The ultimate guide to night trains in France and Europe

Written by Sophie Renassia

Published on October 25, 2024, modified on December 9, 2024

Fall asleep in Paris and wake up in Nice, Vienna or Berlin? Close your eyes in Brussels and open them in Venice or Prague? Discover several European capitals while saving on hotel nights? Live a unique travel experience, eat in a dining car and watch magnificent sunsets and sunrises from your couchette? That's the magic of night trains!

If you'd like to try it as a way of visiting the Old Continent (a very good idea!), here's a quick guide to get you started. What is the night train network in Europe? And in France? Where can you book your tickets? And first of all, why travel by night train rather than day, and is it really comfortable? We explain everything.

Night trains in Europe

The renaissance of night trains in European capitals

After decades of neglect, night trains are making a comeback in Europe (much to our delight).

After a golden age between 1930 and 1970, night trains went into decline in the 1980s. This was due to the arrival of the TGV, which redrew the railway map, intensifying competition from air travel and low-cost airlines, and the trend towards all-car travel.

But in 2016, Austria's ÖBB took over the City Night Line brand and network from Deutsch Bahn and renamed it Nightjet. It then spearheaded the revival of night trains in Europe, before being joined by other public companies in cooperation.

Since then, it would appear that this mode of transport is on a roll, with several international routes recently (re)launched, including: Paris 🇫🇷 - Vienna 🇦🇹, Paris 🇫🇷 - Berlin 🇩🇪, Brussels 🇧🇪 - Prague 🇨🇿, Brussels 🇧🇪 - Berlin 🇩🇪 and Brussels 🇧🇪 - Venice 🇮🇹!

And the good news is that Back-on-Track has produced a complete map of the entire European night train network, which you can find right here!

Un échantillon de la génialissime carte des trains de nuit en Europe de ©Back on Track.

Where to book your tickets?

On this map of night trains in Europe, just click on a route to get the name of the company and the booking link.

But here's an overview of the main operators in Europe to help you make sense of things:

ÖBB (Austria) and its Nightjet network

Nightjet, the night train brand of ÖBB (Austrian State Railways), is known for its night-blue trains and evocative name, but not only that. What makes it famous is its rich network of night trains, from France to Belgium, via the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland and, of course, Austria.

To book your tickets, visit www.nightjet.com/fr.

And to find out more about the Nightjet offer, go to the “Destinations” tab on the Nightjet by ÖBB website, or take a look at this map of Nightjet routes.

A little tip: on the nightjet.com website, you can even click on “Other destinations” to discover Nightjet routes offered by other operators that are not on sale on the site!

Attention, October 2024 update: until July 2025, traffic will be disrupted on the ÖBB Nightjet Munich-Rome, Munich-La Spezia and Stuttgart-Munich-Ljubljana-Zagreb night trains due to work in the Austrian Federal Railways' Tauern tunnel. More info here and here.

ÖBB's partner companies include :

• Deutsche Bahn (Germany)

DB is involved in several international agreements (particularly on the Paris-Berlin, Brussels-Berlin, Berlin-Zurich and Hamburg-Zurich routes).

To book your tickets, visit www.bahn.de.

• SBB CFF FFS (Switzerland)

The Swiss company also works closely with ÖBB and its Nightjet network to offer night trains from Switzerland. Main destinations include:

• Zurich - Vienna/Budapest
• Zurich/Basel - Berlin/Hamburg
• Zurich - Amsterdam
• Zurich - Prague

For further information and to book your tickets, visit the company's website.

SNCF Voyageurs (France)

Cocorico! For several years now, the French company has also been developing its night train services in Europe, in collaboration with other international operators.

Several lines enable passengers to reach our European neighbors from Paris, including:

• The Paris-Vienna line, launched in December 2021 in cooperation with ÖBB Nightjet. The route offers three round trips per week and serves cities such as Strasbourg, Munich, Salzburg, and Linz before arriving in Vienna in a 14:30 journey.
• The Paris-Berlin line, launched in December 2023, thanks to an agreement between four European operators (including SNCF Voyageurs). The line connects the two capitals in a journey time of 15 hours.

To book your tickets, go to www.sncf-connect.com, or directly to the ÖBB Nightjet website.

Trenitalia and its InterCity Notte offer (Italy)

As for our border neighbors, Italy offers a wide choice of night trains! Trenitalia's InterCity Notte network takes you all over the country. All of Italy's major cities are served: Rome, Milan, Naples, Venice and even Palermo in Sicily!

Tickets are affordable (for example, you can get Rome-Venice tickets for around €30 if you book a month in advance!), and some lines offer several departures a day (4 daily trains from Milan, 2 from Rome and Turin...).

© Trenitalia.com

Regarding comfort: like most companies, Trenitalia offers seats, berths or sleeper cars (with breakfast included if you travel in a berth). A little Italian speciality: sleeper cars are automatically private! And as an added bonus, your four-legged friend is welcome on the train.

To find out all the connections and book your ticket, click here (InterCity Notte offer on trenitalia.com)!

MAV (Hungary)

In Europe, Hungarian night trains operated by MAV (Magyar Államvasutak) also connect Budapest to several major cities, including :

• Munich (Germany 🇩🇪),
• Stuttgart (Germany 🇩🇪),
• Zurich (Switzerland 🇨🇭),
• Bucharest (Romania 🇷🇴),
• Krakow (Poland 🇵🇱),
• and Warsaw (Poland 🇵🇱)!

And the good news is that most night trains run daily, all year round.

In terms of comfort, MAV offers seats, berths and sleeping cars (with breakfast included in berths and sleeping cars), at very affordable prices (seats from €29, berths from €54, sleeping cars from €79, bookable up to 3 months in advance).

To book, visit the MAV website or the Nightjet website.

And if you want to go further, don't hesitate to take a look at our article on the Retro Istria Express, Europe's most vintage night train with its 80s style, which connects Budapest and the popular seaside resorts of the Istrian peninsula.

ČD (Czech Republic)

If you want to travel in Central and Eastern Europe, Czech night trains ČD also connect :

• Czech Republic 🇨🇿,
• Slovakia 🇸🇰,
• Hungary 🇭🇺,
• Austria 🇦🇹,
• Switzerland 🇨🇭,
• and Poland 🇵🇱.

© cd.cz - Carte des trains de nuit ČD

As for comfort: ČD offers tickets in seats, couchettes, sleeping cars with Standard (up to 3 people) and Deluxe (with private shower and WC) cabins - for prices between €50 and €90 approx. - and offers a dining car on board its trains!

To book, visit the ČD company website or the Nightjet website.

European Sleeper

And the latest addition to the family photo is European Sleeper, a start-up founded in 2021 by two entrepreneurs with a passion for travel. And not just any start-up, since it is clearly one of the players in the revival of overnight trains.

After an initial route between Brussels and Prague via Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Berlin, European Sleeper will be launching a new route between Brussels and Venice via Munich and the Austrian Alps in March 2025!

To discover the two latest lines, visit our dedicated articles: Brussels-Prague and Brussels-Venice.

And to book your tickets, visit the European Sleeper website.

Night trains in France

What about in France? In 2017, only three routes were still operating in France. But as of 2018, thoughts have once again turned to relaunching night trains. And thanks to a recent study carried out by the State as part of the Mobility Orientation Law, almost 10 night train lines could see the light of day by 2030! Let's hope so...

The current network in France

France currently has 8 night train lines, all departing from Paris-Austerlitz:

• Paris - Albi
• Paris - Aurillac
• Paris - Briançon
• Paris - Cerbère
• Paris - Latour-de-Carol
• Paris - Nice
• Paris - Tarbes
• Paris - Toulouse

To book your tickets, visit www.sncf-connect.com.

Why take a night train rather than a day train?

Practical reasons: time and cost savings

First of all, as you can imagine, taking a night train saves you money. By falling asleep in one city and waking up in another, not only do you save time because the journey takes place at night, but you also save on hotel nights.

You wake up (more or less) fresh in the morning at your destination, and all you have to do is enjoy your day.

Tolt en voyage !

The “wow” factor: a unique travel experience

Ecological, time-saving, money-saving... the night train has it all. But beyond its practicality, it also gives you a whole new travel experience! And at HOURRAIL! we like that very much.

If you've never taken a night train before, here's what our guests have to say about their night train journeys on Je t'offre un rail? :

Landscapes:

“Having breakfast in your pyjamas, watching the scenery go by through the window, is better than a hotel.” - Luc, who traveled 31,000 Km through 27 countries on his Interrail trip.

“The Trans-Siberian Railway is like being in another world. Three and a half days on a train that crosses the void, surrounded by snow and trees as far as the eye can see.” - Benjamin, who traveled all the way to Mongolia by train.

Comfort:

“As I was with my dog, we were lucky enough to have a six-seater bunk just for the two of us. Thank you Rafiki!” - Marion, who traveled with her Shetland Shepherd Rafiki to Stockholm by train.

“The sleeper train in the Carpathians, with this little traveler kit, was really one of the magical moments of this trip.” - Anna, on her train journey to Greece.

Meetings and discoveries:

“I love night trains. They're all different, and you meet so many people. They all have their own little peculiarities. For example, on Hungarian and Czech trains we're given a croissant with chocolate filling in the morning.” - Luc, who traveled 31,000 km through 27 countries on his Interrail trip.

What about comfort?

Each company offers its own classification. But most divide their seats into 3 classes:

• Seating (sometimes in 6-person compartments or open-plan): a simple second-class seat.
• Sleeper: usually in a compartment for 4 to 6 people, for comfortable sleeping.
• Sleeping-car: the most luxurious option (with a real bed!), for greater comfort and privacy. Some sleeper cars (notably Nightjet) offer compartments with a toilet and shower area included in the compartment.

© Thibault Constant - "Sitting place" option

© Thibault Constant - "Sleeper" option

© Thibault Constant - "Sleeping-car" option

Other operators, such as SNCF Voyageurs, offer a different kind of service, with seating and sleeping-cars comprising 4 berths in first class and 6 in second class (the sleepers have not been offered by SNCF since 2007, due to a lack of profitability).

Finally, you should know that most night trains are equipped with individual sockets. So no need to worry about recharging your phone!

Going further: inspiration for your next overnight train adventure!

If you're looking for inspiration for your next overnight train journey, we highly recommend these articles:

• Two ultimate itineraries for discovering Europe in less than a week by night train,
• The night train-rich journeys of guests on our podcast Je t'offre un rail? such as Delphine and Arnaud's trip to Indonesia by train,
• Focus on the Paris-Nice, Paris-Berlin, Brussels-Prague et Brussels-Venice night trains,
• Zoom in on Europe's last night train in USSR style,
• Zoom on Europe's most vintage night train.

And there you have it. With all that, you should know everything there is to know about night trains. But the best thing is to experience it for yourself... Enjoy your adventure!