Is it not more romantic and elegant to fall asleep on a train and wake up in a new city? Night trains crisscrossing the European continent make it happen – and they don't cost as much as you think.
Some train lines offer car trains as well as night trains in many large cities, including Hamburg, Basel, Vienna and Verona. Tickets are priced based on occupancy, but can start at around $120.
For first-timers, you can't get more classic than the Austrian railway's Nightjet, which offers sleeping cars and couchette cars on a variety of lines across much of Western Europe. It's easier than ever to fall asleep in Berlin and wake up in Vienna or to board in Munich and travel through the Alps into Rome, Milan or Venice, according to the German News Agency (dpa).
The Nightjet route network is available online as a map and is expected to grow in the coming years, expanding farther west.
From the North Sea to the Alps: Taking a train is a slower, better way of getting to know a country than flying in and out of its major hubs.
The privately run Alpen-Sylt Nachtexpress, lets passengers really get to know Germany. It starts from the North Sea and goes straight down the middle to the Alps in the south, with a stopover in Austria's Salzburg. Timetables and the complete network maps are available online.
Take your car along. Some train lines, such as Train4you, let passengers bring their vehicles along for the ride, saving on mileage and allowing travelers more freedom once they arrive at their destination.
