1 Touring Europe by Rail.

1-Week Itineraries.

Itinerary 1: Europe’s Best Castles & Palaces.

Itinerary 2: Small Cities of the Benelux.

Itinerary 3: Riding the Scenic Route.

Itinerary 4: Eastern Europe.

Itinerary 5: Exploring the Scandanavian Triangle.

Itinerary 6: Warm-Weather Europe.

2 2-Week Itineraries.

Itinerary 7: Europe’s Best Art & Architecture.

Itinerary 8: Europe for Food Lovers.

Itinerary 9: Great Cities of Europe.

Itinerary 10: The Grand Tour.

2 Planning Your European Rail Trip.

1 Visitor Information.

2 When to Go.

What Time Is It, Anyway?

3 Finding Your Rail Route.

4 Choosing the Train That’s Right for You.

Cleaning Up.

5 The Price of Rail Travel.

No Passes Please, We’re Basque.

Pricing the Difference: Fast vs. Slow Trains.

6 The Train Passes.

Validating Your Pass.

7 The Rail Experience.

8 When a Train Just Won’t Do.

The Rules of the Road: Driving in Europe.

9 Getting to Europe.

10 Money Matters.

Non-Euro Countries.

11 Tips on Accommodations.

3 Austria.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Riding Historic Rails.

Fast Facts: Austria.

2 Vienna.

City Transportation on the Cheap.

Boating on the “Blue” Danube.

Coffeehouses inside the Ring.

The Heurige of Grinzing.

3 Salzburg.

A Panoramic Stroll.

Cafe Society.

4 Innsbruck.

The Most Beautiful Spot in Tyrol .

4 Belgium.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Belgium.

2 Brussels.

Special Brussels Experiences.

Heading Out to Waterloo.

3 Bruges.

4 Liège.

5 An Excursion to Luxembourg City.

5 The Czech Republic.

1 Essentials.

Festivals & Special Events.

Useful Czech Train & Travel Terms.

Train Designations in the Czech Republic.

Fast Facts: Czech Republic.

2 Prague.

Kavárna Society.

An Excursion to Karlstejn Castle.

3 Western & Southern Bohemia.

Spa Cures & Treatments.

Seeing the Cesk; Krumlov Château.

For Beer Lovers: Touring a Beer Shrine.

6 Denmark.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Denmark.

2 Copenhagen.

The Old Sailor’s Port at Nyhavn.

The Town’s Hottest Date: Half Woman, Half Fish.

3 Highlights of Jutland.

Ferries to Sweden & Norway.

7 Finland.

Essentials.

Speeding to Estonia.

Fast Facts: Finland.

2 Helsinki.

Paying Homage to Finlandia & Sibelius.

Olympic Memories & a Flying Finn.

Exploring the Fortress of Finland.

Traveling on to St. Petersburg.

8 France.

1 Essentials.

Festivals & Special Events.

Fast Facts: France.

2 Paris.

Saving on Travel .

The Famous Cafés of Paris.

3 The Loire Valley.

Nature & Art in Chaumontsur-Loire.

4 Provence & the Riviera .

9 Germany.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Germany.

2 Berlin.

A New Wall.

3 Munich.

4 More Highlights of Germany.

A Cruise on the Elbe.

Traveling the Romantic Road by Bus .

10 Great Britain & Ireland.

Festivals & Special Events in Great Britain.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Great Britain.

2 London.

Discount Transportation Passes.

3 Edinburgh .

The Edinburgh Festival: Art & Tattoos.

4 Irish Rail Essentials.

Festivals & Special Events.

Fast Facts: Ireland.

5 Dublin.

Which Dublin Station?

11 Greece.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

OSE Railway-Affiliated Travel Agencies.

Greek Train Station Phone Numbers.

Fast Facts: Greece.

2 Athens.

An Evening in Thissio.

An Athenian Stroll.

3 Highlights of the Peloponnese.

4 Thessaloniki & the Northeast.

Heading outside the City.

Scenic Route through the Nestos .

12 Hungary.

1 Essentials.

Festivals & Special Events.

Useful Hungarian Train Terms.

Fast Facts: Hungary .

2 Budapest.

Coffeehouse Culture.

Music for a Summer Evening .

13 Italy.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Italy.

2 Rome.

I Left My Heart on the Piazza Navona.

Ancona & Bari: Gateways to Greece.

3 Naples.

Sicily: Land of Myth & Legend.

4 Florence & Tuscany.

5 Venice & the Northeast.

A Ride in a Gondola.

6 Milan & the Northwest.

14 The Netherlands.

1 Essentials.

Festivals & Special Events.

Fast Facts: The Netherlands.

2 Amsterdam.

Special Amsterdam Experiences.

Smoking Coffee Shops.

3 The Hague.

4 Maastricht.

15 Norway.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

The Essence of Norway.

Fast Facts: Norway.

2 Oslo.

Scandinavia’s Greatest Painter.

Ringing the Doorbell at Ibsen’s Apartment.

3 Bergen.

Strolling Medieval Bergen.

Norway’s Most Dramatic Train Ride.

16 Portugal.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Portugal.

2 Lisbon.

Strolling the Alfama.

To Market, to Market.

If It Swims, It’s Here.

The Songs of Sorrow.

3 The Algarve.

Northward Ho!

17 Spain.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Spain.

2 Madrid.

Death in the Afternoon.

Tasca Hopping.

The Exotic Sound of Flamenco.

3 Seville.

4 Granada.

5 Barcelona.

Rambling Les Rambles.

A Taste of Catalán Bubbly.

18 Sweden.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Sweden’s Most Famous Rail Journey.

Fast Facts: Sweden.

2 Stockholm.

A Walk Back into Time.

3 Gothenburg.

Scenes from Gothenburg Life.

A Picnic in the Park.

19 Switzerland.

Festivals & Special Events.

1 Essentials.

Fast Facts: Switzerland.

2 Zurich.

A Summer Walk along the Quays of Zurich.

Discoveries along Medieval Streets.

Sailing Lake Zurich.

3 Bern.

Bern: A Center for Rail Trips.

On the Hoof through Bern.

4 Lausanne.

A Walk through the Middle Ages.

5 Geneva.

Sailing the Waters of Lac Léman.

6 Switzerland’s Famous Scenic Rail Lines.

Appendix: Eastern Europe & the Balkans.

1 Bulgaria.

2 Croatia.

3 Macedonia.

4 Poland.

5 Romania.

6 Serbia & Montenegro.

7 Slovakia.

8 Slovenia.

Index.

List of Maps.

Itinerary 1: Europe’s Best Castles & Palaces.

Itinerary 2: Small Cities of the Benelux.

Itinerary 3: Riding the Scenic Route.

Itinerary 4: Eastern Europe.

Itinerary 5: Exploring the Scandinavian Triangle.

Itinerary 6: Warm-Weather Europe.

Itinerary 7: Europe’s Best Art & Architecture.

Itinerary 8: Europe for Food Lovers.

Itinerary 9: Great Cities of Europe.

Itinerary 10: The Grand Tour.

Austria.

Vienna.

Vienna Public Transport.

Salzburg.

Innsbruck.

Belgium.

Brussels.

Bruges.

Liège.

Luxembourg City.

The Czech Republic.

Prague.

Scandinavia.

Copenhagen.

Finland.

Helsinki.

France.

Paris.

The Loire Valley.

Orléans.

Tours.

Avignon.

Aix-en-Provence.