Berlin, Prague, Paris

Prague to Paris is about 10-11 hrs, without traffic, in decent weather, non-stop. I would think you would have to use the restroom, eat, probably hit traffic, etc. so it's going to take a whole lot longer than that. The train could take you around the same time due to connections. It's about Miami to Atlanta. I suggest you fly from Prague to Paris.

There's no substitute for Paris, and plane fare there can be sometimes be less than many other cities. But why subject yourself to that train ride. Save Paris for another trip - maybe one with French, Belgian, or Netherlands cities you haven't been to. You are going to love Prague and Berlin. I suggest you include Budapest or Vienna or Dresden on this trip instead of Paris. Remember to buy your train tickets early enough to get discount (non-refundable) tickets if you can.

train between Prague and Berlin appears to be 4-5 hours. train either Prague or Berlin to Paris is an all day sucker, 10-12 hours. you might want to look into low cost air into Paris.

Hi; train between Prague & Berlin is easy and pleasent. That's exactly what I did. Flew from NY to Prague, spent a few days there (it's now become 1 of my favorite cities in Europe!), then took train from Prague to Berlin. It took around 5 hours. As I recall, I left Prague aroud 5:00 PM (and spent the majority of that last day in Prague sight-seeing before heading to the train station); arrived in Berlin about 10-ish and went straight to my hotel (if I recall, train arrived at the Banhof Zoo). In my case, I then began a "loop" around Germany, traveling by train (and then flew back to NY from Munich). How long do you have for your trip? Overall, I tend to agree w/ posts above re: leaving Paris for another trip, and focusing on the Czech Republic and Germany. Remember, 1 of Rick's mantras is "Assume you will return." In other words, don't try to cram too much in in too short a time frame (especially if the cities involved are not so close). All that said, if you really want to get Paris in, why not consider flying there from Berlin or Prague? Fares on carriers such as Ryan Air are very reasoanable and will save you time. Good luck with the trip planning.

Sorry to intrude on this thread but I've also been looking into the train from Prague to Berlin (or the reverse). I was reading info on trains at another site but the info was ~5 yrs old so I was looking for some clarification. 1. Are the discounted tickets limited to one specific time and train? 2. Are the normal tickets more flexible in that you can take any train for that day? 3. On a normal ticket can you get off the train at one of the stops and then resume the journey later? I saw someone mention that you only have to complete the journey within 48 hrs. 4. In the old messages at least one person mentioned that Prague's train station was quite old and needed some improvements. Has that been done or is it being worked on now? 5. Would it be worthwhile to spent a day at Dresden or another stop along the way? Thanks
Rich

Thanks to all. I'm glad you made me realize the difficulty with adding Paris to this trip. I think we'll start at the top with Berlin train to Prague and then train to Vienna. Perhaps Budapest.Any inside info on Prague Vienna and Budapest that would help me decide? We are walkers and love museums.

If you're walkers and you love museums Vienna is a perfect choice for you. I love Paris too, but Vienna was nearly as exciting for me. It's really the "Paris" of central Europe. It has a ton of museums with some of the best art in all of Europe, tons of palaces, so much culture and the history - I mean, the Austro-Hungarian empire basically dominated Europe for centuries and all that history is centered in Vienna. The sidewalk cafe culture is just as lovely as in Paris, but significantly less touristy and cheaper than most parts of Paris. It also has a vibrancy and a modern hipster culture that I really liked. Budapest is also really cool, and an easy trip from Vienna (less than 4 hours via train) although a little more daunting for the independent traveler, since the language is incomprehensible sharing no root with any Latin or Germanic language. People in the tourist trade of course speak English (or German) but navigating the public transit system is a little daunting. However it's cheap, the food is great, and it's also good for walking about (with a few neighborhoods to avoid). Berlin is amazing amazing amazing. Don't skimp on your time there.

I did a Rick Steves trip a few years ago that was Berlin, Prague and Vienna. It was wonderful. We actually spent a night in Dresden as well which you might want to think about as it's between the two. It was a great trip and I loved all the cities. Berlin was my favorite. Pam

Thank you again! The posts are SO helpful. I apologize in advance for not listing all of my questions at once, as this is my first post. I have tried using raileurope but I can't seem to reserve tickets now for a late March trip. I want to train from Berlin to Prague then on to Venice. Suggestions for trains and can I reserve now?

Agree strongly with Sarah re: Vienna. This was my recent post to someone else here who was trying to decide between Vienna and Insbruck: ------------------------------------------------------------- No doubt, in my humble opinion. I enjoyed Innsbruck and found it very pretty and pleasent and a great gateway to the Alps......but Vienna---Now THAT is one of Europe's beautiful and grand cities. The art, culture, architecture, atmosphere, food, cafes, museums, cathedrals, sights, palaces, etc., etc. Innsbruck simply does not compare. If you have time to do both, great, but if not (as seems to be the case), Vienna is the clear choice (again, IMHO!). I know travel tastes and preferences are totally personal and subjective....but I'd be shocked if anyone who's been to both would vote Innsbruck over Vienna.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Sarah's right; Paris is an amazing city......but so is Vienna, for all the reasons I list above! Especially if you have already been to Paris and have yet to see Vienna, boy, are you in for a treat!

Maryann, In the case of the German Railways (Deutsche Bahn), they haven't released their timetables for dates past Dec. 10 of this year. For a late March trip, I would start looking in January. German Railways offers a limited number of "savings fares" if you commit to a certain train at a certain time and date. For instance, for a random date in Oct., you can get a savings fare from Berlin to Prague for 34 EUR. The standard fare for that route is 62 EUR. It's pretty easy to book tickets on the German Railways site, plus they have timetable information for almost all of Europe. RailEurope is a ticket reseller and marks up prices- people here tend to avoid it. I've never bought tickets online for Austrian, Czech, or Hungarian trains. I'm not aware of discount fares in those countries. I would say that even the full price tickets that you would buy at the station on the day of travel are not outrageously expensive and are a fairly minor cost compared to the overall cost of a European vacation.

Maryann, My suggestion would be to start with open-jaw flights, inbound Berlin and outbound Paris. Travel via train from Berlin to Prague. That trip is 4-5 hours, but it's quite pleasant and relaxing (I travelled that route a few weeks ago). For the final part of your trip, using one of the budget airlines from Prague to Paris would be the most efficient method. Fares are currently listed as low as €32.51 (EasyJet), but of course these can vary considerably due to factors such as time of booking, etc. The flights are a bit less than two hours, which is a more efficient use of your travel time than going by train. I believe SmartWings also operates on that route. I recently used EasyJet on a flight from PRG to MXP, and although I usually try to avoid the airport "hassles", it was by far the quickest and easiest method on that particular route. If you do consider this option, I'd suggest asking your Hotel in Prague to arrange a Shuttle to the airport (ask them at least a day before you'll be travelling), as that will be the least expensive and most reliable method. Happy travels!

In April, I spent 2 weeks in Prague, Dresden, and Berlin. The advice I would give you would be to spend less time in Prague and more in Berlin. Dresden is also a worthwile 1-2 night stay.
If your flight to Europe stops in London, as mine did, perhaps a couple of nights there to end the trip might be something to consider?

Small note about Budapest: Besides beauty, walking, nearby sights by Public Transportation, and all, this is in a country where you will still regularly meet older people who love and are grateful to the United States for support against oppression. I don't mean to suggest that we should be the world's policeman - I just mean that it's uncommon for American tourists to be greeted as extremely welcome, even beloved guests. Don't worry about Hungarian, we got along fine in English, with a little German and a little French.

To everyone helping Maryann -- I have an eerily similar trip planned. However, since it's over the Christmas holiday, I'll start a new thread. I'd appreciate feedback, even if it's the same (feel free to copy and paste).