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from venice to lyon

swimmingly — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:13:33 -0800

Recommend somewhere in between Venice and Lyon to spend 3-4 days this December? Winter break travels:

My sister and I (two college-age girls) were originally thinking of taking an overnight train to Geneva from Venice since Venice-Geneva-Lyon seems like a pretty straightforward route looking at the map. Also, we thought that taking the cable car up Mont Blanc would be nice.

Problem is, bahn.de's Geneva-bound night trains currently appear to transit through Innsbruck and Zurich, which seems like an unnecessarily long detour with not much time for sleep. Is there any awesome place in between Venice and Lyon that doesn't have that much of a detour by train? Or should we just suck it up and go to Geneva anyway?

The Venice and Lyon bits are fixed, unfortunately or not.

Prior to this, we will have visited Rome and Florence. We'd like to visit somewhere in Switzerland, but it seems like every train will go through Zurich. Should we just do Zurich then? Another possible option I've considered is Milan but it doesn't seem very interesting, from what others have said.

Thanks!

How to get from Toronto to Brussels (and what to do with a 4-year-old once there)?

fsmontenegro — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:22:58 -0800

Hi. Two questions related to an upcoming family trip - from Toronto to Brussels: - cost-effective (but not too tiring) ways to get from Toronto to Brussels? Non-stop flight? Connect elsewhere (London, Paris, Frankfurt, ...)? Fly into large hub (Paris, Frankfurt, ...) and book secondary flight or train? - things to do in Brussels with a 4-year-old?

Getting a night train reservation

bajema — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:16:10 -0800

Need help making a reservation on the night train from Naples to Venice. I'm taking a trip to Europe this summer and want to take the night train from Naples to Venice on June 26. I would like a double sleeper compartment for this train. I also have a 2nd class rail pass. I leave for Europe on June 11 and won't be in Italy (arriving in Rome) until June 23.

I wanted to be sure that I had reservations on this train, so I went ahead and booked a double sleeper through Rail Europe. Several days later, I received an email from them saying that they were unable to make the reservation because the train was not in their reservation system yet (which makes me wonder why they are selling tickets for it) and that they would keep trying each day until 5 days before I leave for Europe, afterwhich I'd have to make the reservation locally.

How can I be sure that I have a spot on this train. I'm okay with cancelling the Rail Europe booking if there is another option. Any ideas?

Is it practical to take Rail Europe from Paris at 1pm and spend an afternoon in Brussels, Belgium before taking a train that evening to our final destination, Amsterdam? [mi]

seinfeld — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:32:09 -0800

Is it practical to take Rail Europe from Paris at 1pm and spend an afternoon in Brussels, Belgium before taking a train that evening to our final destination, Amsterdam? [mi] The regional trains do not require a seat, but is there a place to stash our luggage so we can enjoy Brussels without lugging our luggage around the city?

- Where in Brussels is the train station? In the center of town? (Bruxelles Midi)

- Anything we need to see or do while spending one afternoon in Brussels? (I've searched and found a post from 2006 -- wondering if there is more current info)

Thanks for the help.

How do I get off the urban circuit with a Eurail pass and a backpack?

ontic — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:57:19 -0800

Backpacking through Europe: Help me find places other than big cities to explore using my Eurail pass. A little background may be helpful. I'm from the US, just finishing up a semester teaching abroad in London where I've done the big city thing quite thoroughly. Long ago I bought a Eurail pass for a trip around Europe after the semester was over. Originally, that trip was supposed to be Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Rome, etc. I still want to see a few of those, but I'd also like to find non-urban places and smaller towns accessible by my Eurail pass, ideally with cheap, hostel-like lodging nearby. My Eurail pass is the "any 15 days in 2 months for all of Europe" variety.

As an example, I'd like to see the Alps, but would love to stay in a hostel outside of urban areas. Yet I have no idea how to find such places.

(Also, I'm doing this for all of May, so about four weeks, and if anyone wants to meet up anywhere, drop me a line!)

Where should we visit or stay in Eastern Europe?

D J Robertstein — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 10:54:44 -0800

Where should we visit in Eastern Europe? Me and three or four freinds are planning to have a bit of an interrail this summer and unlike last time, we've opted for more of an eastern European slant. So far it's looking like this:

France - Italy - Greece - Bulgaria - Romania - Hungary - Poland - Germany

We're hoping to see a bit more of the countryside and will be camping a fair bit as well as using hostels. However, we know nothing of Eastern Europe save for a Michael Palin documentary.

Does anyone whos been around that area have any suggestions of places to go, things to see and stuff to do? We're on a fairly low budget, but we could save cash for certain things if it's worth it.

Sorry for the vague post but we're ignorant and in the early planning stages. Thanks!

Warsaw to Prague to ???

B-squared — Mon, 28 May 2007 05:27:12 -0800

With a week to spend in Europe this summer, I am going from Warsaw (2 days) to Prague (3 days) to...where? Krakow? Dresden? Berlin? I have two days and have to be back in Warsaw on the 2nd day. I'm traveling by train. What would I be an idiot to miss? I'm in my early 30s, interested in art, music, design, etc. This isn't my first trip to Europe (or Eastern Europe) and won't be my last, so even if your advice doesn't match the criteria exactly, I'd still like to hear what's interesting and cool in "the neighborhood". Thanks.

Where are the cheap Eurostar tickets?

k8t — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 18:11:50 -0800

How can I get really cheap Eurostar tickets (London-Paris and back)? I'm taking my sister to London. I want her to see a bit of Europe too. We're going to Rome for a few days, but she is dying for Paris. I'm going to do a day trip, as described in EssexJan's post.

I want to go on Sunday, September 17, but am willing to go on Saturday, September 16.

Where are the top secret cheapo tickets?

Trains to Calais, Boulogne or Dunkerque from Holland (or Belgium, or Germany)... with a bike?

handee — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 06:41:32 -0800

If I want to get a ferry to Dover, I'm starting from Holland, and I want to travel by bike or train, what route should I take? What I'd like to do is work out what places offer direct or near-direct trains to one of the 3 main ferry ports (Calais, Boulogne, Dunkerque).

I'll be travelling from Tilburg in Holland, and doing at least part of the route by bike. I've got about 5 days. I could cycle straight there - it's about 150 miles to Dunkerque I think. But it's all along the coast, and that might be a bit dull and windy. I'm actually happy to cycle in completely the wrong direction for 5 days and then catch a train, as long as it's interesting there aren't too many changes. Searching that famous German train site is proving awkward - it keeps wanting to send me via Osnabruck and Paris with 9 changes.