This is an excellent option, in effect as fast as flying.
Finish work in central London one day, breakfast
in Berlin city centre the next, by train..!
London ► Berlin (by sleeper train):
- Travel from London to
Brussels by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at
18:35 (18:31 on Saturdays & Sundays), arriving
Brussels Midi at 21:33.
-
Travel from Brussels to Berlin
by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Perseus', leaving
Brussels Midi at 23:41 and arriving at Hanover
06:00, Berlin (Hauptbahnhof)
at 08:13 and Berlin
(Ostbahnhof) at 08:22 next
morning. The 'Perseus' has sleepers, couchettes, seats
and a bistro car, see the photos & information below.
Map of Berlin showing Hauptbahnhof.
Introducing the City Night Line sleeper train to Berlin...
The Brussels-Berlin
overnight train is one of the
German Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Perseus', it
has brand-new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower &
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, shower at
the end of the corridor, all rooms with power-points for
mobiles & laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in
a 4- or 6-berth compartment), ordinary seats (not
recommended, as a couchette is far better) and a bistro-restaurant
car. Inclusive fares are charged covering
travel plus sleeping accommodation. The
sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast in the
restaurant car.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
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... |
|
Bistro-bar car:
The bistro
car serves meals, snacks & drinks in the evening,
breakfast in the morning.
Click here for more pictures & information about this
train... |
Berlin ► London
(by sleeper train):
- Travel from Berlin to
Brussels by City Night Line sleeper train 'Perseus', leaving Berlin Ostbahnhof at
21:17, Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 21:26, Hanover at 23:31 and
arriving Brussels
06:11 next morning. This train has ordinary seats (not recommended), couchettes (4-bunk or
6-bunk) and brand-new sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-berth standard
rooms with washbasin or
deluxe rooms with private shower & toilet, highly
recommended), plus a bistro-restaurant car.
Breakfast is included in the fare for sleeper passengers.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
-
Travel from Brussels to London by Eurostar. On
Mondays to Saturdays, a Eurostar leaves Brussels at 06:59
arriving London St Pancras at 07:55. On Sundays, a Eurostar leaves Brussels at
07:59 arriving London at 08:56.
Fares:
|
1. London
to Brussels
by
Eurostar: |
Return fares
start at £59 2nd class, £149 1st class.
One-way fares start at £44 2nd class.
Advice on one-way Eurostar fares. Child, youth & senior fares
|
| |
|
2. Brussels to
Berlin by
sleeper train (per person) |
In a
seat |
In
a couchette |
In
the sleeping-car (standard room *) |
|
6-bunk |
4-bunk |
3-bed |
2-bed |
1-bed |
|
Savings fare, one way: |
29 euro (£21) |
39 euro (£29) |
49 euro (£36) |
- |
- |
- |
|
Savings
fare, return: |
58 euro (£42) |
78 euro (£58) |
98 euro (£72) |
- |
- |
- |
|
Normal fare, one-way: |
101 euro (£75) |
113 euro (£84) |
117 euro (£87) |
128 euro (£95) |
144 euro (£107) |
237 euro (£176) |
|
Normal fare, return: |
202 euro (£150) |
226 euro (£168) |
234 euro (£174) |
256 euro (£190) |
288 euro (£214) |
474 euro (£352) |
|
Child under 14 with own berth: |
51 euro (£36) |
57 euro (£41) |
59 euro (£42) |
64 euro (£46) |
72 euro (£51) |
- |
|
Child under 6 without own berth: |
Child under 6 sharing berth travels free... |
Savings fare =
Special cheap fare, book in advance, limited availability,
no refunds, no changes to travel plans.
Normal fare =
fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.
* The fare for a
deluxe sleeper with shower is around 10% more than the
equivalent fare for a standard sleeper.
Couchettes are
sold individually in shared 4 or 6 berth compartments, but
as from 9 December 2007, only whole sleeper compartments on
this route can be booked, it will no longer be possible for
solo passengers to book one sleeper berth in a 2 or 3 bed
compartment and share with other passengers. Call DB's
UK office for prices for sleepers with private shower.
How to buy tickets online...
The cheapest
and easiest way to book this journey is online, although you
have to use two separate websites. Do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
-
Step 1, go to
www.bahn.de/citynightline, which is the German Railways official sleeper
train website. Select 'English' top right, then click
through to the online booking system. Or if the
English button has disappeared again (!) you can click 'buchung' on the left, then 'fahrkarten
buchung', then 'buchen sie jetzt ihre nachtzugreise', and a booking window then appears which has an English language
button.
-
Book from Brussels Midi to Berlin
Hbf and back by the overnight sleeper train.
Availability of both cheap 'sparnight' special fares and
fully-flexible full fares will be shown, for each type of
seat, couchette & sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out
your own tickets in .pdf format. Easy! Note that
the prices shown on
www.bahn.de/citynightline are in euros, and are the total cost for
all passengers selected, not per person. Brussels Midi
appears as Bruxelles Midi.
-
Step 2, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Brussels, using the Eurostar
times above as a guide. 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 Brussels for a while. Return fares start at
£59, but for one-way fares on Eurostar
see this
advice. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, or picked up at the station if you're travelling at
short notice or booking from overseas.
How to buy
tickets by phone...
To book both
the Eurostar and the sleeper train by phone, call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday, no
booking fee, £3 credit card fee), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-17:00
Monday-Friday, £25 booking fee per transaction).
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