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We've all searched on Trainline or SNCF Connect for the international destination of our dreams, only to fall head over heels at the price ... and be tempted to visit the Ryanair website. For many people, going to another country means either going through the paradise that is Paris-Beauvais, or spending three minimum wages. If neither of these options appeals to you, don't worry, you've come to the right place: I'll show you how to discover Europe for less, without taking a plane.
It's impossible to have missed the many publicity stunts: after a four-year hiatus, it's once again possible to travel to the German capital, Berlin, by night train. Austrian Railways and their NightJet provide this tri-weekly service, linking the two capitals in a 14-hour journey. The train is twin-track, meaning that it departs from Paris before splitting up en route. One section heads for Berlin, a cosmopolitan city that will delight history buffs and party-goers alike. The other section heads for Austria, but it's another city it serves that interests us: Munich. I'll say it again: as painful as it may seem, the beauty of cities is best appreciated at 5am. So it's not so bad, I promise, if the train arrives in the Bavarian capital at rooster crow, leaving you with a barely awake Marienplatz to discover at sunrise.
In terms of price: 2nd-class seats in 6-compartment compartments start from €35, and berths in 6-compartment compartments from €50.
Train route: NJ 469/NJ 40469 Paris Est (d. 19h12) - Strasbourg (d. 23h42) - München Ost (a. 5h43) / Berlin Hbf (a. 9h16).
How to make a reservation On the Austrian Railways website: www.oebb.at.
Update 2026: Following the cancellation of the Paris-Berlin Nightjet service, the private company European Sleeper has relaunched the route. All the details (prices, timetables, comfort...) can be found in this article:
Article
Paris–Berlin night train: European Sleeper relaunches the route (and adds Hamburg)
July 2022 marked the end of international night trains between France and Spain. Nevertheless, a solution remains to reach Spanish Catalonia, and Barcelona in particular. The night train across the Pyrenees, which departs from Paris's Austerlitz station in the late evening, terminates at Latour-de-Carol - Enveitg (66), on the French-Spanish border. Just a stone's throw from the station, the Bistrot de la Gare provides coffee and croissants for a quick breakfast, before boarding a local Rodalies train to Barcelona twenty minutes later. The connection is easy and you'll arrive at your destination in the early afternoon.
Note that you can also reach Barcelona via Cerbère instead of Latour-de-Carol, but the journey is often more expensive. That said, this can be an interesting option, and a nice way to avoid making the same journey twice.
Stage 1: 2nd class seats start from €19, and berths in compartments of 6 from €37. The price drops with the SNCF Avantage card, and the train is accessible TGVMax.
2nd stage: €12, can only be purchased on board.
IC 3971 Paris Austerlitz (d. 9.40pm) - Latour-de-Carol - Enveitg (a. 10.07am); R3 Latour-de-Carol - Enveitg (d. 10.26am) - Barcelona-Sants (a. 1.46pm). Another train runs two hours later.
For INTERCITÉS, on the SNCF website: www.sncf-connect.com.
Wherever you live, there's a train for you. From Paris, you'll find a number of reasonably priced high-speed trains to take you internationally at 320 km/h. Don't panic if you don't live in Paris, though; most regions of France benefit from very interesting cross-border TER trains, whether for a day trip or an epic rail trip. Here's our selection of the best trains from the capital, and the most relevant regional options.
It's easy to forget this small country, situated between France, Belgium and Germany, and therefore to ignore the existence of the 6 direct high-speed trains a day between our two capitals. The two-hour journey passes very quickly, and is ideal for getting some work done thanks to the LGV Est's good internet connection. Luxembourg, capital of Luxembourg (easy!), is a city built on a valley, and many places are balconies with sublime views over the hills. The old town is splendid, and getting around between the capital's various points of interest is easy, both on foot and by public transport (free throughout the country!).
And if you don't agree with me, the trains can take you free of charge to other towns in the country (Clervaux, for example), or for a few euros you can continue your journey to Germany or Belgium. But for those looking for a simple getaway and a breath of fresh air, the Paris-Luxembourg round trip is doable in a day thanks to frequent trains. And if you're travelling from Metz or Nancy, there's also a TER (regional express train) link to Luxembourg!
Prices: 2nd class seats start at €38, 1st class at €42. Prices go down with the SNCF Avantage card, and the train is accessible by TGVMax.
Train route: TGV 2807 Paris Est (d. 8.14 am) - Champagne-Ardenne TGV (d. 8.56 am) - Luxembourg (a. 10.32 am). 1st train of the day out of 6, this train is often the cheapest.
How do I make a reservation? On the SNCF website: www.sncf-connect.com.
From France to Holland in just three hours, without blowing your budget or carbon footprint? Eurostar makes it possible. Although not renowned for their low prices, by booking a few weeks in advance, you can get to know two major cities for less. Rotterdam and Amsterdam are served by around ten daily departures from Paris. Now, would you rather visit the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank's house in Amsterdam, or discover the little-known city of Rotterdam? There's nothing to stop you from doing both... and more - the excellent Dutch rail network makes it easy to connect all corners of the country. Be warned, however, that trains in the Netherlands are certainly not the cheapest: a periodic travel card can be a worthwhile purchase.
In terms of price: 2nd class seats start at €35, especially on early morning trains.
Train route: EST 9303 Paris Nord (d. 6h21) - Rotterdam Centraal (a. 9h02) - Amsterdam Centraal (a. 9h44). 1st train of the day out of 11, this train is often the cheapest. Timetable may vary. The first weekend departure from Paris Nord is at 8.25am.
On the Eurostar website: www.eurostar.com.
Strasbourg residents are in luck: the city's strategic location on the LGV Est high-speed rail line means that you can reach Frankfurt (Germany) in less than two hours. The night train to Vienna (Austria) also stops in Strasbourg. A shuttle service connects Strasbourg to Offenburg, where you can catch important long-distance trains to Germany or Switzerland, as well as night trains to Hamburg or Prague, from where you can reach all the above destinations.
If you're heading for Switzerland, you can reach Basel from Strasbourg, Colmar or Mulhouse. If a departure closer to the north of the Grand Est is more to your liking, a frequent shuttle service links Forbach to Saarbrucken / Sarrebrouck, from where trains leave for all of Germany, as well as some international trains to Austria, notably Innsbruck!
The French cities mentioned are easily accessible from the rest of the Grand Est region, and top tip: if you're under 26, the Fluo card (which gives you 50% off all TER trains for 1 year) costs just €1!
Côte d'Azur residents, did you know that you benefit from one of the best cross-border TER trains? At minimal cost, and departing from major cities such as Cannes, Antibes or Nice, you can travel to Italy - more precisely to Ventimiglia / Ventimiglia, the border station from which trains leave for Genoa and Milan several times a day.
If you're from the Rhône-Alpes region, you can reach Geneva from Lyon or Grenoble, the gateway to the rest of Switzerland, as well as destinations in Northern Italy such as Milan and Venice.
But if it's the Spanish sun you're after, take advantage of the direct connection from Avignon, Nîmes or Montpellier to Portbou; from here, you're just one train away from Barcelona.
The proximity of Spain is a big plus: its sunshine and tapas are just a train ride away! From France, it's easy to reach the Spanish border, and you can then take a Spanish train. This way, you can reach Barcelona from several major cities: Montpellier, Sète or Perpignan with a connection at Portbou, or from Toulouse with a connection at Latour-de-Carol.
For those of you more enchanted by the Basque country than by Catalonia, don't worry - from Toulouse, Tarbes, Pau, Bordeaux or Bayonne, there are trains to Hendaye, a town on the Spanish border in France, from where you can board the RER to St. Sebastian!
It's important to note that northwest France is geographically remote from any land border. As a result, I advise you to start from Paris, which you can easily reach by train from these regions, especially at low cost with Ouigo. Tickets start at €10 from all major cities in Brittany, as well as Nantes and Angers.
There's no doubt that the coach will always be the most practical means of transport if you want to go far, non-stop and cheaply - especially if you don't live in Paris. From over a hundred French towns and cities, you can travel inexpensively all over Europe - without worrying about where you're going to put your luggage or arriving at the bus station two hours early! Of course, this means of transport may not seem very enchanting, but it's still a perfectly playable alternative, day or night, which can have its adventurous and romantic side.
The main airlines departing from France are FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus. Other alternatives are also available from major cities, including RegioJet if you're heading for Central Europe, and Alsa if you are travelling to Spain.
Exactly one month in advance, here are a few examples of international connections without connections and the prices you can find. All these prices are for the Friday at the start of the Easter vacations in zone A - the ideal day for a departure. However, even lower prices are obviously available: for example, if you leave in the middle of the week outside the school vacations, or if you book even earlier.
-13 € Reims - Frankfurt - about 6h30
-16 € Lille - Cologne - about 6h
-19 € Dijon - Luxembourg - about 4h
-19 € Lyon - Zurich - about 7h30
-25 € Nancy - Amsterdam - about 8h
-25 € Nantes - Brussels - about 12h
-25 € Besançon - Munich - about 8h30
-26 € Montpellier - Geneva - about 7h
-36 € Strasbourg - Prague - approx. 10h
-39 € Paris - London - about 10h
-39 € Bordeaux - Lisbon - approx. 18h
-40 € Chambéry - Ljubljana - about 15h
The principle behind the Interrail pass is simple in theory: a train ticket for unlimited rail travel in Europe, for a period of your choosing (between 4 and 90 days). The quid pro quo? Reservations, which are sometimes compulsory on certain trains, add to the cost of the pass. Which can quickly add up. The aim with Interrail, in my opinion, is to avoid countries where reservations are compulsory on too many trains (like Spain), but also not to target countries without reservations, where trains would be cheap without the pass: in Romania, a train journey can cost less than peanuts. So what are the ideal countries, you ask? There are countries where train travel is generally expensive, but where the Interrail pass takes you everywhere for free, without any reservations: here they are.
It's also worth noting that the pass is only valid for travel to and from France. In other words, your cross-border journeys and any intra-France journeys to join these cross-border trains, on two pre-defined days, are included. Also, if you wish, the pass offers discounts on ferry travel within Europe!
So you see, wherever you are in France, the possibility of going abroad thanks to soft mobility (without blowing your bank account!) is not just a dream, it's a reality. Obviously, when you take the train, you have to book in advance, limit your luggage, arrive two hours before departure, check in online, take a cab... Ah, wait, those are all the disadvantages of flying, aren't they? By train, however, all you have to do is book a little in advance, and the rest is up to you. Free to book epic overnight train journeys across Europe, free even to bring your bike with you! The freedom to set off on an adventure without airport stress and, above all, without the carbon footprint of a millionaire.
