London, Paris and Venice.
From the London Bridge to the the Venetian Rialto Bridge and some Paris glam in-between.
Day 1: Arrive in London, drop off your luggage and start exploring. An evening stroll along the Thames River and the Eye of London (that giant wheel) is definitely recommended. A walk from the Eye of London to the Tower Bridge takes about 45min.
Day 2: Wake up, have the famous British breakfast (yes, the beans too) and start exploring the city of Harry Potter, Peter Pan and so many other timeless characters. Now you are ready to take the perfect selfie with Big Ben in the background, with a red telephone box and in a old black London taxi. Spend the afternoon with a walk in Hydes or Regents park and – if the royal life excites you – the Buckingham Palace. Do you like musicals? This city is full of them! Book your tickets for an unforgettable night!
Day 3: Spend your morning checking off the last of your London to-do list. Around lunch time, head to London St. Pancras International train station to catch one of the Eurostar Trains. In less that 3h and 30min you will be in Paris. Time for some glam and Paris lights. The Paris Nord train station (where you will arrive), also has a tourist information center. Pop in to get a map and some help to outline your stay.
Day 4: A day in Paris can only be memorable. Get on the top of Eifel tower, get lost in the Louvre Museum, have a walk around Notre Dame Cathedral and feel the vibe of the Montmarte neighborhood. Don’t forget to take a walk along the river and appreciate the little things that make this city beautiful.
Day 5: One more day in Paris. Fill it in with museums visits or other activities that are on your list. In the evening go and catch a Thello train to Venice. Book a bed in a sleeping compartment for extra comfort: it is a 14 hours trip!
Day 6: Wake up as you are approaching the city of canals. There is a tourist information kiosk just out of the train station. If your accommodation is not around the train station, you might need to get a ‘water bus’ to reach to your hotel (unless if you want to drag your luggage over the cobbled streets and all the little bridges-it’s hard work). The experience does worth it though! Get also a map but we can guarantee: you WILL get lost. However that’s the whole point: DO get lost. It’s the beauty of Venice. Follow the signs to ‘San Rialto’, ‘San Marco’ to the touristic attractions or to the ‘Ferrovia’ and ‘Piazzale Roma’ to find your way back to the train station.
Day 7: Shopping time. Whether it is fashion or souvenir shopping, this is the time to shop in style. Plus, Venice has quite inexpensive souvenirs and impressive jewellery and decoration items from the famous murano glass. Otherwise, go to a half-day tour to Murano and Burano Islands. Visit the glass-blowing factory in Murano Island, which is the former center of European glassmaking, while Burano Island is known for its traditional lace production.
London to Paris
London and Paris are connected with EuroStar trains that travel between ‘London St. Pancras International’ and ‘Paris Gare du Nord’ train stations. The train travels in an underground tunnel under the sea for a part of the trip. The trip itself takes less than 3h and 30min.
Eurostar has its own policies, so before you book have a look at the luggage allowance and other relevant information which might be a bit different to mainstream European train companies. They also have their own section in the train station (it has a feeling of airport check-ins).
Pass holders:If you are a pass holder, a reservation is mandatory for this route. Since the reservation fee is comparatively high for this train, before you book have a look at the normal ticket price. The earlier you book the cheaper it is so it might worth it to just buy a normal ticket -and save a travel day from your pass.
Paris to Venice
Ever tried a night train before? This Thello EuroNight train will take you from Paris to the heart of Venice in about 14 hours. It also saves you the accommodation cost for a night. The earlier you book, the cheaper it will be. We would recommend that you give few Euros more to book a bed in a sleeping compartment. You might not have the best sleep but it makes a huge difference in how you will feel the next day (see: stiff back, neck etc). At the end of the story, Venice will be waiting for you to discover, with one of those famous Italian cappuccino coffees! 🙂
Pass holders: If you are a pass holder, a reservation is mandatory for this route. In peak seasons book in advance since such trains are very popular.
London
To book your Eurostar tickets: https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en/trains
Tourist information centers: https://www.visitlondon.com/tag/tourist-information-centre
Paris
To book your tickets: https://www.sncf.com/en
or from the Thello website (also has virtual tour of the train): https://www.thello.com/en/
Tourist information centers: https://en.parisinfo.com/practical-paris/paris-convention-and-visitors-bureau/welcome-centres
Venice
To book your tickets: https://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en
Tourist information centers: http://www.venezia-tourism.com/en/tourist-information-offices-in-venice.html
Here are some more tips:
To make the most out of your trip, always notice the check in- check out times of your accommodation, as well as the luggage storage options that you have. This is to avoid arriving early in a city and having to wait 4hours before you can check in or being left with your luggage after you check out.
If you do not know exactly where to start with exploring a city, just visit the tourist information center. The staff is usually happy to have a short chat. Get a map and ask them to locate your accommodation, the main attractions, draw possible walking routes, suggest activities for the duration of your stay and get information about transport, best areas to eat etc. All this valuable information is for free and coming from people that know the city inside-out.
When you are looking for train connections between cities without specifying the station, it might show you that you will need to change trains within the city to reach the central station (as the default). However, if your accommodation is close to another train station and you want to go directly there, select that station to see the connection.
Not that confident about planning your own train trip yet? Our book ‘Europe by Train: The Ultimate Guide’ will give you all insights and help you plan your trip step by step. Have a look! https://www.europe-train-travel.com/shop/
The information about seat reservations and rail passes is subject to change. Please check the official websites of Interrail (https://www.interrail.eu/en/reservations/reservation-fees/international-train-reservation-fees) or Eurail (https://www.eurail.com/en/plan-your-trip/about-reservations/do-i-need-reservation).
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This is just an example of a trip duration.
You can always spend more days at each destination, giving yourself more time to get to know each place, visit attractions and museums, go on day trips or just taking it easy and relax.
Here are some suggestions to fill in your extra days:
London:
Alnwick castle (The castle of Harry Potter)
Harry Potter tour of Warner Bros Studios.
Stonehenge (2,5h from London by bus)
Windsor and the Windsore castle (less that 45min by train from London)
Day trip to Oxford (just over 1h from London by train)
Paris:
Disneyland Paris (you will need a full day for that)
Palace of Versailles (about an hour out of the city)
Château de Fontainebleau
Day trip to Provins (1,5h from Paris by train)
Venice:
Murano and Burano Islands
Day trip to Padova (about 30min from Venice by train), or Verona -the city of Romeo and Juliet (about 1h by train from Venice).D
Day trip to Florence (about 2h from Venice by train)