If you had 10 days to take the train around europe where would you go ?

JustinTime19

I enjoy taking the Eurostar and have used it to connect to other countries in Europe.

If you had 10 days and your starting point/end was Lille, Paris or Brussels which route which you recommend taking in Europe (ideally using highspeed trains).

Voyager2002

An interesting question...

High-speed trains move to quickly to offer much in the way of views. They can be comfortable; the food can be enjoyable (particularly in first class) but they are simply an effective way of getting somewhere. You might just as well get an overnight sleeper when of course there is no view at night, but you save time and reach your destination. So I would suggest a sleeper or high-speed train to a place you want to visit, or perhaps to a station where you can catch a slow train through a beautiful landscape.

Switzerland is of course the homeland of comfortable trains that offer great views. I particularly enjoyed the Golden Pass route, which I prefer even to the Glacier Express. However there are so many wonderful rides there that picking favourites is tricky.

If you go south from Switzerland, the run from Firenze to Ravenna is a true delight. And of course the Ravenna Mosaics are more than worth the journey.

Another great route is in Germany: from Bonn or Duesseldorf go up-river through Koblenz to Trier, the birthplace of Karl Marx, and pay homage to the great man in the place where his life began.

Alan_Bowen

How long is a piece of string? It depends on so many factors,  when you are travelling, what interests you have and whether you just want to visit three places and spend time in each, or want to travel continuously. Start by purchasing a copy of the European Rail Timetable and have a look at seat61 which is an excellent resource. 

I enjoy lakes and  mountains, so my suggestion would be something like this

TGV Lyria to Geneva
The slow train through the vineyards along Lake Geneva to Lausanne
Paddle steamer to Montreux
Train to Milan from which you could do day trips to Lake Como or Lugano
Train to Venice

Return via Verona where you change for Innsbruck
Train to Munich
ICE train to Cologne
Change for Brussels and home

SiliconChip

This is opportune timing as earlier today I watched a recording of yesterday's Austrian Grand Prix sprint race and qualifying and wondered about taking a trip there next year, so I'd been looking at seat61 to get some idea of routes as I decided a few years ago not to fly when there is a feasible alternative. I may decide not to do the GP but the bug for a train trip is starting to take hold so I'll watch the thread with interest.

DE_612183

I've only planned mine from London...

London - Amsterdam
Amsterdam - Hamburg
Hamburg - Zurich
Zurich - Milan - via Bernier pass
Milan - Marseilles
Marseilles - Barcelona
Barcelona - Paris
Paris - London

martindow

It depends what you want I suppose.  Some people want to travel as many miles as possible, but I would prefer to stop off and see an area.  In Germany there is a bargain 49 Euro ticket for unlimited travel by local train, bus and tram (not ICEs) with no need to book trains.  You could base yourself somewhere and visit local places are few days and then move on somewhere else.

I would spend some time on Seat61 the fount of all international rail travel information for inspiration

https://www.seat61.com/

RAS

Another vote for Seat61, which includes multiple routes down into Iberia, across to Eastern Europe, the Baltics and everywhere in between.

The big questions are, do you want to do a circular route? Or out and back in which case, travel out as fast as possible and meander back.

A mad rush from one city/country to another with a blur out the window, if you get one, and enough time for a meal and bed each night? Or stopoffs giving you a day or two to explore each area?  Are you happy sitting on your backside for hours each day, or do you want to explore?

Not quite what you asked for, but Prague, Budapest, back via the Tatra (Martin) to Bratislava. Return via Vienna. Two days in each.

Or the ferry option, overnight from Harwich to Hook of Holland with a train ticket to any station in the Netherlands. Head for Masstricht or Groningen. Your stops between the two include Koln and Bremen and anywhere between. Allow an extra day or two near Groningen to head out to the Frisian Islands. You can use your day ticket on the return to get back from Groningen, or head to Amsterdam and use the day ticket from there.

zagfles

Voyager2002 said:

An interesting question...

High-speed trains move to quickly to offer much in the way of views. They can be comfortable; the food can be enjoyable (particularly in first class) but they are simply an effective way of getting somewhere. You might just as well get an overnight sleeper when of course there is no view at night, but you save time and reach your destination. So I would suggest a sleeper or high-speed train to a place you want to visit, or perhaps to a station where you can catch a slow train through a beautiful landscape.

Switzerland is of course the homeland of comfortable trains that offer great views. I particularly enjoyed the Golden Pass route, which I prefer even to the Glacier Express. However there are so many wonderful rides there that picking favourites is tricky.

If you go south from Switzerland, the run from Firenze to Ravenna is a true delight. And of course the Ravenna Mosaics are more than worth the journey.

Another great route is in Germany: from Bonn or Duesseldorf go up-river through Koblenz to Trier, the birthplace of Karl Marx, and pay homage to the great man in the place where his life began.

I love the irony of travelling first class to pay homage to Karl Marx  Sums up modern day socialists 

martindow

On the Marx trail theme you could go to Wuppertal where Engels hails from.  Perhaps of more interest there is the Schwebebahn a hanging monorail that travels mainly along the river.

Voyager2002

zagfles said:

Voyager2002 said:

An interesting question...

High-speed trains move to quickly to offer much in the way of views. They can be comfortable; the food can be enjoyable (particularly in first class) but they are simply an effective way of getting somewhere. You might just as well get an overnight sleeper when of course there is no view at night, but you save time and reach your destination. So I would suggest a sleeper or high-speed train to a place you want to visit, or perhaps to a station where you can catch a slow train through a beautiful landscape.

Switzerland is of course the homeland of comfortable trains that offer great views. I particularly enjoyed the Golden Pass route, which I prefer even to the Glacier Express. However there are so many wonderful rides there that picking favourites is tricky.

If you go south from Switzerland, the run from Firenze to Ravenna is a true delight. And of course the Ravenna Mosaics are more than worth the journey.

Another great route is in Germany: from Bonn or Duesseldorf go up-river through Koblenz to Trier, the birthplace of Karl Marx, and pay homage to the great man in the place where his life began.

I love the irony of travelling first class to pay homage to Karl Marx  Sums up modern day socialists 

Different journeys at different times. One peculiarity of yield management software is that first class is sometimes cheaper than second class: I only travel first class to save money!