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With all the different railways, trains, and service options available throughout Central
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and Western Europe, there are countless possibilities for creating the European train journey that's
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right for you. Again, it depends on what you're looking for and what your travel needs are
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Here are five potential itineraries that you can take. Number one, Switzerland. The Swiss railway network is the densest in Europe
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covering approximately 3,241 miles or 5,216 kilometers of railway. In terms of length of track per square mile
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Switzerland is two and a half times over the European average. This means you can travel effortlessly between Swiss towns and cities any day of the week
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Geneva in the morning, Zurich for lunch, St. Gallen in the evening, why not
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Let's see what this can look like. After having an early breakfast in Geneva
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you can catch an SBB train to Zurich with a journey time of roughly 2 hours and 45 minutes
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I'd recommend getting this train no later than 10am so you arrive in Zurich no later than 1pm
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From there you can find a nice lunch spot perhaps overlooking Lake Zurich. Once you've finished you
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can board an SBB train to St. Gallen which only takes between one and one and a half hours depending
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on the route and any station changes. You should easily be able to make it there for a lovely
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evening dinner. Swiss trains offer the Swiss day pass which you can take all
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over the country at your own pace. Rather than getting individual tickets for the
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journeys that I just described you can purchase one save a day pass for the
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entire route. Save a day passes have great value they don't need validation
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or seat reservations. You just turn up and go wherever you like within the GA
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travel area. A save a day pass like this is available up to 60 days in advance in
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in first or second class, with prices starting from 29 Swiss francs
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Be aware that these tickets can sell out, so be sure to book sooner rather than later
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Also, be careful which pass you buy. When you book, there will be an option for a with half-fair travel card or without the half-fair travel card
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The half-fair card gives you a 50% discount on the boat, rail and post-bus network in Switzerland for an entire year
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It is mainly marketed towards people living in Switzerland and rightly so because if you just visiting the country for a few days or even a few weeks the half card won be worth the money you spend
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As I've mentioned many times in this guide, Swiss trains and the landscapes they traverse are incredible
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So whether you're looking to go on your very first European train journey or are looking to reconnect with adventure, Switzerland has endless options
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Two, heading to Croatia by train. Croatia is one of my favourite countries because it's a great alternative to popular holiday destinations like Switzerland or Italy at a much lower price
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Croatia can easily be reached by train with connections from France, Germany and Austria
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Here's what this itinerary looks like. You depart Paris Garda de Leste at 1555 and take an almost 6 hour journey east to Munich-Hurbanhof, Germany, arriving at 2136
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From there, you'll have basically two hours for snacking and stretching your legs before your next train
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At 23.20, you board the sleeper train from Munich to Zagreb, which gets you there at 8.30 in the morning
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If you wake up about 7am before arrival, you might get to view some of the beautiful Slovenian countryside
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Although most people tend to skip Zagreb and head straight down to Split or Dubrovnik
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I recommend spending at least a night in Zagreb. In my opinion, it's one of the most underrated European capitals
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Zagreb has a fantastic old town and fascinating Yugoslav-era architecture, which, if you've never been to Croatia before, makes for a great introduction to the country
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For planning this journey, you can book through the Deutsche Bahn, Trainline and Omeo websites
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It is possible to book the sleeper from Munich to Zagreb on its own
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and if this is what you want to do, you're best off using the OBB nightjet website
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Technically, the train you take won't be an OBB Nightjet train, but a different sleeper train with some carriages from Croatia
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But don't worry, Nightjet only partners with high-quality, like-minded operators, so you can be assured of a high standard of service
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3. Paris to Sicily This is one of my favourite itineraries. On this journey, the train actually boards a ferry between Sicily and mainland Italy
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This is Europe's only remaining passenger train ferry that operates all year round
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so it's quite a unique experience. You want to leave Paris Gare de Leon at 0726 on a Freccia Rosa which has four classes of travel from basic economy to luxury executive class with prices to match the level of service Much of this route is on dedicated
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high-speed lines, but the highlight is the long, slower section through the Alps, which takes
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several hours. The entire journey takes almost seven hours in total. You arrive in Milan in time
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for a late lunch or an early dinner, and then catch the 2010 departure, heading to Palermo and
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Catania to head to Sicily. Want more luxury in the sleeper? Easy. Take a high-speed Frecciorossa
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Milan to Rome and get the 2031 departure to Palermo with en suite XL Soire sleepers available
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from 150 euro. Paris to Milan is a Frecciorossa train and it can be booked via Trenitalia or the
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third-party operators we've talked about earlier. The Milan-Sicily leg of the journey can also be
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booked via the Trinitalia website or those third-party sites we mentioned earlier. And remember
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this won't be the fastest way to get to Sicily, but it will be an experience you won't forget
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4. Paris to Vienna by sleeper train. Another great route starting in Paris is boarding the
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night jet in the evening and waking up all the way over here in Vienna, ready to explore a new city
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culture and country. This is a great option because you can explore two very different European cities
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on the same trip and you don't lose a day of travel time. Even if you took this route by plane
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you'd lose a morning or afternoon for a journey that would take in excess of five hours
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This 14 to 15 hour journey departs from Paris around 7 p.m.
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passing through Strasbourg, Munich, Salzburg, Linz and St Poulton before arriving into Vienna around 10 a.m
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And after an opportunity to sleep, you will feel ready to kick off your adventures in Vienna
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You can purchase tickets via the main operators NightJet and SNCF, or you can also find tickets through Trainline
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Do note that this service only runs on certain nights, usually Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays
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I'd recommend purchasing a bed option with your ticket, but if you really need to stick to a
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budget, you can get a seated ticket for about €29, which is equivalent to a night in a hostel dorm
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Your other options are a bed in a couchette or a private room, some of which are deluxe sleepers that come with an ensuite shower
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The price of the sleeper accommodations range from 50 to 200 euro about the same as a standard hotel room which is well worth it to wake up refreshed in a new city ready to explore Book this OBB nightjet train in advance to secure the best price and be
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aware that they do sell out. When booking, remember to look at the prices on both third-party ticket
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sites and on nightjet's own site. 5. City Hopping Around Europe Because the railway system across Europe is so great, my last suggested itinerary is crisscrossing
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the continent and taking in several of the major cities in one go. For example, to film this guide
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we started in Paris, made our way to Frankfurt in Germany, and ended in Zurich in Switzerland
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In five days, we visited three cities in three different countries, which is not something that
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can be done easily on any other continent. An itinerary that I recommend for this type of
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adventure is Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin. These cities have their own unique charms, which means you can
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easily spend two or three days in each one before moving on to the next city. Paris to Amsterdam is
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doable via the TELUS high-speed service, which gets you there in just over three hours. This train
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has three travel classes, which gives you plenty of choice for how much comfort you want to pay for
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Again, those options are standard class, which is your ordinary second class. There's comfort
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which involves seats in a first-class carriage, but no service. And then there's premium, seats in a
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first-class carriage with hot meals and attendant service. After some time in Amsterdam, you can then
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take the high-speed ICE to Berlin, which takes about six hours. This is a full-service express
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train and contains a restaurant car, which I definitely recommend visiting. To purchase tickets
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for the Paris to Amsterdam leg, you can book through Thales itself, or through Trainline or
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Omeo. And for the service between Amsterdam and Berlin, you can book through Deutsche Bahn or NS
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International, which is the National Dutch Railway Service. But be aware that you can't choose your
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seat when booking through the Dutch company's website. City hopping is a really popular way
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to explore Europe by train because it's such an easy and comfortable way to get around
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Whether you stick to exploring just one country or you choose to traverse the continent across
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several cities, you'll be sure to have a great time traveling by train. I hope these itineraries
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have given you some inspiration for the types of journeys you can take and provided you with
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confidence to tail your very own European train adventure
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