Sleeping at train stations?

Peter
Traveller
9331 comments

Hi.

In most train stations it is not allowed to stay overnight - often they are closed during the night.
But for example at the main station of Brussels (Bruxelles Midi) it is allowed to stay overnight as long as you have an international rail ticket such as InterRail.
But I generally do not recommend it.

Have a look at the schedule planer: [u]https://rail.cc/en/search-interrail-route[/u]
Often you can find regional trains running during the night. Take it for one trip of 3 hours in the one direction, then again 3 hours back.
Or travel 30 minutes outside of the big cities, leave the train in a small village and search there for a place to sleep - that's the way I often do it.

Peter :)

Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

Hi!

Usually, you can stay at a station overnight - as long as you have a valid ticket and if it os open during the night. But there arent that many station opened throughout the night...you can try and check the arrival/departure times of a certain station, if there are trains running at 2am, 3am it should be open all night.

Otherwise, do it as Peter suggested. :)


Flo 8)

alexvsim
Traveller
9 comments

Thanks guys, I appreciate it... by the way is sleeping in a city park (on a bench) illegal or just dangerous?

Peter
Traveller
9331 comments

It is in most cases only dangerous, especially in the big cities.
Don't recommend it.

Then it is better to sleep somewhere hidden in the bushes in a park...

alexvsim
Traveller
9 comments

Just read somwhere that in France it is forbidden to camp in woods, natural, regional and national parks

Has anyone had a problem with that?

Peter
Traveller
9331 comments

Yes it is in deed.
But it always depends on you: if you don't use a tent just sleep somewhere on a meadow - not on private ground, no one will be interested in you.

Peter :)

jessica_22
Traveller
19 comments

Just adding to this... I am getting a train from Nice to Barcelona and I have to wait in Avignon between midnight and 6am for the connection. I was just going to stay at the station as it seems a waste of time and money to go to a hostel but would this be a bad idea?

Jess

Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

Hi Jess!

I just checked and the waiting rooms are closed between 0030 and 0400... :| I dont know what could be the best idea to spend the rest of the time...quite close is the river with an island, maybe you can find a quiet place there? But on the other hand it might be more comfortable/feeling safe to stay somewhere at the city centre..or you stay close to the station, there seems to be a park or something.
Sorry cant give you more advice, it's been a while since I was there personally.


Flo 8)

csberko
Traveller
6 comments

If your Interrail is valid for the next day, i recommend u to just wait somewhere until midnight, then take a regional train somewhere (3-4 hours) from where you can immediately come back (use timetable search), and sleep on the train. Trains at night are quiet and empty, you probably have 3 seats to sleep on. And it's much safer then sleeping in the waiting room.

But i slept at Verona PN and Trieste Cle, they are very nice and safe places to sleep.

holycow
Traveller
1 comments

In Sweden, EVERYTHING is closed at night so if you go there, do find some kind of accomodation which will include a roof over your head. We were there in August and it was freezing.

Amsterdam central station is closed too, but we slept in a passage with some homeless people,and it was okay. :D

Zurich- closed too, but it's probably the best city I've been to for sleeping outside. There are a million places where you can sleep. We slept in a park and it was okay.

Zagreb,Croatia- the station is open and people always sleep there but there are always a few police officers walking around, so I suggest sleeping at the main bus station-no one will bother you there. :)

Robert_Antonio
Traveller
53 comments

At Czech and Slovak train stations it's officially forbidden to sleep, to get rid of smelly homelesses. If you don't appear as a homeless, the staff usually leave you alone, but if you meet a really curious bureaucrat... :|
Consider that even the most frequent stations in Czechia are closed for 2-3 hours at night.

In Russia and CIS countries, train stations are open 24 hours daily, sleeping at bench is normal there.

anonymous
Traveller
2467 comments

I visited my friend in Confolens, a tiny village in the middle of France between Limoges, Poitiers and Angouleme, last Spring, and unwittingly flew out there the day that Iceland volcano exploded, and thus got stranded there. So, in order to go back home, one of his friends took me to Bordeaux (with my money...!!!), which involved me getting a hotel on arrival (the ETAP opposite Gare de St Jean) for us, in the hope his Bordeaux friend would be able to put us up for a few days. At the time, Bordeaux seemed like a much better place to try and get back from the UK than waiting in a poxy village.

Anyway, no sign of her by night two...so we panicked as we (well, me...) didn't want to have to shell out another bomb for a hotel. Thankfully, a Paris - Bordeaux train was delayed, and would have missed an already cancelled Bordeaux - Toulouse connection, which was the last one of the day, which therefore left people stranded in Bordeaux (the last train back to Paris had left by that point too, I believe), so SNCF actually put people in a stationary Marseille bound train (for the first service the next day) at Gare de St Jean for the night! And, although we didn't have any tickets at the time, were allowed to sleep on the train too! In fairness, we did head back for Angouleme and Chabanais the next morning!

So, there may even be an element of luck involved at sleeping in stations...?!?!?

Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

Yes, that might be true. ;)

We once wanted to sleep in the train in Salzburg Hbf after a fesitval and got kicked out, even though the train was bound for Graz some hours later...

On the other hand, we often stayed at Calais ferryport and it never was a problem, we even met a friendly security who looked after us.. 8)

In Karlsruhe I once slept in a waiting shelter at a platform which was no problem at all.


Flo 8)

rnl
Traveller
20 comments

Emphasizing the already mentioned tip for Zagreb: the bus station is excellent for spending a night! Modern, clean and safe. Upstairs, next to the internet café, are two nice sofas where you can lay down.
There's also a pretty cheap bar (aptly named Bus) working 24hrs.

It's only a 10 minutes walk from the railway station, which I found to be a bit seedy and dark.


In general, sleeping at railway stations sucks. And spending the nights in city parks is just asking for trouble.
It's better to travel to a smaller town and find a suitable space to sleep there - much quieter and safer.
Industrial areas are also good, since hardly anyone is there at night. Just keep out of sight for patrolling security staff and make sure there are no guard dogs around.
The best thing to do is checking out a place before it gets dark and then return when you feel sleepy 8)

Be safe.

ratexla
Traveller
7 comments

Thanks for all the tips, I'm making a list... :)

I can recommend sleeping at the station in [b]Milan[/b] - it has several floors, is quiet, light and pretty warm. A guard woke me up once, but IIRC it's OK to stay there if you've got a train ticket.

The [b]Villach[/b] station felt nice and safe all night too, but a bit cold.

I (lone woman) have spent the night in several other stations (Düsseldorf, Berlin, Hamburg, Salzburg, Passau, Innsbruck, little Flüelen...) and never been threatened or anything, but I do try to be invisible / look like a bum! :)

I really need to try the meadow method properly this year, my 2nd Interrail trip... I'm NOT a fan of the ground in cities since there's piss and spit everywhere. :p

You know this site? www.sleepinginairports.net Someone should make one for train stations, hehe.

maverick64
Traveller
4 comments

Could I also ask something, as it seems to be an appropriate place here :D

Our group of 4 young people is taking a night train from Berlin to Prague (something I just found this site doesn't recommend, oops :| ). The line we are taking drops us off in a small town in Germany called Elsterwerda, and unfortunately we'll be stranded there from 23:37 to 4:44 :(
What do we do?? Does anyone know if we could sleep in the station, or should we rough it outside since it's only a town? Many thanks for you help in advance :)

Peter
Traveller
9331 comments

Hi.
There is no real night train on the route Berlin to Prague, as the distance is to short:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail/berlin-to-prague[/u]
I recommend to travel by day and to stay one more night in a hostel in Prague - as they are inexpensive there: [ux]https://rail.shop/hostelworld[/ux]
About Elsterwerda I can\'t give you details. But if you want to sleep somewhere at a station, Elsterwerda should be a better choice than one of the big cities.
Peter :)

maverick64
Traveller
4 comments

I think you might be right actually... the route we've classed as a night train is most likely just a route from Berlin to Elsterwerda, then a train hours later to Prague - leaving us in that position :|
But many thanks for your help and I'll discuss our options with the group :) Thank you!

Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

Hi,

well this is a rather unconvential connection you've chosen. ;)
Like you've said, we do not recommend to go this route by night train as no real night train exists on that particular route. However, what you could do is to take this train, which is attached to the Amsterdam/Kobenhavn - Praha night train in Berlin:

Berlin Ost 0457 - 0926 Praha hl n

This would mean that you would stay the better part of the night in Berlin, but well, this shouldnt be much of a problem since you wont have any problems to find a decent place to party or just spend the night relaxed with a beer in Berlin I guess.
If that doesnt sound too good than you could of course take the route via Elsterwerda and sleep there somewhere either at the station (I guess the waiting room will be closed overnight, but you might be able to stay somewhere at the platform) or in the bushes. :D

Another option, if you want to spend the night cheap/in a train would be to take the night train to Budapest/Wien (departure Berlin Hbf 1813) (which runs via Praha) and stay there until, say, Brno hl n (arrival 0256). From Brno you could go back to Praha:
Brno 0431 - 0718 Praha.
Or, go with the 1813 to Praha and change there to the night train to Kosice. Stay until Ostrava hl n (arr 0436) and change there back to Praha (dep 0453, arr Praha 0738)


Flo 8)
Or, take t

maverick64
Traveller
4 comments

Wow, they're actually fanastic options :D We'll look them all over and choose the best, but for now thanks to both Flo and Peter :) I'm liking the 'relax in Berlin with a beer' approach, and we'll be wary not to make the same mistake in the future :P Thank you!

Peter
Traveller
9331 comments

There is a supermarket (Kaisers) in the lower level of Berlin Hauptbahnhof (central railway station) where you can get cans (0,5 l) of beer for 0,70 EUR. :D
Open until 22:00 or 00:00h.

bernardocruz26
Traveller
4 comments

Hi, does anyone have information/advice about Ventimiglia (Italy)?
I am going to take a route from Barcelona to Milan but I'm stopping at Ventimiglia from 23:00 to 5:00 (give or take). I don't mind staying up all night if there's nowhere to sleep, I just wanted to know if it is safe/allowed to stay at the station and if not, if Ventimiglia is generally a safe town at night.
Thank you

Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

I have heard rather bad stories from Ventimiglia stations with people having their stuff stolen...so maybe try to avoid the station and find a more quiet place.
On a German TV documenation, a couple of InterRailers have been sleeping at the beach without troubles but I assume they have been guarded by the TV team...

bernardocruz26
Traveller
4 comments

That may be an option... As I said, I'm not interested in sleeping, I'll sleep on the train when it arrives, I'm just afraid I could get robbed somewhere in the city, but it is a small town, I suppose it's safe to walk around there at night, right?

Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

I think it will be safe. It would be interesting to hear from your experiences. :)

bernardocruz26
Traveller
4 comments

Sure, no problem :)
I guess I'll just head to the beach and try to stay at a bar till it closes, there's a few just near the sea, I think. Just a last question, how can I find out what time does the station open/closes?

nltrainer
Traveller
1333 comments

you can find some reviews for stations, bus or train on: www.sleepinginairports.org
As it says, its mainly about the airports, but many are on raillines now and you can- or cannot, just read, use them. But fairly often they only allow you in or check if you have some baording pass for a plane. You can use the trains anyway on IR, so f.e. BRUSSEls airport is far better as BRU=train.
Local trains that run by night are very few anyway (as above someone suggested), but in some German areas, like Rhein-Ruhr they have them on weekends only.

bernardocruz26
Traveller
4 comments

What about Venice? I will have to stay there until 5 am also...
Can I stay at the station? If not, is Venice dangerous at night? Is there anywhere safe where I could wait for the train?

Kyledc
Traveller
1 comments

I have a wait at Arnhem train station from 01:30 till 5:30 and I can\'t wait in the train station, I don\'t want to pay for somewhere to stay, any suggestions?

Flo
Traveller
10723 comments

Hi and welcome to railcc!

You can go from Arnhem with the last train to Utrecht
Arnhem 0001 - 0037 Utrecht
and then travel with the "Night Network" IC trains from Utrecht to Rotterdam and back
Utrecht 0101 - 0255 Rotterdam
Rotterdam 0300 - 0454 Utrecht
and back to Arnhem
Utrecht 0554 - 0629 Arnhem
This only works on weekdays (the first train from Utrecht to Arnhem on Sataurday is on 0654, on Sunday on 0754).

Flo

toursinfiji
Traveller
4 comments

In the Indian railways you have 3 classes normally viz Sleeper, AC 2 tier, and AC 3 tier. If you have the tickets you can surely use the waiting room.

The waiting room for sleeper class is normally very crowded. But AC waiting rooms are bearable. You dont have bunk beds or anything as such there, just chairs and benches. You can keep your luggage and rest in those benches. Maybe even take a power nap while waiting.

Wouter
Traveller
102 comments

Quite a special question, because I do know Arnhem very well. Staying on the station is probably not an option. Keep as well the gates in mind that won\'t allow you on the station for some hours, and the safety guards that will sweep the station empty at closing time. (Most of the time...) I don\'t know the exact closing times but the last train leaves at 2.36 and first is on 5.44.
Sonsbeek park is really nearby (just around the corner, north of the station)
Or pick something scenic location around the empty south side of the Rijn. (cross the bridge)

All of the options are note preferred by myself but yea.. If you need something..
Stay safe.
Wouter

gamaplus
Traveller
1 comments

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