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You can effectively extend a touring holiday of Europe by
several days and perhaps save money. To do it you need a Eurail
pass and a little forward planning. This is how it works. With a
Eurail Pass you can go from city center to city center in
Europe in great comfort at a reasonable price. The key to this is
the phrase 'city center to city center'. Consider Paris. The
airport, Charles de Gaulle, is 23 km north-east of Paris. If you go
by taxi in either direction it costs the national debt and takes 45
minutes. There are regular buses and trains but your journey
is never going to be less than 45 minutes. Leaving, you have
security to go through and the airlines would like you there well
before take-off. At least an hour, sometimes two hours. Thus on any
flight you find that as much as six hours, never less than four, are
spent getting to the airport, checking in, flying, getting there and
collecting your luggage. Then getting to the center of your
destination. By train, in every capital in Europe (I have
searched and found no exception) you arrive in the center of the
city. Yes, you need to be at the train station ten minutes
before the train leaves -- make it fifteen minutes to be on the safe
side -- and when you get to your destination it is instant arrival.
Your baggage is with you and you are there, bang in the center of
the city. To test this stay with Paris for the moment. At Easter --
one of the busiest times of the year for Paris -- I arrived at gare
de L'Est, one of the main stations of Paris. In the station was the
tourist help desk -- every station in Europe has a help desk.
There I explained what I wanted -- an inexpensive (as in under 50
Euros a night) room in a hotel near Place Republique with a view
over the rooftops of Paris. And I got it confirmed in ten minutes
and went happily on my way. (In passing, it was the most romantic
room I have ever had in a hotel anywhere and this was Paris in the
spring and the chestnuts were in bloom and, alas, I was alone.) On
this trip I traveled from Salerno in Sicily right through Italy and
then France, on to Spain to Barcelona to wonder at the work of
Gaudi, back to Greece and then up again to Germany to Mainz. I had a
lot of ground to cover and this was the best and least expensive and
most pleasurable way. I saved a lot of time and a lot of money.
(And, if you are interested in old motorcycles you should know that
I spent my birthday touring Sicily on a 350cc Royal Enfield which
was an exact replica of the sixties model but made in Madras. I
could have hired the 500 cc model but thought that going a bit over
the top.) You will typically only be dealing with relatively short
travel times -- Paris to Lyon is two hours, Amsterdam to Cologne
three hours, Geneva to Paris three-and-a-half hours and so on -- and
these will be pleasurable experiences because the trains are fast,
comfortable (especially in first class) and wonderfully quiet. The
best example of the modern trains of Europe are the TGV
trains of France, which are part of the EuroCity network. I am
writing this while I travel on the TGV express -- TGV stands for
Train a Grande Vitesse which translates, roughly, as high speed
train -- from Paris to Avignon. The quietness -- we are running
on rubber tyres -- is eerie. This is first class, and there is a
three seat configuration in the carriage -- two and one. I am in the
single seat, which is adjustable and comfortable. There is a
tip-down table, on which rests my computer. We are now nipping
through the suburbs of Paris at more than 200 kilometres an hour. We
will eventually reach our maximum cruise speed, which is more than
270 kilometres an hour. There is no sway, no rattle, no lurch, no
jerk. A gentleperson's conveyance for the grand tour of Europe.
For trains between big cities, the best bets are the super
fast name trains like (ah ! the romance in the names) Catalan Tago,
Maria Theresa, Voltaire, Leonardo da Vinci, Etoile du Nord. These
are very fast and are almost never late. Sometimes you will use the
train only as high-speed, economical and comfortable transport, but
at other times the train ride can be a sightseeing trip as well.
Bernina Express in Switzerland, the Bergen Express in Norway, the
Loisirail in France are examples where the journey is part of the
scenic holiday. Important points to remember: • Bear in mind that
Europens very sensibly use a 24-hour clock in matters of this
sort. That is: five o'clock in the afternoon becomes 1700 hours and
half-past nine in the evening is 2130. Easy once you get the hang of
it. • As you start your train journeys you need to have your
Eurailpass validated, for which you will have to show your
passport. Do it before you get on any train at the information
window of any largish railway station. You will be given back your
ticket and a validation slip. • Keep your validation slip separate
from the ticket. It constitutes proof of ownership. (If you are a
worry wart like me, make a photocopy of both straight away and
remember to keep the copy in the lining of your suitcase.) • Make
sure you go to the right station. Every city in Europe has several
different railway stations. This TGV train I am riding started from
Gare de Lyon in Paris. But there are six other mainline train
stations in that city of light. The concierge at your hotel will
advise you. • When you get to the station make sure you get on the
right platform and into the right car. The signs are always very
clear and railway staff are always most helpful. There will be a
board confirming the name, number and time of departure of the train
at the entrance to the platform when you get there. • Getting into
the right car, as opposed to the right train, is essential; in
modern trains it is the car that is sent by computer control to its
destination. On the side of every car is an identification panel
that tells you the number of the car, where the car is heading and
the names of the most important stops on the way. Check the panel
carefully and, if you are still in doubt, show your ticket to the
conductor of the train and explain exactly where you are going. •
Limits. An Eurail pass is for x number of journeys over a given
period of time. Do not waste the pass on short trips. Example: I was
in Nice and had to go to Cannes. I went by train and bought a
ticket. You do not waste your Eurail Pass on journeys on
trips that take less than an hour. • Ubiquity. Every station seems
to have a Eurail booking desk. Be organized and try and book
as far ahead as you can if you want a sleeper. These trains do get
fully booked, especially during the holiday season, and the earlier
you book, the more certain you are of getting the right train. •
Sleep on the train. If it is a very long journey take the evening
train and sleep on board. On a first class Eurail tickets the
sleeper is part of the package. This has great advantages. It saves
you the cost of one night's accommodation and it gets what could be
a longish journey over in considerable comfort and style. For
example, I went from Salerno in Sicily right up the leg of Italy to
Genoa and did it on a night train and slept like a baby. One has to
be careful. There is a story about a passionate young couple who
used their sleeper not for sleeping. In a moment of ecstasy the
young lady hung on like mad to the nearest object. Sadly, it was the
emergency stop communication cord. • If possible, take your own
snacks. There was a thought in my mind that food on European
trains would be a gourmet's delight. In my experience, it is
very far from that. On the other hand, almost all station
restaurants serve good food at very reasonable prices provided you
stay away from the fast food chains. • Get the right stop. As you
come into a city make sure you do not get off at a suburban stop
which is, typically, the stop before the central station. If in
doubt, ask the ticket inspector or the guard. No need to be able to
speak the language. Just show your ticket and they will tell you
what to do. • Travel light. If you cannot easily carry your baggage
you are stuffed. Porters do not exist. Not at any station I have
ever seen. • Use all of the pass. When planning your itinerary, be
bold. You can go from Greece to Oslo and pretty much everywhere else
in between. • Not the UK. All of this applies to Europe except for
Britain. A Eurail Pass does not work there. Britain is not part of
Europe. Whatever made you think otherwise? Sites which can help
Eurail http://www.eurail.com/ It claims, correctly, that it is the
only official Eurail site. This is true. But it is not the only site
that can give you information. And it is certainly not the only site
that can sell you tickets. It does, however, make a very good
starting point because from here you can sort out potential timings
and itineraries. Europe http://www.raileurope.com/us/index.htm This
is not the official site but it might just as well be considered as
such. There is nothing about Eurail that it does not know. Europe
by Eurail http//www.railpass.com Again, this is a commercial
firm selling tickets but that does not stop it having a load of
useful information on the site.
Boots 'n All Travel
http://www.bootsnall.com/eurail/ Would you buy a ticket from a
company with a name like that? Let us not be snobbish. It has great
expertise on Eurail and its site is very helpful. Eurail Net
http://www.eurailnet.com/ Sounds
official but it is still a commercial company selling tickets. You
will not find much differential in prices between the companies but
you will find a wealth of information on sites such as this and work
out the most economical pass for your particular trip.
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About the author:
Gareth Powell is a
publisher, journalist and author. His travel writings are mainly on
http://www.travelhopefully.com.
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