{"id":8000,"date":"2026-10-28T07:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T06:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/night-trains-europe"},"modified":"2026-10-28T07:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T06:15:09","slug":"night-trains-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/en\/night-trains-europe","title":{"rendered":"Night trains are back: sleeping your way across Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.sayna-article .quick,.sayna-article .tip{background:#f4f7fb;border-left:4px solid #467AFF;border-radius:8px;padding:14px 18px;margin:20px 0}.sayna-article .tip{background:#fff7ef;border-left-color:#ff7900}.sayna-article .h{font-weight:700;font-size:1.05em;margin-bottom:6px;color:#0a0a0b}.sayna-article table{border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;margin:18px 0}.sayna-article th{background:#eef1f7;text-align:left;padding:10px 12px;font-weight:700;border-bottom:2px solid #dfe3ec}.sayna-article td{padding:10px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f7}.sayna-article .faq details{border-bottom:1px solid #e5e8ee;padding:4px 0}.sayna-article .faq summary{font-weight:600;cursor:pointer;padding:9px 0}.sayna-article .cta-box{background:#fff5ec;border:1px solid #ffd8b0;border-radius:12px;padding:22px;text-align:center;margin:26px 0}.sayna-article .cta-box a{display:inline-block;background:#ff7900;color:#fff;padding:12px 26px;border-radius:8px;text-decoration:none;font-weight:700;margin-top:8px}<\/style>\n<div class=\"sayna-article\">\n<div class=\"quick\">\n<div class=\"h\">\u26a1 In brief<\/div>\n<p><strong>Night trains in Europe<\/strong> are going through a real revival. The \u00d6BB <strong>Nightjet<\/strong> network leads the way, <strong>European Sleeper<\/strong> launched Paris to Berlin in 2026 and opened Brussels to Milan. On budget, expect a couchette berth from \u20ac59 to \u20ac119 and a private cabin above that. These trains cross several countries while you sleep, so <strong>one eSIM for the whole continent<\/strong> keeps you reachable without swapping cards at every border.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\"><span class=\"h\">Stay connected on arrival<\/span> Set up your <a href=\"https:\/\/travel.orange.com\/en\/buy-a-sim\/offers\/europe\">eSIM for Europe<\/a> before you go: 100% online activation, no physical SIM to swap.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<nav aria-label=\"Contents\" class=\"toc\">\n<div class=\"h\">Contents<\/div>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#back\">Why the night train is back in force<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#lines\">The routes to know in 2026<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#comfort\">Seat, couchette or cabin: what to pick<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#booking\">Prices and how to book<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#onboard\">Making the most of your night on board<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#connection\">Staying reachable without wrecking your plan<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<p>Ten years ago, people were calling time on the night train in Europe. Lines were closing one after another. Today it is the opposite: new links open every year, driven by the appetite for slow travel and for replacing the plane on medium-distance trips.<\/p>\n<p>The appeal is twofold. You save a hotel night and a whole day, since the journey happens while you sleep. And you wake up in the centre of a new city, often in another country. Here is how to make the most of it with no nasty surprises.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"back\">Why the night train is back in force<\/h2>\n<p>The engine of this comeback is Austria&#8217;s <strong>\u00d6BB<\/strong> and its <strong>Nightjet<\/strong> network, which bought back and relaunched lines other companies had abandoned. Private operators followed, such as the Dutch-Belgian <strong>European Sleeper<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The concrete result for 2026 is several brand-new links. European Sleeper&#8217;s <strong>Paris to Berlin<\/strong> has run since 26 March 2026, three times a week via Brussels, with an extension towards Hamburg since the summer. <strong>Brussels to Milan<\/strong> opened on 9 September 2026, running through Germany and Switzerland via Aachen, Cologne, Zurich and Lugano before Milan. To the east, the Nightjet <strong>Carpatia<\/strong> has linked Przemy\u015bl to Munich via Krak\u00f3w, Vienna and Salzburg since December 2025.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"lines\">The routes to know in 2026<\/h2>\n<p>The network is now dense enough to build real itineraries. Here are the operators and a few benchmark links.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Operator<\/th>\n<th>Example routes<\/th>\n<th>Countries crossed<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Nightjet (\u00d6BB)<\/td>\n<td>Vienna to Hamburg, Vienna to Rome, Zurich to Vienna<\/td>\n<td>Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>European Sleeper<\/td>\n<td>Brussels to Berlin, Paris to Berlin, Brussels to Milan<\/td>\n<td>Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sn\u00e4llt\u00e5get<\/td>\n<td>Stockholm to Berlin (seasonal)<\/td>\n<td>Sweden, Denmark, Germany<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Intercity Notte (Italy)<\/td>\n<td>Milan to Sicily, Rome to the Alps<\/td>\n<td>Italy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>My advice: for a first night train, pick a well-run Nightjet line such as Vienna to Rome or Zurich to Vienna. The service is reliable and the rolling stock recent. European Sleeper is more adventurous and perfect for linking north to south in one night.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"comfort\">Seat, couchette or cabin: what to pick<\/h2>\n<p>This is the choice that decides your night. Three comfort levels exist, and the price gap is real.<\/p>\n<h3>The seat<\/h3>\n<p>The cheapest, from about \u20ac29 on some lines. Honestly, sleeping upright for a whole night is painful. Save it for a short leg or a tight budget, not for arriving fresh the next morning.<\/p>\n<h3>The couchette berth<\/h3>\n<p>A single bed in a shared compartment of four to six people, with bedding provided. It is the best value for actually sleeping, between \u20ac59 and \u20ac119 depending on the line. Take the top berth: more private, and nobody sits on your bed in the evening.<\/p>\n<h3>The private cabin<\/h3>\n<p>The privacy of a room, sometimes with a washbasin, a shower and breakfast served. Expect \u20ac139 to \u20ac299 per person. A genuine treat for a couple, or when you have an important meeting on arrival.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"booking\">Prices and how to book<\/h2>\n<p>Night train fares are <strong>dynamic<\/strong>: they climb as the date nears and the train fills. A Brussels to Berlin can start at \u20ac49 in a seat, \u20ac79 in a couchette and \u20ac159 in a cabin, then rise sharply in the final days.<\/p>\n<p>The golden rule: book early. Tickets usually open three to six months ahead depending on the operator. Book directly on the company site (Nightjet, European Sleeper) to see every cabin option, or through an aggregator if you are combining several trains. One caveat with an Interrail pass: the night journey is covered, but the berth is paid as a supplement, exactly like a main-line reservation (see our 2026 Interrail guide).<\/p>\n<div class=\"tip\">\n<div class=\"h\">\ud83d\udca1 For a good night on board<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Choose the <strong>top berth<\/strong> for more peace and quiet.<\/li>\n<li>Keep your passport and ticket within reach: some trains are checked on board at night.<\/li>\n<li>Bring earplugs and an eye mask: a shared compartment is never fully silent.<\/li>\n<li>Download films, podcasts and tickets <strong>before<\/strong> you board: on-board wifi is scarce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"onboard\">Making the most of your night on board<\/h2>\n<p>A night train is not a hotel. The compartment is narrow, the jolts are real, and in a couchette you share the space with strangers. None of that is a problem once you know what to expect.<\/p>\n<p>Pack a small kit: water, a snack, something to brush your teeth with. Many trains offer coffee and a pastry at wake-up, though rarely a proper dinner. And catch the moment when the train skirts a lake or crosses a valley at dusk: that is often when the magic happens, just before you switch off the lamp.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"connection\">Staying reachable without wrecking your plan<\/h2>\n<p>Here is the point nobody anticipates. During the night, your train changes country, and so it changes mobile network. A Brussels to Milan takes you through Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in a few hours.<\/p>\n<p>On-board wifi, where it exists, grinds to a halt the moment the train enters a mountain tunnel. To read, listen to music or tell your family your arrival time, you depend on mobile data.<\/p>\n<p>A <a class=\"cta-inline\" href=\"https:\/\/travel.orange.com\/en\/buy-a-sim\/offers\/europe\">eSIM for Europe<\/a> settles this with a single card valid across the whole continent. No fiddling at 3am when you cross a border.<\/p>\n<p>And watch the classic trap: EU roaming does not cover <strong>Switzerland<\/strong>, the <strong>United Kingdom<\/strong>, the Balkans or Turkey. The Brussels to Milan crosses Switzerland in the dead of night. With a travel eSIM you stay connected without waking up to a steep bill.<\/p>\n<p>Orange is the service used by <strong>more than 300 million customers<\/strong>: <strong>200+ destinations<\/strong> covered, round-the-clock human support <strong>24\/7<\/strong> and <strong>100 percent refunded<\/strong> if you never use your eSIM.<\/p>\n<div class=\"cta-box\">\n<p>Ready to sleep from one country to the next, always connected?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/travel.orange.com\/en\/buy-a-sim\/offers\/europe\">Discover the Orange Travel Europe eSIM<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<section aria-label=\"Frequently asked questions\" class=\"faq\">\n<h2>Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n<details open=\"\">\n<summary>What are the main night trains in Europe in 2026?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">The \u00d6BB Nightjet network covers the most destinations. European Sleeper runs Brussels to Berlin, launched Paris to Berlin in March 2026 and Brussels to Milan in September 2026. Sweden&#8217;s Sn\u00e4llt\u00e5get and national operators round out the network.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details open=\"\">\n<summary>How much does a night train cost in Europe?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">A seat from about \u20ac29, a couchette berth between \u20ac59 and \u20ac119, a private cabin between \u20ac139 and \u20ac299 per person. Fares are dynamic, so booking early is the best move.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details open=\"\">\n<summary>Seat, couchette or private cabin?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">The seat is the cheapest but uncomfortable. A couchette is a bed in a shared compartment of four to six. A private cabin offers the privacy of a room. To really sleep, aim for a couchette at minimum.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details open=\"\">\n<summary>Does a night train cross several countries?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">Yes. A Nightjet links Vienna to German and Italian cities, and Brussels to Milan crosses four countries. Since you change network while you sleep, one eSIM covering the continent avoids roaming charges at every border.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<details open=\"\">\n<summary>How do you stay connected on an overnight journey?<\/summary>\n<div class=\"a\">On-board wifi is rare or unstable. With a travel eSIM activated before departure, you keep a connection in every country crossed. Download your films and tickets before you board.<\/div>\n<\/details>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":7999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"Night trains in Europe: the 2026 comeback | Orange Travel","_seopress_titles_desc":"Night trains in Europe are back in 2026: the Nightjet and European Sleeper routes to know, berth or private cabin, real prices and how to stay connected.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/en\/night-trains-europe","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-turism","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"lang":"en","translations":{"en":8000,"fr":7998,"es":8002},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8000"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8004,"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8000\/revisions\/8004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.travel.orange.com\/ot-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}