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| Europe's trains can even take you from big cities...to off the beaten track. |
Europe rail maps help you visualize a logical trip plan. While these maps don't show every train line or stop, they include most destinations covered in Rick Steves' travel guides. These rail maps and others are also printed in the guidebooks themselves. If you don't find your town on a map, you can check that it has service by searching for a train schedule on Deutsche Bahn's website or their DB Navigator app for mobile devices.
Use this chart to get ideas on how speedy travelers can prioritize limited sightseeing time in various countries. Add places from left to right as you build plans for the best of that country in 3, 5, 7, 10, or 14 days. (These suggestions take geographical proximity into account. In some cases, the plan assumes you'll take a night train.) So according to this chart, the best week in Britain would be spread between London, Bath, Cambridge, and the Cotswolds.
Country |
3 days | 5 days | 7 days | 10 days | 14 days |
| Europe | Forget it. | London, Paris |
Amsterdam | Rhine Valley, Swiss Alps |
Rome, Venice |
| Britain | London | Bath | Cambridge, Cotswolds |
York | Edinburgh, N. Wales |
| Ireland | Dublin | Dingle Peninsula | Galway, Belfast | County Clare, Burren | Antrim Coast, Aran Islands |
| France | Paris, Versailles |
Normandy | Loire | Dordogne, Carcassonne | Provence, the Riviera |
| Germany | Munich, Bavarian castles |
Rhine Valley, Rothenburg | More of Bavaria, Salzburg | Berlin | Baden-Baden, Black Forest, Dresden |
| Austria | Vienna | Salzburg | Hallstatt | Danube Valley, Tirol, Bavaria (Germany) | Innsbruck, Hall, Bratislava (Slovakia) |
| Switzerland | Berner Oberland |
Luzern | Bern, Lausanne |
Zermatt, Appenzell, scenic rail trips | Lugano, Zürich |
| Italy | Florence, Venice |
Rome | Cinque Terre | Civita, Siena | Sorrento, Naples, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast |
| Scandinavia | Copenhagen, side trips | Stockholm |
Oslo | "Norway in a Nutshell," Bergen | Helsinki, Tallinn |
| Spain | Madrid, Toledo |
Sevilla, Granada | Barcelona | Andalucia |
Costa del Sol, Morocco |
| Portugal | Lisbon, Sintra | The Algarve | Évora, Nazaré | Sights near Nazaré, Coimbra | Porto, Douro Valley |
| Eastern Europe | Prague | Budapest | Kraków, Auschwitz | Slovenia, Cesky Krumlov | Dalmatian Coast, Dubrovnik |
| Croatia & Slovenia | Dubrovnik | Mostar, Split | Korcula/Hvar or Montenegro | Lake Bled, Plitvice Lakes | Ljulbjana, Istria, more of Dalmatian Coast |
| Greece | Athens | Hydra | Delphi | Nafplio, Epidavros, Mycenae | Olympia, Monemvasia, Mani Peninsula |
A "Transportation Connections" summary at the end of each chapter of Rick Steves' guidebooks shows the frequency and travel time for recommended trains or buses from that city to many popular destinations. This gives you enough info to rough out your travel itinerary. For example, if you're wondering how you'll get from Venice to Italy's Cinque Terre, the "Venice Connections" section at the end of the Venice chapter of Rick Steves' Italy has the basics (underlined below):
Venice Connections
From Venice by Train to: Padua (2/hour, 30 minutes), Vicenza (2/hour, 1 hour), Verona (roughly 2/hour, 1.5 hours), Ravenna (hourly, 3–4 hours, transfer in Ferrara or Bologna), Florence (hourly, 2-3 hours, may transfer in Bologna; often crowded so make reservations), Dolomites (to Bolzano about hourly, 3–4 hours, transfer in Verona; catch bus from Bolzano into mountains), Milan (hourly, 2.5 hours), Cinque Terre/Monterosso (almost hourly, 6–7 hours, with 1–3 changes), Rome (hourly, 3.5 hours, may transfer in Bologna, overnight possible), Naples (almost hourly, 5.5–7 hours, with changes in Bologna or Rome), Brindisi (7/day, 9–14 hours, most change in Bologna; 1 direct night train, 11 hours), Bern (3/day, 6 hours, change in Milan or Brig), Munich (4–6/day, 7 hours, change in Verona; 1 direct night train, 8 hours), Paris (4/day, 10–16 hours with change in Milan, may also transfer in Basel or Zürich, important to reserve ahead), Ljubljana (3/day, 7.5 hours — take bus from Tronchetto to Villach in Austria, then transfer to train; 1 direct night train, 4 hours, but arrives at 2:00 in the morning), and Vienna (3/day, 8 hours — take bus from Tronchetto to Villach in Austria, then transfer to train; 1 direct night train, 11 hours).
Train
schedules: Breaking the codeRail schedule and route planning is easier than ever on the internet. For all of Europe, including small towns and international connections, try the Deutsche Bahn's website. You can print just the train schedules you need. Tips for using it are below. You can also download their DB Navigator app to your mobile device before you leave for Europe.
The Thomas Cook European Rail Timetable (all train lines, some ferries, and lots of confusing footnotes; 550 pages; published monthly) can be delivered from Europe for £18 postpaid. See the Thomas Cook website or call 011-44-1733-4164-77.
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| Train schedules are sign language masterpieces. For example, at 9:31 a.m. daily, a EuroCity train leaves the Munich main station, arriving in Venice's Santa Lucia station at 5:10 p.m. It has us changing trains at Verona and the second leg on a Eurostar Italia train requires seat reservations. The train departing at 7:31 a.m. runs direct on Saturdays and Sundays (6, 7) between March 31 and October 28, but requires a connection on weekdays and winter weekends. The train departing at 9:03 p.m. includes couchette bunks and more private sleeper compartments, and arrives at Venice at 6:38 the next morning with no train change. (Excerpted from the 130-page Eurail Timetable booklet, which is included with railpass purchases.) |
You can always find train schedules at any station in Europe. They come in many forms: posters (with departures on yellow, arrivals on white), airport-type departure schedules that flip up and list the next eight or ten departures, handy pocket-sized schedules for popular routes, and computer kiosks.
Personnel at the train station information window can confirm your plans. Once aboard, you'll find that many express trains are littered with route programs that describe everything about that train.
Learn to use the 24-hour clock used in European train timetables. After 12:00 noon, the Europeans keep going — 13:00, 14:00, and so on. To convert to the 12-hour clock, subtract 12 and add p.m. (16:00 is 4 p.m.).
Any transport schedule includes information on both directions between destinations (Dijon to Paris and Paris to Dijon) and has a section explaining the many exceptions to the rules. An "R" in a box means reservations are required for that departure, crossed silverware means a dining car, crossed hammers indicate that the train goes only on workdays (daily except Sundays and holidays), a cross means the train goes only on Sundays and holidays, and a picture of a little bed means the train has sleeping compartments, which come in "couchette" and "sleeper" varieties.
The example on this page shows departure times in the left column and arrival times on the right. Most timetables also include the arrival and departure times for any required train changes.
Follow this link to the Deutsche Bahn web site.
Start and destination: Enter just the two city names, unless you know the name of the train station you want.
Required fields: Only the "Start" and "Destination" fields are required before you can click on "Search." Date, Time, Means of Transport, and other fields are all optional.
Spelling: Use the local European spelling of town names. (You'll find these in many maps or guidebooks of Europe.) Here are some examples:
Choosing a train station: The Deutsche Bahn system may ask you to select a station from a list of options. Keep in mind:
a. If the city is listed without station name, select that choice.
b. You do not always have to make the right choice. Sometimes the DB will make a correction before providing the train schedule. In other cases, the schedule will include a connection by train, bus, or subway from the "wrong" station to the main train station.
c. Main train stations are often called "central," "terminus," "bahnhof," or "hauptbahnhof (hbf)."
d. A very long list probably includes bus stops in the same town. Type any city "hbf" to modify your search.
Pricing: The DB website provides train ticket prices within Germany and for some international trips that originate in Germany. If the system brings up a "Pricing" section, simply fill in any age and click the "Continue" button. Most tourists will not have a Bahn Card or Rail Plus discount.
More schedules: The overview will show you three departures around the time you entered. Click the links for "Earlier" or "Later" to see more choices.
More detail: At the bottom of the schedule results, you'll find buttons to access more detail. The first level includes location and times for any change of train. Further links on the Detail page allow you to see all the stops along the way.
Date of travel: Europe train schedules change seasonally around June 10, Sept. 10, and Dec. 10 (changes are often small, with most significant changes made in December). The DB web site posts updates as soon as they are available. Even if your trip is several months in the future, this is still the best planning tool. You can enter an earlier date for a fairly accurate idea of the train schedule.
Side-notes: "Compulsory reservation" means what it says, while "Please reserve" is recommended but optional. "International supplement" notes do not apply with rail passes.
Alternate routes: This system shows the most direct and practical routes between two points. To design your own detour, add one or two "Via" (midpoint) cities on the query screen.
Coverage: The DB web site is the most complete resource for train schedules throughout Europe. If your destination is not covered (and if you spelled it correctly and used a current date), that's a good sign that it doesn't have train service. For a comprehensive list of each country's railway sites, go to www.railfaneurope.net.
Printing: Once you've found the train schedules and level of detail your want, click the link for "Print View" to get a more easily printed page.
New Query: The "New Query" link brings you to a fresh starting page. Use the "Change" or "Refresh" options to change a few features of your original request.
Mobile App: You can also download the DB Navigator app to your mobile device before you leave for Europe.
Our favorite, www.aferry.co.uk links to most international ferry web sites.
Transportation costs for ten great trips in Europe Here's a quick comparison of transportation options for favorite two- or three-week itineraries as described in Rick Steves' guidebook for that country or region (all rates are approximate and subject to change; all are per person for two traveling together; driving options include taxes, CDW, gas, and some parking in big cities).
Route: Amsterdam 
Rhineland Romantic Road Tirol Venice Florence Rome Italian Riviera Swiss Alps Beaune Paris.
For this plan, let your dreams rather than the cost dictate your choice:
Route: London Bath Cardiff Cotswolds North Wales Windermere Oban Edinburgh Durham York Cambridge London.
Route: Paris Normandy Brittany Loire Carcassonne Provence Alps Burgundy Alsace Paris.
Route: Milan Cinque Terre Florence Siena Rome Naples Paestum Venice Dolomites Como Milan.
Route: Frankfurt Rhine Black Forest Reutte Hallstatt Vienna Salzburg Munich Rothenburg Nürnberg Dresden Berlin.
Route: Zurich Appenzell Luzern Lugano Pontresina Zermatt Lausanne Berner Oberland Zurich.
Route: Dublin by train to Kilkenny, train to Waterford, train and bus to Kinsale, bus to Kenmare, bus to Dingle, bus to Galway, bus to Westport, bus to Derry, train to Portrush, train to Belfast, train to Dublin.
Route: Madrid by train to Salamanca, train to Coimbra, train to Lisbon, train to Algarve, bus to Seville, bus to Gibraltar, bus to Nerja, bus to Granada, train to Toledo, train to Madrid.
Route: Copenhagen Kalmar Stockholm Helsinki Stockholm Oslo fjords Bergen Århus Ærø Copenhagen.
Route: Prague Krakow Eger Budapest Ljubljana Bled Zagreb Plitvice by bus Split by bus Korcula by boat Dubrovnik by boat.
All destinations mentioned here are covered in Rick Steves' travel guidebooks, available at your local bookstore or from Rick Steves' Travel Store.
Fine-tune
your itinerary with a one-on-one planning sessionPlanning your dream trip should never turn into a nightmare. But if the complexities of rail pass features, sightseeing priorities, and even packing are stressing you out, our Trip Consulting service can help. We've been there — lots of times. If you have a lot of questions and/or a complex trip to plan, consider scheduling a personalized, in-depth trip consultation with one of our experienced travel advisors.
Continue to Step 3: European Train Ticket Costs 
