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Above:  DFDS Seaways ferry "Dana Sirena" links Harwich with Esbjerg... Photo courtesy of DFDS Seaways.

This is a very comfortable way to go, with cabins, restaurants, bars and cinema on board the DFDS Seaways cruise ferry from Harwich in Essex to Esbjerg, then a train ride across Denmark to Copenhagen for the sleeper to Stockholm.  There used to be a direct ferry from the UK to Gothenburg in Sweden, but this was withdrawn in October 2006.

London ▶ Stockholm  via Esbjerg:

• Day 1, travel from London to Harwich by train, leaving London Liverpool Street at 14:18 and arriving Harwich International 1 hour 25 minutes later.  Harwich International station is right next to the ferry terminal.  Trains to Harwich run hourly, but this departure gives plenty of time to catch the ferry.  Please check times at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

• Day 1 early evening, Sail from Harwich to Esbjerg in Denmark aboard DFDS Seaways 'Dana Sirena'.  The Dana Sirena sails from Harwich every Wednesday, Friday & Sunday at 18:00 (increased to every second day in June, July & August ), arriving in Esbjerg at 13:00 next day (day 2).  www.dfds.co.uk will confirm sailing dates.  The Dana Sirena is a modern and well-run ship, with comfortable cabins, two restaurants, a bar, coffee shop and lounges, see the photos below.  On arrival at Esbjerg, take a taxi or bus or simply walk to the railway station.  Bus number 5 runs from the ferry terminal to the station every 20 minutes, bus fare 15 Kr adult 8 Kr child.

  If you've a backpack or light luggage, you can easily walk from the ferry terminal to  the pedestrianised town centre in about 10-15 minutes, from where it's another 5-10 minutes walk to the station.  The station is a historic red-brick building, though not very distinctively marked.

• Day 2 afternoon, travel from Esbjerg to Copenhagen by modern InterCity train, leaving Esbjerg town station at 15:42 and arriving in Copenhagen at 18:53.  The journey is about 175 miles, right across Denmark in air-conditioned comfort.  You can check times for your date of travel at http://bahn.hafas.de.

• Day 2 evening, travel from Copenhagen to Stockholm overnight, leaving Copenhagen by frequent local train at 21:23 arriving Malmö at 21:58 (these Copenhagen-Malmö local trains in fact run every 20 minutes).  A sleeper train leaves Malmö at 23:08, arriving Stockholm at 06:55 next morning (day 3 from London).  This sleeper train runs daily except Saturday nights and has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and sleepers (1 & 2 bed rooms with washbasin).  Check train times at http://bahn.hafas.de.

• Alternatively, spend the night in Copenhagen and head for Stockholm the next day (day 3).  Regular high speed tilting 'X2000' trains link Copenhagen with Stockholm in about 5½ hours, check train times at http://bahn.hafas.de.

On board DFDS Seaways "Dana Sirena" from the UK to Esbjerg...

The Dana Sirena is a modern and well-run ship, built in 2002.  All passengers travel in cabins, and all cabins have a private shower & toilet.  Facilities on board include the 7 Seas buffet restaurant, the Blue Riband à la carte restaurant, Café Lighthouse (with WiFi access for laptops), Columbus Lounge, and shop. The ship is child-friendly, with children's play area, child restraints for cabin berths available from reception, and highchairs available in all restaurants and lounges.  3D virtual tour of the Dana Sirena's cabins, lounges, bars and restaurants.  Cabins come in three classes:

• Seaways class: 1-6 berths with private shower and toilet;

• Sirena class: 1 or 2 berth with private shower and toilet, TV (BBC World, BBC Prime), complimentary minibar, breakfast included;

• Commodore Deluxe: Hotel-style rooms with double bed or two single beds, TV (BBC Prime, BBC World), small sitting area, private shower and toilet.  Commodore cabins are on their own deck with exclusive access to the Commodore Lounge which has sea views, complimentary tea, coffee, snacks, beer and (in the evening) free wine and spirits, PC with internet access and WiFi access if you have your own laptop.  Commodore Deluxe is like travelling to Scandinavia aboard a floating hotel, highly recommended..!

Crossing the North Sea aboard the Dana Sirena...		Commodore class cabin with double bed.		Sirena class cabin.

On board the Danish InterCity train from Esbjerg to Copenhagen...

All aboard for Copenhagen..!		Inside the air-conditioned IC3 train.

X2000 daytime trains from Copenhagen to Stockholm...

Stockholm ▶ London  via Esbjerg:

• Day 1, travel from Stockholm to Copenhagen overnight by sleeper train, leaving Stockholm at 22:35 and arriving Malmö at 06:42 next morning.  This sleeper train runs daily except Saturdays.  A connecting local train leaves Malmö every 20 minutes, with one at 07:02 arriving Copenhagen at 07:37.  The sleeper train has seats, couchettes (6 bunk) and sleepers (1 & 2 bed rooms).

• Alternatively, on Mondays-Saturdays there is a high speed X2000 train leaving Stockholm at 06:20 and arriving Copenhagen at 11:33, allowing same-day connection to Esbjerg for the ferry to England.  Check times and days of running at http://bahn.hafas.de.

• Day 2, travel from Copenhagen to Esbjerg by modern air-conditioned InterCity train, leaving Copenhagen at 12:30 and arriving Esbjerg at 15:27.  You can check times at http://bahn.hafas.de.  Take a bus or taxi to the ferry terminal, or simply walk (25 minutes).  Bus number 5 runs from the station to the port every 20 minutes.

• Day 2 evening, sail from Esbjerg to Harwich aboard DFDS Seaways' 'Dana Sirena', leaving Esbjerg ferry terminal at 19:00 on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, arriving Harwich at 11:30 next day (sailings are increased to every second day in June, July & August).  See www.dfds.co.uk to confirm sailing dates.  3D virtual tour of the Dana Sirena's cabins, lounges, bars and restaurants.

• Day 3, travel from Harwich to London by train, leaving Harwich International station at 13:06 and arriving London Liverpool Street at 14:33.  The train service runs hourly, you can check times at www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Fares:

• London to Harwich by train costs £24 return or £21.50 one-way.  Advance reservation isn't necessary, just buy tickets at the station on the day of travel.  Alternatively, if you book with DFDS Seaways by phone, they can sell you a London-Harwich train ticket with your ferry ticket for a special price of £10 one-way or £20 return.

• Harwich to Esbjerg by ferry starts at around £158 return for two people sharing a 2-bed Seaways class cabin with private toilet and shower (= £79 return each) or £147 return for one person with sole use of a cabin.  To check sailing dates, times and fares for different types of cabin, visit www.dfds.co.uk.  DFDS Seaways now has an airline-style pricing system so prices vary, book early and avoid peak times to get the cheapest fares.  Children under 16 travel at reduced fare.  Unfortunately, DFDS won't now let solo passengers share cabins, the whole cabin must be booked.

• Esbjerg to Copenhagen by intercity train costs 297 Kr (£27) one way, 594 Kr (£54) return for adults, or 149 Kr (£14) each way for children and seniors over 65.  Advance reservation is possible but not necessary, and tickets can be bought at the station on the day at those prices.  Alternatively, DFDS can sell you a train ticket with your ferry ticket, at the same prices.

• Copenhagen to Stockholm by sleeper train costs SEK 760 (£56) one-way or SEK 1520 (£112) return per person travelling in 6-bunk couchettes, or SEK 1170 (£87) one-way, SEK 2340 (£174) return per person travelling in a 2-bed sleeper, when booked by email through www.swedenbooking.com.  Booked online at either either www.sj.se or www.bokatag.se, the price will be at least 10% cheaper.

How to buy tickets:

• Step 1:  Buy your ferry tickets online at www.dfds.co.uk (no booking fee) or by calling DFDS Seaways on 0870 5 333 000 (£10 booking fee for phone bookings).  Phone lines are open 08:30-20:00 Mondays-Fridays, 08:30-17:00 Saturdays, 10:00-16:00 Sundays. 

• You can buy your London-Harwich & Esbjerg-Copenhagen train tickets at the station on the day of travel.  No reservation is necessary, and there's no price advantage in buying tickets in advance.  But if you really want to, you can buy the London-Harwich ticket online at www.nationalrail.co.uk and the Esbjerg-Copenhagen ticket (with seat reservation) at www.dsb.dk, the Danish Railways website.  This is in Danish, but it's not difficult to work out how to use it if you're familiar with the way such booking systems work.  You pay by credit card then print out your own ticket.  remember that Copenhagen in Danish is 'Kobenhavn'.  Alternatively, if you book by phone, DFDS can add both UK and Esbjerg-Copenhagen tickets to your ferry fare, including making a seat reservation on the Esbjerg-Copenhagen train.  Ask DFDS about special cheap train fares from other UK stations to Harwich, too. 

• Step 2:  Buy the Copenhagen-Malmö-Stockholm sleeper tickets online at either www.sj.se (no booking fee, you may have to fake a Swedish phone number) or www.bokatag.se (English button is bottom right, small booking fee, accepts all credit cards through 3-D secure system, you may have to fake a Swedish phone number), or by email from www.swedenbooking.com (personal service, but 10% surcharge & SEK100 booking fee).  Bookings open 90 days before departure.  Using either www.sj.se or www.bokatag.se, you pay online and collect tickets from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines installed at Copenhagen main station or any Swedish station including Stockholm or Malmö.  This is the cheapest option as there are no booking fees.  Using Swedenbooking, you email info@swedenbooking.com or call + 46 498 203380 to make the reservation by credit card.  Swedenbooking can post tickets to UK addresses or tickets can be picked up by entering your booking reference into the automatic machines at stations, including Copenhagen, Malmö & Stockholm stations.

London ► Stockholm  (via Cologne):

• Travel from London to Brussels by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 14:34 and arriving in Brussels at 17:33.

• Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed Thalys train, leaving Brussels at 19:25 and arriving in Cologne at 21:45.

• Travel from Cologne to Copenhagen by overnight train, leaving Cologne at 22:28 and arriving in Copenhagen at 09:59 next morning.  This train has seats, couchettes (6-bunk & 4-bunk), and a double-deck sleeping-car with 1- and 2-berth rooms with washbasin.   This train runs daily from 9 December 2007.

• Travel from Copenhagen to Stockholm by high-speed tilting X2000 train, leaving Copenhagen at 12:31 and arriving in Stockholm at 17:35.  See the X2000 pictures above.

On board the Cologne-Copenhagen 'City Night Line' sleeper 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...		Above:  One of the new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars on the Cologne-Copenhagen City Night Line sleeper train.  More pictures...

Stockholm ► London  (via Cologne):

• Travel from Stockholm to Copenhagen by train, leaving Stockholm at 12:20 by fast X2000 tilting train, changing trains at Malmö and arriving Copenhagen at 17:37.  See the X2000 pictures above.

• Travel from Copenhagen to Cologne by overnight train, leaving Copenhagen daily at 18:53 and arriving Cologne at 06:14 next morning.  This train has couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) and a double-deck sleeping-car (1- & 2-berth rooms).  This train runs daily from 9 December 2007.

• On Mondays-Saturdays, a high-speed Thalys train leaves Cologne at 07:14, arriving Brussels at 09:35.  On Sundays, a high-speed Thalys train leaves Cologne at 07:40, arriving Brussels at 10:01.

• A Eurostar leaves Brussels at 11:59 and arrives London St Pancras at 13:03.

Fares  (via Cologne):

London to Cologne  by Eurostar + Thalys:	London to Cologne by Eurostar+Thalys or Eurostar+ICE starts at just £79 return. Book in advance to get the cheapest fares, as the fare rises as cheaper seats are sold.  One-way fares usually cost more than a return, so for one-way trips buy a return and throw away the return half.
Cologne to Copenhagen:  by sleeper train:	In a couchette		In the sleeping-car
	6-berth	4-berth	2-berth	single berth
Savings fare one-way:	£28	£35	£49	£92
Savings fare return:	£56	£70	£98	£184
Normal one-way:	£75	£79	£95	£158
Normal return:	£150	£158	£190	£316
Copenhagen to Stockholm  by X2000	Booked with www.raileurope.co.uk, fixed price, £70 one-way, £140 return.  Booked with www.bokatag.se, price varies, £17-£70 one-way, £34-£140 return.

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.  You can check sleeper fares at www.bahn.de/citynightline.

How to buy tickets online:

The cheapest way to book train travel from London to Stockholm is online, although you need to use at least two separate websites.  Do a dry run to check availability and fares on both sites before starting to book.  Remember you can't book until 90 days before departure. 

• Step 1, go to the German Railways night train site, www.bahn.de/citynightline.  Select 'English' top right, and book a sleeper or couchette ticket from Cologne (Köln Hbf) to Copenhagen (Koebenhvn H) and back, looking for the cheap 'Savings' fares ('sparnight' in German).  You pay online and print out your own ticket in .PDF format on your own PC printer.  Easy!

• Step 2, now go to www.raileurope.co.uk and book a London-Cologne Eurostar+Thalys ticket, using the train times on this page as a guide.  On the Rail Europe home page, you simply enter 'London', 'Cologne' and your dates of travel.  One-way fares can be higher than returns, and if so, just buy a return and throw away the return portion after using the outward.  Make sure you allow plenty of time for the connection in Cologne, preferably between 1½ & 2 hours when connecting with a sleeper train.  It's obvious, but remember that your return departure date from Cologne will be the day after your departure date from Copenhagen!

• Occasionally, if there are no affordable London-Cologne through fares shown, it can be worth splitting the journey into separate London-Brussels & Brussels-Cologne sections, looking for cheap fares for each leg at www.raileurope.co.uk.  Give this a try if you don't see any cheap fares for the throughout London-Cologne journey.  First, ask for 'Brussels' to 'Cologne' and your dates of travel.  'Koeln Hbf (DE)' is the destination you want, if the system asks you.  After booking the Thalys from Brussels to Cologne, click 'add another ticket' and book a Eurostar from London to Brussels and back to connect.  Make sure you allow for the 30 minute Eurostar check-in at Brussels on the return journey.

• Step 3, there are two options for booking the Copenhagen to Stockholm train.  The easy way is to stay with www.raileurope.co.uk, click 'continue shopping' and book a ticket from Copenhagen to Stockholm and back online.  Rail Europe charges a standard fixed price for Copenhagen-Stockholm trains for all dates and departures, this is the international tariff made available to other European railway operators by the Swedish Railways.  The second, often cheaper way is to book the Copenhagen-Stockholm train online using either www.sj.se (no booking fee, but may struggle with some non-nordic credit cards) or www.bokatag.se (English button bottom right, small booking fee, accepts all credit cards).  On both www.sj.se & www.bokatag.se you'll see the actual Swedish Railways prices, which vary like budget airline fares.  If you book several months in advance you can find really cheap fares available, much cheaper than with Rail Europe, rising to pretty much the same level as Rail Europe closer to departure.  You pay online and pick your ticket up from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines which have been installed at Copenhagen main station.

How to buy tickets by phone:

You can buy tickets through a number of UK agencies, but the best for this trip is probably Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri), or Ffestiniog Travel on 01766 772050.  Click here for a list of agencies and more info on how to book.

London ► Stockholm  (via Hamburg):

• Travel from London to Brussels by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras at 18:35 (18:31 on Saturdays & Sundays), arriving Brussels 21:33.

• Travel from Brussels to Hamburg overnight, leaving Brussels at 23:41 arriving at Hamburg (Hauptbahnhof) at 08:12 next morning.  This train is one of the German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains, with sleepers, couchettes & seats, see the photos & information below.

• Travel from Hamburg to Copenhagen by air-conditioned EuroCity train, leaving Hamburg (Hauptbahnhof) at 09:28 and arriving Copenhagen at 14:09.  An interesting feature of this journey is that your EuroCity train will be shunted onto a ferry for the sea crossing from Puttgarten in Germany to Rodby in Denmark.

• Travel from Copenhagen to Stockholm, leaving Copenhagen at 14:23 by local train to Malmö, change trains onto a fast X2000 tilting train and arrive Stockholm at 19:40.  See the X2000 pictures above.

Introducing the City Night Line sleeper train to Hamburg...

The Brussels-Hamburg overnight train is one of the German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains.  It has brand-new sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, shower at the end of the corridor, all rooms have powerpoints for laptop computers), modern 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.  Does not run on 24 or 31 December.  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...		One of the new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars on the Brussels-Hamburg City Night Line sleeper train.  More pictures...

Stockholm ► London  (via Hamburg):

• Connections no longer work in this direction, unless you stop over in Copenhagen, or travel overnight Stockholm-Copenhagen, or travel the previous day and hotel in Copenhagen.

• Travel from Copenhagen to Hamburg by air-conditioned EuroCity train leaving Copenhagen at 11:45 and arriving Hamburg (Hauptbahnhof) at 16:16.  The train is shunted onto a ferry at Rodby for the sea crossing to Puttgarten, an interesting experience.

• Travel overnight from Hamburg to Brussels, leaving Hamburg (Hauptbahnhof) at 20:24, arriving Brussels 06:15 next morning. This train is one of the German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains, with sleepers, couchettes & seats, see the photos & information above.

• Travel from Brussels to London by Eurostar.  On Mondays to Fridays, a Eurostar leaves Brussels at 07:05 arriving London St Pancras at 08:26.  On Saturdays, a Eurostar leaves Brussels at 07:29 arriving London at 08:55.  On Sundays, a Eurostar leaves Brussels at 07:59 arriving London at 09:36.

Fares  (via Hamburg):

1. London to Hamburg	See the London to Hamburg section on the Germany page.
2. Hamburg to Copenhagen	Approximately £42 one-way, £79 return in 2nd class.
3. Copenhagen to Stockholm	Booked with www.raileurope.co.uk, fixed price, £70 one-way, £140 return.  Booked with www.bokatag.se, price varies, £17-£70 one-way, £34-£140 return.

How to buy tickets online:

The cheapest and easiest way to book this journey is online, although you have to use four separate websites.  Do a 'dry run' first on all three 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.

• Book from Brussels Midi to Hamburg and back by the overnight sleeper train.  Availability of both cheap 'Savings' fares ('Sparnight' in German) and fully-flexible normal 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 appears as 'Bruxelles Midi'.

• Step 2, now 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 return, 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.

• Step 3, now go to the German Railways main website http://bahn.hafas.de, use the journey planner to bring up the connecting Hamburg-Copenhagen 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 some cases printed out yourself.

• Step 4, there are now two options for booking the Copenhagen to Stockholm train.  The easy way is to use www.raileurope.co.uk, with tickets sent to any UK address.  Rail Europe charges a standard fixed price for Copenhagen-Stockholm trains for all dates and departures, this is the international tariff made available to other European railway operators by the Swedish Railways.  The second, often cheaper way is to book the Copenhagen-Stockholm train using the Swedish rail ticket booking website www.bokatag.se (English button bottom right).  On www.bokatag.se you'll see the actual Swedish Railways prices, which vary like budget airline fares.  If you book several months in advance you can find really cheap fares available, much cheaper than with Rail Europe, rising to pretty much the same level as Rail Europe closer to departure.  You pay online and pick your ticket up from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines which have been installed at Copenhagen main station.

How to buy tickets by phone:

You cannot book this journey online, you must book by phone.  You can book through a number of UK agencies, but the best for this trip is probably Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri),  or Ffestiniog Travel on 01766 772050 .  Click here for a list of agencies and more information about how to book.

London-Malmö

See train times and fares for London to Copenhagen on the Denmark page.  Frequent local trains link Copenhagen with Malmö, running every 20 minutes, journey time 35 minutes.

London-Gothenburg (Göteborg)

Travel by train from London to Copenhagen as shown on the Denmark page, then take a Copenhagen-Gothenburg train.  Use http://bahn.hafas.de to find connecting Copenhagen-Gothenburg train times.

London-Northern Sweden

First travel to Gothenburg or Stockholm as shown above.  Sleeper trains from Stockholm and Gothenburg to Northern Sweden (for example Boden, Lulea, and Narvik in Norway) are run by www.connex.se.  trains have sleepers, some with private toilet and shower, couchettes, seats, bar and even cinema.  Daytime trains from Gothenburg and Stockholm to most cities in Sweden are run by national train operator SJ, see www.sj.se for times and fares.

The Thomas Cook European timetable has train & ferry times for every country in Europe, plus currency & climate information.  Published since 1873 and costing £13.50, it's essential for any serious traveller and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  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 buy the independent traveller's edition from Amazon.co.uk:  Winter 2007/8 edition (December 2007 to June 2008) or Summer 2008 edition (June to December 2008). 

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, I think this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  Both guidebooks provide an excellent level of practical information 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", is due to be published in June 2008, and Amazon will let you pre-order now.

Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk

Or buy direct from the Lonely Planet website, with shipping worldwide.

Find a hotel in Stockholm or anywhere else in Sweden...

It's easy to book hotels online to go with your train tickets, but there are almost too many hotel booking websites to choose from.  The answer is to use www.hotelscombined.com (or use the search box below).  This is not a hotel booking website, but a free search tool which searches all the main hotel booking sites for you (Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms, Opodo, Venere and many others) to find the cheapest hotel rates on the net.  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.

Search all major hotel booking sites at once...

Powered by Hotels Combined

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• Try www.laterooms.com, which will list a huge number of hotels in any given town or city on a single page showing price and availability for your specific dates.  www.laterooms.com gets significant discounts over normal rates for many hotels, and these discounted prices are shown in orange.  As its name suggests, www.laterooms.com gets discounts for hotel rooms booked within 3 months of travel, making it ideal for anyone booking train travel within the normal 90 days booking horizon.

• www.tripadvisor.com is a huge resource, and the best place to browse for independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

Budget backpacker hostels...

• If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about the hostels.  For a dorm bed or an ultra-cheap private room in a backpacker hostel in most European cities try www.hostelbookers.com.