European Trains

[tatanab]

I can't think of any other way to do it but i may get stuck in Basil.

Fly. It is 15 years since I last flew to/from Basel but you have BA and Swissair at least.

[willem jongman]

Try typing Basel with an e

[mjr]

I can't think of any other way to do it but i may get stuck in Basil.

Fly. It is 15 years since I last flew to/from Basel but you have BA and Swissair at least.

Did you miss the bit in the opening post where he explained not flying for medical reasons?

Davidwd - why are you going to Strasbourg? Maybe I missed that.

Edited to add: since the opening of the high-speed line used by TGV-Lyria, Strasbourg-Basel trains seem to be TERs (Regional Expresses) which seat61 says carry bikes for free and aren't reservable.

[tatanab]

Did you miss the bit in the opening post where he explained not flying for medical reasons?

I'd forgotten that because I read it several days ago. Apologies to the OP.

[Cyril Haearn]

Strasbourg to Basel Bad is not so far, you can use DB stopping trains via Kehl - Freiburg. Get a Laenderticket Baden-Wuerttemburg or a single ticket. Plus bike ticket.

[pal]

Davidwd - why are you going to Strasbourg? Maybe I missed that.

It is possible to do the trip with a change at Strasbourg (you need to find a TGV with a bike space -- as described above -- for the leg to Strasbourg; as mjr says, the Strasbourg-Basel bit is a TER train, which carries bikes (and doesn't require reservations). But there's no need to stop in Strasbourg if you don't want to: on May 2nd, according to CaptainTrain, there are direct trains from Paris Gare de Lyon to Basel (SBB), with spaces available for a fully-assembled bike, at 11.45, 14.23 and 18.23. The first would (I think) be too early to comfortably catch if you were coming from London that morning, but either of the second two should be fine.

[gxaustin]

I'm planning to go by train to Rome, via Paris. I recently discovered that you can still travel by normal train, albeit much more slowly than the tunnel.
have a look at this: http://www.seat61.com/London-Paris-ferry.htm

"If you are travelling to Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Eastern Europe or Scandinavia, and want an alternative to Eurostar avoiding the Channel Tunnel, I strongly recommend the vastly superior integrated train-ferry-train service from London Liverpool Street via Harwich and Hoek van Holland, with trains arriving directly at the ferry terminals and integrated ticketing, see the Netherlands page for details."

I hope it may help
Graham

[Cyril Haearn]

There is a lot to be said for using the classic train routes instead of the high speed lines. One may take the ICE from Frankfurt/M to Koeln, it is so fast one gets eye-ache trying to enjoy the scenery. The old lines through the Rhein Gorge (both banks) are much better and most trains take bikes. In Germany at least, ordinary express trains run on most of the Neubaustrecken (high - speed routes).

[Davidwd]

Thank you, i am exploring all these options, Bahn uk are being quite helpful.

[climo]

OP. Have you tried Clexane? I use it every time I fly

[foxyrider]

Thank you, i am exploring all these options, Bahn uk are being quite helpful.

+1 - have always found them so and it's policy to find you the cheapest ticket too. Essentially they are aware of any weird ticketing requirements / restrictions - free bike transport is no good if you don't know it's compulsory to book a space in advance! Wish i'd used them when I went to Austria last summer as my lack of knowledge cost me dear!