Welcome to a whole new semi-regular feature of Continental Breakfast Travel (CBT) – Q&A. If you have any questions about European cities, trips or itineraries, get in touch via Facebook, Twitter or email, and I’ll do what I can to help.
This first question comes from devoted reader (and good friend with a lot of time on his hands) Tom @thmsbsh:
Q: Dear CBT, my little brother’s planning to interrail from Denmark to Barcelona next summer. What do you recommend he & 2 pals hit along the way? The only criteria they have is “not France”.
First of all, I’m very glad your brother and his friends aren’t that into France. It is the country I know the least about in Europe, but have heard a few good things. Unfortunately, geographically, avoiding France entirely is going to be impossible unless spending 13+ hours on a train sounds appealing.
Secondly, after a bit of digging, I’ve come up with three different (creatively named) itinerary suggestions of various lengths, which each take in a different area of Europe. Any of the three can be combined or altered and adapted, with most having good potential for daytrips and other jaunts.
At this point, I would also like to stress that I have not been to all of the countries mentioned, nor have I ever been interrailing. A real shame.
A: Route #1: the capitals
Copenhagen – Barcelona: the capitals
Copenhagen – Hamburg – Amsterdam – Rotterdam – Brussels – Paris – Lyon – Toulouse – Barcelona
This route is a bit of a classic. Taking in four capital cities and four ‘second cities’, you won’t run out of things to do, or tourists to run into, and with the majority of the route traversing one of Europe’s most densely populated areas, there’s great transport links and a whole host of great cities in easy reach, including Maastricht, Luxemburg, Bruges or Bremen.
Highlights:
- Hamburg’s nightlife – the Reeperbahn is legendary – I can’t believe I still haven’t visited
- Amsterdam’s museums, including the newly reopened Rijksmuseum
- In Bruges: a short daytrip from Brussels
However, France is a big country to traverse from the North, meaning at least a few stops would be necessary and the route doesn’t leave much new ground to be explored – ‘off the beaten track’ this definitely isn’t.
Route #2: Swiss pass
Copenhagen – Barcelona: the Swiss pass
Copenhagen – Berlin – Nuremberg – Zurich – Bern – Geneva – Toulouse – Barcelona
Route 2 is little less predictable, but still takes in some of the continent’s best cities. With more of a German influence than French, this option skims the tops of the alps, combining beautiful scenery with city vibes. This route still has some great opportunities for detours, including Neuschwanstein Castle near Füssen in Southern Germany, or visiting Liechtenstein, the world’s most famous principality.
Highlights:
- Berlin: arguably the best city in Europe for a backpacker
- Nuremberg: visiting the unforgettable Nazi party rally grounds
- Zurich: one of Lonely Planet’s best cities for travel in 2014
Yet whilst Zurich, Bern and Geneva each have their undeniable charm, Switzerland is not a cheap place to spend a lot of time in.
Route #3: the Eastern trail
Copenhagen to Barcelona: the Eastern trail
Copenhagen – Berlin – Dresden – Prague – Česky Krumlov – Salzburg – Bled – Venice – Milan – Montpellier – Barcelona
By far my favourite of the three, this option would take your brother and his friends a lot further east into Central Europe, before passing south of the Alps to take in the charms of the Adriatic and Mediterranean. This route would take the longest of the three, but definitely offers the most diversity, from tourist classics Venice and Prague, to scenic Bled and bustling Milan, allowing for a bit of an ‘off the beaten track’ feel.
Highlights:
- An undiscovered gem, Dresden has incredible architecture and a great bohemian vibe
- Lake Bled: postcard perfect
- Venice: it might be one of the busiest tourist traps in Europe, but it’s hard to resist
- Montpellier: it might still be France, but at least there’s a beach!
Route #3 is a jam-packed one and is probably too much for anyone with less than a good five weeks to devote to it. I wouldn’t mind betting it’d be worth it though!
Anyway, Tom – hope that helps your brother and his pals get on the right track – if you have any more questions, let me know.
In the meantime, if anyone else has any suggestions to add, please do so!
Love this!
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Glad you liked the post, Lauren! Which route would you choose?
What a fantastic new feature!! I’d be torn between route two and route three. I do fancy visiting Switzerland sometime soon!!
Thank you, I’m glad you like it – it was actually really fun to sit and do some research, just heart breaking I’m not actually doing the trip!
I think your latest route would be my dream! Would definitely need to head East, I think, though I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of Western Europe, too – haven’t seen enough, really.
France is great, really easy to get around and great local food.
I’d go route 3 but go Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Zagreb, Split or Dubrovnik with a week or two in Hvar, Lubjana, Trieste and pick up in Venice.
I understand Milan is dull and expensive but Nice is worth the trip.
Maybe across from Barca into Bilbao, Santander and all the way into Galicia, finish in Porto?
Take about 6 months and wait for the economy to pick up, jobs a good un!
Very ambitious itinerary – but a great one!
Thanks for the follow-up! My only suggestion was that apparently the Croatian coast is fantastic. A little off-piste, perhaps. Maybe a theoretical “route 4: eastbound and down [to spain]” via Prague, bratislava & budapest, then along the coast as with 3.
Damn I need to go interrailing before I’m 26 :/
Same, although I have a few more years left than you. Not knowing the time frame made it hard, and in Former Yugoslavia, as with much of Eastern Europe, the bus is a better and faster way to get around.
They all sound great, have been meaning to do an Interail trip for years and finally hope to do it this year (though my under 26 student fare days are a distant memory!) – my plan is Bratislava to London but might nick a few parts of your route suggestions.
Feel free! Bratislava to London sounds good – any particular cities in mind to hit en-route?
Definitely going via Austria, so Vienna and Salzburg, but not sure after that, tempted by some mountain trains in Switzerland but also always fancied Munich. Hope to fit Strasbourg in there somewhere too (better get myself a rail timetable!)