Europe by Rail Guide
If you are looking for a great book about train travel that can serve as a source of inspiration for future journeys, I can highly recommend “Europe by Rail: The Definitive Guide”.
A good travel book can completely change the way you plan a rail trip. Instead of simply deciding where you want to go and then working out how to get there, a great rail travel book can introduce you to routes and destinations you might never have considered in the first place.
For European rail travel, Europe by Rail: The Definitive Guide is one of the most useful resources I have come across. Written by Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries, both keen train travellers themselves, the guide features 52 suggested rail itineraries covering an impressive 47,000 kilometres in total. The routes stretch as far south as Sicily, north to the Arctic Circle, westwards to Ireland and eastwards to the shores of the Black Sea.
Indeed, the routes covered by this book span practically the whole of Europe, ranging from classic rail journeys to more off-the-beaten-path routes and from shorter trips to epic cross-continental journeys. Whether you are planning your first European rail journey or are an experienced train traveller, there is something new to discover in this book.
About "Europe by Rail: the definitive guide"
One of the great strengths of Europe by Rail is that it goes beyond simply suggesting places to add to your train travel itinerary. Each of the 52 itineraries combines an overview of the destinations along the route with detailed information on the train connections needed to travel between them. The guide also provides practical information to help you organise your journey, including advice on planning routes, the trains you will be travelling on, choosing the right tickets and finding out where to buy them.
The book has certainly proved useful in practice, as several of my own European train journeys were inspired by its pages. Those trips all turned out to be absolutely delightful. For example, on one of my recent train journeys through Germany and Poland, the book inspired me to add Görlitz to my itinerary, which turned out to be a magnificent town to visit.
I am far from the only reader who has found the guide worthwhile – it has sold more than 200,000 copies over the course of its 25 years in publication. With its combination of route ideas and practical railway information, the guide can be useful whether you are still looking for inspiration or have already decided where you want to travel and need help putting the journey together.
Where to buy "Europe by rail: the definitive guide"
You can find “Europe by Rail: The Definitive Guide” at quality bookshops in the UK and several other European countries, with specialist railway bookshops particularly likely to stock it. For most people, however, the easiest option is simply to order a copy through Amazon.
Apart from this rail guidebook, there are several other travel resources I can wholeheartedly recommend buying.
These are the Rail Map of Europe and the European Rail Timetable, both of which are great tools for planning your next train travel adventure or taking along as a reference while travelling.
On train trips around Europe and beyond, I also never leave home without a good eSIM for my smartphone to stay connected. My Curve card helps me avoid transaction and withdrawal fees when paying in foreign currencies, while giving me real market exchange rates.