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chatom
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Posted 7 years ago

Hi everyone,

I've spent some time searching for itineraries or similar routes and all of that one isn't frequent.
I bought a 10days/30 pass to leave the 12th of September from Stockholm.

The idea of the route would be :
Stockholm - Copenhagen - Hamburg - Berlin - Prague - Vienna - Venice - Milan - Marseille around where I live.

I won't stay long in Copenhagen, and I was thinking on staying something like 4 nights in both Berlin and Vienna, more like 2 nights in the others.
I'm not fully set on all stops, and could maybe add a visit to Bratislava etc. I will mainly stay in hostels in Europe, but they're not booked yet (maybe some will need not last-minute booking...).

I am thinking on doing a night train for Vienna to Venice unless I go by Munich which seems easier (but housing might be a problem with the Oktoberfest). That part and the return to France (thello, or regionnals?) seems still a bit unclear.

If you know some interesting stops on the way or recommanded routes/cities that you think would be a good idea I'd be grateful for any advice.

/Tom

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Flo
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10723 comments

replied 7 years ago

Hi Tom,

thanks for supporting us! :)

Stockholm - Copenhagen: Take one of the direct SJ Snabbtag services; reservation required: 7€

Copenhagen - Hamburg: There are direct trains about every two hours, no reservation required but recommended.

Hamburg - Berlin: At least one fast train every hour (ICE or IC/EC), no reservation required.

Berlin - Prague: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/berlin-prague-train/[/u]

Prague - Vienna: Two hourly direct Railjet services, no reservation required.

Vienna - Venice: There is a direct EC train leaving Vienna early in the morning, reservation (9€) required. The direct night train is a very good and comfortable alternative: [u]https://rail.cc/en/night-train/vienna-venice-en-237/96[/u]

Venice - Milan: Direct Frecciabianca services every hour, 10€ compulsory reservation.

Milan - Marseille: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/marseille-mailand-train/[/u] - alternatively look for this route to get to Nice, then to Marseille as above: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/tenda-railway-nice-turin/[/u]

If you book hostels beforehand you can use our partnerlink to Hostelworld: [ux]https://rail.shop/hostelworld[/ux]


Flo 8)

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chatom
Traveller
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replied 7 years ago

Hi Flo, thanks for the fast answer !
And thanks with the project, there\'s a lot of material that\'s not always easy to find. I\'ll make sure to use the partner links for bookings !

The tenda railway route to Nice seems very nice! I\'d seen it with : [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/milan-to-nice[/u]
I\'m hesitating to add a stop in Nice so I can enjoy more this part maybe :)

For Vienna to Venice I\'m wondering if it\'s worth seeing the way to Klagenfurt during the day more than the night or instead enjoying the travel day to go to Trieste after the night train...

What do you think of the itinerary? Is there something you\'d add to it?
I\'ve never travelled to that part of Europe yet so I wanted to discover it a bit, that seemed like an easy route.

Tom

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 7 years ago

Thanks, thats nice to hear! :)

Just some quick thoughts for now:
The Vienna - Klagenfurt route is quite scenic, however do not expect spectacular high and rocky mountains, its more like valleys, forests with the alps as a backdrop. The Semmeringbahn is a part of this route - it is a UNESCO world heritage site and was opened in 1854 (sit on the left).
If you want to invest a little more time you could go to Villach and change there to a train to Bled. Stay at the lake for one day then travel the Bohinj Railway to Nova Gorica and continue from there to Venice. [u]https://rail.cc/blog/de/trieste-villach-wocheinerbahn/[/u] [u]https://rail.cc/blog/travel-lake-bled-train/[/u]
Alternatively travel Vienna - Graz - Ljubljana; then you can either travel via Bled or directly to Villa Opicina and get to Trieste from there.

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chatom
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replied 7 years ago

Hi again and thanks for the previous advices too.

So far, I did the planned trip the way to Vienna but added some day trips stops to it : I stopped in Lund before Copenhagen, it\'s a very nice small student city.
Then Lübeck and Dresden within the German route, two former great cities impacted by the war and rebuilt. Lübeck is very nice and less touristy.

Now I have still half (5) of my travel days left and am thinking about joining Budapest before reaching Venice. It seems very doable but might be complicated to combine with the Klagenfurt road.
This would save a lot of time, and also be counted as 1 travel day I believe?
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/budapest-to-venice[/u]

Also, the way from Vienna to Budapest is a bit confusing whether it requires reservation or not. On the advised route [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/vienna-to-budapest[/u]
There is no needed reservation for the RJ, however on the travel app there are many more trains but the RJ need reservations and the EC not,but the hours don\'t match match I believe.
Does someone know more?

Then I\'d possibly skip Milano to spend more time on regional trains to go back.

If you have comments I\'d be happy to receive some :)
Tom

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 7 years ago

Hi,

Lund, Lübeck and Dresden are all good ideas for a stop away from the big cities Copenhagen, Hamburg and Berlin. :)

Are you in Prague right now?

Budapest - Venice overnight with the night train from Vienna would require two travel days.
Budapest - Vienna no reservation is required whether you travel on EC or Railjet trains. The app doesnt display the reservation info correctly. Reservation is compulsory on both EC and Railjet for _domestic_ journeys within Hungary (eg Budapest - Györ) but not for international travel.


Flo 8)

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chatom
Traveller
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replied 7 years ago

Hi Flo ! I am in Vienna right now!
Thanks for the clarification on the Hungarian trains.

If it takes 2 travel days to go from Budapest to Venice I might as well do it with smaller scenic routes maybe though... This is to see!
That'd leave only 2 traveling days to get back to Marseille, unless I replace Vienna to Budapest with a bus or carpool.

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 7 years ago

Alright. From Budapest you could also take the night train towards Zurich, get off at Sargans and then travel with the Bernina railway to Milan: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/zurich-milano-albula-bernina/[/u]
You would be in Milan at 1540 so could even go to Venice the same day. I know its quite a detour and a long day of travelling but the route is really quite nice. Instead of Milan you could also have a look if going to Bergamo would make sense, or make a stop at Verona. Buying a single ticket for a regional train Verona - Venice wouldnt be expensive too in case you\'d need an extra travel day.

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chatom
Traveller
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replied 7 years ago

Hi again! :)
Thanks so much, that's very good advice haha! Not sure I'd have had the idea...
I might do that and then the tenda for an epic ending, with a stop around those cities! Maybe Venice will be another time too, seems a bit inconvenient but we'll see!

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Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

replied 7 years ago

Alright, you're welcome! :)

Dont forget that you need a reservation for the night train from Budapest to Zurich.
And if you dont go to Venice, you could also make an intermediate stop along the Bernina railway, for instance at Ospizio Bernina or Alp Grüm.