Optimum Long Distance International Journeys from London

When taking journeys from across Europe by train, it's usually the case that the greater the distance, the higher the number of departure and route options that will be made available - by both ticket agents and the journey planners offered by Eurail and Interrail.

The ticket booking services, which double up as journey planners, tend to prioritize the fastest possible end-to-end journeys, hence their inclusion of tightly timed connections.

However, amidst those options, there will often be one or more optimum chains of connections between trains, which make an end-to-end journey easier to manage .

Hence bringing these typically available optimum routes and departures from London  to the surface.

So that it will then be possible to target their usual departure times, when using a journey planner.

Or they can be used as pointers towards seeking out these more generously timed alternatives to what's shown on the planners - the ticket agents tend not to show end-to-end journeys which have connections to / from sleeper trains

These easier routes avoid transfers between trains of under 30 mins, and / or show the alternative connections, because the timings of trains can't be relied upon.

Though thee suggestions below prioritize ease over both speed and price, so they can be more expensive and require the booking of more than one ticket.

A note on timings:

All journey planning tools, including Conductor Sam, rely on being told a user's preferred time of departure, so it can be easy to miss out on seeing these easier options.
If the optimum journey involves setting off before the time used, you may not be aware that it's available

Note that the precise times on current timetables deliberately haven't been used on the guides you'll see below.
That's because timings on specific dates can be altered -  plus using rounded up times such as 10:15 and 11:45 on journey planners, will usually be good enough for these suggested trains and routes to be found.

Two notes on these suggested journeys from London:

(1) When looking up a journey by train from London on a route which includes travelling between Brussels / Bruxelles and Germany, the time between trains at Midi / Zuid station will typically be 20 mins - Because the ICE trains are usually timetabled to depart that soon after the arrival of a Eurostar.

So, if this ICE service from Bruxelles to Koln or Frankfurt is just one connection in a chain of three or four trains, this connection at Midi / Zuid station won't give peace-of-mind.
Hence on the optimum journeys listed below, these 20 min connections have either been swerved, or alternatives have also been included.

(2) Reaching many continental destinations from London by train as simply as possible, still involves a cross-Paris transfer between stations.
Hence the suggested easy options below, strive to allow more than an hour to make these connections.

London to Budapest / Bucharest / Istanbul

This combination of trains is only available when departing London on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday - as the Nightjet train from Paris to Wien / Vienna is only available on those days of the week:

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 14:30
2. Arrive at the Gare du Nord before 18:00 and make the transfer in Paris to the Gare de l'Est
3. Depart the Gare de l'Est after 19:10 on the Nightjet train which is typically scheduled to arrive in Wien Hbf the next morning before 10:15.
4. Take the Railjet on to Budapest which is usually scheduled to depart Wien Hbf at around 11:40.
5. Arrive at Budapest-Keleti station around 50 minutes before the usual departure time of the Muntenia express sleeper train on to Bucharest, which typically departs at around 15:10
6. The Muntenia express train will usually be scheduled to arrive into Gara București Nord the next morning, shortly after 09:30.
7. Until October 13th* less than 40 mins later, the Bosphor Express sleeper train will depart at around 10:10am on its journey to Halkali, a town the edge of Istanbul which has metro connections into the city centre.

Note that the connection into the Bosphor Express doesn't break a general recommendation to allow a minimum of 30 mins between the arrival and departure of the trains in a chain.
However, the recommendation is break up the journey with a night's stay in Bucharest between trains - and to also split the journey with a night or two in Vienna and / or Budapest.

*= Note that the Bosphor Express doesn't depart Bucharest / București year round

The alternative connection to Budapest

These timings are not possible when departing London on a Saturday, as on that day of the week the TGV leaves Paris later.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 11:30.
2. Arrive at the Gare du Nord before 15:00 and make the transfer in Paris to the Gare de l'Est.
3. Depart the Gare de l'Est after 15:50 on a TGV train which is typically scheduled to arrive in Stuttgart Hbf shortly after 19:00.
4. Board the Euronight service which typically depart Stuttgart after 20:20 and is usually scheduled to arrive in Budapest-Keleti the following morning after 09:15.

London to Innsbruck

This routing is not available on a Sunday and in some weeks it also isn't possible to take this combination of trains on a Wednesday or Thursday.
It has been singled out because it avoids a need to make a transfer between stations.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 07:00.
2. Arrive in Bruxelles-Midi at around 10:00, more than an hour prior to the departure of a Eurostar on to Köln Hbf, which on the dates on which it is available, typically departs at 11:25.
3. Forty minutes after arrival in Köln Hbf an ICE train on to München Hbf will typically scheduled to depart after 13:50.
4. After slightly more than an hour in München Hbf an ICE train on to Innsbruck will usually depart after 19:30, with a scheduled arrival into Innsbruck Hbf shortly after 21:15

The alternative daytime option

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 07:30 on Monday to Saturday, or after 08:00 daily.
2. Arrive at the Gare Du Nord and make the transfer to the Gare de Lyon.
3. Depart the Gare De Lyon shortly after 12:20 on the Lyria service on to Zurich HB - Take that earlier train from London and the time between trains in Paris will be more than 1hr 30mins, but if you depart at around 08:00 you will only have an hour to make the cross-city connection
4. The train from Paris will typically be scheduled to arrive in Zurich after 16:20, but less than 20 mins prior to the departure of the Railjet on to Innsbruck, which will usually be leaving at 16:40. If you make the connection the arrival into Innsbruck will be before 20:15, but in the event of the train from Paris being delayed, tickets and reservations can be transferred to the 18:40 departure on from Zurich.

Travelling overnight

The end-to-end journey time is slower, but it is the only option for a London to Innsbruck rail journey with only one connection between trains.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 11:00 daily, the train will be scheduled to arrive into Amsterdam-Centraal before 16:30.
2. After sufficient time to have a meal between trains, a Nightjet train will typically be scheduled to depart at 19:00, with an arrival time into Innsbruck Hbf before 09:15am.

This routing seems bizarre, after all Amsterdam is some way off the shortest distance as the crow flies, but a few years ago the routing of the train on to Innsbruck was altered, which took it away from Koln / Cologne.

London to Prague / Praha

Look up the London to Prague / Praha daytime journey and you'll likely see end-to-end journeys with three connections, between trains taking these four routes:
(1) London to Bruxelles
(2) Bruxelles to Frankfurt (Main)
(3) Frankfurt (Main) to Dresden
(4) Dresden to Praha / Prague

It's the straightest route, but the time between trains in both Bruxelles and Frankfurt will be under 25 minutes, so being at Dresden in time to make the final train in the chain on to Praha / Prague, can't be guaranteed.

Hence these suggested alternatives for a daytime journey, which avoid a tightly timed connection in Frankfurt.

Option 1: 

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 07:00 on Monday to Saturday
2. Around 20 mins after arriving at Bruxelles-Midi station, an ICE train on to Köln Hbf will typically scheduled to depart at around 10:25.
3. That ICE train from Bruxelles will be scheduled to arrive in Köln Hbf at 12:15, enabling what should be an easy transfer into an IC train on to Dresden, which will be scheduled to depart after 13:10.
4. Ninety minutes after arrival at Dresden Hbf, a Nightjet train will depart which will be conveying sleeping accommodation on to Budapest and Wien, but it also has coaches with seats - which are ideal, as the arrival time into Praha / Prague will be shortly after midnight.

Note that the above option breaks the minimum of 30 mins between trains 'rule' with its tightly timed connections in Brussels, hence this Option 2 routing which avoids them.

Option 2: no tightly timed connections

Note that the above option breaks the minimum of 30 mins between trains 'rule' with its tightly timed connections in Brussels, hence this Option 2 routing which avoids them.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 07:00 on Monday to Saturday and is scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi around 10:00
2. Depart Bruxelles-Midi after 11:20 on a Eurostar on to Köln Hbf (though this train isn't always available on Wednesday and Thursday)
3. Thirty minutes after arrival into Köln Hbf, take the ICE train on to Berlin Hbf, which typically departs at around 13:45.
4. Arrive in Berlin more than 1hr 30mins before the departure of the Nightjet train, which will arrive into Praha / Prague will be shortly after midnight.

This is back-up plan to the Option 1 routing, if that 20 min connection in Bruxelles-Midi were to be missed - note that the departure time from London and the arrival time in Praha are the same.

Option 3: overnight on Mon / Weds / Friday

This is the only journey option with just the one connection between trains:

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 15:00 and is usually scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi shortly 18:00.
2. On Mon / Weds and Friday at around 19:20 the European Sleeper service will depart Bruxelles-Midi for Praha / Prague, where it will be due to arrive the next morning before 11:30am

Option 4: overnight daily

This routing seems bizarre at face value, but there are no trains which depart for Prague every evening from Amsterdam, Brussels or Paris, but there are daily departures on a Zurich - Basel - Praha / Prague route.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 12:30 and is usually scheduled to arrive at the Gare du Nord in Paris after 15:45.
2. More than 1hr 30 mins will be available to make the transfer to the Gare de l'Est.
3. At around 17:25 a TGV train will typically depart Gare de l'Est for Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf
4. The train from Paris will be scheduled to arrive in Freiburg at around 20:20, more than 45 mins before the typical departure of a CD Night train shortly before 21:15 - this train will be scheduled to arrive in Praha before 09:30am

London to Roma / Rome (and Firenze / Florence)

On the current timetable, which will be in place until December 14th, a daytime rail journey from London to Roma and Firenze isn't possible.
There are also no overnight trains from Paris or Switzerland to the Italian capital, hence the optimum route below - which heads east from the straightest route, as the crow flies.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 07:00 on Monday to Saturday and is scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi around 10:00.
2. Depart Bruxelles-Midi after 11:20 on a Eurostar on to Köln Hbf (though this train isn't always available on Wednesday and Thursday).
3. Forty minutes after arrival into Köln Hbf, take the ICE train on to München Hbf, which typically departs at around 13:55 and is scheduled to arrive into München / Munich after 18:25.
4. A Nightjet train will usually be departing München Hbf after 20:05 and this train will call in Firenze / Florence before 07:00 prior to arriving into Roma Tiburtina station shortly after 11:00am.

London to Salzburg

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 09:30 and is usually scheduled to arrive at the Gare du Nord in Paris before 13:00.
2. More than an hour will be available to make the transfer to the Gare de l'Est.
3. Shortly before 13:50 a TGV train will typically depart Gare de l'Est for Stuttgart Hbf.
4. Fifty five minutes after the scheduled arrival into Stuttgart an IC train will typically depart before 18:00, this train will be due to arrive into Salzburg Hbf shortly after 22:00 (10pm).

London to Sofia

A major program of reconstruction work is currently being undertaken on the Serbian national rail network, hence long-standing international trains on a Zagreb - Beograd - Sofia route aren't currently available.
Note that the connections between trains can't be guaranteed,

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 14:30.
2. Arrive at the Gare du Nord before 18:00 and make the transfer in Paris to the Gare de l'Est.
3. Depart the Gare de l'Est after 19:10 on the Nightjet train which is typically scheduled to arrive in Wien Hbf the next morning before 10:15.
4. Take the Railjet on to Budapest which is usually scheduled to depart Wien Hbf at around 11:40.
5. Arrive at Budapest-Keleti station around 50 minutes before the usual departure time of the Muntenia express sleeper train on to Bucharest, which typically departs at around 15:10.
6. The Muntenia express train will usually be scheduled to arrive into Gara București Nord the next morning, shortly after 09:30.
7. Until October 13th* less than 40 mins later, the 'Romania' express train will depart at around 10:10am for Sofia, it will be scheduled to arrive in the Bulgarian capital shortly after 20:30

*= on the winter timetable the 'Romania Express' which is direct to Sofia isn't available, but a train for Ruse will depart at around 10:10 and this will have a 45 min connection into a train on to Sofia.

London to Venice / Venezia

On the current timetable, which will be in place until December 14th, a daytime rail journey from London to Venice / Venezia isn't possible

These timings are not possible when departing London on a Saturday, as on that day of the week the TGV leaves Paris later.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 11:30.
2. Arrive at the Gare du Nord before 15:00 and make the transfer in Paris to the Gare de l'Est.
3. Depart the Gare de l'Est after 15:50 on a TGV train which is typically scheduled to arrive in Stuttgart Hbf shortly after 19:00.
4. Board the Euronight service which typically depart Stuttgart after 20:20 and is usually scheduled to arrive in Venezia-Santa Lucia station, the following morning shortly after 08:30.

Before arriving at the final destination of Venezia-Santa Lucia, the train from Stuttgart will call at Venezia-Mestre.
Connect at Venezia-Mestre for Desenzano del Garda, Padova / Padua , Verona, Vicenza

London to Wien / Vienna

As can be seen below there are trains which travel along multiple routes between London and Wien/ Vienna.
All of the trains to Wien / Vienna also call in Linz and St Polten

Option 1: the fastest daytime journey

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 07:00 on Monday to Saturday and is scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi around 10:00.
2. Around 20 mins after arriving at Bruxelles-Midi station, an ICE train on to Frankfurt (Main) Hbf will typically scheduled to depart at around 10:25.
3. Fifty minutes after arrival in Frankfurt, another ICE train will typically be scheduled to depart shortly after 14:20, this train will be due into Wien Hbf shortly after 20:45.

Option 2: avoiding the tightly timed connection in Bruxelles

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 07:00 on Monday to Saturday and is scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi around 10:00.
2. Depart Bruxelles-Midi after 11:20 on a Eurostar on to Köln Hbf (though this train isn't always available on Wednesday and Thursday)
3. The Eurostar from Bruxelles will usually be scheduled to arrive in Köln Hbf at around 13:15, less than 40 minutes before departure of an ICE train on to the Austrian capital. which is due to arrive into Wien Hbf shortly after 23:00.

This train from Köln will call in Bonn and Koblenz, so it takes the scenic Rhine Valley route.
Though as this route is slower, trains which leave Köln Hbf later, get to Frankfurt ahead of the ICE that leaves shortly after 13:50.
So if the train from Bruxelles is delayed by more than 30 mins, an option will usually be available of taking a later ICE train on from Köln Hbf to Frankfurt Flughafen station - which will get there in time to make a connection into the train heading to Wien Hbf.

Option 3: overnight when departing on Mon / Weds and Friday

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 15:00 and is usually scheduled to arrive in Bruxelles-Midi shortly 18:00.
2. Shortly after 19:05 a Nightjet train will depart Bruxelles-Midi for Wien Hbf, it is due to arrive into Wien Hbf the next morning, shortly before 10:15.

Option 4: overnight daily

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 11:00 daily, the train will be scheduled to arrive into Amsterdam-Centraal before 16:30.
2. After sufficient time to have a meal between trains, a Nightjet train will typically be scheduled to depart at 19:00, with an arrival time into Wien Hbf shortly after 09:15.

This routing seems bizarre, after all Amsterdam is some way off the shortest distance as the crow flies, but a few years ago the routing of the train on to Wien / Vienna was altered, which took it away from Koln / Cologne.

Option 5: with an earlier arrival

These timings are not possible when departing London on a Saturday, as on that day of the week the TGV leaves Paris later.

1. Leave St Pancras International on the Eurostar which typically departs shortly after 11:30.
2. Arrive at the Gare du Nord before 15:00 and make the transfer in Paris to the Gare de l'Est.
3. Depart the Gare de l'Est after 15:50 on a TGV train which is typically scheduled to arrive in Stuttgart Hbf shortly after 19:00.
4. Board the Euronight service which typically depart Stuttgart after 20:20 and is usually scheduled to arrive in Wien Hbf, the following morning shortly after 06:30.

To other destinations including Barcelona, Copenhagen Geneva and Milan

When heading from London to other more distant destinations by train, including Barcelona, Copenhagen, Geneva and Milan, the optimum route to taken will likely be obvious when using the journey planners; Partially because when travelling on to some destinations, there are no options to compare routes via both Bruxelles and Paris.

There are also no overnight trains from Bruxelles or Paris to Denmark, Italy, Spain or Switzerland.

Connecting in Lille for other cities in France

Lille-Europe is a hub station for high speed trains as most of the Eurostar trains on the London - Bruxelles - Amsterdam make a call,
Plus Lille has direct trains to a swathe of other French cities and towns including Avignon, Bordeaux*, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg - though not to Antibes, Dijion, Nice and Toulouse.
*= from Lille-Flandres station.

Making a connection between trains at Lille Europe station avoids the need to make transfers between different terminus stations in Paris.
However, frustratingly the connections between Eurostar and TGV trains in Lille has always seemed random rather than co-ordinated.

The current optimum connections:

On the current timetable these are the connections when the TGV on to another French destination, will depart Lille between 20 and 90 mins (ish) after the arrival of a Eurostar from St Pancras.

(1) to Nimes-Pont Du Gard, Montpellier-Sud de France (not the city centre stations)
Depart London after 07:00 on Mon to Sat;
Arrive Lille Europe before 09:30;
Depart Lille Europe at around 11:00.

(2) to Lyon, Avignon-TGV, Aix-en-Provence-TGV, Marseille; and to Strasbourg
Depart London after 11:00 daily;
Arrive Lille Europe after 13:25;
Depart Lille Europe after 13:50.

(3) to Le Mans, Angers and Nantes
Depart London after 13:00 daily;
Arrive Lille Europe before 15:30;
Depart Lille Europe before 15:50.

(4) to Nimes-Centre and Montpellier-St Roch
Depart London after 13:00 daily;
Arrive Lille Europe before 15:30;
Depart Lille Europe after 16:50.  

(5) to Beziers, Narbonne and Perpignan
Depart London after 13:00;
Arrive Lille Europe before 15:30;
Depart Lille Europe after 16:50 on Friday and Saturday.    

(6) to Lyon, Avignon-TGV, Aix-en-Provence-TGV and Marseille
Depart London after 15:00 daily;
Arrive Lille Europe before 17:30;
Depart Lille Europe after 18:20 on Mon to Friday.