I'll admit it — I'm biased. Ask me how to get from Paris to Amsterdam, or Florence to Venice, and I will always nudge you toward the train before I mention the plane. There's something about rail travel in Europe that a boarding gate just can't replicate.

It starts the moment you sit down

No security lines, no liquids restrictions, no arriving two hours early to sit in a fluorescent-lit hallway. You walk onto the platform, find your seat, and within minutes the city is sliding past your window. I still remember the first time I took the train from Rome to Florence — vineyards, hill towns, laundry strung between balconies — all of it moving by like a story being told just for me.

The window is the whole point

Flying gets you there. The train lets you actually see the "there" you're heading toward, and everywhere in between. The Alps unfolding on the Zurich–Milan line. The coastline hugging the tracks between Nice and Genoa. The flat, golden fields of the English countryside on the way to York. These aren't layovers — they're part of the trip.

It's simply more civilized

You can walk around. Grab something from the dining car. Strike up a conversation with the person across from you, or just put in headphones and watch the world go by with a coffee in hand. Overnight trains take it even further — I always tell clients that waking up in a new country, having slept your way there, is one of travel's quiet luxuries.

A few of my favorite routes

• →Paris to Amsterdam — just over three hours, gliding past canals and countryside
• →The Bernina Express through the Swiss Alps — genuinely one of the most beautiful rides on earth
• →Venice to Vienna overnight — fall asleep in Italy, wake up in Austria
• →Edinburgh to London on the East Coast line — dramatic coastline for most of the journey

A practical note

Book your tickets in advance where you can, especially for high-speed and overnight routes — prices climb the closer you get to departure. And pack a little lighter than you would for a flight; you'll be the one carrying your bag onto the platform. Our carry-on packing guide makes two weeks in Europe fit in a single bag — perfect for train travel. These routes work especially well when you're stitching together a multi-country Europe trip rather than staying in one place.

For a different kind of slow European journey, our Danube River cruise guide covers the other great way to cross the continent without ever unpacking more than once.

Explore More Europe Travel Guides

• →How to Plan a Multi-Country Europe Trip — Routing, pacing, and making the most of multiple destinations.
• →Danube River Cruise: The Ultimate Guide — Europe's blue waterway by river ship.
• →How to Pack for Europe in a Carry-On — Two weeks, one bag, zero stress.

If you're building a multi-city itinerary through Europe, let's talk about where a train ride could replace a flight. More often than not, it turns a transit day into one of the best parts of the trip.