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The city & castle of Salzburg, Austria. |
It's easy to travel from the UK
to Austria by train. Just take a lunchtime Eurostar to
Brussels, a high-speed 'Thalys' train to Cologne, then the
excellent City Night Line overnight sleeper to Linz or Vienna,
arriving for in time for breakfast. Or an early-evening
Eurostar to Paris for the equally excellent City Night Line sleeper
train to Munich with onwards connections next morning for
Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz, Klagenfurt and Vienna. It's safe, civilised, comfortable
and affordable, far better for the environment than an
unnecessary flight. This page will explain the best
train times, fares and how to buy tickets.
On this page:
London to Linz & Vienna
London to Salzburg
London to Innsbruck & Kitzbühel
London to Graz
London to Villach & Klagenfurt
Special ski train to the Austrian Tyrol
On other pages:
Buying UK train tickets
to connect with Eurostar
Taking bikes
Dogs
Luggage
General information
Sponsored links:
|
|
It's easy to
travel from London to Vienna by train, and there are
several good options each of these which is explained
below.
-
Option
1, take a lunchtime Eurostar from London to Brussels
and a connecting high-speed Thalys train to Cologne in
just a few hours, then sleep your way from Cologne to
Vienna aboard the excellent 'City Night Line' hotel train.
City Night Line trains have sleepers (including some with
private shower and toilet), couchettes, reclining seats
and a bar-restaurant. The Rhine Valley looks
wonderful in the moonlight..! This is probably the
cheapest option and the easiest to book.
-
Option 2, take an early-evening Eurostar to
Paris, the excellent City Night Line sleeper train from
Paris to Munich, then a daytime train on to Vienna next
morning.
-
Option 3, take a lunchtime Eurostar to Paris,
an evening 200mph TGV to Strasbourg, then the
Orient Express (the real one,
not the expensive restored one!) overnight to Vienna.
Train times London ► Vienna:
-
Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar,
leaving London St Pancras at 13:00 (12:57 on Fridays &
Sundays), arriving in
Brussels Midi at 16:03.
-
Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Brussels
Midi at 17:25 and arriving in
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 19:45.
-
Alternatively,
if you'd prefer a safer connection in Cologne (and
perhaps time to climb Cologne cathedral towers and
have a meal), you can leave London earlier, at 10:00,
changing in Brussels to arrive Cologne at 15:45.
-
Travel
from Cologne to Vienna on the excellent
City Night Line hotel train 'Donau Kurier', leaving
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 20:06 and arriving in Linz at
06:44, St Pölten 07:47, and Vienna (Westbahnhof) at
08:35. The 'Donau Kurier' has sleeping-cars,
couchettes, reclining seats & a bar-restaurant car,
see the photos & information below. The train travels along the famous Rhine Valley
between
Koblenz and Frankfurt, so if you are in a sleeper and
your compartment happens to be on the left-hand side
of the train, switch off the lights and watch the
Rhine pass by, mountains and castles lit by moonlight,
while sipping a glass of Riesling.
Wonderful..!
Train times
Vienna ▶ London
Fares
How to buy tickets
Map of Vienna showing the Westbahnhof
Introducing the
City Night Line hotel train from Cologne to
Vienna...
The City Night Line 'Donau Kurier' is a travelling hotel, with
bar-restaurant-reception car, distinctive
double-decker sleeping-cars with 1 & 2-bed deluxe
sleepers with private shower & toilet, 1, 2 & 4
bed standard sleepers with washbasin, single-deck couchette
cars with 4 & 6 berth compartments, and
reclining seats. A wonderful way to
travel..! The
sleeper berths come fully made up with sheets and
duvets. All
sleeper passengers get mineral water in the evening
and a light breakfast served in their compartment next morning, deluxe sleeper
passengers also get a complimentary glass of wine in
the evening. Towels and toiletries are
provided, including shampoo and shower gel in the
deluxe sleeper. Couchette passengers get
mineral water, each couchette is provided with
clean sheets, blanket and pillow. The bar-restaurant is
open to all passengers, and it's normally open to
about 2am. If you like, you can book a table
for dinner in the restaurant car before you travel,
by emailing
service@citynightline.ch or using the online
form at
www.bahn.de/citynightline.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
Deluxe sleeper:
Compact rooms, all on top deck, 1 or 2 berths, table &
chairs, shower & toilet.
3-D panorama. |
|
Standard sleeper:
Very compact 1 or 2 berth rooms with washbasin.
Most on lower deck. |
|
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families. Much more space per person
than 6-berth, so worth the extra few euros. |
|
6-berth couchettes:
Shown here with middle bunks lowered to form
sofa. Very economical, far better than a
seat. |
|
Reclining seats:
The cheapest way to travel, but a couchette is a far
better option. |
-
Travel from
Vienna to Cologne overnight on the City Night Line hotel
train 'Donau Kurier', leaving Vienna
(Westbahnhof) at 20:35, St Pölten 21:20 or Linz at
22:20 and arriving at Cologne at 08:42 next morning.
The Donau Kurier has sleeping-cars (1 or 2-bed
deluxe with private shower & toilet, 1, 2
or 4-bed sleepers with washbasin), couchettes
(4-bunk or 6-bunk), reclining seats and a
bar-restaurant car, see the photos above.
-
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high speed
Thalys
train, leaving Cologne at 10:14 and arriving
Brussels Midi 12:35.
-
Travel
from Brussels to London by
Eurostar,
leaving Brussels
Midi at 14:59 arriving London St Pancras
at 15:56.
This can be a cheaper route
than travelling via Paris. Book in advance
to get the special 'sparnight' fares at the
City Night Line website,
www.bahn.de/citynightline. Note that couchettes are
sold individually in shared 4 or 6 berth compartments, but
as from 9 December 2007, only whole sleeper compartments
on this route can be booked, it will no longer be possible
for solo passengers to book one sleeper berth in a 2 or 3
bed compartment and share with other passengers.
|
1. London to
Cologne
by
Eurostar + Thalys: |
London to
Cologne by Eurostar+Thalys or Eurostar+ICE starts at £79
return.
Book in advance to get the cheapest fares, as the
fare rises as cheaper seats are sold. One-way
fares are often more than a return, so if necessary
buy a return and throw away the return half. |
|
|
|
2. Cologne to
Vienna
by
City Night Line: |
In a seat |
In a couchette |
In the sleeping-car |
|
(reclining) |
6-berth |
4-berth |
4-berth |
2-berth |
single |
deluxe
2-berth |
deluxe single |
|
Savings
fare
one-way * |
£21 |
£36 |
£44 |
£51 |
£58 |
£103 |
£73 |
£140 |
|
Savings
fare
return * |
£42 |
£72 |
£88 |
£102 |
£116 |
£206 |
£146 |
£280 |
|
Normal fare one-way: |
£88 |
£99 |
£106 |
£114 |
£129 |
£159 |
£172 |
£201 |
|
Normal fare return: |
£176 |
£198 |
£212 |
£228 |
£258 |
£318 |
£344 |
£402 |
|
Child
0-13 with own berth: |
£44 |
£49 |
£53 |
£58 |
£60 |
£78 |
£65 |
£100 |
|
Child
0-5 without own berth: |
Child 0-5 (inclusive) sharing berth travels free... |
Savings fare =
Special cheap fare, book in advance, limited availability,
no refunds, no changes to travel plans.
Normal fare =
fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.
You can check City Night Line fares online (and you find
special internet deals) at
www.bahn.de/citynightline.
You can check London-Cologne fares at
www.raileurope.co.uk.
The best and cheapest way to book this trip is online.
It involves two websites, so do a dry run on both
sites to check prices and availability before booking
for real.
-
First,
go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
and using the train times on this page as a guide, buy a combined
Eurostar+Thalys ticket from London to Cologne. On the
Rail Europe home page,
simply enter 'London' and 'Cologne' and your dates of travel.
The further ahead you book, the more likely you are to see
the cheapest fares. Tickets can be posted to any UK
address.
Obviously, remember that your return date of travel from
Cologne to London will be the day after your
departure date from Vienna. One-way fares are usually more expensive than a cheap return
fare, so for one-way trips buy a return ticket and throw
away the return half. Bookings for Eurostar+Thalys open 90 days (3
months) before departure. Note:
You can also book London-Cologne tickets at
www.eurostar.com, but the fares returned by this system
can be more expensive than those found by
www.raileurope.co.uk.
-
Then,
go to
www.bahn.de/citynightline, select English top
right, and buy a ticket from Cologne
(Köln in German) to Vienna aboard the "Donau Kurier" City Night Line sleeper train,
looking for the cheap 'Savings' fares ('Sparnight' in
German).
Your simply book online and print out your own ticket in
.PDF format using your PC printer. Easy! Make
sure you select the type of couchette or sleeper that you
want. Bookings for City Night Line open 180 days (6
months) before departure.
How
to buy tickets by phone:
If you prefer to buy tickets by phone, call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday, no
booking fee), or call www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-17:00
Monday-Friday, £20 booking fee but may have more time to
help).
Click
here for more information on how to buy European train tickets.
...via Paris & the Orient Express
|
Train times London ► Vienna:
-
Travel
from London to Paris by
Eurostar, leaving London
St Pancras at 14:04, arriving
at Paris Gare du Nord at 17:26. Walk from the Gare du
Nord to the nearby Gare de l'Est.
-
Travel from Paris
to Strasbourg by high-speed TGV, leaving Paris (Gare
de l'Est) at 19:24 and arriving Strasbourg 21:43.
The TGV has 1st and 2nd class seats and a buffet-bar.
-
Travel from Strasbourg to
Vienna on the Orient Express (the real one, not the
expensive tourist one, see the Orient
Express page), leaving Strasbourg at 22:20 and arriving next morning in Linz 06:46,
St Pölten 07:47 and
Vienna at 08:35. The Orient Express
has reclining seats (not recommended), comfortable modern Austrian
couchettes
(6-berth),
and two sleeping-cars,
one with very narrow 1 and 2-bed compartments
(described in reservation systems as 1st class
'special' and 2nd class 'T2'), and another with larger
1, 2 and 3-bed compartments (1st class 'single', 1st
class 'double' and 2nd class 'T3'). There's no restaurant car, so take your
own food and maybe a bottle of wine, although the
sleeper and couchette attendants can sell you snacks, tea and coffee.
For sleeper passengers, a light breakfast is included
in the fare. The Orient Express used
to start in Paris, but has been cut back to run
Strasbourg-Vienna with the opening of the new TGV-Est
High Speed Line in June 2007.
From Strasbourg to Vienna on the Orient Express...
You can
choose between a bed in the sleeping-car, a couchette, or a reclining seat...
 |
|
 |
|
Left:
Couchettes. These modern air-conditioned
Austrian Railways couchette cars have padded bunks supplied with rug, sheet and
pillow, in 4- or 6-bunk compartments. The
photo shows a 4-bunk compartment.
More information about couchettes.
Reclining seats (not recommended) |
Train times Vienna ► London:
-
Travel
overnight from Vienna to Strasbourg on the Orient Express,
leaving Vienna
(Westbahnhof) daily at 20:35, St Pölten 21:20, or Linz
22:20, and arriving Strasbourg at 06:43 next morning.
There are reclining seats (not recommended),
couchettes (6-bunk compartments) and two sleeping-cars,
one with very narrow 1 and 2 bed rooms (referred to as
Special & T2) the other with larger 1, 2 and 3 bed
rooms (referred to as Single, Double & T3). For sleeper passengers, a light
breakfast is included in the fare
-
Travel from Strasbourg to Paris by high-speed TGV,
leaving Strasbourg at 07:15 and arriving Paris (Gare
de l'Est) at 09:34. The TGV has 1st
& 2nd class seats and a buffet-bar. Walk from
the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
-
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
12:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 13:28.
On Saturdays & Sundays, there's also an 11:13
Eurostar, arriving London St Pancras at 12:38.
Fares:
|
1. London to Paris
by
Eurostar: |
Return fares
start at £59 2nd class, £149 1st class.
One-way fares start at £44 2nd class.
Advice on one-way Eurostar fares. Child, youth & senior fares
|
| |
|
2. Paris to
Strasbourg
by TGV: |
Full fare £47 one-way,
£94 return. 'Prems' fares from £19 one-way,
£38 return (book at least 14 days ahead, limited
availability, no refunds, no changes to travel
plans). |
| |
|
3. Strasbourg to Vienna
by Orient
Express: |
In a seat |
In a couchette |
In the
standard sleeping-car... |
In
the T2S
sleeper (smaller)... |
|
6-berth |
3-berth (T3) |
2-berth (Double) |
2-berth (Single) |
2-berth
(T2) |
1-berth
(Special) |
|
Normal fare one-way |
£97 |
£111 |
£132 |
£210 |
£254 |
£141 |
£226 |
|
Normal
fare return |
£194 |
£222 |
£264 |
£420 |
£508 |
£282 |
£452 |
There are slightly cheaper fares on this route if you are under 26 or over 60,
but no real special deals, only full fares.
How to buy tickets online:
UK residents can book the Eurostar, the TGV and the Orient
Express online at
www.raileurope.co.uk:
-
Go to
www.raileurope.co.uk.
-
This is in English, tickets
are sent to any UK
address, and it's backed by a UK call centre. Only UK
credit cards are accepted.
-
Bookings for this
route open 60 days
in advance, you can't book before reservations open.
-
You must book in
two stages. First, book from Paris to Vienna and back.
Select "Vienna (AT)' if prompted.
-
When
the results appear, look for the evening departure from
Paris with one change at Strasbourg. Click 'Show
details' and it will show the range of seats and sleepers
available.
-
When you have booked from Paris to
Vienna and back, click 'Continue shopping' and book a
Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the
Eurostar times on this page as a guide, but feel free to
choose an earlier Eurostar from London, or a later Eurostar
returning from Paris, if these have cheaper seats available
than the recommended Eurostar connection or if you want to
stop off in Paris. Just make sure you
allow at least 1 hour, preferably a bit more between trains in Paris to allow for
any delay, to walk between stations (15 mins) and for the 30
minute Eurostar check-in in the return direction.
Obviously, as you are travelling overnight, your date of
return travel from Paris to London will be the day after
your departure date from Vienna. For a one-way trip, remember that on
Eurostar it is cheaper to buy a return ticket and throw away
the return half.
Advice on
one-way Eurostar fares.
Alternatively,
residents of any country can book the Eurostar, the TGV and
the Orient Express online at the French Railways website,
www.voyages-sncf.com.
-
Tickets
can be sent to any address in Europe including the UK.
Voyages-sncf.com shows the same
fares as Rail Europe but paying in euros can be slightly
cheaper. However, it's more difficult to use and more
quirky than the new Rail Europe UK booking system, so see the
how to use voyages-sncf.com page for
step by step instructions.
-
Bookings for this
route open 60 days
in advance, you can't book before reservations open.
-
You must book in
two stages,
first book from
Paris to
Vienna
and back. Select "Vienna (AT)' if prompted.
Then book from London to Paris and back.
How
to buy tickets by phone:
You
can buy tickets from a number of UK agencies, including
Rail Europe on 0844 848 5 848 (lines open 08:00-21:00
Mondays-Fridays, 09:00-18:00 Saturdays, 10:00-17:00
Sundays, £6 booking fee) or
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines
open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday, no booking fee), or Ffestiniog
Travel on 01766 772050 .
Click
here for a list of
agencies and other useful information on how to book.
Train times London ► Vienna:
-
Travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London at 18:00 (17:31 on Saturdays) arriving Paris 21:20
(20:53 on Saturdays). The Eurostar arrives at the
Gare du Nord, from where it is a
10 minute walk
to the Gare de l'Est.
-
Travel from Paris to Munich
overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train
'Cassiopeia', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 22:45 and arriving in Munich at
08:58 next morning. This excellent train has sleeping-cars,
couchettes & seats, see the photos & information
below. Important: On certain dates
the Cassiopeia leaves Paris earlier, between 21:15 &
21:45, so double-check times for your date of travel
using
www.bahn.de/citynightline. On these dates,
you'll need to catch an earlier Eurostar from London, at
16:25 arriving Paris 19:47.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
-
Travel
from Munich to Vienna by
air-conditioned EuroCity train 'Bartok
Bela',
with restaurant car, leaving at 09:27 and
arriving in
Vienna at 13:38. The sleeper from Paris normally
arrives at Munich Hauptbahnhof at platform 11, the
EuroCity to Budapest leaves from nearby platform 14, so
it's an easy connection.
Introducing the
City Night
Line sleeper train from Paris to Munich...
The
Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German
Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Cassiopeia', it has brand-new 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars (1, 2
& 3-berth deluxe
rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin, there's a shower at the
end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms),
modernised air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a
berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment) and ordinary seats
(not recommended).
Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus
sleeping accommodation. The sleeper fare includes
a light breakfast.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|

|
|
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard
with washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet. |
|
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes. |
|
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more... |
|
Above: One of the new
'Comfortline' sleeping-cars on the Paris-Munich City Night Line sleeper train
'Cassiopeia'.
More pictures... |
Train times Vienna ► London:
-
Travel from
Vienna to
Munich by air-conditioned EuroCity train, leaving Vienna at
16:22 and arriving in Munich at 20:34. The train has
a restaurant car & bar. Earlier
connections are available if you would prefer a more
leisurely connection, see
http://bahn.hafas.de.
However, this train normally arrives at Munich
Hauptbahnhof platform 14 and the sleeper to Paris leaves
from platform 13, so it's an easy connection.
-
Travel from Munich to Paris by
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Munich at 20:53 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est
between 06:46 & 09:38 next
morning. Arrival times vary on different dates, so
check times for your date of travel using
www.bahn.de/citynightline. Couchettes (6-bunk and 4-bunk) and
sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard
with washbasin)
are available.
Click for more pictures and information about this train.
Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
-
On dates when the
Cassiopeia arrives in Paris at 06:46, a Eurostar leaves Paris Nord at 08:07 and
arrives London St Pancras at 09:34. When it arrives
at 08:15, a Eurostar leaves Paris Nord at 10:13 arriving
London at 11:28. On dates when it arrives at 09:38,
a Eurostar leaves Paris Nord at 11:13 on Sats & Suns
(arriving London 1228) or 12:13 on Mon-Fri (arriving
London 13:28).
Fares:
|
1. London
to Paris
by
Eurostar: |
Return fares
start at £59 2nd class, £149 1st class.
One-way fares start at £44 2nd class.
Advice on one-way Eurostar fares. Child, youth & senior fares
|
| |
|
2.
Paris to
Munich by
sleeper train (per person) |
In a
seat |
In
a couchette |
In
the sleeping-car (standard room) |
|
6-bunk |
4-bunk |
3-bed |
2-bed |
1-bed |
|
Savings fare, one-way * |
29 euro (£21) |
39 euro (£29) |
49 euro (£36) |
- |
- |
- |
|
Savings fare, return * |
58 euro (£42) |
78 euro (£58) |
98 euro (£72) |
- |
- |
- |
|
Normal fare, one-way: |
110 euro (£81) |
122 euro (£90) |
127 euro (£94) |
139 euro (£103) |
156 euro (£116) |
258 euro (£191) |
|
Normal fare, return: |
220 euro (£162) |
244 euro (£180) |
254 euro (£188) |
278 euro (£206) |
| | |