Planning a multi city European train trip.

Andypandyboy

In the planning stages of an Anniversary trip for late July and looking to try the train for a change.

We have narrowed the cities down to Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Venice.

Is there a best order?

Must see sites (not in Venice as we know it well)

We quite fancy an overnighter on a comfortable train - which would be the best two destinations to do that between?

2 nights or 3 max, in each city.

Any ideas of cost of train tickets?

Hotels are not a problem as we always use IHG except in Venice where we have several favourites from previous visits.

Voyager2002

You could add Bratislava to your list, since it is very close to Vienna (its airport is the one that Ryanair call Vienna), and there is a boat linking the two cities.

Venice is some way from the other cities, so that could be a good overnight journey.

isplumm

go and look at https://www.seat61.com - he is the expert on train travel.

We used railbookers this year to go the south of france - i found them very good.

Mark

Andypandyboy

Thanks, I have looked at seat 61, and whilst the individual journeys are there, the exact itinerary is not.

I need to decide which order is the most logical to do the cities in.

I think it might be useful to contact an agent like Railbookers to see what their take is on it. I suppose I can still DIY when I have their input if they are adding a large surcharge for their services.

eDicky

Andypandyboy wrote: »

We quite fancy an overnighter on a comfortable train - which would be the best two destinations to do that between?

Have a look at the City Night Line:

http://www.seat61.com/citynightline.htm#.VoJ5veClY0M

https://www.seat61.com/train-from-amsterdam-to-prague.htm

Book well ahead for a deluxe private compartment, not cheap but well worth it. Begin with a cheap flight over from wherever you are in UK.

Ames

I've done Vienna Venice overnight a few times, always in second class though.. It's nice and comfy (as long as you don't get a snorer in the compartment!). They provide bedding, and iirc breakfast. It arrives in Venice at about 6am which is a beautiful time to get a vaporetto down the Grand Canal. It stops in Salzburg for about an hour to change the guage of the wheels, so don't panic that it's broken down! There's something magical about going to sleep in one country and waking up in another. And sitting with the lights out watching the Alps go past is really peaceful.

But... if you know Venice well, why not give it a miss and try somewhere else in Italy? I prefer Florence to Venice.

Rail prices are cheap, if you book ahead. Don't be tempted to get an interrail ticket, if you're not making it up as you go along they're much more expensive.

www.bahn.de is the guide to fares and timetables, although you won't be able to get exact times for June yet. as mentioned above, www.seat61.com is the other 'bible'.

www.wikitravel.org is great for an overview of cities, and of course good old Lonely Planet or Rough Guide gives more detail.

Must see sights. In Budapest the House of Terror is a great museum about the victims of communism. (The name isn't tacky, it's in a former prison building).

In Prague, the Kafka museum is great if you like his writings, the Communism museum is a bit odd. Things like Charles Bridge are obligatory, St. Vitus Cathedral, the Dancing clock... your hotel will tell you all the top attractions. Be prepared to go through Wenceslas Square a few times before realising that's what it is!