Bled to Paris/Brussels advice

The easiest route is the daily night train to Zurich or Stuttgart. Book a couchette or a sleeper in advance (through ÖBB).

Afterwards it depends on your interests. Are you more into cities or nature ?

For the former maybe spend a few days in Munich, Strasbourg and Paris. For the latter Switzerland has gorgeous railways through the Alps and as tickets are quite expensive, Interrail is great value there.

- Glacier Express on regional trains

- Bernina & Albula

- Lucerne - Interlaken (boats on Lake Thun and Brienz are also fully included!)

- Golden Pass Interlaken - Montreux

- etc.

Accommodation isn't cheap but you can always find good deals and inflation hasn't hit the country that hard. Feel free to ask further questions :)

Thank you very much for your reply.

I did not know there was a connection from Slovenia to Zurich on the sleeper, that is perfect. I like the plan of time in Zurich, then Luzern/Lake Thun. From there can include Strassbourg on the way to Paris!

thank you :)

I presume using the boat on Lake Thun will count as a Travel day?

I assume you’ve (or will have) already been to Ljublhana - if not, it’s a great city for a couple of days.

Since you have 4 days, you have plenty of options for getting back to the UK. It’s a longer route, but I really liked Bratislava and Brno - and if you go that way, you may as well spend some time in Berlin, then get the sleeper to Brussels.

Alternatively, I echo the advice to go via Switzerland - gorgeous scenery, and trains that are excellent and would usually be very expensive.

I think I would find Austria & Switzerland or Slovakia > Czechia > Berlin a bit more interesting than just going straight through Germany.

Yup the night train is really convenient.

Yes since it's free it requires a travel day but discounts do not.

On a day you don't want to use a pass day get in advance a full-fare Saver Day Pass for 52 CHF (price increases closer to travel date). It's basically a ticket valid on all public transportation of the country -> trains, buses, trams, boats, some cable cars to villages. Simply hop on hop off and show your ticket when asked. Mountain railways are mostly excluded but there are exceptions.

A fully covered day trip from Lucerne would be :

- boat Lucerne - Vitznau

- cogwheel train Vitznau - Rigi Kulm

- back the same way or via Arth-Goldau

Further questions welcome :)

Current plan is Amsterdam>Berlin>Prague>Budapest>Vienna>Bled, would like to visit Ljubljana, but it doesn’t quite fit the itinerary but definitely one for next time. @ralderton, would you suggest squeezing in an extra night to visit the city, and then catching the sleeper? (Ljubljana)

Onwards from Zurich, I have been recommended Strasbourg by others too and also Cologne for the Cathedral, which also allows for a visit to the Schwebebahn in Wuppertal.

Spending more time in Switzerland is also an option and then going Geneva-Paris-London, but I’ve heard Switzerland is very expensive to stay in and things like food etc, would you recommend it as being worth it?

It’s difficult to choose, but I would certainly rather a couple of nights in Ljubljana vs Vienna. Partly because I think it’s easier to get the feel of smaller cities. But of course beware of trying to fit too much in.

Agree - Switzerland is expensive for accommodation and food. I think this is partially made up for by how easy it is to get around, but undoubtedly it'll cost more.

The Schwebebahn is certainly a fun diversion - worth it if you’re passing through and can spare a couple of hours. But not worth a special trip in my opinion.

Thanks, we may have an extra day in Slovenia and visit Ljubljana. I would love to spend more time in Switzerland, but on the back end of the trip I think we will need to be a bit more budget friendly 🙃

It may be best to do Switzerland on its own, thanks to the sheer beauty on a one country pass. We are still not entirely sure on the Zurich-Paris section, given we will have probably only a night in Switzerland (Zurich) but will still have a couple days left.