Europe by rail

Hello All.

I am planning to travel in Europe witih my mates over summer.
We are a bunch of students in london and are planning to do this tour
around june.
Planning to do the tour by train.

well my plan currently is:

London - Brussels - Amsterdam - Munich - Prague - Vienna - Budapest -
Vienna - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - San Sebastian - Paris - London.

Has anyone done a tour of this sort?
And what should i look out for?
And if anyone would recommend interesting places to see besides the crap
tourist attractions, please let me know.

Thanks.

"Cyrus" wrote in message
...
Hello All.

I am planning to travel in Europe witih my mates over summer.
We are a bunch of students in london and are planning to do this tour
around june.
Planning to do the tour by train.

well my plan currently is:

London - Brussels - Amsterdam - Munich - Prague - Vienna - Budapest -
Vienna - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - San Sebastian - Paris - London.

Has anyone done a tour of this sort?
And what should i look out for?
And if anyone would recommend interesting places to see besides the crap
tourist attractions, please let me know.

Done all of it at different times. Not clear whether the cities are
stopovers or just the route. I personally wouldn't bother with Brussels or
Vienna, though I know others would.

From Amsterdam, I'd take a morning train to Koln, have lunch by the river
(close to station) then avoid the fast trains, but take a train which goes
along the Rhine gorge (table 911 Cooks) to Mainz.

From Prague I'd personally go via Bratislava to Budapest, and between
Budapest and Rome I'd have a day in Venice if you haven't been before.

After Rome, stop at least a night in the Cinque Terra. Table 610 shows you
how to get to Riomaggiore with a change of train at La Spezia (the faster
trans wizz straight through, mostly in tunnels). It's a gorgeous part,
almost undiscovered by Brits, though American students have found it in
goodly numbers. Riomaggiore is a good place to find accommodation, station
right down by coast, great walking to the other villages.

Do the line between Genoa and Nice in daylight, and if you like Italy, think
about stopping off at somewhere like Finale Ligure.

On the way to Barcelona, you could think of a stop off at Figueres to see
the Dali museum, though its a tidy walk from the station.

On the home leg, once back into France, there are some peasant small places
on the Atlantic coast if you're looking for a stopover. St Jean de Luz would
be my choice, but Hendaye is also OK.

I've stuck to your route - there are any number of other places I could
suggest, with a small or larger detour!

Hope this helps! I assume you know about Cooks, and there are several other
useful books for inter-railers, such as Europe by Train, which includes such
useful things as when the left luggage is open at major stations, etc.

Enjoy - it's a brill thing to do!

Tony (aged 57!)

On Tue, 09 Mar 2004 13:29:33 +0000, Cyrus wrote:

Hello All.

I am planning to travel in Europe witih my mates over summer.
We are a bunch of students in london and are planning to do this tour
around june.
Planning to do the tour by train.

well my plan currently is:

London - Brussels - Amsterdam - Munich - Prague - Vienna - Budapest -
Vienna - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - San Sebastian - Paris - London.

Has anyone done a tour of this sort?
And what should i look out for?
And if anyone would recommend interesting places to see besides the crap
tourist attractions, please let me know.


I'd suggest this:

Leave London early, train to Brussels for a day (walk around the old
town), train to Brugge, which is less than an hour from Brussels and
much nicer (sleep here for a couple of nights, taste some Belgian
beers).

Amsterdam is about 3 hours away from Brussels. Do whatever you want
there for a while. Then I'd suggest going to Berlin from Amsterdam
instead of Munich - if you're heading on to Prague, it is much simpler
to get there from Berlin than Munich. Go to Prague from there, then
down to Cesky Krumlov in the South of the Czech Republic. If you want
to avoid really touristy places, have a look at Locket or Plzen. From
Cesky Krumlov, head to Budapest. From Budapest to Vienna, then Munich,
then Innsbruck (unmissable in my book - set in the Austrian Alps).
From there to Rome, from Rome get a flight to Barcelona, then to
Salamanca (awesome place, just a couple of hours from Madrid), then to
San Sebastian.

That would be quite nice.
So, London-Brugge-Amsterdam-Berlin-Prague-Cesky
Krumlov-Budapest-Vienna-Munich-Innsbruck-Rome-Barcelona-Salamanca-San
Sebastian.

Could be nice. Fit Oktoberfest in if you can - it really is the
greatest.


Hope this helped
Stephen

Cyrus wrote:

Hello All.

I am planning to travel in Europe witih my mates over summer.
We are a bunch of students in london and are planning to do this tour
around june.
Planning to do the tour by train.

well my plan currently is:

London - Brussels - Amsterdam - Munich - Prague - Vienna - Budapest -
Vienna - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - San Sebastian - Paris - London.

Has anyone done a tour of this sort?
And what should i look out for?
And if anyone would recommend interesting places to see besides the crap
tourist attractions, please let me know.

Thanks.


Cyrus,

What do you consider 'interesting places to see' as opposed to 'crap
tourist attractions' if you don't mind?

John Bermont
--
------------------------------------------------------
* * * Mastering Independent Budget Travel * * *
http://www.enjoy-europe.com/
------------------------------------------------------

What exactly is "Cooks" that you reference?
"Tony Day" wrote in message
...

"Cyrus" wrote in message
...
Hello All.

I am planning to travel in Europe witih my mates over summer.
We are a bunch of students in london and are planning to do this tour
around june.
Planning to do the tour by train.

well my plan currently is:

London - Brussels - Amsterdam - Munich - Prague - Vienna - Budapest -
Vienna - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - San Sebastian - Paris - London.

Has anyone done a tour of this sort?
And what should i look out for?
And if anyone would recommend interesting places to see besides the crap
tourist attractions, please let me know.

Done all of it at different times. Not clear whether the cities are
stopovers or just the route. I personally wouldn't bother with Brussels or
Vienna, though I know others would.

From Amsterdam, I'd take a morning train to Koln, have lunch by the river
(close to station) then avoid the fast trains, but take a train which goes
along the Rhine gorge (table 911 Cooks) to Mainz.

From Prague I'd personally go via Bratislava to Budapest, and between
Budapest and Rome I'd have a day in Venice if you haven't been before.

After Rome, stop at least a night in the Cinque Terra. Table 610 shows you
how to get to Riomaggiore with a change of train at La Spezia (the faster
trans wizz straight through, mostly in tunnels). It's a gorgeous part,
almost undiscovered by Brits, though American students have found it in
goodly numbers. Riomaggiore is a good place to find accommodation, station
right down by coast, great walking to the other villages.

Do the line between Genoa and Nice in daylight, and if you like Italy,
think
about stopping off at somewhere like Finale Ligure.

On the way to Barcelona, you could think of a stop off at Figueres to see
the Dali museum, though its a tidy walk from the station.

On the home leg, once back into France, there are some peasant small
places
on the Atlantic coast if you're looking for a stopover. St Jean de Luz
would
be my choice, but Hendaye is also OK.

I've stuck to your route - there are any number of other places I could
suggest, with a small or larger detour!

Hope this helps! I assume you know about Cooks, and there are several
other
useful books for inter-railers, such as Europe by Train, which includes
such
useful things as when the left luggage is open at major stations, etc.

Enjoy - it's a brill thing to do!

Tony (aged 57!)

In message m, Scott D
writes
What exactly is "Cooks" that you reference?

That will be "Thomas Cooks' European Rail Timetable" (or a similar
title), which contains detailed timetables of principal rail routes (and
many non-principal ones) and is published at the start of every month.
Online timetables are all very well, but there's no substitute for being
able to check the "Cook Book" when you're actually on a train and need
to reschedule your journey! Obtainable from branches of Thomas Cooks
travel agents, or since you're posting from a US ISP, from an address
somewhere in Kansas (Google will no doubt provide the proper address!).

"Tony Day" wrote in message
...

"Cyrus" wrote in message
...
Hello All.

I am planning to travel in Europe witih my mates over summer.
We are a bunch of students in london and are planning to do this tour
around june.
Planning to do the tour by train.

well my plan currently is:

London - Brussels - Amsterdam - Munich - Prague - Vienna - Budapest -
Vienna - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - San Sebastian - Paris - London.

Has anyone done a tour of this sort?
And what should i look out for?
And if anyone would recommend interesting places to see besides the crap
tourist attractions, please let me know.

Done all of it at different times. Not clear whether the cities are
stopovers or just the route. I personally wouldn't bother with Brussels or
Vienna, though I know others would.

From Amsterdam, I'd take a morning train to Koln, have lunch by the river
(close to station) then avoid the fast trains, but take a train which goes
along the Rhine gorge (table 911 Cooks) to Mainz.

From Prague I'd personally go via Bratislava to Budapest, and between
Budapest and Rome I'd have a day in Venice if you haven't been before.

After Rome, stop at least a night in the Cinque Terra. Table 610 shows you
how to get to Riomaggiore with a change of train at La Spezia (the faster
trans wizz straight through, mostly in tunnels). It's a gorgeous part,
almost undiscovered by Brits, though American students have found it in
goodly numbers. Riomaggiore is a good place to find accommodation, station
right down by coast, great walking to the other villages.

Do the line between Genoa and Nice in daylight, and if you like Italy,
think
about stopping off at somewhere like Finale Ligure.

On the way to Barcelona, you could think of a stop off at Figueres to see
the Dali museum, though its a tidy walk from the station.

On the home leg, once back into France, there are some peasant small
places
on the Atlantic coast if you're looking for a stopover. St Jean de Luz
would
be my choice, but Hendaye is also OK.

I've stuck to your route - there are any number of other places I could
suggest, with a small or larger detour!

Hope this helps! I assume you know about Cooks, and there are several
other
useful books for inter-railers, such as Europe by Train, which includes
such
useful things as when the left luggage is open at major stations, etc.

Enjoy - it's a brill thing to do!

Tony (aged 57!)

--
Arwel Parry
http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 02:18:54 +0000, Arwel Parry
wrote:

In message m, Scott D
writes
What exactly is "Cooks" that you reference?

That will be "Thomas Cooks' European Rail Timetable" (or a similar
title), which contains detailed timetables of principal rail routes (and
many non-principal ones) and is published at the start of every month.
Online timetables are all very well, but there's no substitute for being
able to check the "Cook Book" when you're actually on a train and need
to reschedule your journey! Obtainable from branches of Thomas Cooks
travel agents, or since you're posting from a US ISP, from an address
somewhere in Kansas (Google will no doubt provide the proper address!).

www.forsyth.com



************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

"Scott D" wrote in message
y.com...
What exactly is "Cooks" that you reference?

Cook's European Rail Timetable, published monthly by Thomas Cook, and the
most important piece of luggage for anyone touring by rail - even if you
have a preset schedule, things can go wrong. Pack it before your toothbrush!

Tony

Cyrus wrote in message ...
Hello All.

I am planning to travel in Europe witih my mates over summer.
We are a bunch of students in london and are planning to do this tour
around june.
Planning to do the tour by train.

well my plan currently is:

London - Brussels - Amsterdam - Munich - Prague - Vienna - Budapest -
Vienna - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - San Sebastian - Paris - London.

Has anyone done a tour of this sort?
And what should i look out for?
And if anyone would recommend interesting places to see besides the crap
tourist attractions, please let me know.

Thanks.

IMO Berlin is much better than Munich -- smaller places
such as Bamberg or Nurenberg give you more of a Bavarian flavour.
You could substitute Bratislava
or Brno for your first jaunt to Vienna, and visit Venice between Vienna
and Rome.

On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 06:52:06 -0000, "Tony Day"
wrote:


"Scott D" wrote in message
gy.com...
What exactly is "Cooks" that you reference?

Cook's European Rail Timetable, published monthly by Thomas Cook, and the
most important piece of luggage for anyone touring by rail - even if you
have a preset schedule, things can go wrong. Pack it before your toothbrush!

But take a maginfying glass and be careful to note all the little
typographic marks scattered about, like a tiny double-handled
dagger which might meant that the particular train only runs on
second Tuesdays in months with an "R" in them in French.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *