Many sleeper train services in Europe have been withdrawn in recent years but there are still plenty of places you can travel to overnight.
Have a look at our suggested itineraries including a journey by sleeper or let us tailor make your own adventure!
Departing the Austrian capital just after 8pm, this excellent-quality NightJet train is operated by OBB (Austrian Railways). Crossing the border near the city of Passau before midnight, the train continues as you sleep across the expanse of Germany and along the spectacular Rhine Gorge early in the morning – well worth pulling up the blinds for! Trains run every day to Amsterdam, and three times per week to Brussels and Paris, which offer easy connections with Eurostar.
This Italian InterCityNotte train leaves Palermo at lunchtime, travelling at a leisurely pace along the coastline of northern Sicily, passing through the beautiful seaside town of Cefalu. Later in the afternoon, the train trundles onto a ship to cross the Strait of Messina, a rare experience indeed! During the night, the train covers many miles of Italian territory and you can catch glimpses of the beautiful Cinque Terre coastline south of Genoa, before heading north to Milan, one of Europe’s most important rail hubs.
After taking a TGV train from Paris, board the Stuttgart-Budapest train in the evening and travel through Austria as the train rocks you to sleep. Arrive the next morning refreshed and ready to explore the Hungarian capital.
The once-daily direct link from Bulgaria to Turkey, this train begins its journey at the communist era station in the heart of the Bulgarian capital, passing through the cities of Plovdiv and Dimitrovgrad before calling at the Bulgarian and Turkish borders. At the Turkish border post of Kapiküle, you need to alight from the train and have your passport stamped in the immigration hall, before proceeding through European Turkey to the wonderful city of Istanbul, where east meets west.