Rail

European train travel is run by a number of rail companies such as SNCF in France, Trenitalia in Italy and DB Bahn in Germany, across many countries and consisting of an extensive rail network with local and high speed trains. The categories range from premier high speed trains such as Eurostar, Thalys, TGV, to high speed trains as the Intercity Express and night trains (and save the cost of a hotel).
There are also great local and scenic trains such as the Swiss Glacier Express (see SwissPasses.com ) or the local train running along the five town of the Cinque Terre in Italy (see left). On some high speed routes it is faster to go by train than to fly, if you consider check-in times and collecting luggage at airports. It takes just more than 2 hours from London to Paris on the Eurostar and just over 3 hours from Paris to Marseille. Start your planning by going to this great map of the European rail network: http://www.raileurope.ca/europe-travel-guide/
Most trains have buffet cars, on board power outlets and WiFi. Travelers can buy individual point-to-point tickets or Rail passes covering individual countries, groups of countries or the whole network.
This is how Rail Europe describe the train experience: ‘There’s no hours-long security check, no baggage limitation, no hidden fees, and dare we say no stress…there’s none of the stay-in-your-seat, 30,000 feet view of whatever that is down there...You’re immediately immersed in European life, while traveling among friendly locals and fellow adventurers’.