Train Travel in December

Look at the same days this month. Schedules don't change all that much. These are simple itineraries to major cities. Even if schedules change a bit, there will still be trains. maybe more since the train route between Milan and Lyon through France is currently out of action until September.

And another thread without posting criteria or interests.

Sorry to offend the forum. I'm interested in all of these locations, but wanted feedback on train logistics. When my friends in the UK who didn't know the US would say to me on a 2 week visit they were going to visit NY, Florida, New Orleans, and Los Angeles I'd often say, I wouldn't recommend it.

Thanks for the tip on looking at the current schedule because they don't change dramatically.

Please clarify your dates: Is 22 Dec the day you depart from the US or the day you land in Europe? On short trip, a day or two is a bid difference.

I quite like Lyon. It has a nice variety of sights, some of them indoors--which could turn out to be handy in December. For me Bordeaux pales when compared to Berlin, Prague or Venice. (I'm sure Vienna belongs on that list, too, but I can't swear it since I only visited the city briefly 45 or so years ago.) And Marseille--well, it's distinctly short of indoor sightseeing as far as I'm concerned.

I think four major cities is at least one too many for this trip. Days are going to be short, and I suspect you'll run into some closures of sights that make it hard to accomplish what you might want to do if you're in town for just 3 or 4 days. (Well, that probably won't be an issue if you choose Option 2 and give extra time to Lyon...)

I think Option 1 is a lot more exciting than Option 3, and you need cities that sparkle with activity if you're going to travel in depths of winter. There's not going to be much sunlight: Mean monthly hours of sunshine for Berlin in December: 45. Prague is very similar. Vienna's a bit better but still under 60 hours of sunshine, and Venice is at about 75. I don't think this is a good time to settle for secondary (or tertiary) cities.

I have travelled around Xmas time and trains seem to run normally,

Lyon yes, Bordeaux and Marseille no.

Training all the way to Vienna on 5 day trip??

I would suggest : London to Sttaboufg via Paris. Munich Salzburg Vienna.