@europebyrail.eu
EUROPE BY RAIL: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE. By Nicky Gardner & Susanne Kries. 18th edition published 24 October 2024. #EuropebyRail. Published by @hiddeneurope.eu
If you do - or if this is you - then the 18th edition of Europe by Rail is the perfect gift this Christmas. We’ve pulled together the 50 best routes our continent has to offer, from familiar journeys like London to the Med to epic adventures like a night train to Narvik...
November 12, 2025 at 11:19 AM
If you do - or if this is you - then the 18th edition of Europe by Rail is the perfect gift this Christmas. We’ve pulled together the 50 best routes our continent has to offer, from familiar journeys like London to the Med to epic adventures like a night train to Narvik...
Is there someone in your life who stops to admire the architecture of railway stations, who finds the rhythm of train wheels oddly soothing and who believes that by flying across Europe we miss the best stories?
Photo © Olrat / Dreamstime
Photo © Olrat / Dreamstime
November 12, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Is there someone in your life who stops to admire the architecture of railway stations, who finds the rhythm of train wheels oddly soothing and who believes that by flying across Europe we miss the best stories?
Photo © Olrat / Dreamstime
Photo © Olrat / Dreamstime
The city of Prague lies at the end of a wonderful journey south from Dresden along the Elbe river through the sandstone mountains of Swiss Saxony and then across the border into Bohemian Switzerland on the way to the Czech capital…
Photo © Domandrey63 / Dreamstime
Photo © Domandrey63 / Dreamstime
November 8, 2025 at 9:35 AM
The city of Prague lies at the end of a wonderful journey south from Dresden along the Elbe river through the sandstone mountains of Swiss Saxony and then across the border into Bohemian Switzerland on the way to the Czech capital…
Photo © Domandrey63 / Dreamstime
Photo © Domandrey63 / Dreamstime
Is there a more intriguing looking station than Wrocław’s Główny station? Although it looks like it might have come out of the creative brain of a Disney animator, it was actually built between 1855 and 1857, so perhaps the inspiration was the other way around?
Photo © Rochu2008 / Dreamstime
Photo © Rochu2008 / Dreamstime
November 5, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Is there a more intriguing looking station than Wrocław’s Główny station? Although it looks like it might have come out of the creative brain of a Disney animator, it was actually built between 1855 and 1857, so perhaps the inspiration was the other way around?
Photo © Rochu2008 / Dreamstime
Photo © Rochu2008 / Dreamstime
The November digital edition of the European Rail Timetable is available now, and you’ll find it over on the ERT website (where they also have copies of the 18th edition of Europe by Rail!): europeanrailtimetable.eu/products/nov... 1/6
November 1, 2025 at 3:38 PM
The November digital edition of the European Rail Timetable is available now, and you’ll find it over on the ERT website (where they also have copies of the 18th edition of Europe by Rail!): europeanrailtimetable.eu/products/nov... 1/6
Most of the cities along the way have developed through sea trade or their links with the sea, although interestingly, none is really on an open coast. Route 25 visits places shaped by the Hanseatic League on a journey through four countries...
October 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Most of the cities along the way have developed through sea trade or their links with the sea, although interestingly, none is really on an open coast. Route 25 visits places shaped by the Hanseatic League on a journey through four countries...
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Copenhagen station is your gateway to one of the fine maritime cities that are connected by rail along Route 25 in our book, a journey from Amsterdam through southern Scandinavia to Stockholm…
Photo © Tupungato
Photo © Tupungato
October 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Copenhagen station is your gateway to one of the fine maritime cities that are connected by rail along Route 25 in our book, a journey from Amsterdam through southern Scandinavia to Stockholm…
Photo © Tupungato
Photo © Tupungato
The railway is a fine way to take the pulse of Portugal, and we designed Route 24 - The Atlantic coast of Iberia - to do just that. It starts in Spain in Santiago de Compostela before crossing the border and heading south through Coimbra and Porto to Lisbon...
October 26, 2025 at 2:33 PM
The railway is a fine way to take the pulse of Portugal, and we designed Route 24 - The Atlantic coast of Iberia - to do just that. It starts in Spain in Santiago de Compostela before crossing the border and heading south through Coimbra and Porto to Lisbon...
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Rua Augusta in Lisbon, where a tram-ride through the city is a fine way to not only explore the hilly Portuguese capital but also a nice stopover for anyone travelling on Route 24 of our book...
Photo © Angelo Cordeschi / Dreamstime
Photo © Angelo Cordeschi / Dreamstime
October 26, 2025 at 2:33 PM
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Rua Augusta in Lisbon, where a tram-ride through the city is a fine way to not only explore the hilly Portuguese capital but also a nice stopover for anyone travelling on Route 24 of our book...
Photo © Angelo Cordeschi / Dreamstime
Photo © Angelo Cordeschi / Dreamstime
A poster for the Simplon Express in 1906, and a journey south from London via Calais, Paris and Milan on the way to Venice, travelling three times a week in each direction and taking 20 hours to get from London to Italy...
October 22, 2025 at 8:56 AM
A poster for the Simplon Express in 1906, and a journey south from London via Calais, Paris and Milan on the way to Venice, travelling three times a week in each direction and taking 20 hours to get from London to Italy...
The Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare by Claude Monet was painted at the station in its title in 1877 as part of a series of paintings he made in that year in and around the station building...
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 AM
The Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare by Claude Monet was painted at the station in its title in 1877 as part of a series of paintings he made in that year in and around the station building...
On the Europe by Rail website a few years ago, we explored the idea of simply taking a train to wherever… and how a journey such as this can be a wonderful stimulus to imagination.
October 10, 2025 at 8:01 AM
On the Europe by Rail website a few years ago, we explored the idea of simply taking a train to wherever… and how a journey such as this can be a wonderful stimulus to imagination.
Do you ever take the train for no other reason than to see where it takes you? One of the joys of something like the DeutschlandTicket in Germany or regional rail passes elsewhere is the idea that you can spend a day exploring, hopping from one regional train to the next, to see where you end up…
October 10, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Do you ever take the train for no other reason than to see where it takes you? One of the joys of something like the DeutschlandTicket in Germany or regional rail passes elsewhere is the idea that you can spend a day exploring, hopping from one regional train to the next, to see where you end up…
The train journey east from Marseille is superb. The route has a grand, almost cinematic appeal when seen from the comfort of a TGV, but suddenly becomes more intimate when you experience it from one of the slower TER services...
October 8, 2025 at 7:12 AM
The train journey east from Marseille is superb. The route has a grand, almost cinematic appeal when seen from the comfort of a TGV, but suddenly becomes more intimate when you experience it from one of the slower TER services...
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Climb the steps to Marseille station to start your journey on Route 15 of our book, Exploring the French Riviera on the way to the Italian border.
Photo © Ahavelaar/ Dreamstime
Photo © Ahavelaar/ Dreamstime
October 8, 2025 at 7:12 AM
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Climb the steps to Marseille station to start your journey on Route 15 of our book, Exploring the French Riviera on the way to the Italian border.
Photo © Ahavelaar/ Dreamstime
Photo © Ahavelaar/ Dreamstime
On Route 14 we use a regional train to travel from Paris to Burgundy, then continue via Lyon to Geneva. The classic line south from Paris (via Sens and Dijon) which we describe here is dubbed the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée (PLM) route...
October 4, 2025 at 8:19 AM
On Route 14 we use a regional train to travel from Paris to Burgundy, then continue via Lyon to Geneva. The classic line south from Paris (via Sens and Dijon) which we describe here is dubbed the Paris-Lyon-Méditerranée (PLM) route...
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Trains along the shore of Lake Geneva, our destination for Route 14 from our book: Paris to Geneva - The Slow Way...
October 4, 2025 at 8:19 AM
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Trains along the shore of Lake Geneva, our destination for Route 14 from our book: Paris to Geneva - The Slow Way...
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Route 13: From London to the Mediterranean. This journey to France in Europe by Rail starts at London’s St Pancras station, as inspiring a space as any cathedral…
October 1, 2025 at 2:00 PM
The #50railroutes of Europe by Rail - Route 13: From London to the Mediterranean. This journey to France in Europe by Rail starts at London’s St Pancras station, as inspiring a space as any cathedral…
From a distance covered by marathon runners to the European network we celebrate through the 50 routes of #EuropebyRail, it is amazing to imagine what the 450-600 passengers must have been thinking when they clambered aboard the train that day!
September 27, 2025 at 8:41 AM
From a distance covered by marathon runners to the European network we celebrate through the 50 routes of #EuropebyRail, it is amazing to imagine what the 450-600 passengers must have been thinking when they clambered aboard the train that day!
A landmark day in railway history… on 27 September 1825 George Stephenson’s ‘Locomotion No.1’ took a 26-mile journey along the Stockton and Darlington Railway: the world’s first public steam-powered passenger service...
September 27, 2025 at 8:41 AM
A landmark day in railway history… on 27 September 1825 George Stephenson’s ‘Locomotion No.1’ took a 26-mile journey along the Stockton and Darlington Railway: the world’s first public steam-powered passenger service...
This long journey from Berlin to Bavaria and on across the Austrian border to Salzburg takes in some very fine German cities (including Leipzig, Weimar, Munich and, yes, Erfurt) and some decent countryside along the way...
September 24, 2025 at 7:36 AM
This long journey from Berlin to Bavaria and on across the Austrian border to Salzburg takes in some very fine German cities (including Leipzig, Weimar, Munich and, yes, Erfurt) and some decent countryside along the way...
The #50routes of Europe by Rail - The Merchants' Bridge in Erfurt, Germany is one of the attractions of a city that we rate highly enough to make a recommended stopover for travellers on Route 12 from our book: From Berlin to the Alps.
Photo © Plotnikov / Dreamstime
Photo © Plotnikov / Dreamstime
September 24, 2025 at 7:36 AM
The #50routes of Europe by Rail - The Merchants' Bridge in Erfurt, Germany is one of the attractions of a city that we rate highly enough to make a recommended stopover for travellers on Route 12 from our book: From Berlin to the Alps.
Photo © Plotnikov / Dreamstime
Photo © Plotnikov / Dreamstime
The #50routes of Europe by Rail. For travellers crossing the north of Germany, you can cut off to the south of the main railways which link Hannover with Berlin to discover the glorious landscapes of the Harz Mountains…
September 20, 2025 at 1:43 PM
The #50routes of Europe by Rail. For travellers crossing the north of Germany, you can cut off to the south of the main railways which link Hannover with Berlin to discover the glorious landscapes of the Harz Mountains…
This journey might not win any prizes for dramatic scenery, but there are some interesting places along the way, not least the trio of eastern German cities on the second half of the route - Magdeburg, Brandenburg an der Havel and Potsdam - which are all worth some of your time.
September 17, 2025 at 8:33 AM
This journey might not win any prizes for dramatic scenery, but there are some interesting places along the way, not least the trio of eastern German cities on the second half of the route - Magdeburg, Brandenburg an der Havel and Potsdam - which are all worth some of your time.
The #50routes of Europe by Rail. The Oberbaumbrücke across the river Spree in Berlin. The capital of Germany is the end point (or beginning if you travel it in reverse) of Route 10 in our book: Across Northern Germany.
Photo © Michal Bednarek / Dreamstime
Photo © Michal Bednarek / Dreamstime
September 17, 2025 at 8:33 AM
The #50routes of Europe by Rail. The Oberbaumbrücke across the river Spree in Berlin. The capital of Germany is the end point (or beginning if you travel it in reverse) of Route 10 in our book: Across Northern Germany.
Photo © Michal Bednarek / Dreamstime
Photo © Michal Bednarek / Dreamstime