Don't Fly! Take the Train When Traveling in Western Europe

Thalys train at Paris Gare du Nord Station

There is something both magical and efficient about traveling by rail in Europe. Yes, it has its problems, but to me, the problems are minimal compared to flying. If you are taking Eurostar from London to Paris, you'll need to arrive at King's Cross/St. Pancras station at least 1 1/2 hours prior to departure thanks to Brexit. But if you are traveling within the EU, there's no reason to show up that early and European rail travel is an experience I wish we had in the US.

Rail travel feels more dignified. I find that the seats are nicer, the scenery is far better, there's a cafe car and I find train station personnel are easier to deal with than airport staff. If you take the German DB Bahn trains, and order food or drinks, you get real cutlery, plates and glasses/mugs. So much nicer than single use plastics.

Here's the Reisling I ordered with real stemware while riding the German DB Bahn high speed train

Of course you can always bring your own food onto the train. Lots of people do it, and I did it on the Thalys.

Sandwich, dessert, wine and water I brought onto the Thalys train

On my trip to Europe, I took the Eurostar (formerly Thalys) high speed train from Paris Gare du Nord to Rotterdam Centraal. The entire trip took approximately 2hrs 40min. It cost me 84€ because I selected the Comfort Class (approx. $92US at the time of this post). Flying would have been 1hr 25min, but cost me double (for a coach seat) and it would have flow me from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Amsterdam Schipol Airport. From Amsterdam I would have to hop on the Dutch railway and backtrack to Rotterdam Centraal. This doesn't include the time and cost it takes to get from my hotel to Charles de Gaulle plus having to arrive at a minimum of 1 1/2 hours ahead of my flight.

There were 12 trains departing on the day I was leaving from Paris Gare du Nord to Rotterdam Centraal. Plenty of departing options for me to choose from.

Traveling by train also allows you to visit smaller cities. Major airports will only be in major cities. Flying into smaller airports can be more costly and be harder to find flights.

Booking tickets also couldn't be easier by using either www.eurostar.com (no booking fee), French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com (no booking fee), www.thetrainline.com (they might have a small fee, so double check). For a comprehensive guide on how to travel by train in Europe you should definitely check out The Man in Seat 61. It's a fantastic website that helps you plan out all your rail journeys in Europe. I'm just here to share my personal experience, but his website is extensive and I've used it to help plan my trip.

By the way, on a completely different topic, I couldn't help notice how quiet it was around Rotterdam Centraal when I arrived from Paris. I found this to be somewhat unique to The Netherlands. Whether I was at Rotterdam Centraal or Utrecht Centraal, it was rather peaceful coming out of these major train stations. Watch this video I took outside Rotterdam Centraal and turn the volume up all the way and tell me what you hear?

It's almost dead silent right out front a major rail station! I credit this to their bicycling culture. What makes a city loud are all the cars and drivers honking their horns. The infrastructure for cars has been pushed further away or to the side of these station. What I heard when I was walking around Rotterdam Centraal were people talking, the trams, and the occasional bike bell. So peaceful.

So, don't fly if you do not need to. Experience the joy of taking the train when traveling in Western Europe.