Many travelers have great fantasy trips planned in their minds. Visiting just one city per vacation is largely a thing of the past. Rail travel makes traveling throughout Europe easy, affordable and fun, especially at night!
Wouldn’t it be nice to spend your day wandering down narrow winding streets, popping into a museum or two then sipping lattes at a sidewalk café, all the while counting the hours down until you board your train-hotel?
For longer trips, night trains are a great option. Combining the ease of rail travel with the comfort of a hotel, overnight trains are gaining more and more popularity. Not only do you save money on hotel accommodations, but you save yourself time too. In the time that you would normally be dreaming about getting to your next stop, you’re actually getting to your next stop!
There are dozens of night trains that you can travel on within Europe. Some of these trains can be compared to a standard hotel, offering few amenities but still a comfortable way to travel, even if it means traveling without all the frills! Then there is the flip side of the coin, more deluxe-type overnight services, trains such as the Elipsos. These trains are anything but standard! Ultimate comfort and loaded with amenities, you’ll be disappointed when the train stops and you have to get off!
What type of train you take depends largely on where you want to travel to. For this issue of Explorer, we’ll look at three different trains, the Elipsos, Artesia Night Trains and new to Rail Europe, DB Night Trains. All of these trains are reservable on Rail Europe’s website.
The Elipsos trenhotel, also known as Talgo Night, takes travelers between Barcelona Paris, Zurich and Milan. Also, between Madrid and Paris. Each route has an artistic name accompanying it.
The Francisco de Goya serves the Paris-Madrid route. This service is offered on a daily basis. Travel time on the Francisco de Goya is approximately 13 1/2 hours. Plenty of time for dinner, sleep and breakfast! This route is the longest of the four Elipsos trains.
Traveling between Paris and Barcelona is the Joan Miro. This trip takes approximately 12 hours.
Pau Casals will get you from Barcelona to Zurich in approximately 12 1/2 hours. And for those wanting to travel between Barcelona and Milan, you’ll need to take the Salvador Dali Elipsos service. You’ll arrive at your destination in about 12 hours.
On board the Elipsos train, smoking is not permitted. There is both a restaurant car as well as a bar car for passengers to visit and get a meal, or some snacks. There are different classes of service to choose your reservation in. Depending on what class you decide on, there are different amenities.
Some sleeper compartments contain toilets, wash basins and showers, while others simply have beds. You can choose the right compartment for your budget and tastes.
The Elipsos is a very popular train to take and therefore, reservations sell out quickly. You can reserve this train up to 90-days in advance and we strongly recommend securing your room as soon as possible to ensure you get the compartment you desire!
Another popular night train in Europe is the Artesia Night service. This international train travels between France and Italy. The most popular routes travel between Paris and Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan. Travel times vary depending on the route chosen.
Just like the Elipsos, there are different classes of service to choose from. You can reserve a private sleeper, or truly get adventurous and book yourself a cozy couchette where you’ll have the chance to meet other travelers from all over the world.
No matter what type of compartment you travel in on the Artesia Night train, you are sure to sleep soundly. Some fares provide you with a welcome drink when you get on board, plus coffee and a croissant in the morning. Of course if you are a big fan of breakfast and need more than coffee and a croissant you can opt to pay for a full breakfast.
Last but certainly not least is the new DB Night Train. This train provides transportation primarily within Germany and Denmark and Germany and the Czech Republic.
From September 1, 2007, all travelers can take a DB Night Train and enjoy a smoke-free environment. The train is also fully air-conditioned so there are no worries that you’ll get too stuffy or warm.
Sleeping accommodations on DB Night Trains are very comfortable. Deluxe sleepers have many of the amenities you would find in a hotel. For starters, you will receive a punch-card key to enter the room, so security is not really an issue. Each deluxe room is equipped with an intercom that links directly to the service staff, so should you need anything, help is just a button away! There is ample space for your belongings and wake-up calls can be arranged. You can freshen up with a nice shower, or just splash some water on your face with the wash basin found in the room. In the morning, wake up refreshed and enjoy your breakfast (which is included with your reservation).
Economy sleepers on the DB Night Train, while having fewer amenities, are comfortable as well. If you’re traveling on a budget, there is nothing wrong with taking a step down in compartment, you will still enjoy a relaxing ride and will arrive at your destination refreshed and ready to go!
Taking a night train is a great option for those wanting to get the most out of their trip. Think about it, you go away for a week, you could spend a ton of money on a hotel and spend the night in a city, or…you can reserve a cabin on a comfortable overnight train. In most cases, the overnight train is more economical than a hotel room, plus, you get to see even more of Europe.
Let’s not forget the cultural aspect of taking a night train either. With bar and restaurant cars, the opportunity to meet new people and explore other cultures is encouraged.
All in all, night train travel through Europe is affordable, practical and just plain fun! Just think of the stories for your travel journal! Much like train travel in general, taking a night train is not just taking a train from city to city, rather, it is part of the adventure, it is an experience in itself that you will not soon forget!
Consider taking an overnight train on your next trip to Europe, you won’t regret it!
Tags: artesia, DB night trains, elipsos, night trains, paris
A good idea – taking the night trains to make travel more cost efficient. I’d like to add that although Venice is expensive, you can find some good discount accommodation in the city – from hostels to 1 – 3 star hotels. These make cities like Venice much more affordable for the ordinary traveller that has a budget to keep in mind.
Rock on! I like it! I was able to get several other people to read this post and the thoughts were the same. Take it easy and keep posting….
Taking the train at night for longer legs of your journey is a great way to save time and money. I recommend reserving your couchette in advance and make sure you have a good way to secure/lock your luggage.
Good point, you do want to make sure you have proper luggage locks on your bags. The doors for couchettes and sleepers do have locks, but you can never be too careful! Also, on some of the eastern European overnight trains that pass through different countries, you can expect to undergo passport checks at the borders. But taking an overnight train further adds to your experience of traveling by train in Europe, it’s great fun and does save time and money!