The renaissance of night trains in Europe is well under way and nothing seems to be stopping it.
If the Austrian company (ÖBB) is the spearhead thanks to its Nightjet, other companies, public or private, are seizing this mode of transport which offers a more ecological alternative to the plane.
In addition to the opening of new lines, Nightjet will deploy new generation trains from the middle of the year, first on its routes to Italy.
Maybe you will have the chance to take a seat!
While waiting for the Paris-Berlin night connection, expected for December 2023, or Barcelona-Zurich via Lyon in 2024, our selection of five new lines to cross Europe from west to east and from north to south while it sleeps.
From Brussels to Berlin
European Sleeper, a Belgian-Dutch cooperative company, formalized the launch of its first night train line on 27 December.
It will connect Brussels to Berlin via Amsterdam from May 25, with six round trips per week.
The opening of this route was delayed for several months due to the difficulty in finding second-hand sleeping cars.
The departure from the Belgian capital (Gare du Midi) is scheduled for 7:22 p.m. for an arrival in the German capital at 6:48 a.m., a 13-hour journey.
In the opposite direction, departure at 22:56 in Berlin, arrival at 9:27 in Brussels.
An extension of the line to Dresden and Prague is planned from December 2023.
Price:
from €49 for a seat, €79 for a berth or €159 for a private cabin (with breakfast included).
Sales open on February 20 on europeansleeper.eu.
Getting there:
to reach Brussels-Midi from Paris-Nord, take the Thalys (1h22).
From Lille-Europe, take the TGV (35 minutes).
Read alsoWhere to go on a weekend by train?
Our 50 destinations in Europe
From Hamburg to Stockholm
Two night trains now connect Germany to the Swedish capital.
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Operated by Sweden's national carrier, SJ, the Hamburg-Stockholm night train welcomed its first passengers in September 2022. The journey between Germany's second-largest city and the Swedish capital, operated daily in each direction, takes just under 1 p.m. and passes through Copenhagen and Malmö in particular.
On board, passengers have a bar car and have the choice between a seat, a berth and a privatized sleeping compartment.
Note that the private operator Snälltåget has already been offering a similar route from Berlin for several years (runs from March 30 to November 6, 2023).
Price:
from €45 for a seat, €95 for a berth or €168 for a bed (with breakfast included) in a shared cabin.
Reservations on sj.se.
Getting there:
to reach the Hamburg-Altona departure station, take an inOui TGV to Frankfurt, then an ICE (about 8 hours from Paris Gare de l'Est, 6 hours from Strasbourg).
Read alsoCrossing Sweden from north to south: two days aboard the Inlandsbanan train
From Stuttgart to Venice, Ljubljana and Rijeka
European Capital of Culture 2020, Rijeka, Croatia, is served by night train only during the summer season.
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From his berth, see the sun rise over the lagoon of Venice... Those who have already taken the Paris-Venice night train from Thello (cancelled in 2020) no doubt keep a nostalgic memory of this arrival unlike the others in the Serenissima.
This one remains nevertheless served by other night connections.
Among them, the Stuttgart-Venice line, launched in December, serves Munich, Salzburg and Treviso.
In summer, thanks to a partnership with the Slovenian and Croatian railways, the service is extended to Rijeka (Croatia) via the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana.
Price:
from €39.90 per seat, €64.90 per berth, €84.90 per bed (with breakfast included) in a shared cabin.
For the private cabin, count at least 99 €.
Reservations with Nightjet.
Getting there:
to reach Stuttgart, allow three hours from Paris Gare de l'Est or 1h30 from Strasbourg by TGV inOui or ICE (no change).
Read alsoCroatia joins the Schengen area: what changes for travelers
From Zürich to Prague
The Czech capital is now better served by night trains.
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There has already been a night service between Prague and Zurich for several years, passing through Linz and Innsbruck in Austria.
Since December 2022, another night train has been making the same connection but taking a route further north through Germany.
Nicknamed Canopus and operated by Czech Railways, České dráhy (ČD), it resurrects a route that was axed in 2017. It stops in places such as Dresden, Leipzig, Frankfurt and Basel during its journey of just over 14 hours.
Price:
from €45 per bed in a 3-seater cabin, privatized cabin for one person from €112.
Reservations with Czech Railways, České dráhy.
Getting there from Paris:
to take this train from its departure station in Zurich, allow a four-hour journey by TGV Lyria from Paris Gare de Lyon.
Read alsoTour of Switzerland in panoramic trains: our guide to a slow journey
From Vienna to La Spezia
La Spezia, on the Ligurian coast, the main gateway to the Cinque Terre.
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Fall asleep in the center of Europe and wake up at the gates of the Cinque Terre National Park, on the Ligurian coast in Italy.
This is now possible with the new Vienna-La Spezia line.
This train, attached to Vienna-Rome for part of the route, serves Salzburg, Munich, Milan and Genoa, among others.
Price:
from €29.90 per seat, €49.90 per berth, €79.90 per bed (with breakfast included) in a shared cabin.
For the private cabin, count at least 99 €.
Reservation with Nightjet.
Getting there:
possibility to board this train en route to Milan.
You can get there either with the TGV inOui from the SNCF, or with the Frecciarossa from Trenitalia in about seven hours from Paris Gare de Lyon, or in five hours from Lyon-Part-Dieu (only with Trenitalia).
Read alsoFive good reasons to discover Genoa, the superb Ligurian city