is such an experience all seasons.
I love travelling by train! Nice and slow and you get to take in all the scenery…
Absolutely correct Danika.
What a cool experience I’ve always wanted to try!
Do plan and do the train travel in Europe. It is a lovely experience!
I love to travel by train! I did inter-railing in Europe years ago but never made it to Switzerland, it looks beautiful!.
Thanks Christine. 🙂 Train travel especially between Switzerland and Italy is simply beautiful!
I want to go on more train trips! Thanks for sharing. Pinning it onto my train travels board 🙂
You will definitely love it Sarah! Thanks for pinning. 🙂
I love travelling by train in Europe. But sometimes… Meh. I once did 13 hours Berlin to London. Frankly I preferred the 36 hour Hyderabad to Varanasi…tea was better and there was samosa 🙂
Haha.. I can imagine! 🙂
I did my own interrailing trip, but I didn’t get to go through Switzerland…I’ll need to visit!
Ok, you should then plan a rail trip between Switzerland and Italy. It is worth it.
I love this. I agree that the network is incredible. We did learn the hard way though about reservations on certain routes… who’ve thought?
Yes, we do experience certain glitches on the road but when we look back it becomes a part of our travel story!
The train is great in Europe. I however made the mistake of thinking it would also be great in Vietnam- nothing like Europe’s trains! I wish the USA and Australia had better train travel.
I agree. Trains in Europe are the best and wish we find such trains in other places too.
We have yet to make it to Europe, but when we do we will definitely see it by train!
Yes, you should definitely travel by train in Europe Shelly.
We’ve only used trains for short rides in Spain, France, and Italy. But it was fun, and a great way to travel. It would be wonderful to take a month or more and really explore Europe by train!
I love traveling through Europe by train! One of my most memorable experiences has to be riding amongst the swiss mountains. It was like a live show of stunning scenery.
If there is the best place to do train travel, definitely Europe. I’ve train travelled Asia, but Europe just topped it off for me. So much landscape and amazing out of this world nature’s beauty!
Train travel in Europe I feel is the best. Better than Asia and you are right Europe has amazing landscape and beauty of nature.
It has always been my desire to explore Europe on a train, rewarding my eyes with an enchanting beauty that the nature has in store.
I am gonna do this on my next EU venture.
Dream way of traveling! Train is one of the best things I love about Europe. Yoou might have a pectacular feeling in seeing the Alps! 🙂
Yes, it is so nice and comfy. Looking at the Alps from the windows is breathtaking!
I have heard traveling by train is the best way to experience Europe. But isn’t it very expensive? I’m visiting Europe for three months in summer and I haven’t booked a single train because I can’t afford! Do you have any tips to save money?
Trains are the best in Europe. It is convenient and it affordable if you buy train passes for more than 3 countries. Check Rail Europe site. It is in our site too on the right hand navigation bar.
Train is definitely the best way to travel in Europe!
Agree.
One of greatest dreams – To visit Europe and explore it via train. The view, comfort and experience would be definitely first class. I can’t wait for that day to come 🙂
It is definitely amazing and you will love it.
Looks like you had a great trip! My bucket list is full of cities and sites in Europe, so I’ve written the rail down as a recommended way to get around – whenever “someday” comes and my travel dreams become reality.
I miss traveling by train. It’s been years. We would do it with my father from time to time and it was always a wonderful experience. I’ll have to try first class someday.
Wow! That looks amazing! Beautiful photos!
Would love to experience traveling Europe by Rail. It’s amazing to be able to get 1 visa to cover so much ground and imagine the views are breath taking and things missed by other conventional travel.
This would be a cool experience. Trains are so helpful!
This would be fun! I haven’t been on a train in years.
That looks like a grand trip. I hope I can go on that train trip one day.
That looks amazing!
I would love to train travel, that looks like so much fun!
I cannot wait to travel Europe especially because of how easy the transportation is! This looks like such a fun trip 🙂
xoxo
Tyler
Isn’t it crazy how many countries you can travel to just by train. I would love to see the beautiful sights.
The trains in Europe are so efficient and cheap compared to the US. Definitely the way to go.
With all the beautiful scenery in Europe, you really can’t go wrong with choosing to travel by Train! It would be an amazing feast for your eyes! It’s definitely worth it.
It would be so much fun to see Europe like this. Old school.
The views looked beautiful! I love taking trains, such a relaxing way to travel!
We love train trips! Especially though Europe! We’ve taken the train through Austria and it had amazing snowy mountains as well.
Travel by train has always been something that I wanted to do. I may just look into this next time we travel.
The first time that I ever went to Europe I exclusively traveled by train, the next time I had a car. I much prefer the train to get from country to country. It’s so gorgeous and that is the best way to experience it!
Just back from a trip to Europe which was filled with some breathtakingly beautiful views that we got from our comfortable train seats, completely agree with you. Although we didn’t go for a eurorail pass as our stay was short and individual tickets proved more effective. Yet we did enjoy each one of our train rides. Particularly the ones taken in Switzerland and tuscany countryside.
Glad to hear the train service is so great in Europe. We are heading there in May and will be using it some. Thanks for sharing your experience.