I have a question regarding meals on euro trains. I am travelling from US to Interlaken in April this year with family. We are then travelling from Interlaken to Paris in eurorail train. I bought first class passes for my children and my husband. My question is if the departing time from Interlaken is at 12:15pm, do we get lunch served on the train? Will that be included in the first class pass or do we pay for it? Either way, I would like to be prepared for the train ride especially with kids. Any advise is greatly appreciated.
thank you!
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Firstly; there is no such thing as a eurorail train.
Eurail pass is just a ticket sold with validity on a wide range of European railway operators. Your trains will be general trains run by these companies primarily for their own local passengers as well as those from further afield.
In general there is no free catering on most European trains in 1st class. There are some exceptions ranging from a free drink to full meals but this varies by country/operator.
Swiss trains do not provide free food/drink but many of their Inter City trains do have a catering car with paid for meals offered.
Btw if you own a Eurail Pass, you'll need seat reservations for the TGV high-speed train. They are very expensive to cross the Swiss border : 70€ per person (1st class). The price of a regular advance ticket...
You could lower them (only 10€ per person) by changing before the border to a regional train (reservation-free). It doesn't take much longer, max 30 min more
Let us know if you need advice for these connections. :)
Here’s the details of the dining cars on Swiss trains. Be warned, the prices are high, but the food is pretty good. You’ll find this on Intercity trains, marked IC in the timetable, and with a knife and fork.
You could take one of the direct Intercity trains from Interlaken to Basel SBB, eat lunch onboard, then switch onto a local train to Strasbourg or Mulhouse, then get a TGV to Paris, as suggested above. You will save a fortune on reservation fees this way, it will probably pay for your lunch!
Included food is the exception, rather than the rule in first class.
You'll get it in the UK on some long distance operators. You'll get a very decent meal between London and Edinburgh, for example. On others it might be a snack or sandwich. Or nothing at all
And a small but very decent meal with drinks on Eurostar.
On others, like the Italian Frecciarossas, you get a coffee and a biscuit. Maybe a Prosecco, I'm not sure.
In Germany and Austria, it's not included but First Class passengers can get service at your seat.
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