Anyone done any long distance train journeys through Europe?

[Unforgettablefire]

Or anywhere else even. I love travelling by train and sleeper cabins, travelled from Romania back to the U.K. by train, it was nice but ÖBB are an absolute nightmare so I won’t be using those again.
I’m looking for relaxing journeys and nice landscape, and sleeper trains if anyone can recommend any.

There's now a whole new network of night trains in Europe - mostly run by ÖBB (Nightjet trains) but there are other companies as well, including Snälltåget who run trains between Scandinavia and Berlin and Innsbruck and European Sleeper (europeansleeper.eu)

I've recently done Salzburg to Hamburg (and back) on the new Nightjet sleepers run by ÖBB and have to say that it was excellent. Many moons ago when I was a student I travelled on a night train from Warsaw to the Hook of Holland, and then on to London, which was a great adventure as it included crossing into and out of East Germany and East Berlin (as was) and being faced with armed border guards combing through the train at midnight looking for people trying to escape to the West.

All you need to know about the networks and night trains, and about European trains in general, you can find at the brilliant www.Seat61.com website

Yes we did an interrail type holiday last year and took the nightjet from Amsterdam to Munich. The Nightjet carriages were the new generation so brand new. We loved it! I did a few sleepers in my teens where I had to share a 6 berth with strangers, so having a private 4 berth for our family was quite an upgrade.

We also booked a 1st class private compartment from Austria to Verona via the Brenner pass which was a fun experience. You can get good prices by booking early.

From my online research for the trip, some of the routes through Switzerland are supposed to have amazing scenery. And there was a nightrain from Munich to Venice that brings you past the island first thing in the morning on its way to the station.

We did home (Leeds) to Innsbruck by train this time two years ago. We were meant to get the Nightjet from Amsterdam to Innsbruck but it was cancelled about 5 mins after getting on it! So about 500 people suddenly needed to find a bed for the night. We did the journey on a series of local and long distance trains the following day.

We went to Copenhagen by train stopping overnight in Hamburg. Tbh it wasn’t worth it. The trains were very busy with everyone having loads of luggage. There were alterations on both outward and return journey which added to the stress. There was little or no catering onboard. And the scenery was extremely dull just field after field with the occasional small town and very flat. We missed our Eurostar return due to a late train where we were absolutely refused our reserved seats and my husband was in his late 70s and actually coming down with Covid only we didn’t know. We went to Cologne later in the same year by Eurostar and that was fine it’s 2 hours from Brussels.

The scenery on the journey from Munich to Ljubljana is stunning. Would really recommend. From memory the first stretch out of Munich was maybe not so exciting, but after that the views of the mountains are stunning.

Man in seat 61 is brilliant! We did Eastern Europe by train earlier this year - so cheap, comfortable and reliable. Brilliant way to travel and see the landscapes.

The Canadian is absolutely brilliant. Four days from Toronto to Vancouver, though you don’t have to do it all in one go. Cabins for one, two or three, and the food is great. It’s not cheap,though!

I’ve done London to Italy (Rome, Milan, Florence) several times, both sleepers and day trains. I prefer day trains and then staying overnight in Paris on the way back as you get to enjoy the Alpine scenery and get a decent sleep in proper bed.

Scotland to Turin & Rome, Scotland to Naples and Sicily, fantastic! Didn't get a wink of sleep on the Caledonian Sleeper though, in fact got a refund after my sleep-deprived OH recorded examples of the deafening rattling and bumping most of the way.

Prefer daytime travel to see the scenery and of course loved the train on the ferry over to Sicily.

We go from London to the South of France every year by train. Used to love the direct London to Marseille Eurostar, it was amazing and so relaxing. Now we have to change at Paris or Lille which adds time and stress. The TGVs are generally great, get a top deck seat to see more.

OuiGos are worth looking at as they can be a lot cheaper but you do have to pay extra for seat reservarions and luggage (just a few euros) and the trains are older.

We have done London to Turin by train - if you get the trains right you can breakfast in London and have an apertivo in Turin. The journey over the Alps is pretty special (although fair bit of it is in a tunnel.)

About 18 years ago we got a sleeper train from Paris to Barcelona (and then on the way back Madrid to Paris), the company that ran it was called Elipsos. It was a fun experience and not too expensive (especially if you treat the journey as a night away) . We had a private cabin with a little separate cubical with a basin,toilet and shower for our use only. There was a dining car where you could get an evening meal and breakfast. And a bar - which became a bit of a hang out, especially for those who had the cheapest tickets - which essentailly only entitled you to reclining seats with a blanket.

View wise coming round the coast to Barcelona while being served breakfast in the dining car was prettty cool.

I think that sleeper service does not run anymore as there have been track upgrades to allow high speed trains between France and Spain so you can easily do Paris to Barcelona in about 6 hours now.

A couple of years ago we got the train from Boston to New York. By European standards it is not a long distance to travel by train (200 or so miles) but because the Amtrak is so slow it takes about 4.5 hours.

The scenery was very stunning - lots of pretty litte east coast towns with clapboard houses and cute harbours full of boats and coming in to NYC at night was pretty stunning.

Not sure about less stress as I found American rail travel to be very different to Europe. The trains are very old fashioned and slow (although the seats are massive and there is loads of luggage space!). Information is pretty dire both on the train and at stations. No one seems to care if the train is delayed or late. We were 1.5 hours late leaving Boston and no one explained why or how long the train would be delayed for - just a sign that said "delayed". Very different from Europe where you are told if your train is delayed by 5 mins.

Love train travel but would urge people to abandon romantic ideas about sleeper trains. They are rarely comfortable or cheap. You are almost always better off taking a day train and staying overnight somewhere along the way, especially on scenic routes.

We go from London to the South of France every year by train. Used to love the direct London to Marseille Eurostar, it was amazing and so relaxing. Now we have to change at Paris or Lille which adds time and stress. The TGVs are generally great, get a top deck seat to see more.

@Ginmonkeyagain Oh yes that direct train to the South of France was a brilliant start to a holiday. Wish it still ran.

You are right about the TV but wish we had realised about the top deck. We went from Paris to Barcelona but had a seat downstairs and for much of the route we had a poor view as there were banks beside the track.

We took the train from Barcelona down to Seville the next day and that was pretty good.

Also we have done Paris to Zurich and Zurich to Brescia, Italy. Superb views

Oh yes I have made that mistake - 4 hours with a view of platforms and track sidings!

On other side of things, I have forgetten we are on the top deck and had a panicked clatter down the stairs to get off the train - I do that more times on the RER than I should admit.

If you are travelling within Spain the AVE trains are great, very fast, modern and smooth. If I recall the Barcelona to Madrid journey wasn't especially scenic though- lots of dry mountains and wind turbines.

Agree OBB are pretty unreliable. Cancelled our Brussels to Vienna sleeper and no
one seemed to really care. Then on the way back our train to Frankfurt got cancelled the day before but we didn’t realise until we got to the station. Very long slow journey through Germany. Apparently the German rail system is known in Europe to be a bit of a nightmare.

We didn't actually go through Madrid but it was an eye opener just how arid and empty much of the middle of Spain was

We’ve done London to Vienna and Berlin to Copenhagen and Zurich to Vienna on night trains. None were super comfortable or luxurious but they get you there without a flight

byways are a train only travel agent who are good if you want them to organise a route for you.

We did London to Berlin earlier this year, breaking the journey in Cologne. I enjoyed it but have to say Deutsche Bahn either has some issues or we were unlucky. Both DB trains very delayed, Cologne-Berlin ended up terminating at Düsseldorf and then on the most overcrowded delayed train I’ve ever been on (and I remember GNER on the east coast in the early 2000s), 4.5 hour journey took 8 hours. It’s also not a route I’d pick for the scenery!

We travelled by train from London to Malta a couple of summers ago. We had a lovely time!

Oh DB are hellish at the moment. I got the train back to London from Cologne last year and my Paris bound train operated by Eurostar (I was getting off at Brussels to get the Eurostar to London) was the only train on the whole station that wasn't delayed by at least 20 mins.

Cologne HBF is also awful, think Clapham Junction forced in to a loveless marriage with Birmingham New Street station, but not as well organised. I could not get my head around the practice of several different trains sharing parts of the same platform. It was deeply odd and unsettling.

Have a look at The Man in Seat 61 . Sorry, for some reason I can’t link. Soooo much useful stuff there!

@CurlewKate wow, that is pretty epic! Did you get a ferry from Italy for the final bit? How long did the whole journey take?

We did Scotland to / from Vienna, no problems at all. Booked using interrail pass. Got notified of any changes. Very easy to find reserved seats as they show where the train will stop exactly. Sleeper was comfy enough, not amazing sleep but not sure if paying for upgraded rooms would have helped or not.

DB are well known for being unreliable and have been for years!
We went interrailing at Easter before DD turned 12 (so she was free). Sleeper from Krakow to Budapest, and from Vienna to Brussels (sounds like I was lucky as that one was on time, lovely dinner, nice compartment. DD said on the first sleeper "this is what I've been waiting for all my life".
I got the sleeper to Prague for a week long work trip, lovely on the way there but no AC in July made the trip back not v pleasant.
Also went to Berlin again for work on the train, DB special timing meant I had to run between trains (and I don't do running, owing to an injury) and I only got on, and made my Eurostar, because so many other people were trying to get the Brussels train.