Travel Europe By Train - Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris-London

Amsterdam's hinge that connects it to the world is Central Station (Amsterdam Centraal). With up to 300,000 travelers a day, Amsterdam Centraal is the hub of Amsterdam. Amsterdam Centraal is located in the heart of Amsterdam. Straight ahead is Damrak street, leading to Dam Square. Just outside the door of the station, there are plenty of trams ready to take you anywhere you feet won't. You can rent a bike right on the station and explore the city by bike. Trains from Schiphol Airport arrive to Amsterdam Centraal as well. So, whether you come to Amsterdam by plane or train - Amsterdam starts from Amsterdam Centraal. All top attractions of Amsterdam and main areas of activities are within easy reach by foot, tram or bike, the best ways of getting around Amsterdam. From Amsterdam Centraal you also can catch a ferry connecting the city to Amsterdam Noord, across the t'IJ. You can leave your luggage at the safe lockers in the station if you came to Amsterdam for a day and don't want to carry your luggage around. The cost of the locker is around 5 euro for 24 hours.

Brussels can't decide which of its three train stations Central, Nord and Midi is the main one. Most international trains use the Nord and Midi Stations. Local and Amsterdam trains usually stop at Central. The Central Station is the closest to the main attractions of the city. All three stations are well connected between each other with trains leaving every two minutes. The cost of a train ticket between stations is covered by any train ticket into or out of Brussels. From Central Station you can easily walk to Grand Place, Brussel's main square and the heart of the old town of Brussels. A home of several museums and unforgettable flower markets, regular place for concerts and shows, and just a fantastic place for people-watching, Grand Place is the greatest sight in Brussels. Don't forget that Brussels is a chocolate paradise and four venerable chocolate shops: Godiva, Neuhaus, Leonidas and Galler are right on Grand Place. Most of central Brussels' sights are walkable, but public transportation from Central Station can easily get you to the Upper Town or other Brussels' attractions outside of the central core. From the Midi Station (also called Zuid or South) you can easily catch the Eurostar, which can bring you to London in less than three hours. You have a few choices how to get to Paris from Brussels by train. You can take Thalys trains (high-speed) which travel from Brussels (Midi Station) to Paris almost every half hour and can bring you to Paris for less than an hour. Or if you want to see more of both of the countries you can switch from one local train to another and be in Paris in three hours.

Trains from Brussels arrive to Paris Nord Train Station - Gare du Nord. Originally Gare du Nord was built in 1846 with intention that travelers would be able to travel to Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and the Scandinavian countries. Nowadays, the train station also serves trains to the north of France and Eurostar, so you can easily travel to London from here as well. Paris Nord Train Station is the busiest station in Europe and the third-busiest railway station in the world with around 180 million travelers per year. Being a major international train station, Paris Nord has all facilities including internet access, car rentals, currency exchange and etc. Located in the center of Paris, Gare du Nord is well connected to the rest of the city with easy access to the Paris Metro network and a variety of busses. Undoubtedly, Paris is on everybody's list of travel destinations. If you happened to be in Paris just for a day or two days, in order to save time on getting to the city, it is probably wise to stay in a hotel around Gare du Nord. The area is full of hotels including plenty of budget hotels. If Paris is your last stop in Europe, from Gare du Nord you can easily get to Roissy/Charles de Gaulle airport just within 25 minutes by the RER B rail line (regional métro system).

Eurostar offers 17 weekday London-Paris services (19 on Fridays) including 7 non-stop. In addition, there is one round-trip London-Disneyland Paris. Non-stop journey from Paris Nord to Eurostar terminal in London takes only 2 hours 15 minutes. With stopping trains it takes 5 or 10 minutes longer depending on whether they make one or two stops. Traveling in Eurostar between Paris and London is an experience in itself. Just imagine that a half of an hour of the trip you are literally under the water of the English Channel! In November, 2007 the London terminal of Eurostar moved from Waterloo Station to St. Pancras Station. Located in the central zone (Zone 1) of London underground, between the British Library and King's Cross station, St. Pancras Station is well-connected with other parts of London via underground. From here you can easily take one of four London underground lines and get to your destination in central London within 10 minutes.