Touring Europe by Rail
541102 Ch01.qxd 2/25/04 8:54 AM Page 1 1 Touring Europe by Rail Rich, ancient, and incredibly diverse, the nations of Europe offer a vast array of sights, climates, cultures, and cuisines. The ten trips outlined below show the full reach of the European rail system; feel free to mix and match parts of them to create your ideal vacation. Where possible, we’ve used overnight trains on these trips, as they save you the cost of a hotel night, maximize your sightseeing time, and are a rail experi- ence in and of themselves. Remember that overnight trains, as well as the Eurostar Chunnel train, French TGV trains, and most high-speed trains, require extra reservation fees over the price of your railpass. (See p. 35 for more on overnight trains.) We’ve recommended railpasses for those itineraries below that would make good use of them; where point-to-point tickets are cheaper, we’ve noted that as well. (For an overview of when to buy a pass and when to go point-to-point, see p. 42.) Exact train times and prices are subject to change—the details in these pages were accurate as of December 2003, but you should double-check all train schedules when plotting out your journey. For more on navigating rail sched- ules, see p. 30. 1 1-Week Itineraries The average North American vacation is a mere 7 days long (we know, too short!). To help you make the best of your time in Europe, we’ve put together five 1-week rail itineraries that will give you a taste of some of the best Europe has to offer.
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