My wife and I are heading out next week on a two-week trip to France, Switzerland and Italy. We are traveling on the train. The Deutsche Bahn site has been great for planning while here in the States. What can I get while traveling to have as a reference for the train schedules while in these countries. We will go from Paris to Colmar, to Lausanne, to Venice, to Lucca, to the CT and to Milan. Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Ottawa, Ontario,, Canada
521 posts
Hi Pat,
You can purchase a rail timetable in advance, like the popular one by Thomas Cook. That being said, it does weigh you down and is probably unnecessary.
I have three recommendations for you. First off, print up a list of the schedules from the DB website to have with you on the trip. Second, you can use internet cafes to check updated schedules while you are travelling around. Finally, you can check at the train stations themselves. In the larger cities, where you can get help in sufficient English, you can ask the people at the ticket windows to advise you of the train times, or even print you an updated schedule.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
I used my netbook computer to get rail schedules in Europe.
Most places I stayed had Wifi connections to the internet, so I could get on the Bahn website just like I do at home.
I bought the European schedule CD from DB and loaded the program on the netbook. I don't like it as well as the online version, but it worked for when I didn't have online access. I believe there is also a version for handheld devices.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
If you don't rip up the Thomas Cook timetable book and just bring the appropriate pages, at 1 pound, the entire book weighs almost half what my netbook weighs.