The best night trains in Europe right now

Europe’s night-train map looks better than it has in years, but it is still a patchwork. New-generation carriages with ensuite showers run alongside decades-old couchettes, small independent operators are rebuilding routes that closed in the 2000s, and timetables keep shifting as lines launch, pause or get diverted around engineering works. Here are seven routes worth knowing about right now, with the operator, a rough duration and a genuine “from” price for each.

Amsterdam to Vienna

Run by ÖBB Nightjet, this is one of the network’s flagship west-east links: about 14h 49m, daily, from around €35 for a seat, €50 for a couchette and €100 for a sleeper compartment. It leaves Amsterdam Centraal in the evening and reaches Vienna before 10am. Worth knowing: during 2026 it has been rerouted via Munich because of engineering works between Nuremberg and Linz, so double-check the exact routing before you book.

Paris to Nice

SNCF’s Intercités de Nuit runs this daily, historically nicknamed “Le Train Bleu,” in about 11h 44m. It is genuinely cheap — couchette berths from around €29 — but there is no private-cabin option on this network, only seats and couchettes. A solid budget alternative to flying or the TGV down to the Riviera.

Rome to Palermo

Trenitalia’s Intercity Notte covers the roughly 13h 30m journey daily, and it does something no other train in Europe does: the carriages are shunted directly onto a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina. Fares start from around €20 for a seat and €100 for a private ensuite Excelsior cabin, with couchette and sleeper tiers in between.

Stockholm to Narvik

Operated by SJ, this is one of Europe’s longest night-train journeys — around 19h 30m, crossing the Arctic Circle en route to Swedish Lapland. From around €40 for a seat, €110 for a sleeper. Be aware that service was reduced to a single daily departure in April 2026 during a contract dispute; a new SJ contract running from December 2026 through 2028 is meant to secure the route going forward, so it is worth confirming frequency before you plan around it.

London to Fort William

The Caledonian Sleeper is Britain’s only long-distance sleeper, and this Highlander portion is arguably its most scenic: about 13h 20m, crossing Rannoch Moor and the Glenfinnan Viaduct. It runs six nights a week (not Saturdays), from around €45 for a seat up to €180 for a private Caledonian Double.

Brussels to Prague

European Sleeper, the independent Belgian-Dutch start-up that relaunched this corridor in 2023, runs it three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday from Brussels), taking about 15h 25m via Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin and Dresden. From around €49 for a seat and €99 for a Comfort sleeper. As an open-access operator it sits outside the Eurail/Interrail network, so full fare applies regardless of any pass.

Vienna to Split

Another Nightjet route, this one heads south to the Dalmatian coast in around 15 hours, calling at Graz and Maribor. It runs three times a week year-round with a denser summer schedule, from around €30 for a seat and €80 for a sleeper — and it is one of the few night trains that can carry your car or motorbike.

Why go by night train at all

You skip a hotel night, you wake up in the centre of a new city rather than at an airport an hour outside it, and on routes like Vienna–Split or Oslo–Bergen the journey itself — mountains, coastline, sunrise over a border crossing — is a genuine part of the trip rather than a means to an end.

The honest caveats

Every price above is a floor, not a typical fare. Night-train pricing moves like airline pricing: the earlier you book, the better your chances of the lowest tier.
Private and sleeper cabins have the least availability of any cabin class and sell out fastest, especially in summer.
Several of these routes carry real operational risk in 2026 — reduced frequency, rerouting or seasonal gaps — so it is worth checking the operator’s own site close to your travel date, not just relying on a schedule you saw months earlier.
“Daily” doesn’t always mean daily forever: contracts, engineering works and subsidy decisions reshape this network year to year.