17 November 2009.
Train times valid from 13 December 2009 to June 2010.
To Austria by train...
The city & castle of Salzburg, Austria.
It's easy to travel from the UK
to Austria by train. Just take an afternoon Eurostar to
Paris then the overnight City Night Line sleeper train to
Munich for onwards connections next morning to Innsbruck,
Salzburg, Graz, Klagenfurt & Vienna. Or take a lunchtime Eurostar to
Brussels, a high-speed 'Thalys' train to Cologne, then the
equally excellent EuroNight sleeper train to Linz or Vienna,
arriving for in time for breakfast. Or take the scenic
route, using daytime
trains all the way with an overnight hotel stop in Switzerland. It's safe, civilised, comfortable
and affordable, far better for the environment
than an unnecessary flight.
On this page...
You'll find train
times, fares & how to buy tickets for:
The most usual route from London to Austria involves either
the Cologne-Vienna or Paris-Munich sleeper trains, shown in
red on this map. You can also travel by daytime
high-speed train with an overnight stop in Switzerland, or by
ferry to Holland and onward trains from there (shown in dark
blue).
It's easy to
travel from London to Vienna by train, and there are
several good options as you can see from the
route map. Each of these is explained
below.
Option
1overnightvia the Cologne-Vienna sleeper: This is
probably the cheapest & easiest option.
Take a lunchtime Eurostar from London to Brussels
and a connecting high-speed Thalys train to Cologne in
just a few hours, then sleep your way from Cologne to
Vienna aboard the excellent Austrian EuroNight train.
The EuroNight train has sleepers (including some with
private shower & toilet), couchettes & reclining seats. The Rhine Valley looks
wonderful in the moonlight!
Option 2 overnightvia the Paris-Munich
sleeper & RailJet: Another good option. Take a
mid-afternoon Eurostar to Paris,
the excellent City Night Line sleeper train from Paris to
Munich, then a daytime RailJet train onwards to Vienna next morning.
Runs daily from late March to early November, only on
Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays in the off-season.
Option 3overnightvia the Orient Express:
Take a morning Eurostar to Paris,
an evening 200 mph TGV to Strasbourg, then the
Orient Express overnight to Vienna (the real
Orient Express,
an Austrian Railways sleeper train not the expensive
restored one!). Only runs until 12 December 2009,
when the Orient Express is withdrawn.
Option 4London to Vienna in a day, by high-speed
trains across Europe: If you can get into London for
an early morning departure, it's possible to get from London
to Vienna by train in just one day, arriving late at
night. Available Monday-Saturday eastbound, daily
westbound. Not the cheapest option, though.
Option 5daytime trains with an overnight stop in
Switzerland: Take a lunchtime Eurostar to Paris
& evening high-speed TGV to Basel or Zurich, stay
overnight, then travel on next day through the scenic
Arlberg Pass to Vienna arriving early evening. This
is the most relaxing and scenic option!
Coming from other UK town & cities, simply take a train up
to London to connect with Eurostar,
see this advice. If
you live in the north of England or& Scotland,
see
this option.
Option 1, by Eurostar to Brussels &
the Cologne-Vienna sleeper...
Train times London ► Vienna
Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar,
leaving London St Pancras at 12:57 (11:57 on
Sundays), arriving in
Brussels Midi at 16:03
(15:03 on Sundays).
Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Brussels
Midi at 16:28 and arriving in
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 18:15. You've time for
a meal in Cologne.
Travel from Cologne to Vienna by daily EuroNight sleeper train, leaving
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 20:05 and arriving in Linz at
06:46, St Pölten 08:17, and Vienna Westbahnhof at 09:04.
This modern Austrian sleeper train has a sleeping-car
(1 & 2 berth compartments, including two deluxe
compartments with private shower & toilet), couchette
cars (4 & 6 berth compartments) &
reclining seats. The train travels along the
famous Rhine Valley between Koblenz and Frankfurt, so
if you are in a sleeper and your compartment happens
to be on the left-hand side of the train, switch off
the lights and watch the Rhine pass by, mountains and
castles lit by moonlight, while sipping a glass of
Riesling. Wonderful!
Travel from
Vienna to Cologne by daily EuroNight sleeper train, leaving Vienna
Westbahnhof at 19:54, St Pölten 20:41 or Linz at 21:57 and arriving at Cologne at 08:42 next morning.
This modern Austrian sleeper train has a sleeping-car (1
& 2 berth
deluxe sleepers with private shower & toilet, 1 & 2
berth sleepers with washbasin), couchettes
(4-berth or 6-berth) & reclining seats.
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high speed
Thalys
train, leaving Cologne at 10:45 and arriving
Brussels Midi
12:32.
Travel
from Brussels to London by
Eurostar.
On Mondays-Fridays,
leave Brussels
Midi at 14:29 and arrive London St Pancras at
15:26. On Saturdays & Sundays, leave Brussels
Midi at 13:59 and arrive London St Pancras at
15:03.
On board
Thalys from Brussels to Cologne...
1st class seats on Thalys....
2nd class seats on Thalys
A Thalys
about to leave Brussels...
Introducing the Austrian Railways EuroNight train from Cologne to
Vienna...
This was originally a City Night Line train, but
from 13 December 2009 it will become an
Austrian Railways (ÖBB) 'EuroNight' sleeper train,
with sleeping-car, couchettes & seats. The
sleeping-car has very compact 1 & 2 bed
compartments with washbasin, plus two deluxe
compartments (still very compact) with 1 or 2 beds
plus private shower & toilet. The
sleeper berths come fully made up with sheets and
duvets, and all sleeper passengers get mineral
water in the evening and a light breakfast served
in their compartment next morning. Towels & toiletries are
provided, including shampoo and shower gel in the
deluxe sleepers. In the more economical
couchettes, you can book a couchette in a cheaper
6-berth compartment or a less-crowded 4-berth
compartment. Couchette passengers get
a small bottle of mineral water, and each couchette is provided with sheet, blanket and pillow. When waiting for
the northbound sleeper train at Vienna
Westbahnhof, if you have a sleeper ticket (as
opposed to couchette or seat ticket), you can use
the first class ÖBB Club Lounge, with
complimentary drinks.
1 or 2 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option. Standard
compartments have washbasin, deluxe ones a shower & toilet.
4 & 6-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families. Couchettes are basic padded
bunks with rug & pillow. This is a 4-berth
compartment.
Above:
Reclining seats. A couchette is far
better for sleeping! Ordinary non-reclining
seats may be used from 13 Dec 2009.
The easiest way to book train tickets from London to Vienna
is at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
because all three trains can be booked as a single
transaction on one UK-based website. If you live
outside the UK, or want to book 4-berth couchettes (which
for some reason raileurope.co.uk won't do) use
www.eurostar.com &
www.bahn.de
instead (see the next section).
Step 1, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but resist the temptation to enter 'London' & 'Vienna' all
in one go as this won't find you the cheapest fares.
First, enter 'Cologne' & 'Vienna' and book the overnight
train from Cologne to Vienna and back. In the
search results simply look for the direct train with no
changes. For some reason it won't book 4-berth
couchettes, and may struggle with 2-berth sleepers with
shower, but if you have any difficulties like this simply
book using
www.bahn.de
instead, as described in the next section. Add this
ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 2, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the train from Brussels to Cologne & back, using
the train times above as your guide. Add this ticket
to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 3, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back, using
the train times above as a guide. By all means take an
earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later one back, if it has
cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in
Brussels. Add this to your basket and proceed to the
payment stage.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address (£1.95 fee) and
normally arrive within a couple of days.
There's a 2% credit card fee, so use a debit card if you
can. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
Booking tips: Compare prices for the Cologne-Vienna
train on both
www.raileurope.co.uk
&
www.bahn.de
as they can differ. Also try booking from London to
Cologne (shown as Koln) at
www.eurostar.com, as sometimes a through fare is cheaper
than booking each leg separately at
www.raileurope.co.uk.
This method involves two websites, so do a dry run on both
sites to check prices and availability before booking for
real.
Step 1,
go to either
www.eurostar.com or
www.raileurope.co.uk
and using the train times on this page as a guide, book a ticket from London to Cologne
(shown as Koln on the Eurostar website). It's
a good idea to try both of these websites, as sometimes one
is cheaper than the other, for some strange reason. Bookings
for Eurostar+Thalys open 90 days (3 months) before
departure. Tickets can be posted to any UK
address or collected at St Pancras on departure.
Obviously, remember that your return date of travel from
Cologne to London will be the day after your
departure date from Vienna.
Top tip: If you don't see any sensibly-priced
London-Cologne through fares, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
and try booking in two stages, first London-Brussels & back,
then Brussels-Cologne & back, using the train times above as
your guide. This is often cheaper!
Step 2,
go to
www.bahn.de
and buy a ticket from Cologne to Vienna by direct EuroNight
sleeper train. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
tickets. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euros, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily retrieve any bookings.
If you prefer to buy tickets by phone, call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or call www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-17:00
Monday-Friday, £35 booking fee but may have more time to
help).
Click
here for more information on how to buy European train tickets.
Option 2, by Eurostar, the Paris - Munich
sleeper & Railjet...
This is also a good option, bookable online. In the
'how to buy tickets' section I'll even explain how to
spend a few hours stopover in Salzburg on the way, at no
extra cost..
Train times London ► Vienna
Travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 16:02 (15:32 at weekends), arriving Paris Gare du Nord at
19:17 (18:47 at weekends).
It's then a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. By
all means take an earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend
some time in Paris, or if it has cheaper seats available.
Travel from Paris to Munich
overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train
'Cassiopeia', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at
07:16 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily for most of the year, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs on Mondays,
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 18 March 2010, then daily for the summer until
8 November 2010, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays &
Sundays again until March 2011.
It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments,
standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower),
4 & 6-berth couchettes & ordinary seats, see the photos & information
below.
More
pictures & information about this City Night Line train.
Travel
from Munich to Vienna by
air-conditioned Austrian 'RailJet' train
with bar-bistro car, leaving Munich Hbf at 09:27 and
arriving in
Vienna Westbahnhof at 13:40.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train. Note:
From 5 Oct to 10 Nov 2009, the RailJet will start in
Salzburg. During this period, you'll need to take
the 08:47 regional train from Munich to Salzburg to
connect.
Train times Vienna ► London
Travel from
Vienna to
Munich by air-conditioned Austrian 'RailJet' train, leaving Vienna
Westbahnhof at
16:20 and arriving in Munich at 20:34. The train has
a bar-bistro car.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
Travel from Munich to Paris by
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Munich at 22:43 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est
09:23 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily for most of the year, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs on Thursdays,
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 17 March 2010, then
daily until 7 November 2010, then on Thursdays, Fridays,
Saturdays & Sundays again until March 2011. The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes
(4 & 6-bunk) and
sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard
with washbasin).
More pictures
& information about this
City Night Line sleeper train.
Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
Introducing the
City Night
Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich...
The
Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German
Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Cassiopeia', it has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars (1, 2
& 3-berth deluxe
rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin, there's a shower at the
end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms),
modernised air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a
berth in a 4 or 6-berth compartment) and ordinary seats
(not recommended).
Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus
sleeping accommodation. The sleeper fare includes
a light breakfast. There's a bistro car available
in the evening serving light meals, drinks and snacks.
More
pictures & information about City Night Line trains.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:04 Eurostar & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord. For a cooked breakfast in
Munich or evening meal before boarding the Paris-bound
sleeper on your return, try the typically Bavarian
Mongdratzerl restaurant, located in the hauptbahnhof
itself.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard
with washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
"Night train to Munich": The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of the Paris to Munich
sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
RailJet is
Austria's brand-new high-speed train, linking Munich,
Salzburg, Linz & Vienna. It will soon also link
Zurich, Innsbruck & Vienna. Designed to run at up to
230km/h (143 mph) on sections of upgraded track, it
currently reaches 200km/h on part of the route, but in
other parts snakes around beautiful Bavarian & Austrian
scenery at a more sedate pace. Look out for great
views of Salzburg citadel & castle on the right as you
cross the river Salzach approaching Salzburg. RailJet
has three classes, Economy (2nd class), First (1st class),
and Premium (25 euros supplement over normal first class).
It has a bistro car providing drinks, snacks and hot
dishes, which are served at your seat on proper china in
first & premium classes. TV screens in each car tell
you the train's speed, show maps of the train's location,
and display a list of next station stops and times.
There's even a small children's TV area for the kids.
A great way to travel - simply order one of the regional
beers from the bistro, sit back and enjoy the scenery...
More pictures & information about
RailJet trains.
"The RailJet has landed..."
Train RJ 63, the morning RailJet from Munich has arrived
at Vienna Westbahnhof spot on time.
Premium class costs
25 euros more than normal 1st class...
Economy class on
RailJet, comfortable open saloons with large picture
windows. Some seats are arranged around tables,
some are unidirectional.
How much does it cost?
Each train is ticketed separately, so just add up the
price for each leg of the journey...
This is
the easiest way to book. Booking this way
involves two websites, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
, and book the sleeper from Paris
to Munich.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at
the station. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
It's best to book the Paris-Munich sleeper
train first and double-check arrival an departure times before
booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the
ones shown above. For some reason, it can't currently
book 4-berth couchettes. If you've a child aged 4- 5
or 12-14 please read this
note.
Step 2, after booking
the Paris-Munich sleeper train, add it to your basket & click 'continue shopping'.
Now book
the Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide,
but by
all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later
Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats
available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address (£1.95 fee) or
collected at the station in London & Paris (free of charge).
There's no fee for debit cards, but a 2% fee is applied to
credit cards so use a debit card if you can.
Step 3, now go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de, use the journey planner to bring up the
connecting Munich-Vienna train shown in the train times
above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any cheap
special fares are available. You simply print out your
own Online Ticket. I recommend registering when it
asks you before completing the purchase, so you can easily
retrieve any bookings. Note that you
can also buy
tickets for this train using
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but only full fares are shown, no special cheap deals,
that's why
www.bahn.de is better.
Top tip:
If you fancied stopping off for a few hours in the wonderful
city of Salzburg, when booking the Munich to Vienna RailJet
train at bahn.de simply look for the 'Via (1)' box and enter
'Salzburg', then enter (say) '04:00' in the 'hh:m stopover'
box. It'll then book you a 4 hour stopover in
Salzburg, but still let you buy a cheap 39 euros fare from
Munich to Vienna (if it's available, obviously).
Sometimes
www.raileurope.co.uk
has the cheapest fares for the
Paris-Munich sleeper, sometimes
www.bahn.de
is cheaper, so check both sites. Bahn.de can book all types of accommodation, including 4-berth
couchettes, though for some reason won't offer solo
travellers a berth in a 3-bed sleeper (but raileurope.co.uk
will!). If you book using the bahn.de site,
children under 6 go free, children under 14 can get the
child rate, which are the correct child age limits for this
train. However, if you book the Paris-Munich sleeper using
www.bahn.de you'll need to book the
Eurostar separately at
www.eurostar.com, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website and book from
Paris to Munich and back on the direct overnight sleeper
train. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
tickets. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euros, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily make the next booking an retrieve any bookings
later. Always book the
sleeper train first and check its exact arrival & departure
times before
booking the Eurostar connection, as times can vary.
Allow at least 90 minutes on the outward journey and 1 hour
on the return to make the connection in Paris.
Step 2, still on
www.bahn.de,
now use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Vienna train shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. You simply print
out your own Online Ticket.
Step
3, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris. Use the Eurostar
times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed, or collected at the station.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee).
Option 3, by Eurostar to Paris & the Orient
Express... *** Only runs until 12 December 2009 ***
This option runs until 12 December 2009, when the
Strasbourg-Vienna 'Orient Express' will finally be
permanently withdrawn, removing the famous name 'Orient
Express' from Europe's official railway timetables after
126 years. See the
Orient Express page. For travel after this date,
use one of the options above.
Travel from Paris
to Strasbourg by high-speed TGV, leaving Paris Gare
de l'Est at 17:54 (17:24 on Saturdays), arriving Strasbourg
19:42 (20:11 Saturdays).
The TGV has 1st & 2nd class seats and a buffet-bar.
Travel from Strasbourg to
Vienna overnight on the Orient Express (the real one, not the
expensive tourist one, see the explanation on the Orient
Express page), leaving Strasbourg at 20:37 and arriving next morning in Linz
04:33,
St Pölten 05:45 and
Vienna at 06:40. The Orient Express
has seats (not recommended), comfortable modern Austrian
couchettes (4 & 6-berth),
and a smart Austrian
sleeping-car with 1 & 2-bed compartments
plus one or two deluxe sleeper compartments with 1 or
2 berths and private
shower & toilet. There's no restaurant car, so take your
own food and maybe a bottle of wine, although the
sleeper and couchette attendants can sell you snacks, tea and coffee.
For sleeper passengers, a light breakfast is included
in the fare. The Orient Express used
to start in Paris, but was cut back to run
Strasbourg-Vienna with the opening of the new TGV-Est
High Speed Line in June 2007. This train will no
longer run as from 13 December 2009.
Train times Vienna ► London
Travel
overnight from Vienna to Strasbourg on the Orient Express,
leaving Vienna
Westbahnhof daily at 22:40, St Pölten 23:25, or Linz
00:38, and arriving Strasbourg at 08:59 next morning.
There are reclining seats,
couchettes (4- & 6-berth compartments) and a sleeping-car
with 1 & 2 bed rooms plus one or two 1 or 2 bed deluxe
rooms with private shower & toilet. For sleeper passengers, a light
breakfast is included in the fare. This train
will no longer run as from 13 December 2009.
Travel from Strasbourg to Paris by high-speed TGV,
leaving Strasbourg at 09:15 and arriving Paris Gare
de l'Est at 11:34. The TGV has 1st
& 2nd class seats and a buffet-bar.
Walk from
the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
13:01 and arriving London St Pancras at 14:34.
From Paris to Strasbourg by high-speed TGV...
The train speeds through undulating open green
countryside for much of the way, past pretty French
villages of the Champagne region. A cafe-bar is available serving
drinks & snacks, or feel free to bring your own.
Sit back with a glass of red and enjoy the ride....
The new TGV trains from Paris to Strasbourg feature chic
new interiors by designer Christian Lacroix.
Left: 1st class. Right:
2nd class.
From Strasbourg to Vienna overnight on the Orient Express...
You can
choose between a bed in the sleeping-car (compact 1 & 2 bed
compartments with washbasin, or deluxe 1 or 2 berth with
private shower & toilet), a couchette (choice of 6-berth or more
spacious 4-berth compartment), or a seat. Always
book a couchette or sleeper for a safe and snug night's
sleep.
Yes, this really is what's left of
the true Orient Express.
See the explanation...
Photo courtesy of Olivier Pierard
Austrian 4-berth couchettes on this train.
There's also a sleeper.
Above: The Orient Express about to leave
Strasbourg. It's now run entirely by the
Austrian Railways. Photo courtesy of Olivier Pierard.
Cheap 'Prems' fares
start at £19 one-way,
£38 return (book at least 14 days ahead, limited
availability, no refunds, no changes to travel
plans). Full fare is £47 one-way, £94 return.
Tickets
can be sent to any UK
address (£1.95 fee) or collected on departure from St Pancras
free of charge.
There's no charge for
debit cards, but a 2% credit card fee, so use a debit card
if you can. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
Bookings for this
route open 60 days
in advance, you can't book before reservations open.
You must book in
two stages. First, book from Paris to Vienna and back,
asking for an evening departure.
When
the results appear, look for the evening departure from
Paris with one change at Strasbourg. Click 'Show
details' and it will show the range of seats and sleepers
available.
When you have booked from Paris to
Vienna and back, click 'Continue shopping' and book a
Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the
Eurostar times on this page as a guide, but feel free to
choose an earlier Eurostar from London, or a later Eurostar
returning from Paris, if these have cheaper seats available
than the recommended Eurostar connection or if you want to
stop off in Paris. Just make sure you
allow at least 1 hour, preferably a bit more between trains in Paris to allow for
any delay, to walk between stations (15 mins) and for the 30
minute Eurostar check-in in the return direction.
Obviously, as you are travelling overnight, your date of
return travel from Paris to London will be the day after
your departure date from Vienna.
Alternative way to
book the Strasbourg-Vienna train: At the time of
writing,
www.raileurope.co.uk
only seems to come up with 6-berth couchettes on this train, but check to
see if they've fixed this problem. You can book the
full range of couchettes and sleepers on the
Strasbourg-Vienna Orient Express, with all the special fares
shown when available, using the Austrian
Railways website,
www.oebb.at.
Leave it in German (even if you don't speak German) and
click 'Online-ticket' at the top. Then click the
'Euros-Night' logo and a new booking window opens.
Under 'abfahrtsbahnhof' (=departure station), type
'Strasbourg'. Under 'ankunftsbahnhof' (=arrival
station), type 'Wien' ( =Vienna). Select your outward and return dates of travel ('resisedatum'),
select your age, and leave 'keine ermassigung' ('no
reduction') selected. When the results appear,
sitzplatz = seat, liege = couchettes, schlafwagen 3er = bed
in 3-bed sleeper, schlafwagen 2er = bed in 2-berth sleeper,
'schlafwagen 1er = bed in single-bed sleeper. 'Mit
dusche' = deluxe sleeper with private toilet & shower.
You pay online and print out your own ticket in .pdf format.
It's easy, even if you don't speak German! You will
then need to then book the Eurostar & Paris-Strasbourg TGV
using
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Alternatively,
residents of any country can book the Eurostar, the TGV and
the Orient Express online at the French Railways website,
www.voyages-sncf.com.
Tickets
can be sent to any address in Europe including the UK.
Voyages-sncf.com shows the same
fares as Rail Europe but paying in euros can be slightly
cheaper. However, it's more difficult to use and more
quirky than the new Rail Europe UK booking system, so see the
how to use voyages-sncf.com page for
step by step instructions.
You must book in
two stages,
first book from
Paris to
Vienna
and back. Select "Vienna (AT)' if prompted.
Then book from London to Paris and back.
How to buy tickets by phone...
You
can buy tickets from a number of UK agencies, including
Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open
09:00-21:00
Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays, £8 booking fee) or
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines
open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday &
Sunday, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or Ffestiniog
Travel on 01766 772050
(Mon-Fri office hours, 8% booking fee).
Click
here for a list of
agencies and other useful information on how to book.
You can
just about travel from central London to central Vienna in a day,
arriving late the same night. However, although
there are cheap fares available for each segment (for
example Frankfurt to Vienna for 39 euros or about £33, a bargain), it
doesn't work out the cheapest option overall.
Train times London ► Vienna
Travel from
London to Brussels by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 08:27 Mondays-Fridays or 08:57 on
Saturdays & Sundays, arriving Brussels 11:33 on
Mondays-Fridays or 12:03 on Saturdays & Sundays.
Travel from
Brussels to Frankfurt by high-speed ICE train, leaving
Brussels at 12:18 and arriving Frankfurt at 15:40.
Travel
from Frankfurt to Vienna by high-speed ICE, leaving at
16:21 and
arriving in
Vienna at 23:22.
Train times Vienna ► London
Travel from Vienna to Frankfurt by high-speed ICE, leaving
Vienna Westbahnhof at 06:40 and arriving Frankfurt at
13:40.
Travel from Frankfurt to Cologne by InterCity train,
leaving Frankfurt at 13:44 and arriving Cologne at 17:05.
It's a tight (but officially recognised) connection, but
this train leaves from an adjacent platform to the one
used by the train from Vienna, so an easy interchange.
This Intercity train takes the scenic route along the
Rhine Valley past the famous Lorelei Rock.
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by Thalys train leaving
Cologne at 17:45 and arriving in Brussels at 19:32.
Travel from Brussels to London by Eurostar, leaving
Brussels at 20:17 on Mondays-Thursdays or 20:29 on Fridays
& Sundays, arriving London St Pancras at 21:33. No
connection on Saturdays.
Fares...
You need to add up the fare for each stage of the journey.
If you're lucky, you can find a cheap fare from London to
Frankfurt for the outward journey
www.bahn.de from as little as 49 euros (£43) each
way (or maybe 69 or 89 euros, it varies).
If you don't manage to find a cheap fare at bahn.de,
London-Brussels starts at £35 one-way or £59 return at
www.eurostar.com, then
Brussels-Frankfurt starts at 39 euros (£33) each way at
www.bahn.de.
Frankfurt-Vienna starts at 39 euros (£33) each way, again
at
www.bahn.de.
So
in total, the cheapest London-Vienna return would be £152 return.
How to buy tickets online...
First, note down each train you want to book so you know
what you're looking for.
Step 0, first try booking from London to Frankfurt using
www.bahn.de. If you're lucky, you can find a
cheap 'London spezial' through ticket from London all
the way to Frankfurt costing either 49, 69 or 89 euros
each way. You simply print out your own ticket.
Availability is very limited, so if you find one of
these fares then great, if not move on to step 1.
Step 1, book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back using
www.eurostar.com.
Step 2, book trains from Brussels to Vienna & back using
www.bahn.de. To book online, you may need to split the
journey into Brussels-Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Vienna,
Vienna-Cologne and Cologne-Brussels.
The system can't cope with booking 5 trains as one
journey!
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee).
Option 5:
Daytime trains from London to Innsbruck,
Salzburg, Vienna with
hotel stop in Zurich. The scenic
option!
You can just about reach Salzburg or Vienna in one day from
London (and if you're interested, see
here
for Salzburg and
here for Vienna), but this means an early start and/or a
late arrival, and it's a long day. A more leisurely
and scenic approach is to break the journey in two, taking
an afternoon Eurostar & evening high-speed TGV from London to
Switzerland, stopping overnight in Zurich, then
taking a
relaxing low-speed ride snaking through the fabulously scenic Arlberg Pass
into Austria. The great scenery through the Alps makes it
a worthwhile experience! By all means go one way by
sleeper, the other by day.
Travel from
Paris to Switzerland by high-speed Lyria TGV, leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 18:24 arriving in Zurich at 23:00. A cafe-bar is available on
board.
Next morning, travel from Zurich
to Vienna via the fabulous Arlberg
Pass through the Alps and into the Austrian Tirol, using any train you like. For
example the air-conditioned EuroCity train 'Transalpin'
leaves Zurich at 08:40, runs via Innsbruck & Salzburg, arriving Vienna 16:40. It's an amazingly scenic
route, the train hugs the mountainside and snakes through
a huge valley, past Swiss & Austrian scenery taken
straight from the 'Sound of Music'. A restaurant car
is available for breakfast & lunch, so treat yourself as
the scenery passes by.
Daytime train times, Vienna ► London
Travel from
Vienna, Salzburg or Innsbruck to Zurich through
the Alps via the Arlberg Pass. There are several
trains to choose from, arguably the best one is the direct
air-conditioned EuroCity train 'Transalpin' leaving Vienna
at 09:20, going via Salzburg & Innsbruck, arriving Zurich at 17:20. A restaurant car is available for
lunch, so treat yourself!
Travel from Zurich to London
using any of the services suggested on the
London to Switzerland
page. For example, leave Zurich at 07:02,
arriving Paris at 11:34, change trains in Paris (with a 10 minute
walk between the Gare de l'Est & Gare du Nord), the
13:04 Eurostar from Paris Nord will get you
back at London St Pancras at 14:31.
On board the Lyria TGV...
The new TGV trains from Paris to Stuttgart feature chic
new interiors by designer Christian Lacroix.
Left: 1st class. Right: 2nd
class. There's a cafe-bar serving drinks and
snacks.
On board the EuroCitytrain 'Transalpin' from
Zurich to Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz & Vienna...
The 'Transalpin' takes
you though the Arlberg Pass from Switzerland into
Austria, then through the Austrian Tirol. You
won't break any speed records on this train, it's a
leisurely ride! The Transalpin itself is a
long train, a higgledy-piggledy mixture of spacious Swiss &
Austrian air-conditioned EuroCity cars, with a choice
of open-plan seating or seats in 6-seater compartments
in both 1st & 2nd class. I recommend the open-plan
seating for best views of the spectacular scenery,
though compartments are great if there's a small group
of you, say 4-6 people, click the links below to see a
panorama photo of each). There's a Swiss restaurant car
(pictured above left) where you can treat
yourself to a waiter-served meal or just drop in for a
beer or coffee, and it's not too
expensive either. At one end of the long train
is a special 1st class 'panorama car' (pictured above
right). These cars require a 1st class
ticket plus small supplement. They are due to be
withdrawn at some point in the next year or two, but
while they last they're a great way to see the
scenery. Note: There's only one panorama
car, and you need to ask for it specially, by phone to
a booking agency. All other 1st & 2nd class cars
are normal open-plan or compartment seats cars.
Incidentally, the second of
the two direct Zurich-Vienna trains (leaving Zurich
earlier, at 07:20) will be a RailJet train as from 13
December 2009, with a bistro car but sadly no
restaurant. Information
about RailJet.
Zurich to
Vienna costs 146
Swiss francs
(£77)
each way 2nd class
How to buy tickets...
Step 1, buy tickets from London to Zurich:
Book your tickets from London to Basel or Zurich online at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(no booking fee) or by calling Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848
(lines open 09:00-21:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-18:00 Sat,
10:00-17:00 Sun, £6 fee for phone bookings).
See the London to
Switzerland page for full details & booking tips.
Step 2, buy tickets from Zurich to Vienna online at
the Swiss Federal railways website,
www.sbb.ch.
For English, click 'EN' at the top. First, do a train
timetable enquiry for the journey you want (for example,
Basel to Innsbruck), then identify the 'Transalpin' in the
search results and click 'Fare/Buy'. You pay online
and can choose either a print-your-own ticket or ticket
collection at any staffed SBB station in Switzerland.
Print-your-own tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable,
collected tickets are changeable/refundable.
Mozart's birthplace... This is the house
where Mozart was born, in Salzburg's old town, see
www.mozarteum.at.
Salzburg is in many ways a much nicer place to visit
than Vienna, though others my disagree!
It's no problem at all to reach Innsbruck or Salzburg by
train. Choose between these two main options:
Option 1, take a late afternoon
Eurostar to Paris, snuggle down in bed aboard the
Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper then take a connecting
train to Innsbruck or Salzburg next morning. This is
the simplest & most time-effective way to go.
Option 2, take a morning Eurostar to Paris, a 200mph
TGV train to Munich, and a late night train onwards to
Salzburg. London to Austria in a day!
Option 3, travel by lunchtime Eurostar to Paris and
evening high-speed TGV to Basel or Zurich in Switzerland,
stay overnight, then travel on to Innsbruck or Salzburg next
day through the beautifully scenic Arlberg Pass. This
is a relaxing & scenic way to go.
See the
section above.
Option 1: London to Innsbruck or Salzburg via the
Paris-Munich sleeper...
This is the simplest, cheapest & most time-effective option. It runs daily from late March to early
November, and on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays
& Sundays off-season November until March. On days when it doesn't run,
see the alternative.
Train times London ► Innsbruck & Salzburg
Travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 16:02 (15:32 at weekends), arriving Paris Gare du Nord at
19:17 (18:47 at weekends).
It's then a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. By
all means take an earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend
some time in Paris, or if it has cheaper seats available.
Travel from Paris to Munich
overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train
'Cassiopeia', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at
07:16 next morning. This excellent train runs daily in summer, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs on Mondays,
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 18 March 2010, then daily until
8 November 2010, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays &
Sundays again until March 2011.
It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed standard compartments
with washbasin or deluxe with shower),
couchettes (4- & 6-berth) & ordinary seats, see the photos & information
below.
More pictures
& information about this train.
For Salzburg, travel
from Munich to Salzburg by air-conditioned EuroCity
train leaving
Munich at 08:27 and
arriving in
Salzburg at 10:06.
For Innsbruck, travel from
Munich to Innsbruck on an air-conditioned EuroCity train
'Michaelangelo'
with restaurant car, leaving Munich at 09:31 and
arriving in Innsbruck at 11:21. For Kitzbühel,
change at Wörgl (arrive 10:44,
depart 10:58) and arrive Kitzbühel 11:27.
Train times Salzburg & Innsbruck ► London
From Innsbruck, travel from Innsbruck to
Munich by EuroCity train, leaving Innsbruck at 18:36 and arriving in Munich at
20:27.
From Salzburg, travel from Salzburg to
Munich, leaving Salzburg at 19:03 by air-conditioned
Austrian 'RailJet' train, arriving Munich 20:34.
From Kitzbühel, leave Kitzbühel by InterCity train at
18:29, change at
Wörgl (arrive 18:58, depart 19:13) and arrive Munich at
20:27.
Travel from Munich to Paris by
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Munich at 22:43 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est
09:23 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily for most of the year, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs on Thursdays,
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays until 17 March 2010, then
daily until 7 November 2010, then on Thursdays, Fridays,
Saturdays & Sundays again until March 2011. The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes (6-bunk
& 4-bunk) and
sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard
with washbasin).
More pictures
& information about this train.
Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
Introducing the City Night
Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich...
The
Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German
Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Cassiopeia', it has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars (1, 2
& 3-berth deluxe
rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin, there's a shower at the
end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms),
and modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a
berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment).
Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus
sleeping accommodation. The sleeper fare includes
a light breakfast. There's a bistro car available
in the evening serving light meals, drinks and snacks.
More
pictures & information about this train.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:04 Eurostar & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord. For a cooked breakfast in
Munich (or evening meal before boarding the Paris-bound
sleeper on your return) try the
Mongdratzerl restaurant, located in the hauptbahnhof
itself.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
Above: The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of the Paris to Munich
sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
The 08:27
Munich-Salzburg train is a
smart modern Austrian train, with comfortable
air-conditioned Austrian InterCity coaches, shown in
the photos below. The journey winds through
pretty Bavarian scenery. The 09:31 'Michaelangelo' from
Munich to Innsbruck is Italian, with air-conditioned
Italian InterCity carriages, with seats in 6-seat
compartments. The journey to Innsbruck is also a
very scenic ride...
Above: This is
the train to Salzburg & Klagenfurt about to leave
Munich...
1st class seats are
in spacious 4 or 6-seat compartments...
2nd class seats are
in comfortable open saloons with plenty of space and
large picture windows...
This is
probably the easiest way to book. Booking this way
involves two websites, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.raileurope.co.uk and book the sleeper from Paris
to Munich.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at
the station. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
It's best to book the Paris-Munich sleeper
train first and double-check arrival an departure times before
booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the
ones shown above.
For some reason, it can't
currently book 4-berth couchettes. And if you've a child
aged 4- 5 or 12-14, please
read this note.
Step 2, after booking
the Paris-Munich sleeper train, add it to your basket & click 'continue shopping'.
Now book
the Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide,
but by
all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later
Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats
available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Step 3,
after adding the London-Paris ticket to your basket, click
'continue shopping' again and book from Munich to Salzburg
or Innsbruck, using the train times above as your guide.
Tickets can be sent
to any UK address (£1.95 fee) or collected at the station in
London & Paris (free of charge). There's no fee for
debit cards, but a 2% fee is applied to credit cards so use
a debit card if you can.
Alternative step 3:
If you have any problems booking the last leg at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de instead. This site
often has special offers for these routes, so is
worth checking as it may be cheaper. Use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Salzburg or Munich-Innsbruck trains shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. Tickets can be sent to any address,
or in many cases you can print out your own Online Ticket.
Sometimes
www.raileurope.co.uk
has the cheapest fares for the
Paris-Munich sleeper, sometimes
www.bahn.de
is cheaper, so it's worth checking both sites.
Bahn.de can book all types of accommodation, including 4-berth
couchettes. If you book using the bahn.de site,
children under 6 go free, children under 14 can get the
child rate. However, if you book the Paris-Munich sleeper using
www.bahn.de you'll need to book the
Eurostar separately at
www.eurostar.com, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website, and book from
Paris to Munich and back on the direct overnight sleeper
train. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
ticket. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euros, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily make the next booking and retrieve all bookings
later. Always book the
sleeper train first and check its exact arrival & departure
times before
booking the Eurostar connection, as times can vary.
Allow at least 90 minutes on the outward journey and 1 hour
on the return to make the connection in Paris.
Step 2, still on
www.bahn.de,
use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Salzburg or Munich-Innsbruck trains
shown in the train times above, and buy the ticket, looking
for any available cheap fares. You simply print out
your own ticket.
Step
3, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris. Used the Eurostar
times above as a guide, but by all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed, or collected at the station.
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee).
Salzburg Castle is well worth visiting. The
views over the old town and to the nearby mountains are
wonderful. The castle is reached via a funicular
railway, included in the admission price. See
www.hohensalzburgcastle.com.
You can travel from London to Salzburg in one day, using
Eurostar, a Paris-Munich TGV and an onwards train to
Salzburg. This also works from Innsbruck back to
London, but not from London to Innsbruck as there's no
connection late enough from Munich.
Travel from Paris to Munich
by 200mph TGV, leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 15:24 and arriving in Munich at
21:38. The TGV has a cafe-bar available.
Have dinner in Munich, then travel
from Munich to Salzburg by
regional train leaving
Munich at 22:46 and
arriving in
Salzburg at 00:42.
Train times Salzburg & Innsbruck ► London
From Salzburg, travel from Salzburg to
Stuttgart, leaving Salzburg on Mondays-Saturdays at 07:51 by air-conditioned
EuroCity train, arriving Stuttgart 12:01. No
connection from Salzburg on Sundays.
From Innsbruck, travel from Innsbruck to
Munich by ICE, leaving Innsbruck daily at 07:36 and arriving in Munich at
09:15. Change onto the EuroCity train for
Stuttgart, leaving Munich at 09:40 and arriving
Stuttgart at 12:00.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
18:13 (19:13 on Saturdays) and arriving London St Pancras at 19:34
(20:34 on Saturdays).
On Sundays there's also a 17:43 Eurostar arriving
London at 18:59.
How much does it cost?
London-Paris starts at £35 one-way or £59 return.
Paris-Munich or Stuttgart-Paris starts at £34 one-way, £68
return.
Munich-Salzburg costs 29 euros (£25) each way full fare, or
special fares often available from 19 euros (£17) each way.
How to buy tickets online...
Go
to
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents only) and book both the Eurostar to Paris and
the TGV to Munich. You can try doing this all in one
go (London to Munich) but it's better to book Paris-Munich
and Stuttgart-Paris first, add these to your basket, then
book the Eurostar from London to Paris and back.
You can also book the Munich-Salzburg and Salzburg-Stuttgart
trains at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but you may find cheaper deals available if you book these
trains at
www.bahn.de.
How to
buy tickets by phone...
If you
prefer to book the journey via Paris by phone, or if you have problems booking
online, call Rail
Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open
09:00-21:00 Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays,
no longer open Sundays).
Option 3: Daytime trains from London to Innsbruck
&
Salzburg with
hotel stop in Zurich. The scenic
option!
You can just about reach Salzburg or Vienna in one day from
London (and if you're interested, see
here
for Salzburg and
here for Vienna), but this means an early start and/or a
late arrival, and it's a long day. A more leisurely
and scenic approach is to break the journey in two, taking
an afternoon Eurostar & evening high-speed TGV from London to
Switzerland, stopping overnight in Zurich, then
taking a
relaxing low-speed ride snaking through the fabulously scenic Arlberg Pass
into Austria. The great scenery through the Alps makes it
a worthwhile experience! By all means go one way by
sleeper, the other by day.
Daytime train times, London ► St Anton, Innsbruck,
Salzburg, Vienna
Travel from
Paris to Switzerland by high-speed Lyria TGV, leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 18:24 arriving in Zurich at 23:00. A cafe-bar is available on
board.
Next morning, travel from Zurich
to Innsbruck or Salzburg via the fabulous Arlberg
Pass through the Alps and into the Austrian Tirol, using any train you like. For
example the air-conditioned EuroCity train 'Transalpin'
leaves Zurich at 08:40, arriving
Feldkirch 10:09, St Anton 10:59, Innsbruck 12:06, Salzburg
13:59, Linz 15:07 & Vienna 16:40. It's an amazingly scenic
route, the train hugs the mountainside and snakes through
a huge valley, past Swiss & Austrian scenery taken
straight from the 'Sound of Music'. A restaurant car
is available for breakfast & lunch, so treat yourself as
the scenery passes by.
Daytime train times, Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, St Anton
► London
Travel from
Vienna, Salzburg or Innsbruck to Zurich through
the Alps via the Arlberg Pass. There are several
trains to choose from, arguably the best one is the direct
air-conditioned EuroCity train 'Transalpin' leaving Vienna
at 09:20, Linz 10:53, Salzburg 12:02, Innsbruck 13:54, St Anton
15:00, Feldkirch 15:48, arriving Zurich at 17:20. A restaurant car is available for
lunch, so treat yourself!
Travel from Zurich to London
using any of the services suggested on the
London to Switzerland
page. For example, leave Zurich at 07:02,
arriving Paris at 11:34, change trains in Paris (with a 10 minute
walk between the Gare de l'Est & Gare du Nord), the
13:04 Eurostar from Paris Nord will get you
back at London St Pancras at 14:31.
On board the Lyria TGV...
The new TGV trains from Paris to Stuttgart feature chic
new interiors by designer Christian Lacroix.
Left: 1st class. Right: 2nd
class. There's a cafe-bar serving drinks and
snacks.
On board the EuroCitytrain 'Transalpin' from
Zurich to Innsbruck, Salzburg, Linz & Vienna...
The 'Transalpin' takes
you though the Arlberg Pass from Switzerland into
Austria, then through the Austrian Tirol. You
won't break any speed records on this train, it's a
leisurely ride! The Transalpin itself is a
long train, a higgledy-piggledy mixture of spacious Swiss &
Austrian air-conditioned EuroCity cars, with a choice
of open-plan seating or seats in 6-seater compartments
in both 1st & 2nd class. I recommend the open-plan
seating for best views of the spectacular scenery,
though compartments are great if there's a small group
of you, say 4-6 people, click the links below to see a
panorama photo of each). There's a Swiss restaurant car
(pictured above left) where you can treat
yourself to a waiter-served meal or just drop in for a
beer or coffee, and it's not too
expensive either. At one end of the long train
is a special 1st class 'panorama car' (pictured above
right). These cars require a 1st class
ticket plus small supplement. They are due to be
withdrawn at some point in the next year or two, but
while they last they're a great way to see the
scenery. Note: There's only one panorama
car, and you need to ask for it specially, by phone to
a booking agency. All other 1st & 2nd class cars
are normal open-plan or compartment seats cars.
Incidentally, the second of
the two direct Zurich-Vienna trains (leaving Zurich
earlier, at 07:20) will be a RailJet train as from 13
December 2009, with a bistro car but sadly no
restaurant. Information
about RailJet.
Basel to Innsbruck costs 102 Swiss francs (£54) each
way 2nd class
Basel
to Salzburg costs 144 Swiss francs (£76) each way 2nd
class
Basel to Vienna
costs 169
Swiss francs
(£89)
each way 2nd class
Zurich to
Innsbruck costs 79
Swiss francs
(£42)
each way 2nd class
Zurich to
Salzburg costs 121Swiss
francs (£64)
each way 2nd class
Zurich to
Vienna costs 146
Swiss francs
(£77)
each way 2nd class
How to buy tickets...
Step 1, buy tickets from London to Zurich:
Book your tickets from London to Basel or Zurich online at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(no booking fee) or by calling Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848
(lines open 09:00-21:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-18:00 Sat,
10:00-17:00 Sun, £6 fee for phone bookings).
See the London to
Switzerland page for full details & booking tips.
Step 2, buy tickets from Zurich to Innsbruck or
Salzburg online at the Swiss Federal railways website,
www.sbb.ch.
For English, click 'EN' at the top. First, do a train
timetable enquiry for the journey you want (for example,
Basel to Innsbruck), then identify the 'Transalpin' in the
search results and click 'Fare/Buy'. You pay online
and can choose either a print-your-own ticket or ticket
collection at any staffed SBB station in Switzerland.
Print-your-own tickets are non-refundable, non-changeable,
collected tickets are changeable/refundable.
Travel from London to Munich
by Eurostar & Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper
train, as shown on the
London-Germany page, leaving London at 16:02 (15:32
at weekends), changing trains in Paris and
arriving Munich at
07:16 next morning.
Travel from Munich to Graz
on a direct EuroCity train leaving Munich at 10:27 and
arriving Graz 16:22. Or you can leave Munich at
08:27, change at Bischofshofen (arrive 10:52, depart
11:13) arriving Graz at 14:22.
Train times Graz ► London
Leave Graz at 11:38 on a direct EuroCity train to
Munich, arriving at 17:35, and enjoy an evening in Munich.
Or you can leave Graz at 13:38, change trains at Wörgl
(arrive 18:58, depart 19:14) arriving Munich 20:25.
Travel from
Munich to London by City Night Line sleeper train &
Eurostar, leaving Munich at 22:43, changing trains in
Paris and arriving London at
12:29 next day, as shown on
the London-Germany page.
Book the
Munich-Graz trains online at
www.bahn.de.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open
09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency
such as
European Rail on 020 7619 1083 (lines open
08:30-18:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking
fee).
Travel from London to Munich
by Eurostar & Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper
train, as shown on the
London-Germany page, leaving London at 16:02 (15:32
at weekends), changing trains in Paris and
arriving Munich at
07:16 next morning.
Travel from Munich to
Villach & Klagenfurt on a direct EuroCity train leaving
Munich at 08:27 and arriving Villach at 12:43 and
Klagenfurt at 13:17.
See the photos above.
Train times Klagenfurt, Villach ► London
Leave Klagenfurt
at 16:31 and Villach at 17:18 by direct EuroCity train
to Munich, arriving Munich at
21:33.
Travel from
Munich to London by City Night Line sleeper train &
Eurostar, leaving Munich at 22:43, changing trains in
Paris and arriving London at
12:29 next day, as shown on
the London-Germany page.
Book the
Munich-Villach/Klagenfurt trains online at
www.bahn.de.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee).
Naturally, you can take a train up
to London and travel from London to Austria as described
above.
Here's some advice on buying
connecting train tickets to London. But there's an
excellent City Night Line
sleeper train from Amsterdam to Munich with connections to
Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna. DFDS run an excellent daily
overnight cruise ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam, and P&O
also sail overnight from Hull to Holland. So why not
by-pass London, and have a day in Amsterdam into the
bargain?
Above: By-pass London with the DFDS Seaways
cruise ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam (or P&O from
Hull to Rotterdam). Direct
sleeper trains run from Amsterdam to Prague,
Copenhagen, Warsaw, Zurich, Munich and even
Moscow...
Photo courtesy of DFDS
Scotland, the north of England,
East Anglia ►
Austria
Day 1, Take an afternoon train from your local station
to either Harwich, Hull or Newcastle, whichever is most
convenient for where you live. Transfer to the
overnight cruise ferry to Holland, with bars, restaurants
& comfortable en suite cabins, arriving next morning.
For details of timetables, fares & how to buy tickets for
travel to Amsterdam via each of these ferry routes,
see the UK-Netherlands page.
Day 2, spend the day
in Amsterdam, all the sights are easy walking distance from
Centraal station. Left luggage lockers are available
at Centraal station, 4-6 euros for 24 hours, paid for with
Maestro or Visa cards.
Day 2 evening, take
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Pollux' from Amsterdam to
Munich.
The Pollux leaves Amsterdam at 20:31 daily,
arriving Munich Hauptbahnhof at 07:16 next morning (day 3). for details of what
this train is like see here. Change in Munich for onwards trains to Innsbruck, Salzburg
& Vienna,
as above.
Austria ►
Scotland, the north of England, East Anglia
Day 1, evening: The
City Night Line sleeper train 'Pollux' leaves Munich at
22:43 daily, arriving at Amsterdam Centraal at 09:03 next
morning.
For details of what this train
is like see here.
See above for connections from
Innsbruck, Salzburg & Vienna to Munich.
Day 2: Spend the day in Amsterdam.
Left luggage lockers are available.
Day 2, late afternoon/evening: Travel overnight by cruise ferry from
Holland to either Harwich, Hull or Newcastle, whichever is
most convenient for where you live, arriving next morning (day
4). Transfer to the station and take a train home.
For full details of train & ferry times and how to buy tickets
for each of these routes,
see the UK-Netherlands page.
To check
Amsterdam-Vienna or Amsterdam-Munich sleeper train fares &
book online, go to either
www.raileurope.co.uk (easy to use and can be cheapest
way to book, but may have difficulty booking 4 berth
couchettes) or
www.bahn.de (look for the direct train with 0 changes).
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
2009 edition (June to December 2009)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
Definitely
take a good guidebook. For independent travel, the best guides
are the the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. Both guidebooks have
the same excellent level of practical information and cultural and
historical background. You won't regret buying one! My own
book, an essential handbook for train travel to Europe based on this
website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and
is available from Amazon with shipping worldwide.
Find a hotel in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck or anywhere else in
Europe...
It's
easy to book hotels online to go with your train tickets, just
use the form below. This links to
www.hotelscombined.com, which is a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites for you
(including Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms, Opodo, Venere and many
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set
up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place
to start for booking any hotel online in any country,
worldwide. It saves me hours going round in circles on
umpteen different hotel sites!
www.laterooms.com negotiates discounts for hotel rooms booked
within 3 months of travel, which makes it ideal for train
travellers booking train travel within the normal 90 days
advance booking period.
www.tripadvisor.com
is the place to find
independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
Backpacker hostels...
www.hostelbookers.com: If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelbookers
offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in
backpacker hostels in Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and most
other European cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance, health card, SIM card
Get travel insurance..
Never go abroad without travel insurance from a
reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
I've used
Direct Line myself and on one occasion, successfully
claimed back the cost of non-refundable Eurostar & trainhotel
tickets to Spain when we cancelled the trip because my mother
fell ill.
Feedback from
using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome!
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get an international SIM card...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, but if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85%. It
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
Great Rail Journeys escorted tours from the UK to
Vienna or the Austrian Alps...
If want to go on
holiday to Austria by train, but would rather do this as part of
an organised escorted tour with other travellers and a guide,
there is a well-known UK-based company called
Great Rail Journeys which offers upmarket rail-based
holidays to Europe, including
tours to the Austrian Alps and a
tour covering Vienna, Budapest and Prague, both tours
starting from London by train. Great Rail Journeys also offer
rail-based holidays to other European countries. Check
the holiday details online, then call 01904 527120 to
book or use their
online booking form. Seat61 gets some commission to help
support the site if you book your holiday through this link
and phone number.
www.venere.com
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see
