OpenGeofiction
I’m planning a trip by rail around Europe to celebrate the end of my degree in May. I’ve got an idea of which major cities I’m going to travel to but I’d love to know if anyone had any tips on what to see or any good advice for travelling by rail across Europe.
London > Brussels > Hamburg > Copenhagen > Berlin > Bratislava > Wien > Prague > Warsaw > Gdansk > Newcastle (by plane) > London
Discussion
Comment from Luciano on 2 March 2017 at 01:28
My favorite European cities include Lisboa, Trieste, Kraków and Leipzig. These last two might fit on your itinerary. I suppose what they share is a kind of atmosphere where each of these cities was once mightier in earlier days - what they call “historical character.”
Comment from trabantemnaksiezyc on 2 March 2017 at 06:30
Betwen Prague and Warsaw either go Cracow or Katowice - if you plan stopping in the cities then choose Cracow if you want to see the Wawel castle and Sukiennice (these are more historical) or choose Katowice if you want to see Spodek (flying-saucer shaped sports hall), Nikiszowiec (historical part of the city). If you have more time then you might want to see stuff in the surrounding cities - for example Będzin castle. If you’re more of a transport person then Katowice aglomeration has the biggest tram network in Poland. Also, a universal advice - high-speed trains (Express Intercity Premium / EIP) dont have WiFi, at least for now, so if you value that then go on a different train as these are only a bit slower if you choose wisely ;) . PKP PLK website might come in handy (Polish National Railways Polish Rail Network), you can find info about the timetable. Also if you want to see both Kraków and Katowice don’t travel between these on train, it takes forever and is expensive, go for a Bus (usually from Szewczyka Sq in Katowice to Małopolski Dworzec Autobusowy (MPL) in Cracow.
Comment from eklas on 2 March 2017 at 06:32
I wanted to say you should put Prague in before of Bratislava, but as you pointed out on tw, night trains are fun. Also, the train runs through a nice landscape between Prague and Warsaw.
On your way from Prague to Warsaw, maybe consider stopping in one of the cities along the journey? Especially Olomouc and Krakow (I hope the trains from Prague to Warsaw run through Krakow) are nice.
Or if you’re into that, you could stop in my favorite city, Ostrava, which has this eerie post-communist industrial character (it’s sometimes called the Czech Detroit.)
I could also give you some tips for visiting Prague, if you wanted.
Enjoy the trip!
(PS: I’m so jealous)
Comment from Myrcia on 2 March 2017 at 06:42
I definitely want to stop in Krakow now. I’ve been before but only briefly and it’s a good place to break the journey between Prague and Warsaw. Ostrava sounds interesting so I’ll have to look it up.
Thanks for all the advice so far.
Comment from Sarepava on 2 March 2017 at 15:24
seat61.com should be your first stop for information.
Munich is worth seeing, and drinking. Vienna you should definitely visit. If you are prepared for the long ride from Vienna/Prague, visit the Tatra mountains in Slovakia.
Comment from Friedrich Kirchen on 2 March 2017 at 17:09
I agree with Luciano, Lisbon is one of my favourite european cities. It’s true, krakow deserves to be in the list, as munich. but i recomend you Budapest. Hungary is great. Nice people, nice food, cheap and the perfect mix between the vienna empire style and the eslavic/soviet decadence. Love it. and its in your way! nice trip, you should come back to the south europe and enjoy the mediterranean countries (so different)
Comment from Myrcia on 2 March 2017 at 17:12
Thank you for the advice. I’ve decided to swap Bratislava for Budapest on the advice of several people that there’s not much to see in Bratislava!
I love seat61.com, if it ever went away I don’t know how I’d get anywhere in Europe.
Comment from Gubble on 2 March 2017 at 18:48
I would say that either Köln or Amsterdam could be stopped at between Brussels and Hamburg (or instead of Brussels). Of course, in your list you’re missing the big city of Paris, but I assume you’ve been there before. If not though, it’s definitely worth visiting at least once.
Comment from Myrcia on 2 March 2017 at 20:47
I’ve been to both Koln and Amsterdam before but not Brussels. Brussels is also where the Eurostar goes so it makes for an easy first day. Paris is quite easy to get to from London so I felt like I’d probably go later in the year and concentrate on central Europe for this.
Comment from histor on 3 March 2017 at 01:30
Barcelona is the first choice! Then Lisboa, Prague (there you can get several tips, if you want - I worked there some years) and Vienna, Krakow is a good adresse too. In Germany do not forget Hamburg (there I was born). If you will go to the northeast do not avoid Riga or Helsinki. Both pretty towns. In Italy Miland and indeed - Trieste. Of you are in this area, too go to Zagreb.
Comment from Black Baron on 5 March 2017 at 10:11
Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia in Spain are good choices. Visiting Valencia while they are celebrating Las Fallas is one of the best things you can do in your travel! :-P