How to save money on your train ticket?
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Published on 6/27/23, modified on 10/1/26
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We’ve all searched Trainline or SNCF Connect for an international destination that makes us dream, only to be shocked by the prices… and feel tempted to head over to Ryanair’s website. For many people, traveling to another country means either flying out of that “paradise” known as Paris-Beauvais or spending three times the minimum wage. If neither of those options appeals to you, don’t worry—you’ve come to the right place: here are our top train routes for exploring Europe on a budget, without flying.
What is the cheapest overnight train for traveling in Europe? The Paris-Barcelona route via Latour-de-Carol, starting at €19 in second class.
Is it possible to travel by train in Europe for less than €20? Yes: Reims to Frankfurt starting at €13, Lille to Cologne starting at €16, or Paris to Brittany starting at €10 on OUIGO.
Is the bus cheaper than the train in Europe? Often, yes, on the same routes (FlixBus, BlaBlaCar Bus), but with a longer travel time.
Is the Interrail Pass a good option for traveling on a budget? Yes, especially in countries where train tickets are expensive (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Benelux, United Kingdom).
And if you're looking for general tips on how to pay less for your tickets (discount cards, comparison sites, the best time to book), check this out:
Article
How to save money on your train ticket?
It’s impossible to have missed the numerous 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 its NightJet operate this three-times-weekly service, connecting the two capitals in a 14-hour journey. The train consists of two sections, meaning it departs from Paris before splitting up along the way. One section heads to Berlin, a very cosmopolitan city that will delight history buffs and partygoers alike. The other section heads to Austria, but it’s another city it serves that interests us: Munich.
We’ll say it again and again: as painful as it may seem, the beauty of cities is best appreciated at 5 a.m. So it’s not as bad as it sounds—we promise—if the train pulls into the Bavarian capital at the crack of dawn, leaving you to explore a barely awake Marienplatz as the sun rises.
In terms of price: Second-class seats in a 6-person compartment start at €35, and berths in a 6-person compartment start at €50.
Train route: NJ 469/NJ 40469 Paris Est (departure at 7:12 p.m.) – Strasbourg (arr. 11:42 p.m.) – Munich Ost (arr. 5:43 a.m.) / Berlin Hbf (arr. 9:16 a.m.).
How do I make a reservation? On the Austrian Railways website: www.oebb.at.
Update 2026: Following the cancellation of the Paris-Berlin Nightjet, the private company European Sleeper has relaunched the route. All the details (prices, schedules, amenities, etc.) 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. However, there is still a way to reach Spanish Catalonia, particularly Barcelona. The night train crossing the Pyrenees, which departs from Paris’s Austerlitz station late in the evening, terminates at Latour-de-Carol–Enveitg station (66) on the French-Spanish border. Just a stone’s throw from the station, for a quick breakfast, the Bistrot de la Gare serves coffee and croissants, before you board a local Rodalies train to Barcelona twenty minutes later. The connection is easy and gets you to your destination by early afternoon.
Note that you can also reach Barcelona via Cerbère instead of Latour-de-Carol, but the trip is often more expensive. That said, this option can be appealing and might be a nice way to make the return trip, so you don’t have to take the same route twice.
Step 1: Second-class seats start at €19, and berths in a 6-person compartment start at €37. The price is reduced with the SNCF Avantage card, and the train is accessible through TGVMax.
Step 2: €12; tickets can only be purchased on board.
IC 3971 Paris Austerlitz (departure 9:40 p.m.) – Latour-de-Carol – Enveitg (arrival 10:07 a.m.); R3 Latour-de-Carol – Enveitg (departure 10:26 a.m.) – Barcelona-Sants (arrival 1:46 p.m.). Another train runs two hours later.
For INTERCITÉS, on the SNCF website: www.sncf-connect.com.
No matter where you live, there’s a train for you. From Paris, you’ll find a few reasonably priced high-speed trains to whisk you abroad at 320 km/h. Don’t worry if you don’t live in Paris, though; most regions in France have cross-border TER trains that are great for everything from a day trip to an epic rail journey. Here’s our selection of the best trains from the capital, along with the top regional options.
It’s easy to forget this small country, located between France, Belgium, and Germany, and thus to overlook the fact that there are six direct high-speed trains a day between our two capitals. The two-hour trip goes by very quickly and is ideal for getting some work done, thanks to the LGV Est’s reliable internet connection. Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg (easy enough!), is a city built in a valley, and several spots offer balcony-like views of the surrounding hills. The old town is splendid, and getting around to the capital’s various points of interest is easy, whether on foot or by public transportation (which is free throughout the entire country!).
Even though you can see the whole city in no time, Luxembourg is worth at least a full day… and if you don’t agree with me, the trains can take you for free to other cities in the country (Clervaux, for example), or—for just a few euros—let you continue your trip to Germany or Belgium. But for those looking for a simple getaway and a breath of fresh air, a round-trip from Paris to Luxembourg is doable in a single day thanks to frequent train service. And by the way, if you’re departing from Metz or Nancy instead, you can reach Luxembourg via the TER!
In terms of price: Second-class seats start at €38, and first-class seats start at €42. The price is reduced with the SNCF Avantage card, and the train is eligible for the TGVMax program.
Train route: TGV 2807 Paris Est (departure at 8:14 a.m.) – Champagne-Ardenne TGV (departure at 8:56 a.m.) – Luxembourg (arr. 10:32 a.m.). As the first of six trains that day, this one is often the cheapest.
How do I make a reservation? On the SNCF website: www.sncf-connect.com.
From France to the Netherlands in just three hours, without breaking the bank or increasing your carbon footprint? With Eurostar, it’s possible. While Eurostar isn’t exactly known for its low prices, if you book a few weeks in advance, you can explore two major cities on a budget. In fact, Rotterdam and Amsterdam are served by about ten daily departures from Paris. So, would you rather visit the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, or explore the slightly lesser-known city of Rotterdam? There’s nothing stopping you from doing both… and more—the excellent Dutch rail network makes it easy to reach every corner of the country. Be aware, however, that trains in the Netherlands are certainly not the cheapest: a monthly transit pass might be a worthwhile purchase.
As for prices: Second-class seats start at €35, especially on morning trains.
Train route: EST 9303 Paris Nord (departure 6:21 a.m.) – Rotterdam Centraal (arrival 9:02 a.m.) – Amsterdam Centraal (arrival 9:44 a.m.). As the first of 11 trains that day, this one is often the cheapest. Schedules are subject to change. The first departure from Paris Nord on weekends is at 8:25 a.m.
On the Eurostar website: www.eurostar.com.
Strasbourg residents, you’re in luck: the city’s strategic location on the LGV Est high-speed rail line allows you to reach Frankfurt (Germany) in less than two hours. The overnight train to Vienna (Austria) also stops in Strasbourg. To connect to major long-distance trains bound for Germany or Switzerland, as well as overnight trains to Hamburg or Prague, a shuttle runs between Strasbourg and Offenburg, from where you can reach all of the destinations mentioned.
If you’re traveling to Switzerland, you can reach Basel from Strasbourg, Colmar, or Mulhouse. If you’d prefer to depart from a location closer to the northern part of the Grand Est region, a frequent shuttle runs between Forbach and Saarbrücken, from where trains depart for all of Germany as well as a few international trains to Austria, including Innsbruck!
The French cities listed here are easily accessible from the rest of the Grand Est region, and here’s a great tip: if you’re under 26, the Fluo card (which gives you 50% off all TER trains for one year) costs just €1!
Residents of the French Riviera, did you know that you have access to one of the best cross-border TER trains? For a minimal cost, and departing from major cities such as Cannes, Antibes, or Nice, you can travel to Italy—specifically to Ventimiglia, a border station from which trains depart for Genoa and Milan several times a day.
For residents of the Rhône-Alpes region, please note that from Lyon or Grenoble, you can travel to Geneva, the gateway to the rest of Switzerland as well as to certain destinations in northern Italy, such as Milan and Venice.
But if it’s the Spanish sun that appeals to you most, take advantage of the direct connection from Avignon, Nîmes, or Montpellier to Portbou; from there, you’re just one train ride away from Barcelona.
Spain’s proximity is a major advantage: its sunshine and tapas are just a short train ride away! From France, reaching the Spanish border is easy, and from there you can transfer to a Spanish train. This way, you can travel to Barcelona from several major cities: Montpellier, Sète, or Perpignan with a transfer in Portbou, or from Toulouse with a transfer in Latour-de-Carol.
For those of you who are more drawn to the Basque Country than to Catalonia, don’t worry—from Toulouse, Tarbes, Pau, Bordeaux, or Bayonne, trains run to Hendaye, a town in France on the Spanish border, from where you can then board an RER train bound for San Sebastián!
It’s important to note that northwestern France is geographically far from any land border. Therefore, I recommend starting your trip in Paris, which you can easily reach by train from these regions—especially at a very low cost with Ouigo. Tickets are available starting at €10 from all major cities in Brittany, as well as from Nantes and Angers.
The bus will always be, without a doubt, the most convenient mode of transportation if you want to travel long distances nonstop and on a budget, especially if you don’t live in Paris. Departing from over a hundred French cities, you can travel throughout Europe on a budget—without worrying about where to store your luggage or having to arrive at the bus station two hours early! Of course, this mode of transportation may not seem very appealing, but it’s still a perfectly viable option, day or night, and it can even have its adventurous and romantic side.
The main airlines flying out of France are FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus. There are also other options that might be useful when traveling from major cities, including RegioJet if you're heading to Central Europe, and Alsa if you're going to Spain.
With exactly one month to go, here are a few examples of direct international flights and the prices you can find. All these prices are for the Friday at the start of the Easter break in Zone A—the ideal day to depart. However, even lower prices are obviously available: for example, by traveling during the week outside of school breaks, or by booking even earlier.
-13 € Reims – Frankfurt – about 6 hours and 30 minutes
-16 € Lille – Cologne – about 6 hours
-19 € Dijon – Luxembourg – about 4 hours
-19 € Lyon–Zurich – about 7 hours and 30 minutes
-25 € Nancy – Amsterdam – about 8 hours
-25 € Nantes – Brussels – about 12 hours
-25 € Besançon – Munich – about 8 hours and 30 minutes
-26 € Montpellier – Geneva – about 7 hours
-36 € Strasbourg – Prague – about 10 hours
-39 € Paris–London – about 10 hours
-39 € Bordeaux – Lisbon – about 18 hours
-40 € Chambéry – Ljubljana – about 15 hours
The concept behind the Interrail pass is simple in theory: a train ticket that allows you to travel by train throughout Europe as much as you like for a period of your choosing (between 4 and 90 days). The catch? Reservations—which are sometimes required on certain trains—add extra costs on top of the price of the pass. This can quickly get expensive.
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In our opinion, the goal with Interrail is therefore to avoid countries where reservations are required on too many trains (such as Spain), but also to steer clear of countries where reservations aren’t required and trains would be very cheap without the pass: in Romania, a train ride can cost next to nothing. So, what are the ideal countries? Countries where trains are generally expensive, but where the Interrail pass takes you everywhere for free, without any reservations:
It’s also worth noting that the pass is valid in France only for the purpose of leaving and re-entering the country. In other words, your cross-border trips and any travel within France to reach these cross-border trains, on two pre-selected days, are included. Also, if you wish, the pass offers discounts on ferry travel in Europe!
As you can see, no matter where you are in France, the chance to travel abroad using sustainable transportation—without breaking the bank—isn’t just a dream but a reality. And unlike flying, there’s no need to: book in advance, limit your luggage, arrive two hours before departure, check in online, or take a taxi… By train, all you need to do is book a little in advance, and for the rest, you’re free. Free to book epic overnight train trips across Europe—and even free to bring your bike along! Enjoy the freedom to set off on an adventure without airport stress and, above all, without a carbon footprint worthy of a millionaire. And to take it a step further, Check out all our tips for getting a cheaper ticket !
