City Breaks

The lightening fast rail service from London’s St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel has meant that the opportunities for a short break in Europe by train now go beyond Paris and Brussels, particularly for journeys of up to six hours (about 1,000km) along the high speed routes that whisk you off to the centre of many other European cities, north and south. 

It is now about two hours from London to the city centres of Lille, Brussels and Paris from where there are connections to Amsterdam, Bruges, Florence, Rome, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona and many more vibrant European cities that are wonderful places to visit for a short city break or long weekend.

Europe’s high speed rail network is all about efficiency, service and punctuality: check-in times are famously short, the seats are spacious, clean and comfortable, you can wine and dine in a buffet bar, and you arrive right in the heart of the city without the hassle of baggage reclaim or the inconvenience of a shuttle transfer from an out-of-town airfield.  

Featured below is a huge range of fantastic city breaks and long weekends in Europe, all reachable by train and/or ferry from the UK: