Frommer's Europe by Rail (Frommer's Complete Guides)

Whether you’re a first-time visitor doing the grand tour or a seasoned traveler planning a multi-country itinerary, Frommer’s Europe by Rail is a must. The official guidebook of Rail Europe, this user-friendly volume has everything you’ll need to plan a successful train trip through Europe, from descriptions of the best scenic lines and high-speed rail routes to detailed information on reservations procedures and all of the rail passes available to visitors. We’ve also included a wide array of options in a variety of price ranges, from large hotels and world-renowned dining rooms to charming guesthouses and simple cafes. There’s something here for every taste, interest, and budget.

Just because we’re covering such a wide territory doesn’t mean that we’ve skimped on the details. You’ll find an astounding depth of accurate, up-to-date information, including timetables, detailed city and route maps, exact prices, open hours, metro stops, rail pass options, train station amenities, train interior photos, and more.

We’ll take you to Europe’s major cities and most charming towns, where we offer complete sightseeing, shopping, and nightlife coverage and review the best accommodations and dining for the rail traveler. But we don’t stop there. We’ve designed easy-to-follow point-to-point itineraries that help you make the most out of your time in Europe, including special itineraries that highlight Europe’s best dining, architecture, scenery, and historic castles. With Frommer’s Europe by Rail you’ll tour the medieval towns of Flanders, the chateaux of the Loire Valley, the sunny resorts of the Costa del Sol, the hill towns of Tuscany, and the spectacular scenery of the Alps.

It’s all accompanied by color maps that have been carefully keyed to the text. You’ll also find a glossary of handy rail terms, the latest trip-planning advice, money-saving tips, and a free color fold-out rail map!

Darwin Porter, a native of North Carolina, was assigned to write the very first edition of a Frommer’s guide devoted solely to one European country. Since then, he has written many bestselling Frommer’s guides to all the major European destinations. In 1982, he was joined in his research efforts by Danforth Prince, formerly of the Paris bureau of the New York Times, who has traveled and written extensively about Europe.

American expatriate Lesley Logan, a freelance travel writer and editor, has lived in London for over a decade. She’s written several travel guidebooks, including the Unofficial Guide to London, London Day by Day, and the Berlitz Pocket Guide to London. She is currently working on The Florman Guide to Europe’s Best Restaurants.

George McDonald has lived and worked in both Amsterdam and Brussels as deputy editor of the KLM in-flight magazine and as editor-in-chief of the Sabena in-flight magazine. Now a freelance journalist and travel writer based in Germany, he is the author of Frommer’s Amsterdam and Frommer’s Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg, and a co-author of Frommer’s Europe from $70 a Day.

Hana Mastrini is a native of the western Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary who became a veteran of the “Velvet Revolution” as a student in Prague in 1989. She began contributing to Frommer’s guides while helping her husband, John, better understand his new home in the Czech Republic.

New-York based Sascha Segan is a freelance journalist who has lived on three continents and spent quite a lot of time riding the rails of Europe. He has worked for Expedia Travels magazine, ABCNEWS.com, and The Guardian in the U.K. He is currently a columnist at Frommers.com and is the author of Frommer’s Fly Safe, Fly Smart and Priceline For Dummies.

Born in Chicago, Theodora Tongas traveled around her parents’ native Greece many times as a child. After earning a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, she went to work as a reporter for the Associated Press in Athens, and has lived there ever since. With Athens as her base, she has toured the entire mainland—and many islands—by plane, train, and automobile.

Andrew Princz is a freelance travel and culture journalist who regularly contributes to the Wall Street Journal Europe. He is the author of Frommers Budapest & the Best of Hungary, and the editor and publisher of the Budapest-based cultural portal www.ontheglobe.com.

A native New Yorker, Naomi Kraus is a veteran editor at Frommer’s and a graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. She’s logged lots of miles on European trains while touring that continent.