Practical tips for Eurostar travel

Having travelled by Eurostar more than a few times now,  I've picked up a few ideas about how to make experience pass as smoothly as possible. Here are my top ten tips for travelling from London:

1. Firstly, if you're travelling from another UK mainline station you can book a through ticket via the Eurostar site (eurostar.com). This will almost certainly save you money, possibly lots of it. Just click on the United Kingdom tab when searching and find your local station. 
2. On arrival at St Pancras the Eurostar terminal is well signposted and there's a nice sized area outside the barriers to gather yourselves. Here you will also find the help desk and the collect at station ticket terminals. There are quite a few gates and they'll have particular trains showing on the screens above them but you can use any that are open if the queues are shorter. (Update: the queueing system has changed a little since Brexit and the pandemic so is actually now a little smoother)
3. BUT before going any further get yourself ready for the security check the other side of the ticket barrier. There's very little room once through the gate so empty your pockets now. If you have a coat you will have to take it off for the check so put all your loose items; phone, coins, keys, wallet etc., in its pockets, otherwise put it all in your hand luggage or even a carrier bag. 
4. Have your tickets and passports ready. If you've printed your own tickets you'll need to have the QR code showing so you can press it up against the reader on the barrier - this takes a couple of seconds so don't take it off until the light goes green and the barrier opens.
5. The security check area is, as I said, immediately after the gate. Hopefully you'll have read and acted on point 3 and are completely ready to proceed. You'll need a tray. They are kept under the conveyor so grab one and put your coat in it with your bags on top. If you've got a suitcase get another tray for that and push them up towards the x-ray machine. Walk through the metal detector and collect your belongings from the other end of the belt. Remember to push your trays towards the end where they'll get swallowed up and sent back to the start. Not doing this annoys other people. Move away towards passport control before even attempting to put all your stuff back where it belongs but preferably wait until you get all the way through. The checks are much less onerous than at the airport but getting ready cuts time and allows a brief smug smile to pass across your lips.
6. This is not really a tip but there are two passport checks, UK and France, out and in, and of course your passport is already in your hand by now isn't it? Join the right queue - all windows will take EU passports, only one or two will take non-EU ones (edit: sadly that is now the window you want). Hand it over open at the appropriate page and wait politely. Try to avoid getting in the queue behind the thoroughly disorganised person with at least two massive suitcases because there's always one.
7. When you get through to the waiting area you can finally reorganise yourself at your leisure. You won't need your ticket again but make a note of which coach you are in and check the screens for boarding notices. There are two travelators up to each of the platforms and getting the right one will depend on your coach number. Incidentally, coach 1 is always nearest the exit in London, while coach 18 (or 16 in the new e320 trains) is always nearest in Paris - useful to know if you've got a tight connection.
8. Once it's announced that your train is boarding, people will rush. Everyone has a reserved seat and there's plenty of time so rushing seems unnecessary, but if you have a large case you'll need space on the luggage racks by the entrance doors to your coach. However, there's usually another rack just inside the carriage and medium cases will fit in the above seat racks so assuming you aren't the person with two massive cases getting in everyone else's way, you can confidently saunter along and take your seat once all the hullabaloo has died down. 
9. Going to Brussels? Look out for the escalator halfway along the platform at Brussels Midi if you're making a connection for an onward train, it'll save you time and hassle.
10. Exiting Gare du Nord Paris is just like any other regular station, but when coming back it has one of the most uncomfortable waiting areas going, so try not to get there too early!

Overall, travelling by Eurostar is quick and hassle-free and hopefully these tips will aid restful travelling. 

Any comments, thoughts or suggestions, even corrections are most welcome.

Amsterdam

May 2015

Our third visit to Amsterdam was lovely; it's an easy-going city perfect for a short break and we always have a great time. Our previous visits have been in winter so a trip in spring is a welcome change, especially as on our first trip coincided with frozen canals and the lowest temperatures for 20 years. One of the main reasons we've come back again is to visit the newly refurbished and fully reopened Rijksmuseum as well as to enjoy a much needed holiday. Usually we opt for the Iamsterdam city card, but this only gives a 10% discount for the Rijks, so planning ahead I discover that there is also the 30 day Museumkaart which will get us in to everything the city card does, plus the Rijks, for free. Alongside a four-day travel pass from GVB it works out at much better value all round. Armed with this information and a clutch of train tickets we set off from Fratton on a promisingly sunny morning.

Booking a through ticket via Eurostar.com is both simple and usually excellent value as the Fratton to London portion can be very much cheaper this way and is valid for travel from whatever terminal you arrive at, across London, to St Pancras. However, every time we approach the underground clutching our Fratton to London International tickets, we are ever more certain that they will fail to open the barrier and we'll have to show them and explain ourselves to the busy TFL attendant to let us through. And then of course, out again. Why this should be is beyond me but these frustrations aside, boarding the Eurostar is as straightforward as ever and we're soon on our way.

Brussels midi station is still a bit on edge after the recent attacks, so the usually convenient escalator down from the Eurostar platform is closed.  We end up working our way around and down to find the Thalys departure area where no-one is as sure as our Eurostar train manager was as to which platform the train to Amsterdam will be leaving from. Twenty minutes, we are told, and all will become clear. Hanging about for this revelation in a rather stark waiting room is fine but there's no departure board in there or indeed any other information source so we're taking turns to check the board before our train appears proving the Eurostar announcer right all along. However, there's a little more confusion as we're initially directed towards the wrong train but a very helpfully strident platform assistant points everyone across to another Thalys arriving on the other side of the platform and we're soon hurtling through Belgium at speeds far in excess of those managed by even the fastest UK trains. A standard class seat in a Thalys is also much more comfortable, even if the much trumpeted WiFi is patchy at best.

Arriving in Amsterdam I realise my complacency in having been twice before means my planning has fallen short of actually getting to the hotel, I haven't even brought a map, so after buying our travel chipkaarts there's a few minutes working out where the hotel is exactly and what tram we need to catch to get there.

The hotel is in a very nice area by the Vondelpark and looks quite promising from the outside but once inside things get different very quickly. We have to pay in advance which is never a good sign, and there's no lift. We're on the third floor. Struggling up the increasingly steep stairs I manage to knock a picture off the wall before the stairs turn up the final flight almost vertically. The bed is great but the bathroom is pokey and a bit worn and, get this, we share a window with next door!

Tuesday

Breakfast is not included and at an extra €10 per person, not worth it, so we head off towards Museumplein for on the way is Bagels and Beans where we enjoy a fresh and tasty.breakfast in a funky setting before our visit to the Stedelijke, which is rapidly becoming my favourite modern art museum. Alongside the regular and intriguing exhibits there's a special exhibition of the Amsterdam School, the architectural style movement looking a lot like the bastard child of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Vienna Secession and absolutely fabulous.

Lunch is at our favourite old style (but actually modern) café up by the Blauwbrug. We discovered its welcoming embrace during our first visit that freezing February and spent half the afternoon lounging on their sofas drinking coffee and mulled wine and stroking the cat before venturing out into the cold again. Now unfortunately cat-less, it's still a nice place to go and we enjoy a fine sandwich before heading back to Foam, the photography gallery, where there's a couple of  thought provoking interpretations of the migrant crisis.

Our first two evenings have followed much the same course; beers at Het Hok before traditional Dutch fare at the very popular The Pantry two doors down. ''Traditional" here means various flavours of mash with a smoked sausage or giant meatball alongside other hearty cooking like ham hock and beef stew. The food is delicious and the atmosphere convivial.

Wednesday

Wednesday is all about the Rijksmuseum. Well, nearly all.
It's another sunny day as we stroll across Museumplein past the holocaust memorial and iamsterdam sign. The entrance to the museum is through the basement so, skipping the queues with our museumkaarts in hand, we dive in.

We spend more than half the day exploring the newly and brilliantly refurbished Rijks. And while much attention is focused on the "Gallery of Honour" with Rembrandt's Night Watch taking centre stage among some of the greats of the Dutch Golden Age, the lower galleries house examples of some of the most exquisite craftsmanship you can imagine and there are other stunning works at every turn. The museum displays are well organised, by date mostly, but it's worth taking some time to plan your way around as it's not necessarily obvious which is the best route to take. The first floor, for instance, is in two unconnected halves as the roadway cuts through it. All things considered it's a brilliant way to spend a few hours even if the lavatories are harder to find than you'd prefer.

After a late spot of lunch we head off across the city so we can visit Rembrandt's House again. Our route to Waterlooplein takes us for the first time in three visits along the metro, which is as clean and efficient as you'd expect and after a wander through the flea market we arrive. To my mind Rembrandt van Rijn was something of an alchemist with paint and a trip to this house museum is always a joy, for me at least. Today we are in time for the paint mixing demonstration and we discover they've recently opened the top floor showing the studio space his students would have used, and in the new building there's a great exhibition of nudes drawn by him and his contemporaries too.

Across the road is a bar on the canal and a much needed beer is enjoyed while watching the boats pass by. On the opposite corner of the canal, nesting in a half submerged boat, is a family of cootes and unfortunately one chick has got out onto the water. One of the parents desperately tries to persuade it back into the boat, a task seemingly beyond the chick's capabilities - the side of the boat is a good foot out of the water - unfortunately all to no avail as a seagull swoops down and carries the youngster away. Nature red in tooth and claw, so to speak, was not what we were expecting in this quiet corner of Amsterdam!

Today is also the day in the Netherlands when they remember the war dead. There's a two minute silence at 8pm and a big gathering in Dam Square with the King attending, which is throwing the tram schedules well out of whack and we end up walking most of the way back to the hotel for a rest before dinner. We've booked at the Koffiehuis van der Volksbond where we've dined on previous trips and it's just as lovely as before, even if it's a bit weird being there in daylight on a warm spring evening. A perfect end to the day.

Thursday

The following day is Liberation Day, a public holiday, and the crowds are out in force on another beautiful sunny day. We wander up to Dam Square with a view to seeing the World Press Photo exhibition at the Niewe Kerk but it doesn't open until the afternoon so we visit the fairly dull royal palace instead before pottering about the city centre and having a beer by the Niewe Maarkt.

After returning for the photography exhibition and some coffee and cake we decide it's high time we took to the water. There are boats of all types and sizes thronging the canals and more than one collision but it's wonderfully relaxed and good humoured and we have a ball.

Dinner is at a nice little restaurant in the centre that our friends have used before. There are no reservations taken at this very popular place so timing is everything. We get one of the last tables and enjoy a decent meal with excellent service.

Oh, and if someone offers you a Dutch salted caramel lolly just politely decline. If you don't, at some point later your mouth will be filled with the most hideous liquorice powder and you'll be left gagging into a nearby canal.

Friday

Friday morning sees us grabbing breakfast in a café near the station before catching the train home. Brussels' Eurostar experience is about the most relaxed of the three principal stations and aside from a brief stop at Calais, completing the set, we're back in London by (late) lunchtime. We're travelling back to Portsmouth via London Victoria and thanks to the ongoing disorganisation of British railway operators we stand, necks craned, staring at the departure boards for an eternity until just five minutes before departure it finally shows us which platform our train will be leaving from. This, naturally, precipitates a mad rush for a seat in the right part of the train before we can settle down for the final leg home.

Carbon saved: 50kg

Southend on sea

April 2016

Not strictly a proper train journey as we drove to Essex to visit some childhood haunts and attend our last ever Bellowhead gig, but we did take the chance to ride the Southend pier railway while we were there. Southend pier is the longest pleasure pier in the world at a mile and a third, stretching out into the Thames estuary and its trains trundle back and forth every 15 minutes to the café and lifeboat station at the end.

Then there was the added bonus of the "Cliff Lift", a short funicular from the seafront to the top of the cliff gardens. In fact the only downside to the whole day was the absence of the tutti fruiti ice cream I was looking forward to.

We're off on our travels again next week, back to Amsterdam by Eurostar and Thalys, so more soon.

Danubian Adventure - part two; Vienna

Day six of our holiday dawns and we're off to Vienna, picking up our tickets, first class this time, from the automatic machine at the station. The weather's turned, there's rain in the air, which by the time we reach the border is hitting the ground pretty hard. Budapest and Vienna are within spitting distance of each other and we roll into the Westbahnhof before lunchtime. Our hotel is six stops on the metro, near the Donaukanal. It looks a bit 1970s from the outside but is very comfortable and with a metro and tram hub right outside, handy for everything. The rain has eased and we wander into the centre and have a look round. I'm trying not to burst into song but there's a post-downpour mistiness and the steady beat of a synth drum in my head.

Just around the corner from Stephanplatz and its dark and brooding St. Stephen's cathedral, so different from its Hungarian namesake, is the Mozarthaus and we go in just as the rain restarts. The composer looms large across the cultural landscape of Vienna but despite this ubiquity we later manage to buy a small bust of Beethoven for our souvenir by mistake!
The museum is a fascinating tour through Mozart's life and times in one of his many Viennese houses with scores, a few instruments even some original décor. It also sets the record straight on the Salieri controversy. The rain has stopped again by the time we leave.

We've scouted out three options for dinner just round the corner from the hotel, but one of them is shut and another doesn't appear to be there any more so we head into the third. It advertises traditional Austrian fare and I'm down for an authentic Wiener schnitzel followed by apfel strudel. Obvious but so tasty. Sarah's main course comes in two halves it's so substantial. It seems a really genuine place, there's an old man and his very small dog at a table by the door and the patron is very friendly. We like it so much we eat here both nights.
A post dinner wander finds us back at the Stephansdom where an art installation is being projected on to the façade, and we stumble across a statue of Johannes Gutenburg, father of modern printmaking and arguably one of the most important figures of the second millennium.

Our second and only full day in Vienna is one filled with art and cake. It's bright and sunny again and we spend the morning in the MuseumsQuartier, principally visiting the Leopold Museum of modern art and being blown away by its brilliant Schiele exhibition as well as a well curated tour through the Vienna secession. After lunch and a quick tour round MuMoK it's time for a little more tradition.

We head off across the Burggarten towards the Opera, pausing to admire the large Mozart statue, and onward to the Café Sacher because today's afternoon tea just has to be the world renowned Sacher Torte. It doesn't disappoint. Wedges of chocolatey, cakey loveliness duly consumed, we catch a tram around the inner ring back to the hotel. It's been a few weeks since Eurovision and Conchita Wurst's famous win, but the trams are all decked in rainbow flags alongside the city standard.


The plan for our early evening entertainment before dinner is to visit the Wiener Riesenrad - cue bouzouki music...

We enter the park and the sounds of Mozart hit us again, this time accompanying the dodgem riders. The Ferris wheel dominates the otherwise modern amusement park and we buy our tickets joining the thankfully sparse queue. Halfway round it gets a little rocky and my hand gets a bit crushed as the vertigo strikes. Otherwise, it's a thrilling end to the day.

Our final day in the Austrian capital is even busier, even though our train leaves that evening. After dropping our bags at the station we spend the morning at the Hofburg Palace with its ridiculous displays of opulence and wealth. There's a museum devoted to the royal silver collection, elaborate place settings and the finest porcelain the Hapsburgs could plunder and a very interesting exhibition on the life of the Empress Elisabeth.
We pass out through the stables of the Spanish riding school, catching some of the white horses being groomed, and on to the Albertina gallery - also part of the palace complex. Curiously there's a large pink rabbit on the canopy and we decide to go in. This last minute decision to visit turns out to be very serendipitous as it's one of the rare occasions that the extraordinary Albrecht Durer drawings are on show, hence the rabbit. But that's not all, the whole collection is stunning.



We had planned to finish off the day at the market getting provisions for the evening, but first we visit the Secession Building. A stunning architectural statement and exhibition space it also houses Klimt's famous Beethoven Frieze. It's breathtaking.
Alongside the market, Vienna's version of the Hollywood walk of fame, the Musik Meile, is little more classy than its American counterpart, a succession of the great and good of classical music are represented; we spot Strauss, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and of course Mozart before we wander off and spend a small fortune on our train picnic. There's a bar with a massive bottle of Aperol on display so we sit a while with a spritz but find we still have a couple of hours spare. We decide to bite the bullet and cram one more sight in so head off to the Belvedere Palace, a large gallery housed in the former summer palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy. It's a little way out of the centre and I have a minor internal panic about missing the train but half way round the tour is the reason we came; a heart-stopping room full of the most sumptuous works of Gustav Klimt. There's a small crowd gathered at the far end and as they move away, there it is; The Kiss in all its golden glory. A fitting climax to a wonderful trip, and one we nearly missed.

Vienna is so beautiful and we're sad to leave but the Cologne sleeper pulls out at 21:40 and we have to be on it. As we wait at the station we're briefly tempted to get back on a train to Budapest but we restrain ourselves and board the EuroNight train as planned. We tuck into our picnic with a glass or two of a tasty red and are asleep not long out of Linz. After a restful night, breakfast is taken as we speed along the beautiful Rhine Valley, waving to our friend Marlene in Remagen as we pass.

We have the rest of the morning to kill in Cologne and as it's right there by the station we visit the famous cathedral before joining the Brussels express for the Eurostar home.

Carbon saved: 210kg

May 2014

Danubian Adventure - part one; Budapest

May 2014

It's nearly two years now since our first self-planned big adventure, a two centre jaunt to Budapest and Vienna. After Venice we were determined to travel more by rail and after a successful trip via the Dutch Flyer to Amsterdam we set about planning a more ambitious journey. Travelling via Paris and Munich, we would spend four nights in the Hungarian capital before transferring for two further nights in Vienna.

We left Fratton early and got to Paris with plenty of time for lunch before we needed to board the train to Munich. It's a short walk between the Gares du Nord and de l'Est and en route you will find Au Train de Vie, a railway themed café bistro serving a very tasty tartiflette among other delights. A couple of beers to wash it down and we're off down the steps by the Gare de l'Est (as featured in Amélie) to await the Paris-Munich train.

The Budapest sleeper,
Kalman Imre pulls in

Schnitzel at Mongdratzerl

The train speeds through France to Strasbourg before taking a more stately progress through Germany, arriving at busy Munich Hauptbahnhof at around 9.30pm leaving a good two hours for dinner at Mongdratzerl (sadly now closed down) where we dive into our first schnitzel of the trip. Our sleeper to the Hungarian capital, the Kalman Imre, pulls into the station ready to leave less than half an hour to midnight, it's reasonably comfortable and we settle in for the night.
Quick tip: in every sleeper train we've used on our travels so far, the only real disappointment has been the wholly inadequate pillows they give you, so if you can bring your own, do.

Day two

Feeling thoroughly rested, we roll into Budapest Keleti station at 9.30 the following morning.

I had booked an apartment hotel, the 7seasons, close to one of the main transport hubs, Deák Ferenc Tér, which proved an inspired decision on both counts. The accommodation was excellent, all the comfort of an apartment with the service of a hotel, and it was really nice to only have to walk about 50 yards home at the end of a busy day's sightseeing.

One of the first things we had resolved to do was to sort out tickets for the match on the Saturday. The tricky part is, thanks to years of hooligan violence, to watch football in Hungary you need to be a member of a supporter's club. We head for the metro and find our way out to the Ferencvaros supporters club building, which turned out to be a dodgy looking concrete bunker on a street corner near the old stadium. We tentatively wander inside and are greeted by some bemused but friendly Fradi who take copies of our passports and our photos for our membership cards. We are now able to buy our tickets and be on our way.

The Budapest transport system is nicely integrated and easy to navigate so after our successful foray into the 11th district we took a tram to the covered market near the river. Visiting the market is always a good way to get to know a city and we thoroughly enjoyed poking around this impressive structure on two levels with household, souvenir and myriad colourful food stalls. We bought some interesting looking bits and pieces for lunch, as well as a pork fillet and ingredients for goulash, and some paprika to take home. We also secure our traditional "tacky" souvenir for our holiday shelf. Our picnic lunch is enjoyed sitting by the Danube before heading back home to drop off the shopping. 

In the afternoon we visit St. Stephen's Basilica. Handily, this imposing structure is not far from the apartment and we're soon marvelling at the highly decorated interior, more solid than the airy Gothic cathedrals we're used to. There's a lift up to the dome and despite a general wariness about heights, we buy a ticket up and take a turn around the outside and enjoy some really great views.

Our day is rounded off with a relaxing stroll around our new locality, a beer by the river and being entertainment from a man playing a wine glass organ in the surprisingly deco square. We also stumble across a stall producing these weird tubes of cakey stuff, doused in cinnamon and barbecued. Very sweet, very delicious and perfect after our home-cooked goulash.

Our first day in Budapest, also our first in the old Eastern Bloc, has been a real experience and we're exhausted.

Day three

The next day dawns bright and we head off to cross the historic Chain Bridge for a day on the hill of old Buda across the river. There are buses up the hill and you can, of course, walk but there is also a funicular and as you know by now we love a funicular. Our Budapest card includes a free guided walking tour of the old town so we decide to visit the national gallery in the morning before the tour at two.

The day by now is starting to boil so the cool of the national gallery and its fascinating tour through the history of Hungarian art, is very welcome. There's still time for a bit of a wander, a beer and lunch before the walking tour starts. We take in the lovely view across the river from Fisherman's Bastion where there's also a large eagle on the arm of its handler with tourists paying to have their photo taken with it. It doesn't look happy. We, however, are very happy with our lunch at a lovely and shady café nearby.

Our tour starts outside the impressive Matthias Church and Viktoria our guide is a relative novice but very keen. The heat of the day is now intense as we head back towards the gallery, a former royal palace, for a quick history lesson. There's a small concession stand and we pay a relative fortune for some much needed cold water which we guzzle as Viktoria tells us about the extraordinary fountain. Further round the tour is a drinking fountain and we again drink deeply and replenish our bottles. Every scrap of shade is welcome.
The tour despite the heat is very interesting, including the tale of student superstition, rubbing the balls of the equestrian statue, which Viktoria relates without blushing.

Fisherman's Bastion

We finish up back at the Matthias Church and grab another drink and a slice of cherry pie before catching the bus back down to the city. There are roadworks and the bus stop has moved but we find the right place eventually and wait. Half way down the hill there's a horrible noise and an amount of smoke: we've broken down and have to wait on the verge for half an hour while a replacement is sent out before we can continue, weaving our way through the now rush hour traffic to Deák Ferenc. Back at the apartment we take a much needed shower and a restorative drink before dressing for our night out.


Our evening is to be spent on the river. We've booked a dinner cruise along the Danube with Legende cruises and we have a thoroughly enjoyable, romantic evening. Dinner itself is not bad at all and we've secured a table on the top deck and as the sun sets, the city lights up for our delight.

A selection of images from our dinner cruise.

Day four

The next day is very much a day of two halves, When the Warsaw Pact collapsed and Hungary was free to determine its own future, symbols of the communist era were torn down and instead of being totally destroyed, many of the statues were shipped out to Memento Park and put on show alongside displays of life under the soviet regime. It's a fair way outside the city and we have to get a tram to the end of the line and catch a bus, as the direct shuttle from near the apartment goes and returns at inconvenient times for us. The bus wends its way through suburban Budapest for what seems like an eternity and just as we're losing hope drops us outside the park.

It's an eerie spectacle, and the power these statues once held is still evident even as ghosts of their former selves. There's a pedestal topped by Stalin's boots, a statue of Lenin cut off at the hip and a rusty old Trabant to boot. The museum's building houses a fascinating display charting the ill-fated 1956 revolt along with an unintentionally hilarious spy training film.

A hot and dusty couple of hours later and we're heading across town to the Széchenyi spa for an afternoon 'taking the waters'. It's a little run down, frayed around the edges, but has many saunas, steam rooms, and pools of all temperatures and it's a most welcome three hours of much needed R&R.

Day five

Our final day in Budapest in many ways proves the most hectic. There's a famous flea market on the outskirts somewhere, I'm still not entirely sure where, and we're keen to visit. I've clocked its name but for some reason have not planned a proper route. Unfortunately there's a metro stop with the practically the same name as the market and I assume it's there. It's not. Twenty minutes wandering around later we get a map up on the phone and finally work out that we need to take a tram and a bus from where we are to where we want to be. It's an irritating interlude but the market is a joy. Row upon row of everything from junk to fine art, vintage clothing and collectibles, and a great little café in the corner.

The afternoon is taken up with Ferencváros v Diógyor. We're knackered, sat on the bleachers in the full glare of the hottest sun we've experienced for years, knee deep in sunflower seeds. The stand opposite fills with green smoke and we feel for the mascot; it can't be easy wearing a large green eagle costume in this heat and he's clearly flagging. Ferencváros play out a comfortable 2-1 victory and the crowd goes home happy.

Our last dinner in Hungary is at a popular traditional restaurant by the river, complete with roaming musicians, a fitting and tasty end to our time here. In the morning we're off to Vienna.

Our first trip - Venice by train

March 2011

It all started as our silver wedding anniversary approached. Sarah had always wanted to visit Venice and I thought it would be great to be able to do this on the Orient Express, so I looked into it as a possible surprise gift. The "official" Venice-Simplon Orient Express turned out to be prohibitively expensive and actually a bit underwhelming in what it offered. Scouting around for alternatives we happened upon Planet Rail, specialists in first class rail travel who could offer a first class trip to Venice, four nights in a 4 star hotel and return via Montreux in Switzerland, staying at the 5 star lakeside Hotel Splendid, all for a bit less than the Orient Express charged for just the train. It also offered a great personal service and after a few chats on the phone, our trip was set.

We arrived way too early at St Pancras International and took lunch at Yo! Sushi before heading to the Eurostar premier lounge. Business class on the Eurostar is very comfortable; wide seats, a snack lunch and plenty of legroom, so the London to Paris leg passed very pleasantly. 

Our trip included all transfers so, having never been met by a driver before, we looked eagerly for our name being held up as we joined the crowds at Gare du Nord. We had ages to get to Paris-Bercy but our driver was clearly in a hurry and as we cut across the traffic to turn into the small station next to the Gare de Lyon, he hit the kerb hard and blew both nearside tyres and limped up to the station entrance. We left him staring forlornly at his damaged wheels and trundled our cases into the station and took the lift up to the lounge.

The Paris-Venice sleeper

Bercy is an odd little station, quite modern compared with many of the other Parisian mainline stations, and the first class lounge is very comfortable, but it's not very welcoming. We had the one free cup of coffee we were allowed and waited for our train, the sleeper to Venice, to be called. It was to be our first trip on a sleeper and also our first meal in a restaurant car. The food was ok, nothing special, but it felt fantastic to be sitting down to a proper meal as we sped through the French countryside. Our compartment was pretty comfortable and having had a smooth ride during our meal, the tracks got a little bumpier and helpfully rocked us to sleep.

Two Gentlemen on Verona station

We slept soundly though the Alps and didn't notice the scheduled stop at Milan. We were awoken with coffee and a strange, pre-packed croissant as we approached Verona where, conveniently, there were two gentlemen on the platform. Leaving Padua, the rural landscape slowly became a bit more industrialised as we approached Mestre and, as suggested, we tried calling the water taxi company to say we were on time but the language barrier and a poor connection thwarted our efforts. We were a little worried about being stranded at the station so we called Planet Rail and they came through, reassuring us that the taxi would be waiting.



If you ignore the large car park at the end of the causeway, approaching La Serenissima by rail has to be about the best way to arrive in this magical city and stepping out of Santa Lucia station to this view is breathtaking - especially when you then get met by a smart chap in one of the exquisite water taxis that serve the city. Venice is one city where, for the first-time visitor, everything is new and exciting. The trip to the hotel was a brief but fascinating journey, passing grocery barges, builders boats and even a water hearse, we arrived safely at the Hotel Ai Mori D'Oriente in the Cannaregio, away from the centre but close enough to be convenient.

The additional joy of this trip was the coincidental presence of our friend, and Venezianista, Christine whose own trip overlapped ours by a day, so having settled in to our room we met Chris for dinner and a few pointers to getting the most out of our stay (You too can benefit from here insights at www.littleguidetovenice.co.uk ). We met again for coffee the next morning before we headed off to our first stop, the vaparetto to the Gallerie dell' Accademia. By the time we got there the rain had started in earnest and was now tipping down. Unfortunately, the quick dash to the entrance was fruitless as we discovered we had to queue for a ticket at the ticket office which was situated OUTSIDE in a portakabin alongside the building, with no shelter. We joined the queue along with over 100 other people, so by the time we finally got in, we were soaked to the skin. Wandering round a gallery squelching is never pleasant but we enjoyed the art and were merely thoroughly damp by the time we stepped out again. The rain had eased but the clouds loomed ominously for the rest of the day.

The restaurant on the second night,
This was before the fish tank burst!

At the end of the first day the water
was nearly over the edge.

One of the best ways to see the city is on the regular vaparetto (water bus) services - get a season ticket - so we spent some time cruising the Grand Canal before spending the afternoon at the Peggy Guggenheim gallery. Dinner was at a great little diner near our hotel, with seafaring scenes on the wall and a delicious line in local seafood. The evening was brought to an entertaining end as their fish tank suddenly exploded. We left them to clear up and walked back to the hotel with the canal water lapping at the top of the banks.

Details are a little hazy now but our second day was taken up with what might be called the main sights. Taking the vaparetto to St Mark's we had a great time exploring the Doge's Palace, had a nice coffee in the square and watched a marching band of the Italian Army going through its paces - far more impressive than the RM band as they also have a bit of a knees-up as they go! We had decided from the outset to do as much as we could squeeze in, including a gondola ride. It's easy to feel a bit ripped off as they charge a small fortune for sometimes not very much but if you stay away from those at the main tourist spots you can get a decent trip for your money. We paid €80 and did not feel short changed at all.

After lunch we took a vaparetto out to the nearby island of Murano, historically famous for glass-making. Sadly most of the glass is now imported from places like Poland, but we found perhaps the last surviving works and went in for a demonstration. They showed us how they made their famous chandeliers and demonstrated glass blowing with a few tricks. Exiting through the gift shop we were happy to get what we now felt were genuine souvenirs - I'm particularly happy with my cufflinks.

Blowing glass in the last surviving glass works on Murano

It only rained on the first day we were in Venice and we managed to wear ourselves out packing in as much of the city as we could manage, even though we barely scratched the surface. Our third day was spent wandering the city again, mostly around the Rialto, its market and old piazze of San Polo where we found a small café for lunch and a spritz, spent a hour or two in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco marvelling at Tintoretto and discovered a beautiful little print works where we bought some book plates. Our wanderings brought us back to the station and we took our weary feet home.

On our last full day we decided to travel out to the colourful island of lace makers and artists; Burano. It's a fair distance but there's a vaparetto out to the Punta Sabbioni where you can catch another one to Burano. It's a pretty and quite peaceful place to spend a few hours as not many people take the trouble to go there. 

The colourful houses of Burano

Here are a few of our other pictures:

Rialto

Watching the football in a local bar

Gondolas outside the Doges' Palace -
the water is a little high!

Italian military band in San Marco,

More gondolas

An octopus at the marketplace

Our final morning in Venice dawned and we were picked up by another water taxi and returned to Santa Lucia for our morning train to Milan. The first class compartment was surprisingly full of families as we enjoyed our complementary coffee and brioche-like affair and politely declined the free newspaper. Approaching Milan, the railway seems to go through the worst areas of what I'm assured is a beautiful city, cities do seem to show their worst side to the railway, but the station itself is an impressive edifice and we found our way to a small fast food outlet for lunch before catching the train up through the mountains to Montreux on the banks of Lake Geneva.

The track to Switzerland winds past the beautiful Lake Maggiore and we enjoyed many stunning views in the spring sunshine before entering the Simplon tunnel to Brig. The rails then follow the Rhone valley to Lake Geneva and around to Montreux. Our hotel was just across the road from the station and our room had a wonderful lake view. One thing we noticed on our journey through Switzerland was the preponderance of vines - we had no idea the Swiss made wine in any quantity, so we ordered a bottle with dinner and jolly nice it was too. Dinner was ridiculously expensive but delicious and after a turn along the promenade, marvelling at the apparent incongruity of the Freddie Mercury statue, we turned in.

We had most of the morning to kill before our train to Lausanne so we resolved to visit the Chateau de Chillon a mile or two up the road. Swiss buses are as reliable as you'd expect and we had a good couple of hours to explore what turned out to be a fascinating castle on the lake before returning in good time for our local train to the regional capital. As we travelled along we noticed even more vines taking up every available space along the track-side and yet we still haven't seen any Swiss wine on the supermarket shelves here. At Lausanne we caught the TGV to Paris with lunch and wine included as we sped through the countryside on our way home, inspired to further rail adventures.

Montreux from Chateau de Chillon

Carbon saved: 160kg