How early should we arrive at the train stations prior to departure? Most of our trains are the first out in the morning at ~6-6:30am. We will be using the Eurostar from London to Paris, Paris Nord to Amsterdam Centraal, Bacharach Germany, Salzburg, Venice- Santa Lucia. Thanks in advance!
Also anyone know what time the metro's open in major cities? As long as it is approx 5:00 we should be good.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
30 minutes is plenty of time. Exception: The Eurostar has a mandatory check-in deadline of 30 minutes before departure. You will go have to go through security and there will be a passport check. If you're not familiar with St Pancras, it would be good to be at the station an hour ahead of time. 5:00 can be a bit early. For example, the first Victoria Line train from Victoria to King's Cross/St Pancras departs at 05:34 and arrives at 05:44.
Posted by
Cary, NC
687 posts
Aside from the Eurostar, I'd say that 30 minutes is overkill. Certainly for somewhere like Venezia Santa Lucia, where all the platforms are lined up ahead of you when you enter, ten minutes should be plenty. You can often find maps of the train station on line so that will give you an idea of how complex a particular station will be. In general you walk in, and the departure board is right in front of you. St. Pancras is more complicated - just follow the signs for the Eurostar. Most metros also have websites these days - just search on the name of the town and transport.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
For Amsterdam Centraal, if you're outside the station 10 minutes prior, that's enough. At a small station like Bacharach, even less time.
Posted by
santa rosa, california, usa
35 posts
Just a short caveot- if you have a ticket and reservations o.k., 30 minutes fine.
but if not, I have had some tense moments arriving at a station to find a huge line for tickets. Most of the time you can purchase from the kiosks, ask someone to help if it's confusing.
Posted by
Atlanta
1358 posts
Shoot, the station at Bacharach is just a spot on the track with a roof over it. 10 minutes is plenty. We got there 20 minutes before our train, I got bored and ran into town to buy sandwiches. Others may correct me on this, but in most major cities, the metros just have less trains going during the wee morning hours.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8961 posts
If you are going to a large train station like in Berlin, that is on multiple levels, then give yourself more time to find your way. Even speaking German, I found it difficult to find my way in Berlin. Cologne is easy, and Frankfurt is very easy as it is a dead end station, all the trains stop here, so all platforms are connected. Little towns will just have a couple of tracks, so very easy. As long as you are there when the train stops, you will be fine. They don't stop for long though. For the metro, is depends on the city. They stop running here in Frankfurt around 1 am. and start back up again about 04:15. Check with the individual cities to see when their trains begin running or if they run all night.