Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Barcelona is now reachable within a day from London by train. Photo: Wix Media Barcelona, the proud Mediterranean metropolis, is a city of many faces: from the gracious avenues of Gracia with their chic boutiques, to the atmospheric, winding lanes of the Barri Gotic, the city’s patchwork of neighbourhoods entices visitors with their distinct characters. Its cultural offer includes the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, as well as Miró and Picasso museums, these are complimented by any number of hole-in-the-wall bars to enjoy tapas and drinks with the locals. Part beach resort and party town, part art collection, sprinkled liberally with the modernista masterpieces of Gaudi and other architects, Barcelona is a city to see, eat, drink, explore, and enjoy. Flight-free travel from London to Barcelona: Journey Time: from 10 hours 10 minutes Sample timetable: Depart London 10.24am, arrive Barcelona 9.46pm Changes: 1 Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon Frequency of Departures: 15/day Carbon emissions: 56.7 kg for train (flight would be 242.1kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? It is possible to travel from London to Barcelona in a day by train. You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a half to get the connection, though you could get an earlier train and spent a bit more time in Paris, e.g. have lunch at the wonderful Train Bleu Restaurant in Gare de Lyon). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to 'Barcelona Sants' station. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). For more overland routes to Spain, see Green Traveller's Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner On arrival at Barcelona Sants station Benvingut a Barcelona! Bienvenido a Barcelona! Barcelona-Sants station is to the south-west of Barcelona's city centre, which is on lines 3 and 5 of the metro, as well as suburban train routes. There are plenty of hotels close to Barcelona Sants station, see below. NB There are two other train stations in Barcelona: Barcelona- Estació de França , on the edge of the old town, to the east of the centre, which is on line four of the metro, and is a terminus for some suburban train lines; and Barcelona-Passeig de Gràcia , just north of the centre, on the main Passeig de Gràcia boulevard, which is on lines two, three, and four of the metro, plus suburban rail lines. Bus services are available from all three train termini. Hotels near Barcelona Sants Train Station Getting around Barcelona The easiest mode of transport for visitors in Barcelona is the metro , which consists of eight colour coded lines – take a look at the metro network map. The metro is supplemented by three suburban rail lines, part of the wider Catalan rail network (FGC), they are of limited use to visitors unless you are making trips outside of the city; the city also boasts two modern tram lines. In addition, there is of course a network of buses covering both the city and metropolitan area of Barcelona – like the metro, they are run by TMB (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona), you can access a map and bus route timetables on the TMB website (information in English). A range of different fares and passes for the public transport network is available; the TMB information offers full Barcelona transport ticket and fare information. Additionally, Hola BCN travel cards give unlimited travel for periods of between one and five days across Barcelona; and the Barcelona card offers unlimited travel plus free entry and discounts at many major attractions in the city. If you prefer to stay out in the open air, you could travel around Barcelona by bike – the city has a network of segregated cycle lanes, and the official tourism website recommends bike rental providers . As with many major European cities, Barcelona has a bike sharing scheme, where you can pick up a bike at a docking station near the start of your journey and return it to another station at your destination. A bit more about Barcelona Barcelona is the largest city and capital of Catalonia. The Catalans are a proud people. Proud of their language, history, cuisine, wine, their natural and cultural heritage. It’s no surprise: there’s so much to be proud of in this extraordinarily diverse land. That love of the region translates not just into a warm welcome for visitors, encouraged to explore the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of the cities, mountains and coasts. It’s also reflected in a respect for the environment: Catalonia has been designated the first whole-region Unesco Biosphere Destination, reflecting its dedication to sustainable tourism, along with sites including Barcelona, Sitges and the Terres de l’Ebre. From the Pyrenees in the north to bird-bustling wetlands in the south, dramatic gorges and vine-striped highlands and sandy shores, the range of activities, culture and cuisine is astonishing. For information about where to travel in Catalonia, see our Green Traveller's Guide to Catalonia . Video of our summer trip to Catalonia: * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Avignon in the South of France. Avignon's famous bridge. Photo: Wix Media Avignon is the gateway to Provence - it's an atmospheric mediaeval city of honey-coloured buildings and winding streets, crowned by the dramatic Papal Palace. Its compact centre nestles between intact city walls, and the famous bridge still juts halfway out into the Rhône. This is the dream of France – quiet squares to relax in a café, delicious provençal cuisine, fine local wines; and many a place to buy a baguette and wander around the ancient streets – with all the joys of Provence on the doorstep. Journey Time: fastest from 5 hours 44 mins Sample timetable: Depart London 11.04am, arrive Avignon 6.11pm Changes: 1 Transfer: Platform change within Lille Europe station Frequency of Departures: 20/day Carbon emissions: 15kg (flight would be 87kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? There's just a quick same-station change of platform at Lille Europe station to catch the onward connection. From the Eurostar platform arrival, go up the stairs (or lift) to the main concourse from where the onward TGV trains depart. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Lille If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Lille while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near the station. Here are some hotels that are conveniently nearby: Hotels near Lille Europe train station Miss your connection in Lille? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). For more overland routes to France, see Green Traveller's Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner Shuttle bus from Avignon TGV station into Avignon town. Photo: Richard Hammond On arrival at Avignon TGV station Bienvenue à Avignon! The TGV direct train from London arrives at Avignon TGV, which is a few miles outside the town . Thankfully, the station is linked to the city centre by the ‘TGV Navette’ bus (right), which costs 1,80€ (free for Eurostar ticket holders). This drops you off in front of the city’s downtown station, Avignon-Centre. From here, all points central are walkable, but it is a hub for transport around the city and the sights of the surrounding area. [ Photo: Green Traveller ] Hotels in Avignon Getting around Avignon The compact centre of Avignon lies within its ancient city walls, and is easily walkable, with only limited traffic. If you do need or want to take a longer journey, or to one of the outlying towns, villages, and attractions, there is a good local bus network and a new tram system opened in 2019. Transport in Avignon is operated by ORIZO, their website is in French only, however it does feature detailed information about the Avignon transport network . Tickets for a single journey cost 1,30€ (valid for one hour), with a ‘carnet’ of ten tickets for 10,50€ and a day pass at 4€. The Avignon area boasts 110km of segregated cycle paths – impressive for the city’s small size – and there is also a self-service bike sharing scheme called Vélopop operating across Avignon. You can take a bike from one docking station and return it to another when you reach your destination – for only 1€ per day (0,50€ for each half-hour of usage); here's a useful map of vélopop stations . You can also hire bikes at Provence Bikes on Boulevard St Roch or pre-order to pick up bikes at the TGV Avignon station (3km outside of the town) from Holiday Bikes. For more information about where to stay in Avignon, restaurants and things to do, see our: Green Traveller's Guide to Avignon Bon Voyage! * Data for carbon emissions

Greentraveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Antwerp, Belgium. Photo: Wix Media It is possible to travel by train from London to Antwerp in less than 3 hours if you take the Eurostar train to Brussels and change to a local train to Antwerp. Antwerp is Belgian’s second city and is an effervescent fashion centre that's is great for a weekend’s shopping break. Before heading into town, it’s worth admiring the late 19th century train station, one of the city’s main landmarks. On the Meir, there’s a wide range of shops and many more chi-chi boutiques on Schutterhofstraat and Nationalestraat, including the famous Antwerp fashion designers Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester. Head to Kloosterstraat for antiques and galleries and stroll along the river to the contemporary art museum, Muhka. The museum in the mansion where Rubens lived  between 1610 and his death in 1640, at Wapper 9-11 has 10 of the artist's works and gives an absorbing insight into Flemish fine living in the 17th century. Flight-free travel from London to Antwerp: Journey Time: from 2 hours 56 mins Sample timetable: Depart London 08.16pm, arrive Antwerp 12.27pm Changes: 1 Transfer: Quick same-station change of platform within Brussels Midi station Frequency of Departures: 20/day Carbon emissions: 7.1kg (flight would be 115.3kg)* Car hire at Antwerp Railway Station: Yes Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Take the Eurostar to Brussels Midi station where there's an easy same-station platform change to board the intercity train to Antwerp. Keep an eye out on the platform at Brussels for the handy guide to the layout of incoming trains, which shows you where your carriage will arrive into the station so you can make your way to the correct part of the platform before the train arrives.   Stopover hotels to break the journey in Brussels If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Brussels while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near Brussels Midi. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently nearby: Hotels near Brussels Midi For more overland train (and ferry) routes across Europe, see our Flight-Free Journey Planner . On arrival Welkom in Antwerpen! International rail services and mainline trains from across Belgium stop at Antwerp Central Station: this spectacular piece of architecture is not only an auspicious gateway to the city, but also well located – just east of the centre, it is on numerous tram and bus routes. There are plenty of places to stay near to the main railway station, see below: Hotels near Antwerp Central Station: You could easily walk around much of central Antwerp, but the city is also served by a huge network of trams and buses, co-ordinated by De Lijn. Perhaps the easiest to use part of the transport network is the ‘pre-metro’, an underground section of the tram system that runs through the city centre – wikipedia has a map of the premetro, and you can see a map of all the transport routes in the inner city on the De Lijn website. The city’s official tourist website offers more information on public transport for visitors to Antwerp, including tickets and fares. Antwerp is flat and compact, so a good option for getting around is by bike: the city has joined the ranks of metropolises boasting a self-service bike sharing scheme. Velo Antwerpen has docking stations all over the city (map), and a range of different passes are available, allowing you to pick up a bike near your starting point and drop it off by your destination with only a minimal amount of effort. For more information about where to stay and eat and things to to in the city, see our: Green Travel Guide to Antwerp Bon Voyage! * Data for carbon emissions

Here is Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train and ferry from England to northern Spain as a foot passenger . If you want to experience the wonderful coastline of northern Spain, but you don't want to fly or endure a long drive through France, this is the trip for you. One of the beautiful beaches of Asturia. Photo: Chris Willan It is possible to travel from southern England to northern Spain overnight on the ferry service run by Brittany Ferries. These luxurious ferries are like going on a mini-cruise, the dining is first-class, there are lots of facilities to keep the kids happy and you may see whales and dolphin on the crossing - the Bay of Biscay is one of the best places in Europe to spot these magnificent marine animals. Flight-free travel from the UK to Northern Spain: Routes: Portsmouth or Plymouth to Santander Journey Time: 20-24 hours Sample timetable: Changes: Train to Portsmouth or Plymouth then transfer to ferry terminal for overnight ferry to Santander Frequency of Departures: Portsmouth-Santander 2 per week (journey time is 24 hours); Plymouth-Santander 1 per week (this is the fastest service - takes 20 hours) Carbon emissions (as foot passenger): 15 kg (flight would be 311.1kg)* Car hire at Santander: Yes Ferry tickets provided by Brittany Ferries (to book as a foot passenger, choose the 'on foot' option from the vehicle selection drop-down selection on step 1 of the ferry booking process). How to book ferry tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . How to travel to Portsmouth ferry terminal By Bus: The easiest way for foot passengers to reach the harbour is to take a National Express coach (e.g. from London Victoria), which stops right outside the ferry departure building. The closest train station to Portsmouth ferry terminal is 'Portsmouth Harbour' (it's a 20-minute walk from here to the ferry check-in or a 10-minute taxi ride (costs about £5). There are also local bus services to Portsmouth ferry terminal operated by Stagecoach (bus 20) and First Bus (buses 8, X4 and X9). By train: Train services London Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour take 85 minutes and there are also services from London Victoria and Cardiff. NB between May and September, there is a shuttle bus from 'Portsmouth & Southsea ' railway station to the ferry terminal. Book a train to Portsmouth >> (train tickets provided by Trainline) Portsmouth Harbour facilities: Bar, café, shop, bureau de change, internet access point. How to travel to Plymouth ferry terminal By Bus: National Express runs coach services from London's Victoria coach station to Plymouth coach station. By Train: There is a good rail service from major railway stations in the UK to Plymouth train station. It takes 3-4 hours from London Paddington to Plymouth. It takes about 20 minutes to walk from both Plymouth bus station and Plymouth train station to the Plymouth ferry terminal. Book a train to Plymouth >> (train tickets provided by Trainline) Plymouth Port facilities: Baby changing, bureau de change, café, disabled access. On arrival at Santander ferry terminal: Bienvenido a Santander! The ferry terminal lies just one block along Avenida Castilla to Santander's main train station - if you have too much to carry, it's just a minute in a taxi. Santander's train station is well connected to the Spanish rail network, with trains running to major centres in the region and the rest of the country. Santander is the capital of Spain's verdant Cantabria region (part of the wider 'Green Spain' region, along with the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia), with rugged mountain ranges and a beautiful stretch of coastline including the stunning Picos de Europa mountains. For ideas of where to stay, great locally run restaurants, heritage attractions and activities: Green Traveller's Guide to Green Spain See more flight-free journeys in our Rail and Ferry Journey Planner >> Seafront at Santander. Photo: Wix Media * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller’s guide to getting to Morocco without setting foot on a plane – instead travelling overland by train and ferry from London St Pancras via Barcelona and Algeciras to Tangier. Marrakesh market. Photo Wix Media Summary: Train via Paris, Barcelona and Madrid to Algeciras in southern Spain then catch the ferry across the Straits of Gibraltar to Tangier Journey Time: about 48 hours Approximate cost (one way): Eurostar to Paris from £52 Train from Paris to Barcelona from €39 Train from Barcelona to Algeciras via Madrid from €51 Ferry from Algeciras to Tangier from €25 Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. Ferry tickets provided by Ferry Hopper, which allows you to search and compare prices for the different operators and routes from the mainland ports in southern Spain (and France) to Morocco. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Take the Eurostar, the UK’s international high-speed rail service that runs from the magnificently renovated London St Pancras International Railway Station. On board, there’s no weight limit for your luggage, but you should be able to carry and lift your bags safely. To get to Barcelona on the same day, take an earlyish Eurostar, e.g. the 9.24am departure, arriving Paris just before 1pm, in order to catch the mid-afternoon train down to Barcelona to arrive early evening. In Paris, you change stations from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon to take the train south to Barcelona. Crossing Paris to change stations is only two stops on the Paris RER D line, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer. See our guide on How to transfer between train stations across Paris . Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). Onward to Barcelona, Madrid and Algciras At Gare de Lyon, board a TGV high-speed train to Barcelona Sants station. The best thing about overland train travel is that you have the time and space to walk around the train, visit the buffet carriage, play cards, read the newspaper or a book, catch up on emails and text, watch a film, enjoy a meal, or just gaze out of the window and enjoy the views out of the large windows as the train whizzes across the picturesque French and Spanish countryside. You’ll arrive in to the heart of Barcelona, so no need to take a transfer from an out-of-the-way airport to the city centre; and fortunately there are many hotels very close to the railway station. Stay overnight in Barcelona – it’s a proud Mediterranean metropolis and a city of many faces. From the gracious avenues of Gracia with their chic boutiques, to the atmospheric, winding lanes of the Barri Gòtic, the city’s patchwork of neighbourhoods entices visitors with their distinct characters. Hotels near Barcelona Sants Train Station The following morning take the high-speed AVE train to Madrid (it leaves about 11am and arrives at about 1.45pm) from where you take the train down to Algeciras in southern Spain (it leaves about 3pm and arrives at about 8.30pm). It’s a glorious journey that gives you an appreciation of how southern Spain becomes progressively Moorish as you whizz down across the mountains to Cordoba and onward to the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. For more overland routes to Spain, see Green Traveller's Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner Bus from Algeciras to Tarifa then Ferry from Tarifa to Tangier Stay overnight in Algeciras (there are some lovely tapas bars that open late), then in the morning walk over to the modern ferry passenger terminal where the fast ferry company FRS provides a free transit bus to its ferry terminal departure in the nearby town of Tarifa (it’s about a 30-minute drive). Here, you take the ferry across the Straits of Gibraltar to Tangier, a journey of about an hour. It’s an epic journey; look left from the ferry as you pass the awesome Rock of Gibraltar, and then ahead of you looms the continent of Africa. Arriving in Tangier The ferry conveniently arrives in the heart of Tangier’s old town – you’ll be met off the ferry by lots of taxi drivers but you’re only a few minute’s walk to Tangier’s railway station and the medina. For onward trains to Meknès, Fez, Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech, see: oncf-voyages.ma. There are plenty of places to stay in Tangier, see below: Hotels in Tangier: ( booking provided by booking.com ) There's an excellent description of this trip by Kevin Rushby in the Guardian, see: My epic three-day trip from London to Morocco by train and ferry

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Igoumenitsa or Patras on the west coast of Greece. On board the ferry from Bari across the Adriatic. Photo: Richard Hammond Summary: Train via Paris to Milan and Bari in Italy then ferry across the Adriatic to the west cost of Greece - Igoumenitsa (for Thessaloniki) or Patras (for Athens) Journey Time: about 48 hours Carbon emissions: train to Bari is approx 65 kg (flight would be approx 480kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. Ferry tickets provided by Direct Ferries, which allows you to search and compare prices for the different operators and routes from the mainland ports in Italy across to Greece. How to book train and ferry tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? In Paris, you change stations from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a quarter to get the connection). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, board a TGV high speed train to 'Milan Centrale' station. Stay overnight in Milan, then the following morning take the high speed train to Bari to catch the overnight ferry to either Igoumenitsa or Patras on the west cost of Greece, arriving just after midday. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed TGV train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). On arrival at Milan Centrale station Benvenuto a Milano! If you’re arriving on an international train service, you will probably arrive at Milano Centrale, the city’s main rail terminus – however various intercity services also serve Cardona and Garibaldi stations: all three are connected to Milan’s metro and bus services for onward travel around the city. There are plenty of hotels close to the station, see below: Hotels near Milan's train station (Milan Centrale): Milan has one of Italy’s best developed public transport systems, consisting of a metro network, trams, buses, and a suburban rail system (the latter is unlikely to be of use to visitors). Whilst many of the city centre’s main sights are within walking distance of one another, you’ll probably end up using public transport at some point during your stay. The metro consists of four lines, with a fifth under construction; there are seventeen tram lines crossing the city – trams are emblematic of travel in Milan; and numerous bus services, they are co-ordinated by ATM. You can find maps of the metro and suburban rail network on ATM’s website - see Milan Journey Planner , as well as a breakdown of the different tickets (including useful tickets for tourists), and a journey planner for transport within the Milan urban area. Like many European cities, Milan has a bike sharing scheme, allowing you to hire a bike from numerous points across the city and then return it to a different docking point when you have completed your journey: for more information, and maps, check out BikeMi (information in English). On arrival at Bari Railway Station From the station, you'll need to take a bus to the port to catch the ferry. The buses leave from just outside the railway station. Bari is a lovely city so it's worth spending some time here if you can, but if you only have a few hours and want to have a pizza, then I recommend Solho (see photos below), which is just a few hundred yards from the railway station. Solho Gourmet Pizza and Apulian food is just a few hundred metres from Bari railway station. Photos: Richard Hammond Bus from Bari Railway Station to Bari Port The buses depart from just opposite the railway station exit. Buy your ticket from the ticket booth and then board the 50 bus to the port. On arrival at the departure terminal of the port, you'll then need to take a transit bus to the ferry check-in terminal. Once you've checked in, you then take the transit bus back to the departure terminal. Do make sure you check-in at the check-in desk ( not at the ferry departure terminal) as you won't be allowed on without doing so. Left: Bus No. 50 goes from the Bari Centrale to the port. Right: Bus ticket booth opposite the station. Photos: Richard Hammond Left: The transit bus takes from the port departure terminal to the check-in desk (Right) Photos: Richard Hammond Ferry from Bari to Igoumenitsa or Patras on the west cost of Greece If you're looking to travel onwards to Thessaloniki then take the ferry to Igoumenitsa, if you're going to Athens, take the crossing to Patras. Left: Boarding as food passenger for the ferry from Bari across the Adriatic. Centre: Sunset from the Muster station. Right: four berth cabin. Photos: Richard Hammond Onward travel from Igoumenitsa or Patras At Igoumenitsa, it's just a short 5-10 minute walk from the port to the bus station from where it takes 4 hours by bus to Thessaloniki. For information timetables, see ktelmacedonia.gr At Patras, you'll need to take a bus to town centre bus station (it takes 15-20 minutes) to board the bus to Kiato railway station from where there are trains to Athens. For more information on timetables, see: hellenictrain.gr Kaló Taxídi! For other overland routes to Europe, see our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner See our Green Traveller Guides to the following places in Greece: West Macedonia and Thessaloniki | East Macedonia and Thrace | Athens | Central and Southern Peloponnese | Pelion | Naxos and the Small Cyclades | Lesvos and Chios * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to travelling overland by train and ferry from the UK to the island of Formentera, Spain. Formentera doesn't have an airport, so in fact the only way to reach it is by boat. There are direct ferries to Formentera from Barcelona and Denia , or you can take a ferry from Barcelona, Valencia or Denia to Ibiza from where you catch the 30-minute inter-island ferry to Formentera . Journey Time from London: approx 24-36 hours Sample timetable: Depart London St Pancras early morning, arrive Barcelona in late afternoon, catch overnight ferry to arrive the following morning in Formentera Changes: 2 Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon, then Barcelona Sants railway station to Port de Barcelona Carbon emissions: 62.4 kg for train and ferry (flight would be 242.1kg)* Train tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. Ferry tickets provided by Direct Ferries, which allows you to search and compare prices for the different operators and routes from the mainland ports in Spain across to Ibiza and Formentera. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Thanks to the new high speed line in Spain, it is possible to travel from London down to Barcelona in a day by train. You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a half to get the connection, though you could get an earlier train and spent a bit more time in Paris, e.g. have lunch at the wonderful Train Bleu Restaurant in Gare de Lyon). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to 'Barcelona Sants' station. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). Option 1: Direct Ferry from Barcelona to Formentera Benvingut a Barcelona! Bienvenido a Barcelona! Barcelona-Sants station is to the south-west of Barcelona's city centre, which is on lines 3 and 5 of the metro, as well as suburban train routes. There are plenty of hotels close to Barcelona Sants station, see below. NB There are two other train stations in Barcelona: Barcelona- Estació de França , on the edge of the old town, to the east of the centre, which is on line four of the metro, and is a terminus for some suburban train lines; and Barcelona-Passeig de Gràcia , just north of the centre, on the main Passeig de Gràcia boulevard, which is on lines two, three, and four of the metro, plus suburban rail lines. Bus services are available from all three train termini. Hotels near Barcelona Sants Train Station Transfer from Barcelona Sants to Port de Barcelona It's about 2.5 miles (4k) from Barcelona Sants railway station to the port, about 10-12 minutes in a taxi but you can get there easily by metro in about 15 minutes, taking the L3 (green) line from the metro station at the station (known as 'Sants Estació') to Drassanes from where it's a couple of minutes walk to the ferry's check-in desk. More on getting around Barcelona The easiest mode of transport for visitors in Barcelona is the metro , which consists of eight colour coded lines – take a look at the Barcelona metro network map . The metro is supplemented by three suburban rail lines, part of the wider Catalan rail network (FGC), they are of limited use to visitors unless you are making trips outside of the city; the city also boasts two modern tram lines. In addition, there is of course a network of buses covering both the city and metropolitan area of Barcelona – like the metro, they are run by TMB (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona), you can access a map and bus route timetables on the TMB website (information in English). A range of different fares and passes for the public transport network is available; the TMB information offers full Barcelona transport ticket and fare information. Additionally, Hola BCN travel cards give unlimited travel for periods of between one and five days across Barcelona; and the Barcelona card offers unlimited travel plus free entry and discounts at many major attractions in the city. If you prefer to stay out in the open air, you could travel around Barcelona by bike – the city has a network of segregated cycle lanes, and the official tourism website recommends bike rental providers . As with many major European cities, Barcelona has a bike sharing scheme, where you can pick up a bike at a docking station near the start of your journey and return it to another station at your destination. A bit more about Barcelona Barcelona is the largest city and capital of Catalonia. The Catalans are a proud people. Proud of their language, history, cuisine, wine, their natural and cultural heritage. It’s no surprise: there’s so much to be proud of in this extraordinarily diverse land. That love of the region translates not just into a warm welcome for visitors, encouraged to explore the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of the cities, mountains and coasts. It’s also reflected in a respect for the environment: Catalonia has been designated the first whole-region Unesco Biosphere Destination, reflecting its dedication to sustainable tourism, along with sites including Barcelona, Sitges and the Terres de l’Ebre. From the Pyrenees in the north to bird-bustling wetlands in the south, dramatic gorges and vine-striped highlands and sandy shores, the range of activities, culture and cuisine is astonishing. For information about where to travel in Catalonia, see our Green Traveller's Guide to Catalonia . Departing from Barcelona to Formentera The direct ferry service from Barcelona to Formentera is an overnight service (it takes about 11.5 hours), departing late evening (usually about 22:00) and arriving in to Formentera at a very civilised time the following morning, about 09.30. There are cabins on board so you can have a decent night's sleep, and there's no weight limit on baggage. Option 2: Direct Ferry from Denia to Formentera Denia is about 290 miles (460 km) south of Barcelona (it's between Valencia and Alicante and takes 6–7 hours by train from Barcelona), but can be a good option if you prefer a shorter ferry journey to Formentera - the crossing is just 2-3 hours. Option 3: Ferry via Ibiza from Barcelona, Valencia or Denia There are ferry services from the Spanish mainland – from Barcelona, Valencia and Denia – to Ibiza from where you can then take the 30-minute inter-island ferry across to Formentera. The ferry from Barcelona is an overnight service and takes 8-9 hours. The ferry from Valencia is about 5 hours (Valencia is about 220 miles (350km) south of Barcelona and takes 3-4 hours by train). The ferry from Denia is just 2-3 hours (Denia is 6–7 hours by train from Barcelona). Inter-island ferry between Ibiza and Formentera The crossing from Ibiza to Formentera takes just 30 minutes on the inter-island Aquabus ferry. It departs once every 30 minutes throughout the day, with the first leaving at 7am and the last at 8.30pm. For the return journey, the first ferry is also at 7:00 and the last departure is at 10pm so you can make the most of our final day on the island. The ferry departs from the Port of Ibiza in Ibiza Town (where the ferries from Barcelona, Denia and Valencia arrive, so it's an easy transfer to the inter-island ferry) and arrives in Formentera at La Savina. For more information about the ferry, including the schedule, see aquabusferryboats.com Balearia runs ferries from the Spanish mainland to Ibiza and Formentera. Photo: Direct Ferries For more overland routes to Spain, see Green Traveller's Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to travelling from the UK to the island of Ibiza, Spain without flying. Ibiza port. Photo: Wix Media It is possible to travel from London to Ibiza in about 36 hours if you take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris and then change trains down to Barcelona and then take the ferry across to Ibiza. There are two ways to do this (both require an overnight stay in a hotel), either: a) take train from London to Barcelona (arrives same day), stay overnight in Barcelona, then spend the day in Barcelona and catch the overnight ferry to Ibiza. b) take train from London to Paris, stay overnight in Paris, then take the train down to Barcelona in time to catch the overnight ferry to Ibiza. Flight-free travel from London to Ibiza: Journey Time: from 36 hours Sample timetable: a) Depart London 10.24am, arrive Barcelona 9.46pm; overnight in Barcelona then evening ferry departing that evening at 10pm across to Ibiza, arriving 7am the following morning, OR b) Depart London 3.31pm, arrive Paris 6.52pm; overnight in Paris then take the 10.14am train down to Barcelona arriving at 4.53pm in time to catch the evening ferry departing 10pm across to Ibiza, arriving 7am the following morning, Changes: 2 Transfer: Change of train in Paris (Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon) to Barcelona and transfer from train to ferry within Barcelona for onward ferry to Ibiza. Frequency of Departures: 15/day trains to Barcelona, 6-7/week overnight ferries to Ibiza Carbon emissions: train leg is 7 kg (flight would be 180kg)* Car hire at Ibiza ferry terminal: Yes Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? It is possible to travel from London to Barcelona in a day by train from where you can stay overnight then catch the ferry as a foot passenger across to Ibiza the following evening. You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a half to get the connection, though you could get an earlier train and spent a bit more time in Paris, e.g. have lunch at the wonderful Train Bleu Restaurant in Gare de Lyon). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to 'Barcelona Sants' station. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). For more routes acroos Europe, see our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner On arrival at Barcelona Sants station There are plenty of hotels close to the station, see: Hotels near to Barcelona Sants train station . See our guide to travelling by train from London to Barcelona for more information about how to. get around Barcelona by metro and bike. Ferry from Barcelona to Ibiza There are two well-established ferry companies that run overnight ferries from Barcelona to Ibiza - Trasmediterranea and Balearia (NB. neither run day time ferry services from Barcelona to Ibiza). The overnight journey takes approximately 9 hours arrive about 6.30/7am at Ibiza's main harbour. Ferry tickets for both operators can be booked through Direct Ferries, which allows you to search and compare prices for the different operators and routes from the mainland ports in Spain to Ibiza . The crossing from mainland Spain to Ibiza. Photo: Baleria * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to the south of France and then ferry across to the island of Corsica. The port at Bonifacio, Corsica. Photo: Richard Hammond It is possible to travel from London to Corsica by train and ferry in about 24 hours if you take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris and then change to a train south to Marseille (or Nice) and catch the ferry the following morning to Corsica. Corsica is one of the 18 regions of France and the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean that's famous for its beaches and mountains, including the epic GR20 long distance hiking trail that heads high up across this spectacular island. Train and Ferry from London to Corsica: Routes: Train from London to either Marseille, Toulon or Nice, then ferry across to Corsica Journey Time: About 24 hours Sample timetable: Depart London 7.19am, arrive Marseille at 2.45pm then overnight ferry departs from Marseille at 7pm, arrives Ajaccio, Corsica at 06.15 Changes: Change in Paris or Lille for Marseille or Nice then transfer to ferry terminal for overnight ferry to Corsica Frequency of Departures: 3-4 times per week Carbon emissions (train leg): 15 kg (flight would be 311.1kg)* Car hire at Marseille St Charles station: Yes Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Take the Eurostar train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Paris (Gare du Nord) or Lille then change for Marseille St Charles station – in Lille, the train for Marseille leaves from the same station that you arrived whereas in Paris you have to change from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon (see our How to Transfer Across Train Stations in Paris ) . On board Eurostar, there’s a bar-buffet carriage that sells a range of hot and cold, alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, including champagne, as well as snacks and wholesome, hearty dishes. For those with standard premier tickets, light refreshments are served at your table, including a fresh, light, healthy meal, tea, coffee and soft drinks, and a glass of wine or beer. It’s about 30 mins from London to the Channel Tunnel, then, after about 20 minutes, you emerge for the onward journey whizzing down through the beautiful countryside of France, passing picturesque French villages and along the Rhône Valley to Marseille. This service is a fast and efficient way to travel from London to Marseille. For other routes within France and elsewhere in Europe, see our Flight-Free Journey Planner On arrival at Marseille St Charles station Bienvenue à Marseille! A city without too many airs, Marseille has a life and energy that more manicured destinations lack. The spectacular old port at its centre is surrounded by pavement cafes, restaurants and bars, and overlooked by an iconic hilltop church. Detour into the old quarter of Le Panier or the hippyish Cours Julien and you’ll find atmospheric architecture, bustling markets and some of the country’s most down-to-earth inhabitants. There are lots of hotels near to the station, see: Hotels near Marseille St Charles train station . Various eco-districts are also in development across the city, with renewable energy, greywater recycling schemes, tree planting projects and bike paths part of the plans. The most high profile of these lies within the Euroméditerranée district; a 480-hectare urban renewal project between the commercial harbour, the Vieux Port (Old Port) and the TGV station. The city is gradually moving towards a more sustainable future. With an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, many public buildings in the city are being equipped with solar panels; it's said there are more roofs here than in any other city in France. Getting around Marseille Marseille has an excellent public transport network. From Marseille Saint Charles train station there are trams, metro and buses that take you around the city centre and to the main harbour and port, see: Marseille public transport timetables and routes (French only). Marseille’s handy City Pass is an allin package including free entry to many of the city's museums, a boat trip to the Château d'If, a trip on the Petit Train, reductions on certain other excursions, and unlimited travel on the buses, metro and trams. It is valid for one (€22) or two (€29) days. See Marseille Tourism for more information. From outside the station, you can pick up a bike from the city’s bike hire scheme Le Vélo . Ferry from Marseille to Corsica Corsica Linea operate an overnight ferry service from Marseille to Ajaccio, departing at 7.15pm. You can book either a seat or a cabin with beds. The journey takes 11 hours and you'll arrive at Ajaccio at 6.15am. Ferry tickets provided by Direct Ferries, which allows you to search and compare prices for the different operators and routes from the mainland ports in France to Corsica. For more information about travelling as a foot passenger, see our guide to how to travel as a ferry foot passenger from the UK to Europe Bon Voyage! * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to the beautiful city of Venice, Italy. Photo: Wix Media Here are two options for travelling to Venice: you could go via Paris (which requires changing stations in Paris for the onward journey via Turin) or if you prefer an easier change of train, you could go via Lille where you change train within the station for the onward journey via Lyon and Turin. Both routes require an overnight stay - you could do that either in Paris, Lyon or Turin (or if you wanted to continue to Milan, you could stay overnight there and take the train down to Venice). Flight-free travel by train from London to Venice: Journey Time: Overnight Changes: 2 Transfers: Option 1 (via Paris): Change from Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon, then take the train to Torino Porta Susa (or Milan) and stay overnight and take the high-speed train the following morning to Venice Option 2 (via Lille): Change at Lille for train to Lyon where you stay overnight then take high-speed train the following morning to Venice Sample timetable: Option 1: Depart London 7.55am, arrive 11.17am Paris Gare du Nord, depart Paris Gare de Lyon at 12.46, arrive Turin 6.15. Overnight in Turin then catch 10am train to Milan Centrale arriving at 11.02am then take 11.45am train from Milan Centrale arriving Venice Santa Lucia at 2.12pm. Option 2: Depart London 11.04am, arrive 1.26pm Lille Europe, depart Lille Europe at 2.03pm, arrive Lyon at 5.02pm. Overnight in Lyon, then take 8am train to Turin, arriving 12.25pm, then take the 1pm train to Milan arriving 2.30pm, and then the 2.45pm train from Milan arriving Venice Santa Lucia at 5.12pm. Frequency of Departures: 19/day Carbon emissions: 36.4 kg (flight would be 270.9kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Option 1: you have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to Torino Porta Susa where you stay overnight and then take the morning train over via Milan to Venice. Option 2: it's just a simple change of train within Lille Europe to catch the train to Lyon where you overnight (there are plenty of hotels near to the station, see below). Then the following morning you take the high speed train from Lyon to Italy. Buon Viaggio! Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris, Lyon, Turin and Milan There are lots of places to stay near the stations en route to Venice: Hotels near Gare du Nord | Hotels near Gare de Lyon | Hotels near Lyon Part Die u | Hotels near Turin Porta Susa | Hotels near Milan Porta Garibaldi | Hotels near Milan Centrale Miss your connection? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). On arrival at Venice Santa Lucia station Benvenuto a Venizia! There are plenty of hotels close to the station, see below: Hotels near to Venice main train station (Venice Santa Lucia) Piazza San Marco, Venice. Photo: Wix Media For more overland train routes to Italy, see our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Gothenburg, West Sweden. Sarah Baxter took the train from London to Gothenburg. Photo: Richard Hammond It is possible to travel overland by train from London to West Sweden in about 36 hours if you take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Brussels and change for trains to Cologne, Hamburg, Copenhagen and then on to Gothenburg in West Sweden. Below is a snapshot of how we travelled to West Sweden for our Guide to Climate Smart Holidays in West Sweden . Flight-free travel by train from London to West Sweden: Journey Time:  about 36 hours Sample timetable:  Depart London just after 11am, arrive Gothenburg at 6.20pm the following afternoon Transfers:  Four (all are convienient same-station platform changes, ie they don't require you have to cross the city) in Brussels, Cologne, Hamburg (where you stay overnight) and Copenhagen Carbon emissions: 42 k g (flight would be 165. 7k g )* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Take an early morning Eurostar to Brussels Midi station where there's an easy same-station platform change to board the high-speed Thalys or ICE trains to Cologne where again there's an easy same-station platform change you take another train to Hamburg where you stay overnight (we recently stayed at CAB 20 , which is Level 3+ on Booking.com 's Travel Sustainably initiative, it's about a 10-minute walk from the station). In the morning, catch the train to Copenhagen where you change trains for the final leg to Gothenburg, arriving at 6.20pm. Keep an eye out on the platform at Brussels, Cologne and Hamburg for the handy guide to the layout of incoming trains, which shows you where your carriage will arrive into the station so you can make your way to the correct part of the platform before the train arrives.   Stopover hotels to break the journey in Brussels, Cologne or Hamburg If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Brussels, Cologne or Hamburg while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near Brussels Midi, Cologne and Hamburg railway stations. Here are hotels conveniently nearby: Hotels near Brussels Midi ;  Hotels near Cologne Central station ; Hotels near Hamburg station. Hotels near Hamburg's train station Miss your connection? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection on a high-speed train because of a delay on the preceding high-speed leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. For more train routes in Europe, see Green Traveller's Flight-Free Train & Ferry Journey Planner On arrival in Gothenburg There's a wonderful hotel opposite the railway station - Hotel Eggers . For other places to stay as well as lots of information on travelling around West Sweden, see our Green Traveller's Guide to West Sweden and our guide to Climate Smart Holidays in West Sweden . Some of the wonderful places to stay in West Sweden * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to the island of Sicily, Italy. The coastal village of Scopello, northwest Sicily. Photo: Wix Media Journey Time: approx 48 hours Changes: Option 1 : 3; Option 2 : 2 Transfer: There are two options: Option 1: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon then train to Milan (stay overnight) and take train to Naples the following day where you change to the train to Sicily Option 2 : Paris Gare du Nord to stay overnight in Paris then following morning take the train from Paris Gare de Lyon to Milan to catch sleeper from Milan to Sicily Sample timetable: Option 1: Depart London 9.31am, arrive Paris Gare du Nord at 12.47, then take train from Gare de Lyon at 2.43pm, arriving Milan Porto Garibaldi at 9.49pm. The next day take the 8.30am train from Milan Centrale, arriving Naples Centrale at 1.10pm then change trains to catch the 1.45pm to Palermo arriving 11.05pm Option 2: Depart London 4.31pm, arrive Paris 7.56pm, overnight in Paris then the following day take the 06.46 train from Gare de Lyon arriving Milan at 1.49pm (there are laters trains to Milan but they require a change of train, e.g. the 07.22 requires changing in Basel and arrives in Milan at 3.55pm). Then board the sleeper from Milan which departs from Milano Centrale at 7.40pm and arrives in at Palermo Centrale at 4.55pm the following day. Frequency of Departures: 23/day Carbon emissions: 18 .51kg (flight would be 243.9kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Option 1: You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a quarter to get the connection). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to 'Milan Porta Garibaldi' station in Milan. The departing train to Naples Centrale the following day departs from Milan Centrale (about 30 minute walk away) so choose to stay overnight next to either of those stations. In Naples, you then change trains in the same station (Naples Centrale) to take the high speed train all the way to Sicily. Option 2: On arriving in Paris at Gare du Nord, you will stay overnight in Paris then the following morning make your way to Gare de Lyon where you board a TGV high speed train to 'Milan Porta Garibaldi' station in Milan. The departing sleeper train to Sicily the following day departs from Milan Centrale (about 30 minute walk away - or you could take a taxi) and arrives late afternoon the following day. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris, Milan and Naples There are plenty of hotels near to Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon in Paris as well as near both stations in Milan and the main station in Naples. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord | Hotels near Gare de Lyon Hotels near Milan Porta Garibaldi | Hotels near Milan Centrale | Hotels near Naples Centrale . Miss your connection in Paris, Milan or Naples? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed TGV train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). On arrival in Sicily Benvenuti in Sicilia! If you’re arriving on the train from Naples you'll arrive at Palermo Central Station close to where many of the ferries arrive. There are plenty of hotels close to the station, see below: Hotels near Palermo train station, Sicily Palermo is the main city on Sicily. Photo: Wix Media Buon Viaggio! For more overland routes to Italy, see Green Traveller's Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Rome, Italy Photo: Wix Media Once the centre of the world’s most powerful Empire, today Rome - the Eternal City - remains Italy’s capital and largest city, a place where millennia of history blend with contemporary life. Where else can you stroll through (surprisingly intact) ancient ruins to a piazza designed by Michelangelo and down into a UNESCO-protected historic centre boasting baroque fountains and churches, and intimate squares where neighbourhood life seems unchanged by the modern world, all nestling between some of the world’s most famous sights, monuments, and museums? Wonderfully walkable, Rome’s compact heart is a treasure trove: and let’s not forget the tantalising, fresh cuisine – far more than just pizzas. You could come for history and culture, or just to while away your time in a café with a cappuccino or a Campari soda, and enjoy the famous dolce vita. Flight-free travel by train from London to Rome: Journey Time: Overnight Transfers: Option 1 (via Paris): Change from Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon, then take the train to Torino Porta Susa (or Milan) and stay overnight and take the high-speed train the following morning to Rome. Option 2 (via Lille): Change at Lille for train to Lyon where you stay overnight then take high-speed train the following morning to Rome. Sample timetable: Option 1: Depart London 7.55am, arrive 11.17am Paris Gare du Nord, depart Paris Gare de Lyon at 12.46, arrive Turin 6.15pm. Overnight in Turin then catch 10am train directly to Rome, arriving Roma Termini at 2.49pm. Option 2: Depart London 11.04am, arrive 1.26pm Lille Europe, depart Lille Europe at 2.03pm, arrive Lyon at 5.02pm. Overnight in Lyon, then take 8.35am train to Turin, arriving 12.45pm, then take the 1.50pm train to Rome arriving Roma Termini at 6.10pm. Frequency of Departures: 19/day Carbon emissions: 49.2kg (flight would be 410kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Option 1: You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to Torino Porta Susa where you stay the night and then in the morning take the high speed train over to Rome. Option 2: it's just a simple change of train within Lille Europe to catch the train to Lyon where you overnight (there are plenty of hotels near to the station, see below). Then the following morning you take the high speed train from Lyon to Italy. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). On arrival at Rome Termini station Benvenuto a Roma! Whilst there are several railway stations in Rome, almost all major international and intercity trains arrive into the enormous Stazione Termini, on the south-eastern edge of the city centre. There are plenty of hotels close to the station, see below: Hotels near to Rome's main train station (Rome Termini) Getting around Rome Termini Station is also the point of intersection for Rome’s two metro lines (constant archaeological discoveries have prevented any rapid expansion of the network), which skirt the centre in an X-shape: here is the Rome metro map. The metro can be handy for sights such as the Vatican and Colosseum, however if you are staying in central Rome it is unlikely to be of regular use. The centre of Rome is relatively compact, and walking its narrow, historic streets is a real pleasure. Happily though, there is a comprehensive network of buses (find useful bus routes for you on ATAC Roma's website) and trams (the latter are largely confined to the periphery of the city, as are the suburban trains, which you will only use if you head to outlying attractions), and ATAC Roma provides a useful journey planner on their website. The hub of Rome’s bus network is located just in front of the Stazione Termini: there is an information kiosk to help you navigate it. Here you can find ATAC's maps of buses, trams, suburban trains and the metro across central and greater Rome. Tickets are the same for all modes of transport in Rome, and are valid for 75 minutes after validating, including any interchanges. As well as single tickets, you can purchase, one-day, three-day and week tickets, for ATAC Roma offers more detailed transport ticket information. If you are staying in Rome for three or more days, and intend to visit some of the major sites, the Roma Pass could be worth considering: for 34€, you gain free admission and discounted entry to various major museums and sites, as well as three days unlimited use of public transport. If you fancy exploring Rome on two wheels, there is a bike-sharing scheme similar to those in many other European cities, allowing you to hire bikes at one station and then drop them off at another later (not much of the site is available in English); and there are also various companies offering bike hire (and tours) across the city. Buon Viaggio! For more overland train routes to Italy, see our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Naples, Italy Photo: Wix Media Journey Time: requires overnight stop in either Paris or Turin/Milan Sample timetable: Depart London 10.22am, arrive Paris Gare du Nord 1.47pm, departs Gare de Lyon at 3.18pm arrives Milan at 10.07pm. Overnight in Milan then take any number of trains from Milano Centrale to Naples (journey time just over 5 hours) Changes: 2 Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon and same station change in Turin or Milan Frequency of Departures: 20/day Carbon emissions: 57.5kg (flight would be 277.5kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer). How to transfer between train stations across Paris . You can either stay overnight in Paris and take train to Turin or Milan to change to Naples, or take train straight to Turin/Milan, stay overnight in either of these cities and take train next morning to Naples. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). Stopover hotels in Turin or Milan If you decide to break the journey and stay overnight in Turin or Milan, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both stations. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Torino Porta Susa, Italy Hotels near Milan Porta Garibaldi, Italy On arrival at Naples station Benvenuto a Napoli! It may be the spiritual home of pizza but there are lots of other things to eat, see and do in this high energy city, including royal palaces, castles and ancient ruins. One of the best ways of getting around the city is to use the Naples Pass , which provides discounts and other benefits for visiting museums, events and using public transport around the city. Here's a handy video that shows how it works: Buon Viaggio! If you're looking to travel further afield, Naples is also the gateway to the ancient city of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. See more routes to Italy and across Europe in our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Lisbon, Portugal for onward connections to the south of Portugal and the Algarve. Photo: Wix Media Journey Time: fastest from 21 hours 59 mins Sample timetable: Depart London 7.55am, arrive Lisbon 7.30am the following morning Changes: 2 Transfer: 1. Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare Montparnasse and 2. Change at Irun (Hendaye station) on the French/Spanish border for the overnight sleeper train to Lisbon Estação do Oriente Frequency of Departures: 6/day Carbon emissions: 10 .95kg (flight would be 251.59kg)* Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? You have to change trains twice - in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare Montparnasse, which can take about half an hour on the Paris metro (though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer) - see our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris ; and then change trains at Irun on the French/Spanish border to take the overnight sleeper to Lisbon Estação do Oriente. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare Montparnasse. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare Montparnasse Miss your connection? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). On arrival Bem-vindo a Lisboa! Lisbon offers a complete, comfortable transportation network. Probably the most common way to get around the city is the Lisbon metro . The outstanding work by the artist Maris Keil represented on the walls of the underground stations revived the Portuguese of the "azulejo" (glazed painted tile) and is considered a touristic attraction itself. Lisbon's underground train network is constantly evolving towards a fully accessible service, currently providing full accessibility in 36 stations out of 56, excellent attention to customers that need it and technologies and carriages adapted to visual disabilities. The metro runs from 6.30 am and 1 am daily. Don't miss the Trams, a Lisbon's iconic transport that is part of the city's identity and a must activity for everyone that visits the Portuguese capital. Tram 28 consists of a network of fifty wooden, vintage cars with capacity for 20 seating and 38 standing people. Their route is a 40 min journey through some of the main monuments, sights, and the old, narrow streets in Lisbon. Check the route and plan the places you'd like to stop at during the journey, you can get off the car and get in the next one (every 15 mins). If you are visiting Lisbon during peak season, consider the alternative option for sightseeing by Tram as Tram 28 carriages are likely to be full: Lisbon Tram Tour . There is a local bus service provided by Carris company, which can be the best way to get to different places around the city. Check bus timetables, fares, and accessibility . Hotels near Lisbon train station (Estação do Oriente) For destinations outside Lisbon, one of the best options is Express buses , which offer cheap journeys from and to many destinations around Portugal. Another comfortable, relatively cheap way is to take the train. There are ten railway stations in Lisbon: Gare do Oriente (modernist station at the east of the city with connections to the other stations and a metro line), Santa Apolonia (the oldest station, ideal for a number of attractions in Lisbon and long distance trains to Madrid and Paris), Sete Rios (north location, good for long distance buses and trains to Faro, Setubal and other destinations, and with a metro line), Rossio Station (centric and connected to city bus, metro and tram), Cais do Sodré station, Sintra station (connects to Rossio Station, Oriente, Entrecampos, Sate Rios and Campolide), Campolide, Cascais and Roma-Areeiro stations. You can get a Lisboa Card which provides free use of the metro, trams, buses, and Elevadores, plus discounts and free entry to many sights, museums, and tours (includes a free guide to Lisbon). Tenha uma boa jornada! See our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Florence, Italy Photo: Wix Media It is possible to travel from London to Florence with just an overnight stop en route if you take the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris and then change stations for the train to Milan followed by the train to Florence. The birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence has a long and rich history: home to such great figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Dante – not to forget the powerful Medici family – Florence has been influential in shaping the modern world. Today, it remains one of Italy’s major cities and one of the world’s premier tourist destinations. With a host of celebrated sites, from the glorious dome of the Duomo and the shop-lined Ponte Vecchio bridge, to the world-renowned Uffizi and Pitti galleries, Florence is not short of sights for the visitor. Its elegant streets, squares, and palaces invite you to stroll, or to linger over Tuscan cuisine served up with the region’s celebrated olive oil. Flight-free travel from London to Florence: Journey Time: requires overnight stop in either Paris or Turin/Milan Sample timetable: Depart London 10.22am, arrive Paris Gare du Nord 1.47pm, departs Gare de Lyon at 3.18pm arrives Milan at 10.07pm. Overnight in Milan then take any number of trains to Florence (journey time just less than 2 hours) Changes: 2 Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon and same station change in Turin or Milan Frequency of Departures: 28/day Carbon emissions: 33.8kg (flight would be 257.9kg)* Car hire at Florence SMN Railway Station: Yes Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer). How to transfer between train stations across Paris . You can either stay overnight in Paris and take train to Turin or Milan to change to Florence, or take train straight to Turin/Milan, stay overnight in either of these cities and take train next morning to Florence. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). See more routes to Italy and across Europe in our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner Stopover hotels in Turin or Milan If you decide to break the journey and stay overnight in Turin or Milan, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both stations. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Torino Porta Susa, Italy Hotels near Milan Porta Garibaldi, Italy On arrival at Florence station Benvenuto a Firenza! There's lots of information about sustainable travel in Florence at Sustainable Florence . Most visitors coming by train will arrive directly at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella (SMN) railway station, on the north-western edge of the city centre. However, there are two other stations in the city, Firenze Campo Marte and Firenze Rifredi: it is possible you may have to make a change at Rifredi to arrive at SMN, but this should be covered by your train ticket (for no extra cost) – check with the train operator in case of doubt. Central Florence is compact, and much of it is barred to through traffic, so walking is a great option for getting around and enjoying what the city has to offer. Alternatively, you could choose to hire a bike – taking advantage of the flat terrain and quiet central streets (outside the centre, there is however traffic to contend with) – the city’s official tourist website offers a list of different cycle hire providers in Florence . For longer journeys across and around the city, you may need to take advantage of the city’s bus system. ATAF , the bus operator, provides information, maps, timetables and a journey planner in English, including basic tickets, valid for 90 minutes, and various other options are available. If you’re going to spend several days in Florence, and intend to head to several of the city’s museums and attractions, you might want to consider investing in the Firenze Welcome Card , which provides discounts on many cultural and commercial activities in the city as well as in surrounding towns and villages. Buon Viaggio! * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is possible to travel flight-free by train from London to Copenhagen in about 15 hours by travelling by Eurostar from London St Pancras via Brussels, Cologne and Hamburg. Boats at Nyhavn harbour, Copenhagen. Photo: Richard Hammond ‘Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen,’ goes the song, and maybe the famous lyrics have got it right: this is where charming, traditional Danish architecture and cobbled streets combine with cutting edge design and a forward-thinking attitude to city life and the environment. A walker and cyclists’ paradise, Copenhagen is equally brimming with design boutiques, galleries, hip cafés, and much more. From the Royal Palace and Tivoli gardens to a contemporary city beach and a full spread of museums and art collections, the Danish capital is nothing if not diverse: a bustling metropolis with friendliness and compact scale of a small town. Train from London to Copenhagen: Journey Time: about 15 hours Sample timetable: Depart London 7.34pm , arrive Copenhagen at 9.34pm the following evening Changes: 3 Transfers: 1. Quick same-station change of platform within Brussels Midi station; 2. Quick same-station change of platform within Cologne station; 3. Quick same-station change of platform within Hamburg station Carbon emissions: 52.7kg (flight would be 270.9kg)* Car hire at Copenhagen Railway Station: Yes Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Take an afternoon or evening Eurostar to Brussels Midi station (or if you're coming from the East of England, take the ferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland and then train to Brussels) where you stay overnight then in the morning take the high-speed Thalys or ICE trains to Cologne where there's an easy same-station platform change to take another train to Hamburg and then on to Copenhagen. Keep an eye out on the platform at Brussels, Cologne and Hamburg for the handy guide to the layout of incoming trains, which shows you where your carriage will arrive into the station so you can make your way to the correct part of the platform before the train arrives.   Alternatively, you could take a morning Eurostar to Brussels to change (withing the station) to the train to Hamburg where you stay overnight then catch the mornign train to Copenhagen, arriving about 1.30pm.] Stopover hotels to break the journey in Brussels, Cologne or Hamburg If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Brussels, Cologne or Hamburg while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near Brussels Midi, Cologne and Hamburg railway stations. Here are hotels conveniently nearby: Hotels near Brussels Midi ; Hotels near Cologne Central station ; Hotels near Hamburg station. Find a hotel near Brussels Midi Railway Station See also our Green Traveller's Guide to Brussels and Green Traveller's Guide to Cologne Hostel Kohn, one of several eco-friendly places to stay in Cologne. Photo: Hostel Kohn Miss your connection? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection on a high-speed train because of a delay on the preceding high-speed leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. On arrival in Copenhagen Velkommen til København! Located by the Tivoli gardens on the southern edge of the city centre, Copenhagen Central Station is the point of arrival for international (and most national) train services. It is within walking distance of many sights and places to stay – but is also on the metro line and served by numerous buses. It has a range of facilities, including a post office, supermarket, bakery, cafes, shopping centre, baby changing facilities, bathrooms, showers, luggage storage and a lost-and-found office. There are some excellent hotels close to the station, see below: Hotels near to Copenhagen's train station (Station Kobenhavn) The centre of Copenhagen is relatively compact and very pedestrian friendly (the principal shopping artery, Strøget, is one of world’s longest pedestrian streets), so exploring on foot is a viable and inviting option. However, for longer journeys, the city has an excellent integrated public transport network. A range of tickets (from single journeys, to multi-trips and day passes, for different zones) are available for use across the transport network, information on this is available on the Visit Copenhagen website: full ticket and fare information for Copenhagen . The two principal modes of transports likely to be useful for visitors are the metro and S-trains - the rail overground network; this site in Danish includes a network map . With such a clear and comprehensive train network, you are unlikely to need to use the city’s buses – but Movia, the bus operator offers some useful information on buses in Copenhagen in English . If you intend to visit many of the city’s major museums and sights, and will be travelling by public transport a lot, consider investing in a Copenhagen Card , which gives free admission to over 75 attractions, unlimited bus, train and metro travel, and various other discounts – you can choose to buy a card for 24, 48, 72, or 120 hours. Here's a useful video guide to how it works: Copenhagen is famous for cycling: one of the world’s leading cycle cities, forty percent of commuters in the Danish capital travel by bike every day, on an ever expanding network of segregated cycle tracks, on-street cycle lanes, and super bikeways. Though there is currently no longer a cycle share programme, there are plenty of places to rent a bike in Copenhagen and Visit Copenhagen offers a wealth of information on cycling in Copenhagen for visitors. Here's more information on Copenhagen's bike culture . The Opera House, Copenhagen. Photo Wix Media For more train routes in Europe, see Green Traveller's Flight-Free Train & Ferry Journey Planner * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Utrecht in The Netherlands. Utrecht is like Amsterdam without the crowds. Photo: Richard Hammond It is possible to travel by train from London to Utrecht in less than four hours by taking the Eurostar from London St Pancras to Rotterdam where you change trains for Utrecht. Home to the Netherlands' top university, Utrecht is primarily a student city, oozing with youthful energy and enthusiasm. It's the perfect destination for a city break, with some great places to eat and drink. Drift past street performers and canalside cafes by canoe, explore the city on an illuminated night walk or pedal your way to the tranquil botanical gardens... think of it like a mini Amsterdam but without the crowds. Train routes from London Map courtesy of Eurostar Flight-free travel from London to Utrecht: Journey Time: from 3 hours 56 mins Sample timetable: Depart London 11.04pm, arrive Utrecht 4.28pm Changes: 1 Transfer: Quick same-station change of platform within Rotterdam station Frequency of Departures: 12/day Carbon emissions: 12.0kg (flight would be 114.9kg)* Car hire at Utrecht Centraal Railway Station: Yes Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? Take the Eurostar to Rotterdam station where there's an easy same-station platform change to board the local intercity train to Utrecht Centraal. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Rotterdam If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Rotterdam while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near Rotterdam Centraal. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently nearby: Hotels near Rotterdam Centraal . For more rail journeys from the UK to Europe, see our Flight-Free Journey Planner On arrival Welkom in Utrecht! You can e xplore the city's unique canals by boat – Utrecht’s Oudegracht is a curved canal that runs through the city. Utrecht is the national headquarters of Netherlands Railways, and therefore home to the Dutch Railway Museum. For more information on where to stay and eat, and things to do, see our Green Traveller's Guide to Utrecht There are plenty of hotels close to Utrecht Central Station: Hotels near to Utrecht Central Station: ( booking via booking.com ) Goede Reis! * Data for carbon emissions

Green Traveller's Guide to taking the train from London St Pancras International Railway Station to Lyon, France. Parc de la Tete d’Or; Lyon Tourist Office/Marie Perrin It is possible to travel from London by train to Lyon in less than 5 hours by taking the Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris where you change stations to catch the train to Lyon. Lyon is one of France’s under-sung glories. Dramatically built around two rivers, it has a wonderful natural setting and is a dynamic, innovative city. As well as lots of excellent restaurants there is a wide range of cultural attractions, from absorbing museums to an impressive opera house and ballet venue. Train from London to Lyon: Journey Time: from 4 hours 41 minutes Sample timetable: Depart London St Pancras on Eurostar at 11.04am, change stations in Paris, arrive Lyon 5.00pm Changes: 1 Transfer: Paris Gare du Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon Frequency of Departures: 14/day Carbon emissions: 18 .51kg (flight would be 243.9kg)* Car hire at Lyon Station: Yes Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . What's the journey like? You have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a quarter to get the connection). See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to 'Lyon Part-Dieu' station. Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord Hotels near Gare de Lyon Miss your connection in Paris? Don’t panic. Railteam’s ‘Hop on the Next Available Train’ service means that if you have missed your connection between high speed trains because of a delay on the preceding leg of your journey, you’ll automatically be put on the next available high-speed TGV train. NB Remember to get your ticket stamped by your Train Manager. Whenever you’re connecting, always remember to validate your onward train ticket at the machine on the platform before departing (these are often coloured yellow). For more routes in France and elsewhere in Europe, see our Flight-Free Train/Ferry Journey Planner On arrival at Lyon Part Dieu station Bienvenue à Lyon! Most international and mainline trains arrive at Lyon Part-Dieu, which is in a modern office district to the east of the city centre: it is a transport hub with trams, buses, and a station on line B of the metro. Some mainline intercity trains also arrive at Lyon Perrache, on the southern edge of the city centre, served by trams, buses, and line A of the metro – it is also within walking distance of much of the centre, including the principal Place Bellecour square. There are plenty of hotels close to the station, see below: Hotels near Lyon Railway Station (Part Dieu) We recommend hotel this reservation service for checking availability and booking a stopover hotel because you can read hundreds of reviews from people who have recently stayed in these hotels, slept in the rooms and eaten in the nearby restaurants. We've tried it out ourselves and found it makes choosing and booking a stopover hotel a doddle. We hope you do too. Getting around Lyon The old town and central shopping district (Presqu'île) are relatively compact and walkable, however Lyon is quite a large city and you are likely to need to make use of its comprehensive transport network at some point. Operated by TCL (in English, link includes a journey planner and timetables), you can take your pick from the metro, trams, trolleybuses, buses, and - in a quirky flourish - funicular railways. The metro consists of four colour-coded lines criss-crossing the city, and is integrated with funicular services up from Vieux Lyon (old Lyon) to the Fourvière and St Just hills. Additionally, there are five modern tram lines, and a network of 135 bus and trolleybus routes. TCL provides a map of the metro, tram and principal bus routes; as well as a detailed map of transport routes in Lyon and various other Lyon transport maps (in French). A huge range of tickets and fares exist depending on your needs, TCL offers full Lyon transport ticket information. If you plan on visiting several museums or attractions, and will be making use of the public transport network, it could be a good idea to invest in a  Lyon City Card  – offering unlimited travel plus free or discounted entry at numerous places and attractions across the city, for one, two, or three days In additional to its impressive public transport network, Lyon proudly lays claim to being the first French city to introduce a bike-sharing scheme, known as  Vélo’v . You can hire a bike at any of over 340 stations across the city, before returning it to another station close to your destination – Vélo’v has an interactive map of stations (double click to find the nearest to any point on the map) as well as a map of cycling routes across Lyon. For more information about places to stay and eat in the city, plus local attractions and other things to see and do, see Green Traveller's Guide to Lyon : Bon Voyage! * Data for carbon emissions

It is possible to travel from Scotland to Europe without flying; by taking the ferry (either in a car or as a foot passenger), by coach or by train, or, more typically, a combination of these. The only passenger ferry operating between Scotland and continental Europe ceased the route between Rosyth and Zeebrugge in 2010. However, ferry services from Newcastle and Hull are accessible by train from Scotland via Carlisle and Berwick-upon-Tweed. There’s also a cheaper option to connect to the Hull and Newcastle ferries from Scotland by coach, although this takes longer than the train. The North Sea ferries then head east to Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Hook of Holland from where you can head deeper into Europe. For detailed information to how to take public transport to the ports at Newcastle and Hull, see Green Traveller's Guide to travelling as a foot passenger from the UK to Europe . Images: DFDS ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam Coach and and train services from Scotland need to use the Channel Tunnel to cross The Channel, so you have to factor in the time it takes to get south. If you take the train, once on the other side of the tunnel, you’re then connected to the European high-speed rail network, which can whizz you to many European capitals and beyond within hours. Our team has tried and tested many of the routes and so we have tried to summarise all the available options in this post based on our experience. From Scotland to Europe by Ferry By ferry via Newcastle to Amsterdam The ferry port closest to the Scottish border that connects with Europe is Newcastle, from which DFDS takes foot passengers on its 17.00 overnight sailings to Amsterdam. Journey time: 15.5 hours (overnight) Timings: Departs Newcastle 17:00, arrives Amsterdam 9.45am. The additional journey time for those travelling from Edinburgh would be around 2.5 hours - allowing around 1.5 hours for the Edinburgh-Newcastle train plus 30 minutes for the transfer bus to the International Ferry Terminal. DFDS buses operate from Berwick Street opposite Newcastle Central Station to the ferry terminal at times to coincide with its sailings. Bus tickets must be bought in advance online or over the phone. Travelling from Glasgow to the International Ferry Terminal would take from around 3.5 hours by train and bus and from Aberdeen, 5 hours. Adding at least an hour for check-in this takes the total journey times to approximately: Edinburgh to Amsterdam: 19 hours Glasgow to Amsterdam: 20 hours Aberdeen to Amsterdam: 21.5 hours Facilities on board the ferry: bars, restaurants, casino, cinema and kids club Sleeper Cabins: take from 2-5 people, and, unlike most ferry operators that insist dogs are kept in cars or kennels, there are cabins suitable for up to two dogs to travel alongside their owners. Luggage: There’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a charge of £5 each way, and those without wheels can hop onto a coach on arrival at the port of Ijmuiden to travel the 25 miles into central Amsterdam. Other info: DFDS offers a ‘mini cruise’ option, which includes breaks in Amsterdam from five hours to two nights and include coach transfers at either end. From Amsterdam it’s easy to connect by rail to cities and regions across the Netherlands, as well as onto France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and beyond. By ferry from Hull to Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Scottish travellers willing to travel further south still along the east coast can travel with P&O Ferries overnight between Hull and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Journey time: 12 hours (overnight), with an additional journey time of between 8-11 hours for those travelling from Scotland by train, including the minimum 90-minute check-in for the ferry. On arrival at Hull station by train, there’s a bus that goes to the port from the adjoining interchange station. Number 70 operates from Paragon Interchange to the ferry terminal at 5pm and takes 15 minutes, but for more flexibility, a taxi is a good bet. These are the approximate total journey times by train and ferry from Scotland to the continent including bus transfers and 90-minute check-in: Edinburgh to Rotterdam/Amsterdam: 20 hours Glasgow to Rotterdam/Amsterdam: 20 hours Aberdeen to Rotterdam/Amsterdam: 23 hours Timings: Hull to Rotterdam departs 20:30 and arrives Rotterdam at 8:15 (9:00 at weekends) Facilities: Restaurants, bars, cinemas, a casino and kids play area. Sleeper Cabins: options range from a standard cabin, with a toilet and shower room, to a sea view cabin or a club cabin with extra space and a television - sleeping between two and five people per cabin. Luggage: There’s no limit on luggage, and you can travel with a pet and a bicycle. Pets are charged at £22 each way and must travel in a kennel. Bicycles are carried free of charge but only one is allowed per foot passenger booking, so a group travelling with multiple bikes need to make a separate booking per bike. You can book the ferry solely as transport, but for some, it’s the holiday in itself - a mini cruise out of Hull with P&O offers two nights on a ferry to and from Rotterdam with a day trip (which can be extended to an extra night) to explore the city between sailings. Themed mini breaks take this up a notch with entertainment such as live music or darts competitions onboard. Many passengers use Rotterdam as a gateway to Brussels, Antwerp or Paris but from either point, it is straight-forward to connect by rail to other destinations in the Netherlands and Belgium as well as Germany, Luxembourg  and France. Ferry tickets provided by Direct Ferries, which allows you to search and compare prices for the different operators and routes from the mainland ports from the UK to Rotterdam. By ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland (The Netherlands) The shortest ferry route across the North Sea from the UK is from Harwich in Essex with Stena Line to The Hook of Holland (known as ‘Hoek van Holland’). From Scotland it takes from at least 6.5 hours to reach Harwich by train via London, or 14 hours by bus, the cheapest option. You can then choose to go across the North Sea either during the day or overnight. Journey time: it is a 7-8 hour crossing (day time or overnight) Here are approximate journey times not including an overnight stay for the morning ferry: Edinburgh to Hook of Holland: from 14.5 hours Glasgow to Hook of Holland: from 16 hours Aberdeen to Hook of Holland: from 18 hours The travel time from Scotland’s mainland cities to Harwich is between 6-10 hours plus the minimum 45-minute check-in. Trains stop at Harwich International Station, which is next to the ferry port. Unfortunately the Caledonian Sleeper train arrives in London too late to connect with a train to Harwich to catch the 9am ferry, as does the overnight bus from Glasgow to Harwich via Heathrow, so passengers from Scotland on the morning ferry need to consider overnight accommodation in London or close to Harwich. Although it’s a longer journey in the UK to travel down south, the total journey times via Harwich for the overnight ferry compare favourably to the ferries leaving from Hull to the Netherlands because of the shorter crossing. It ultimately depends on your final destination and preferred departure time, but it’s worth comparing both ferry options before committing. Timings: departs Harwich at 9am, arrives Hook of Holland at 17.15; overnight service departs Harwich at 23:00, arrives Hook of Holland at 08:00. Facilities: restaurants and bars, a cinema and shops. Sleeper Cabins: on the overnight ferry you can choose from a range of cabins, from a single inside cabin with television and ensuite bathroom to cabins for two, three, four of five people, including the Comfort Class cabins with sea view and complimentary minibar. Luggage: There’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers with bicycles pay an extra fee of £5 for adults and £2.50 for children and it costs £20 to bring your dog, which must travel in a kennel. Ferry sailing times and journey times can change so check the website for the latest times. From Scotland to Europe by Coach Travelling by coach is usually the cheapest way to travel to Europe from Scotland, but also the most lengthy.  Flixbus runs an intercity coach service from cities across Scotland, which now incorporates the Eurolines and Isilines bus companies, with services out of London Victoria. It offers destinations beyond the nearest cities in northern Europe - such as Vienna from London in 26 hours, Frankfurt in 13.5 hours and Prague in 24 hours. You can even travel as far as Bucharest - a 44-hour journey across six countries. Coaches go direct from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh to London Victoria where you can change to its international coach services which go to many European cities, including Calais, Paris, Lille, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges. Here are a few sample journey times: Aberdeen to Paris: from 25 hours Aberdeen to Amsterdam:  from 26 hours Glasgow to Paris:  from 21 hours Glasgow to Amsterdam:  from 22 hours Edinburgh to Paris:  from 22.5 hours Edinburgh to Amsterdam:  from 22.5 hours Luggage:  You can take a hand luggage bag and medium-sized bag for the hold weighing no more than 20kg. Only folding bicycles are accepted. Facilities:  coaches are air conditioned and have free wifi, charging sockets, toilets, and on some journeys food and drink is sold onboard in addition to the refreshment stops. Alternatively, pack your own food and drink for the journey and/or make use of the stops that are made at service stations en route to stock up on supplies. National Express also runs an intercity coach service from cities across Scotland including Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh and from Inverness with Scottish Citylink services. The same luggage restrictions apply with one piece of hand luggage and one hold luggage up to 20kg. The cost varies depending on the route, time of year and so on, so check the coach operator’s website for fares. From Scotland to Europe by Train To access Europe by rail, travellers from Scotland must first travel to London before connecting to Eurostar services from London St Pancras International Railway Station. Here are a few journey times (times show the total duration of the trip, including allowing for sufficient time to walk to the Eurostar check-in from Euston or Kings Cross and for the 30/45-minute check-in time at Eurostar, based on appropriate times of connecting trains in to and out of London): Train from Edinburgh to Paris: 8 hours; Edinburgh to Amsterdam: 9.5 hours Train from Glasgow to Paris: 8.5 hours; Glasgow to Amsterdam: 10 hours Train from Aberdeen to Paris: 10.5 hours; Aberdeen to Amsterdam: 13.5 hours Trains from cities in Scotland are operated by a variety of rail companies into London - LNER runs trains from St Pancras up the east coast via Peterborough, York and Newcastle to Edinburgh, with some continuing on to Glasgow, Aberdeen or Inverness. Avanti West Coast operates trains on the other coast between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Birmingham and Manchester. These terminate at London Euston, which is a 10-minute walk from London St Pancras. Also terminating at Euston is the Caledonian Sleeper, an overnight rail service that connects London with Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen and beyond to some of the more remote Highland rail stations such as Aviemore. The sleeper arrives between 7-8am at Euston, and travellers should allow at least an hour and a half to get to St Pancras and adhere to the 30-minute Eurostar check-in (45 minutes at weekends). Eurostar runs direct services to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Lyon, Lille and Disneyland Paris (during the summer there’s a direct train to Avignon and Marseille and in the winter there’s an indirect ‘ Eurostar snow train ’ service vai Lille to Moûtiers, Aime-la-Plagne and Bourg-St-Maurice). You can buy through-tickets that start in Scotland and go beyond Eurostar’s destinations travelling with local operators. If you are travelling with a bike, check which routes accept bikes. The fee is around £30. Dogs are not permitted on Eurostar except guide dogs. Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . ============ Please note : The information on this page aims to give you a reasonable idea of train and ferry routes, times and tickets, in order that hopefully there’s enough detail to know what's available, how to plan an overland journey and where to book tickets. The information was up to date at time of publication, but services do change from time to time and we cannot take responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies we provide. Always confirm details when you book with the relevant travel operator. If you are aware of any inaccuracies, we'd really appreciate being informed via our contact page so we can make the relevant changes to the information provided for the benefit of other travellers. Bon Voyage!

Here's my guide to those ferry services from the UK to mainland Europe that take foot passengers, how to reach the main ports by public transport, including how to transfer to the ferry check-in on departure (UK ports), and how to connect with local services on arrival for onward travel by public transport abroad. Walkway for foot passengers boarding the ferry. Photo: Richard Hammond Click on these links to go to the relevant section on this page: How to reach the main UK ferry ports by public transport Onward travel by public transport abroad See also my post on all the Map of international ferry services from the UK to Ireland and mainland Europe >> The good news is that you can travel as a foot passenger on many of the ferry services out of the UK and enjoy all the benefits of modern ferry travel – bars and restaurants, plenty of entertainment and facilities for families, comfortable overnight cabins and no bag restrictions. The ports on both sides of the crossing are well connected by public transport, so it’s easy to travel by bus or train to the ports in the UK, as well as disembark on the other side and continue the journey overland. Europe never felt so close! Check-in for foot passengers is usually at least 90 minutes before departure (though do check this at the time of booking with the operator), and it's best you travel only with luggage you can easily carry yourself. Some ports do not have lifts to access the ship and require you to walk up a ramp, an escalator or some stairs. The following services allow foot passengers: Brittany Ferries: Poole to Cherbourg; Portsmouth to Cherbourg; Portsmouth to St Malo; Portsmouth to Bilbao; Portsmouth to Santander; Plymouth to Santander; Plymouth to Roscoff; Portsmouth to Le Harve; Portsmouth to Caen. Brittany Ferries >> Stena Line: Harwich to Hook of Holland. Stena Line >> P&O Ferries: Dover to Calais; Hull to Rotterdam. Check-in time is 60 minutes before departure for foot passengers on P&O ferry services. Compare all cross channel ferries DFDS: Newhaven to Dieppe; Newcastle to Amsterdam. DFDS Seaways >> How to travel by public transport to the UK's ferry ports Here’s are the details of how to reach each of the UK's main ferry ports by public transport, including how to transfer to the ferry check-in for departure to mainland Europe. Travel to Newcastle Ferry Port by public transport Newcastle by train: Train to Newcastle Central Station from where there’s a shuttle bus (it departs from Bewick Street opposite the railway station) that takes 20–30 minutes to the port terminal that is timed to coincide with ferry departures. Newcastle by bus/coach: Coach to Newcastle coach station from where it’s a 5-minute walk to where the shuttle bus departs on Bewick Street opposite the railway station (as above). Travel to Hull Port Ferry Port by public transport By train or coach: Take either the train or coach to the Hull Paragon Interchange (home to the coach and railway station) from where there’s shuttle bus, which takes about 10-15 minutes to reach the ferry terminal building. Alternatively, there’s a taxi rank outside Hull Paragon Interchange for the 4-mile journey to the ferry terminal. Travel to Harwich Ferry Port by public transport Harwich by train: Harwich International railway station is immediately adjacent to the port, so it is a quick transfer from the train platform to the ferry check-in, and on the other side, it’s the same quick transfer off the ferry to the Hook of Holland railway station, which has train services to Rotterdam, Amsterdam and beyond. NB Stena Line sells a Rail and Sail ticket to Holland, known as the Dutchflyer , which is a combined train and ferry ticket from London Liverpool Street (or any National Express East Anglia station, such as Cambridge, Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich) to Harwich International port, from where you can catch either the morning or overnight Stena Line ferry service to the Hook of Holland, and take any onward train to any station in Holland. Travel to Port of Dover by public transport Dover by train: Train to Dover Priory Station from where there is a regular shuttle bus service to Dover's ferry port terminal building, or you can take a taxi (5 minutes) or walk (15–20 minutes). Dover by bus/coach: Take a National Express bus (e.g. from London Victoria Coach Station) to the coach stop just outside Dover's ferry port terminal. If you wanted to travel onwards from Calais to Amsterdam, Bruges, Brussels or Paris you can board the coach at this stop in Dover (there is a coach ticket office next to the coach stop). Travel to Newhaven Port by public transport Newhaven by train: Train to Newhaven railway station from where it's a 3-minute walk to the ferry terminal building. Newhaven by bus/coach: There’s a local bus service from Brighton, Seaford, Peacehaven, Dover, Bexhill, Rye, Folkestone and Hastings to Newhaven bus stop, from where it’s a short walk to the ferry terminal building. Travel to Portsmouth Port by public transport Portsmouth by train: Train to Portsmouth Harbour Railway Station (it takes 85 minutes from London Waterloo and there are also services from London Victoria and Cardiff), from where it’s a 20-minute walk (or 10-minute taxi ride) to the ferry departure terminal. NB between May and September, there is a shuttle bus from Portsmouth & Southsea railway station to the ferry terminal. Portsmouth by Bus: The easiest way for foot passengers to reach the harbour is to take a National Express coach (e.g. from London Victoria), which stops right outside the ferry departure building. There are also local bus services to Portsmouth ferry terminal operated by Stagecoach (bus 20) and First Bus (buses 8, X4 and X9). Travel to Port of Poole by public transport Poole by train: Train to Poole Railway Station from where it's a 25-minute walk to Poole Ferry Terminal. Poole by bus/coach: Bus or coach to Poole Bus and Coach Station (in the Dolphin Centre) from where it’s a 25-minute walk to Poole Ferry Terminal. Taxis are available at most times from both the railway and coach stations. A shuttle bus runs between the passenger terminal and the ship for foot passengers. Travel to Plymouth Port by public transport Portsmouth by Train: There is a good rail service from major railway stations to Plymouth train station (it takes 3-4 hours from London Paddington) from where it's about a 20-minute walk to the Plymouth ferry terminal. By Bus: National Express runs coach services from London's Victoria coach station to Plymouth coach station from where it's about a 20-minute walk to the Plymouth ferry terminal. On board the Galicia ferry to northern Spain. Photo: Brittany Ferries Travelling off the ferry by public transport in Europe On arrival as a foot passenger, here's how to transfer off the ferry for onward travel on local public transport services . Onward travel by public transport in France Ferries arrive at numerous ports along the north coast, here's how to connect with local transport services, spanning from Calais in the east to Roscoff, Brittany in the far west. Public transport at Port of Calais It's about 3km (40 minute walk) from the ferry to Calais Ville railway station but there is a free shuttle bus (called 'Balad’in'), which takes you from right outside the ferry terminal to the city centre of Calais – it runs every 22 minutes in the morning and every 11 minutes in the afternoon, from 7am to 7pm. From Calais Ville there is a regular train service to Paris Gare du Nord (it takes just over 2 hours). Public transport at Dieppe, France From the ferry terminal, it's about a 25-minutes walk to Dieppe railway station or there's a shuttle bus that can take you there in about 5 minutes. From Dieppe, there's a train that goes to Paris via Rouen (journey time is just less than 3 hours). Public transport at Caen, France: Although the route is called Caen, the ferry port is at Ouistreham about 10 miles (16km) north of Caen. Thankfully, there’s an excellent shuttles bus service (Bus Verts du Calvados line 1), which is scheduled to meet ferry arrivals at the port and run to Caen’s main railway station and the city centre – the journey takes around 40 minutes. Gare de Caen (railway station) has services to many destinations throughout France, including Paris (journey time around 2 hours). Public transport at Cherbourg, France: It’s a few minutes’ walk to Cherbourg’s main railway station (follow the quayside south along the side of the harbour), a short taxi ride, or bus number 8 runs between the ferry port and the station. Gare de Cherbourg (railway station) is well connected to the French national rail network, with regular services to various local and long-distance destinations, including Paris (around 3 hours away). Public transport at St Malo, France: It is approximately 10 minutes’ walk to St Malo town centre or coach station and 25 minutes to the train station. Alternatively, it’s a short 3-minute walk to a bus stop (by the swimming pool ‘La piscine du Naye’) for a shuttle bus into town, which stops at ‘Gare Routière’ (bus station) just opposite the railway station in the modern part of St Malo, from where there are trains to the rest of France. Alternatively, there’s a taxi rank outside the ferry terminal. Public transport at Roscoff, France: The charming fishing port of Roscoff is a great entry point in France, especially if you’re travelling to Brittany, the Loire and Aquitaine. On arrival, it’s about a mile (1.6km), a 15-minute walk or short taxi ride to Roscoff railway station where there are trains to Morlaix for connections to Paris and high-speed TGVs to destinations across France. Onward travel by public transport in Spain Ferries arrive at two ports on the north coast: Bilbao or a little further west along the coast at Santander – for more information about the part of northern Spain that's known as 'Green Spain' (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country), see Green Traveller's Guide to Green Spain Public transport at Bilbao, Spain: The port of Bilbao is 10 miles (16km) north-west of Bilbao-Abando railway station, from where there are regular train services to major centres across Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona. There is no public transport direct from/to the ferry terminal, however there is a taxi rank outside the ferry terminal, or you could walk just under 2 miles (3km) to Santurtzi metro station to take the metro to Bilbao-Abando station (Santurtzi is the last stop on Line 2 and goes direct to Bilbao city centre). Public transport at Santander, Spain: In the heart of the city, Santander port is just one block along Avenida Castilla to Santander’s main railway station (a few minutes in a taxi) where there are trains running to major centres in the region and the rest of the country. Santander is the gateway to the Picos de Europa. The Pont Aven ferry to northern France. Photo: Brittany Ferries Taking a bike on a ferry as a foot passenger It's relatively easy to take a bike on a ferry as foot passenger for many of the routes out of the UK. You usually check in at the same time as other foot passengers and you then push (rather than cycle) your bike up the same vehicle ramp as that used by cars - there will be stewards on board to show you where you go with your bike and where to park and secure the bike during the crossing. Brittany Ferries and Stena Line don't charge extra for foot passengers to take a bike. Here's a handy video it has produced showing you how to board a Brittany Ferries ferry with a bike: P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways have specific 'bike passenger' fares (for DFDS it's from £25 per person each way – see its website for details: Travel with your bike to France with DFDS ). Below is a video showing you how to board a DFDS ferry with a bike: Further Information for foot passengers There’s lots of information about ferry services from the UK on the website run by Discover Ferries – an industry body representing 13 ferry operators in the UK, Ireland and the British Islands. It includes the latest news from its members and information on changes to ferry regulations, such as those being rolled out post Brexit. It also runs campaigns, such as the Big Ferry Fortnight , usually at the end of March, which celebrates ferry travel and includes promotions, special offers and prizes. Keep en eye out on Green Traveller's social media channels @twitter @facebook for special offers during the ferry fortnight period. Travel as a foot passenger on a coach Flixbus: This international coach network is a relatively cheap and efficient way to travel by coach between the UK and continental Europe. You board the coaches in cities and then travel on the coach on the ferry for crossing the Channel or through the Eurotunnel. One of the biggest advantages of travelling by coach is that you are taken directly from city centre to city centre, so no worries about transfers, taxis or trailing luggage. Tickets from London to Paris are currently from £18 one way. For individual overland journeys to Europe, see our Flight Free Journey Planner ============ Please note : the information on this page aims to give you a reasonable idea of information for foot passengers on ferry routes in order that (hopefully) there’s enough detail to know what's available, how to plan a journey and where to book tickets. The information was up to date at time of publication, and although we will make every effort to update services provided, we cannot take responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies we provide. Always confirm details when you book.

Editor's Note: please note this competition finished at 23.59 on 21 December 2020. Thanks to everyone who took part, shared our posts and their images. For those who are planning to visit Spain after lockdown in 2021 and beyond , w e wish everyone safe and happy travels. Post your favourite photo of eco adventures in Spain on social media for the chance to win a copy of Wild Swimming Spain. Here's a compilation video of eco experiences in five regions of Spain: We teamed up with Wild Things Publishing to offer a copy of this wonderful book to the winner of the best photo, which can be from anywhere in Spain - it could be a great landscape snap, seasonal food and drink, local culture and heritage, low carbon transport, low impact activities, on land or on water, local wildlife/biodiversity, or anything else that conveys sustainable travel. Keep an eye out over the next month for our #EcoSpain campaign on Twitter and Facebook featuring videos and photos about eco adventures in 5 regions: Aragón; Navarra; Castilla y León (provinces of León, Palencia and Burgos); Green Spain (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and Basque Country), and Catalonia. From now until 21 December 2020, the person who posts the best photo (judged by us) will receive a copy of Wild Swimming Spain (worth £15.99), written by Lola Culsán and John Weller (see their instagram page: @wildswimmingspain ). It's a fabulous book packed with ideas for outdoor swimming in the freshwater lakes and rivers of Spain: • Plunge into the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Picos de Europa’s glacial lakes • Discover the laid-back reservoir beaches of Andalucia • Explore the magical waterfall grottos of the Pyrenees • Swim in the secret pools of the Rio Tajo in Guadalajara Don't forget to tag your photos #EcoSpain . Good Luck! Here's a taste of some of the lovely images in the Wild Swimming Spain book: * Full terms and conditions

There are lots of ways to travel overland from South West England to Europe without flying. It is possible by rail, coach or ferry (in a car or as a foot passenger) or a combination of all three, from Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth, Taunton, Exeter, Bath, Bristol, and the rest of the west country. For instance, i n under six hours you could reach Paris from Bristol by train, or if you live on the south coast, you could reach Cherbourg in northern France by ferry in about the same time. Click on the following links to go to the relevant section on this page: By ferry By coach By train If you want to take your own car or plan to holiday in Brittany, Normandy or northern Spain without a car, there are numerous options from the various ferry ports along the south coast. You can catch a ferry with Brittany Ferries from Poole to Cherbourg and Plymouth to Roscoff or Santander, but the greatest choice of destinations is from Portsmouth, with services to Le Harve, Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo, Bilbao and Santander. Newhaven is connected to Dieppe with DFDS, but Dover has the greatest choice of sailings to France with 50 departures a day in peak season across the Channel. For Calais you can choose P&O Ferries or sail with DFDS, which also runs a route to Dunkirk. For detailed information to how to take public transport to the UK's ferry ports, see Green Traveller's Guide to travelling as a foot passenger from the UK to Europe . If you’d rather go by road or rail, coaches and trains heading to the continent both use the Channel Tunnel, so you have to factor in the time it takes to travel east to London. If you take the train, once on the other side of the tunnel, you’re then connected to the European high-speed rail network, which can whizz you to many European capitals and beyond within hours. From South West England to Europe by Ferry You can hop across the English Channel direct from two of the West Country’s major ferry ports - Plymouth and Poole. The routes to Santander, Roscoff and Cherbourg are operated by Brittany Ferries and take between 4.5 and 18.5 hours depending on the route and departure time. The fastest crossing is the day crossing from Poole to Cherbourg, in France, while the longest distance travelled is aboard the overnight ferry from Plymouth to Santander in Spain. Examples of total journey times including allowance for check-in and transfers where relevant: Exeter to Calais: 7 hours to go by car or train and then ferry from Dover Exeter to Cherbourg: 7/10 hours to go by car/train and ferry from Poole Exeter to Santander: 22.5 hours to go by car or train and then ferry from Plymouth You have an option to take the train to the ferry port in Portsmouth, which takes around 2.5 hours from Bristol or 4 hours from Exeter, for example. Departing Portsmouth gives you a wider choice of routes with Brittany Ferries, opening up Le Harve, Caen, St Malo and Bilbao by day or overnight ferry. Newhaven is the departure point for ferries to Dieppe, but it takes longer on the train - 4 hours from Bristol and 6 hours from Exeter, taking the total journey times to 9 and 11 hours respectively to Dieppe. In this case, driving to Newhaven or going by car through the Eurotunnel to Dieppe would be significantly more time efficient. If you want to travel from the West Country to Calais without flying, it’s as quick to take the train all the way via London as it is to drive to Dover and take the ferry across - both routes take from about 6.5 hours including transfers and check-in times. Here is a summary of the ferry routes from the south coast ports that are accessible from the West Country: Poole to Cherbourg with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 4.5 hours (9 hours for overnight return crossing) Timings: up to two return crossings per day in peak summer season. Leaves Poole at around 08:30 and arrives at 14:00, depending on the day and season Facilities on board: restaurant, bar, cafe, shop, children’s play area Sleeper cabins: 2-4 berth cabins Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: from Cherbourg it is three hours to Paris by train but most people take a car as you can drive onto Normandy in just over an hour. Plymouth to Santander with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 18.5 hours Timings: one sailing per week departing on Sundays at 16:45, arriving in Santander at 12:15, returning Wednesdays Facilities on board: restaurants, bars, cafe, shops, pool, live entertainment, cinemas, spa, children’s play area Sleeper cabins: 2-4 berth cabins Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: Brittany Ferries’ mini cruise package offers two nights on board the ship, Pont Aven on the journey out and back, plus two nights in Santander. For journeys on from Santander, the rail network works best if you want to head south, with Madrid a four-hour journey away and Leon 3.5 hours, but for east-west journeys, it’s best to travel by car or by bus with Alsa the leading coach company in the region. Plymouth to Roscoff with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 6-8 hours Timings: up to two return crossings per day in peak summer season with day and overnight options. Leaves Plymouth at around 08:00 and/or 22:00, depending on the day and season Facilities on board: restaurants, bars, cafe, shops, live entertainment, cinemas, children’s play area, pool and spa (on some crossings) Sleeper cabins: 2-4 berth cabins Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: Roscoff is well placed for holidays in Brittany, Normandy and the Loire Newhaven to Dieppe with DFDS Journey time: 4 hours Timings: 3 daily sailings in both directions May-September (2 daily sailings at other times) Facilities on board: restaurant, bar, shop, children’s play area Sleeper cabins: 2-4 berth cabins Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. F oot passengers can travel with a bicycle free of charge. Other info: you can travel by coach from Dieppe to Paris in 2.5 hours or connect to the intercity French rail network via Rouen Portsmouth to Le Harve with Brittany Ferries Journey time: day and overnight ferries take between 5.5 and 10 hours Timings: at least one daily departure, with up to two a day in the peak summer season. Departs Portsmouth 23:00 or 23:30, arrives Le Harve 8:00 or 08:30, with an extra seasonal departures - see website for details Facilities on board: small bar, self service restaurant, cinema, small shop and kids play area Sleeper Cabins: take from 2-4 people (6 berth on some ferries), including cabins suitable for a dog to travel alongside its owner Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: Le Harvre is the closest port to Paris by car. Portsmouth to Caen with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 6-7 hours Timings: daily departures in the peak summer season. Greatest choice of sailing times at 08:15, 14.45, 22:00 and 22:45 depending on the day and season Facilities on board: bar, restaurants, cinema, entertainment for adults and children, shops and kids play area Sleeper Cabins: take from 2-4 people and some ferries have cabins suitable for a dog to travel alongside its owner Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: from Caen you can connect to the high speed rail network in France via Le Mans or get to Paris by rail in two hours. Portsmouth to Cherbourg with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 3 hours Timings: daily departures in the peak summer season. Leaves Portsmouth at 09:00, arriving in Cherbourg at 13:00, with extra departures depending on the season Facilities on board: lounge with reclining seats, shop, cafe and bar Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: from Cherbourg it is three hours to Paris by train but most people take a car as you can drive onto Normandy in just over an hour. Portsmouth to St Malo with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 7-11 hours Timings: sailings every day during the peak summer season. Leaves Portsmouth at 20:15, arriving in Cherbourg at 08:15, with slight changes to timings depending on the season and some day crossings from St Malo Facilities on board: cinemas, cabaret and live entertainment, restaurants, bar, cafe, shopping Sleeper cabins: 2-4 berth cabins Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: one of the boats on the route (Pont Aven) has a pool and leisure area. From St Malo you can drive to Brittany in 1.5 hours and the Dordogne in 6 hours. Otherwise by train you can get to Rennes in under an hour and Paris in three hours. Portsmouth to Bilbao with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 24-32 hours Timings: up to three return crossings each week. Leaves Portsmouth at 08:45, 12:00 or 22:30, depending on the day and season. Sundays sailings offer two nights onboard Facilities on board: restaurants, bar, cafe, shopping, pool, spa, cinema, children’s play area Sleeper cabins: 2-4 berth cabins including a cabin that accommodates a pet alongside its owners Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: opt for a Tuesday daytime crossing aboard the ‘no-frills’ ships, Baie de Seine or Connemara, for a more affordable crossing. Some crossings offer whale and dolphin spotting with the ‘ ORCA wildlife officers’. As with Santander, the Alsa coach service is best for onward journeys by public transport unless you are heading south by train towards Madrid. Portsmouth to Santander with Brittany Ferries Journey time: 24-32 hours Timings: two return crossings each week. Leaves Portsmouth at around 08:45 or 17:00 depending on the day and season Facilities on board: restaurants, bar, cafe, shopping, pool, spa, cinema, children’s play area Sleeper cabins: 2-4 berth cabins including a cabin that accommodates a pet alongside its owners Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle for a small charge each way. Other info: opt for a ‘no-frills’ ship for a more affordable crossing, which operates during peak season - check the Brittany Ferries website for details. Some crossings offer whale and dolphin spotting with the ‘ ORCA wildlife officers’. For journeys on from Santander, the rail network works best if you want to head south, with Madrid a four-hour journey away and Leon 3.5 hours, but for east-west journeys, it’s best to travel by car or by bus with Alsa the leading coach company in the region. Dover to Calais with P&O Ferries Journey time: 1.5 hours Timings: up to 2 3 daily sailings in both directions, depending on the time of year Facilities on board: food court, restaurant, cafe, bar, shop, kid’s club Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage. Foot passengers can travel with a bicycle free of charge but must book the bicycle in advance with one bicycle per booking so groups with multiple bicycles need to make separate bookings. Other info: there are four ticket types from Saver to Premier, which give you varying flexibility, wifi access and lounge access. Only passengers travelling with a car can bring their pet. Tickets provided by Direct Ferries. NB. when you book a ticket, the vehicle page is automatically populated to show a car, to change this to foot passenger select 'edit', and then from the drop down vehicle menu select 'Foot Passenger'. Select 'save' and then 'show times'. Dover to Calais with DFDS Journey time: 1.5 hours Timings: up to 30 daily sailings in both directions, depending on the time of year Facilities on board: restaurant, cafe, bar, shop, kid’s play area, free wi-fi Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage and no extra cost to bring bicycles with a vehicle Other info: DFDS does not accept foot passengers on its Dover-Calais route - only those travelling with a vehicle. A ‘ Flexi ticket’ allows you to travel up to 72 hours either side of your original booking, subject to availability. Passengers can bring their pet at a cost of £15 each way. For onwards travel, Calais is on the Intercity rail network with the option to connect to towns including Boulogne, Lille, Amiens and Arras on the TER network. Dover to Dunkirk with DFDS Journey time: 2 hours Timings: up to 24 daily sailings in both directions, depending on the time of year Facilities on board: restaurant, cafe, bar, shop, kid’s play area, free wi-fi Luggage: there’s no limit on luggage and no extra cost to bring bicycles with a vehicle Other info: DFDS does not accept foot passengers on its Dover-Dunkirk route - only those travelling with a vehicle. A ‘ Flexi ticket’ allows you to travel up to 72 hours either side of your original booking, subject to availability. Passengers can bring their pet at a cost of £15 each way. Dunkirk is well served by public transport - buses around the town are free and the train station is on the Intercity network with trains to Paris taking 2.5 hours. From South West England to Europe by Coach Although travelling by coach is typically the most economical way to get to Europe without flying, it can be a challenge from parts of the West Country due to the distances involved - from Penzance in the far west of Cornwall to London alone is an 8.5 hour journey with National Express. However, the coach network has good coverage along the north and south coasts of the West Country and journeys that begin east of Exeter are significantly faster owing to the M5 and M4 motorway connection to London. Here are a few sample journey times including a change in London: Bristol to Paris: from 13.5 hours Bristol to Amsterdam: from 15 hours Exeter to Paris: from 14.5 hours Exeter to Amsterdam: from 17 hours Penzance to Paris: from 18 hours Penzance to Amsterdam: from 21 hours National Express services terminate in London Victoria from where you can change to its international coach services which go to many European cities, including Calais, Paris, Lille, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges. Luggage: You can take a hand luggage bag and medium-sized bag for the hold weighing no more than 20kg. Only folding bicycles are accepted. Facilities: coaches are air conditioned and have wi-fi and USB charging points as well as toilets and while no refreshments are sold onboard, you can pack your own food and drink for the journey and stops are made at service stations to stock up on supplies. Another European coach operator is Flixbus, which now incorporates the Eurolines and Isilines bus companies, with services out of London Victoria. It offers more destinations than National Express and beyond - such as Vienna from London in 26 hours, Frankfurt in 13.5 hours and Prague in 24 hours. You can even travel as far as Bucharest - a 44-hour journey across six countries. The same luggage restrictions apply with one piece of hand luggage and one hold luggage up to 20kg, and bikes can be taken on the bike rack from E9 per journey. Buses have free wifi, charging sockets, toilets, and on some journeys food and drink is sold onboard in addition to the refreshment stops.  The cost varies depending on the route, time of year and so on, so check the coach operator’s website for fares. From South West England to Europe by Train To travel from the West Country to Europe by rail, you need to go via London to connect to Eurostar’s international rail network out of London St Pancras International Railway Station. Here are a few journey times (times show the total duration of the trip, including allowing for sufficient time to transfer from Paddington or Waterloo to the Eurostar check-in and for the 45-minute check-in time at Eurostar, based on appropriate times of connecting trains in to and out of London): Train from Bristol to Paris: 5.5 hours Bristol to Amsterdam: 6.5 hours Train from Exeter to Paris: 6.5 hours Exeter to Amsterdam: 8 hours Train from Penzance to Paris: 10 hours Penzance to Amsterdam: 11.5 hours The journey time from Penzance to London by train is around 5.5 hours. Despite its position on the western tip of England’s rail network, it can take longer to reach London from parts of north Devon or Somerset, because they are served by branch lines with less frequent trains. Most of the London-bound rail services that start in the West Country pass through Reading and terminate in London Paddington. However, from places such as Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth in the south of Dorset, and in the case of some Exeter services, trains terminate at London Waterloo. From Paddington or Waterloo it’s about a 20 minute journey on the London Underground to St Pancras. Eurostar runs direct services to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Lyon, Lille and Disneyland Paris (and during the summer a direct train to Avignon and Marseille and the winter there’s a direct ‘ski train’ service to Moûtiers, Aime-la-Plagne and Bourg-St-Maurice). You can buy through-tickets that start outside of London and go beyond Eurostar’s destinations travelling with local operators. If you are travelling with a bike, check which routes accept bikes. The fee is around £30. Dogs are not permitted on Eurostar except guide dogs. Train tickets provided by Trainline: ============ Please note : The information on this page aims to give you a reasonable idea of train and ferry routes, times and tickets, in order that hopefully there’s enough detail to know what's available, how to plan an overland journey and where to book tickets. The information was up to date at time of publication, but services do change from time to time and we cannot take responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies we provide. Always confirm details when you book with the relevant travel operator. If you are aware of any inaccuracies, we'd really appreciate being informed via our contact page so we can make the relevant changes to the information provided for the benefit of other travellers.

There are several ways to travel to Italy from the UK without flying thanks to Eurostar's service from London connecting with a variety of high-speed train services from either Paris or Lille to northern Italy. The good news is that you can reach cities such as Turin and Milan as well as lakes Como and Garda in the north of Italy within a day from London. The following morning you can then whizz down by train to further destinations in Italy , including Rome, Florence and Naples, to the Amalfi Coast, and across by ferry to the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. Important: The Paris–Milan line has been blocked due to a landslide in the French Alps and is likely to remain so until Spring 2025. An alternative route is to go from Paris via Switzerland (changing at Geneva, Lauranne, Basel or Zurich) to Milan. If you leave on one of the early Eurostar departures from London St Pancras you can get to Milan the same day. There is also a slower route to Italy by ferry from Harwich in the East of England to Rotterdam in The Netherlands and then onward by train to Italy, or alternatively, if you live in the North of England or Scotland, you could take the ferry from Newcastle or Hull to The Netherlands an then onward by train to Italy. For detailed information to how to take public transport to the UK's ferry ports, see Green Traveller's Guide to travelling as a foot passenger from the UK to Europe . I have tried to summarise all the available options in this post based on my experience. On arrival in Italy, there are plenty of options at rail terminals for onward travel by rail and bus. It's a lovely journey by train to Italy. Photos: Eurostar and Wix Media By train from the UK to Italy Route 1: Via Paris It is possible to travel by train to Italy in a day from the UK. The fastest route is to take the Eurostar from London St Pancras International Railway Station then change in Paris to catch one of the many high speed TGV trains to Turin and Milan in northern Italy. For instance, you could catch the 10.22am Eurostar and reach Turin at 9.18pm and Milan at 10.07pm. You could also take any Eurostar to Paris and stay overnight in the French capital and then catch one of the high-speed TGV trains to Italy the following day. See our detailed guides for sample departure and arrival times and transfers in Paris: Train from London to Milan (the arrival station is 'Milan Porta Garibaldi') Train from London to Turin ('Torino Porta Susa') Train tickets provided by Trainline: Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . In Paris, you have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line (it's only two stops, though we recommend you leave at least 50 minutes for the entire transfer - you have about an hour and a half to get the connection, though you could get an earlier train and spent a bit more time in Paris, e.g. have lunch at the wonderful Train Bleu Restaurant in Gare de Lyon). At Gare de Lyon, you board a TGV high speed train to Torino Porta Susa station, which continues to Milan Porta Garibaldi . See our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . Stopover hotels to break the journey in Paris If you want to break the journey en route (either on the outward journey and/or on the way back) and stay overnight to see a bit more of Paris, there are lots of lovely places to stay in Paris conveniently near both Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon. Here are some examples of hotels that are conveniently near these stations: Hotels near Gare du Nord, Paris (where Eurostar arrives from London) Hotels near Gare de Lyon, Paris (for your departing train to Italy the following day) Return journey back from Italy to the UK via Paris As with the outward journey via Paris, you can travel back from Italy to the UK in a day by train via Paris. For instance, you could take the 6.00am train from Milan or the 7.39am from Turin to Gare de Lyon, transfer across Paris to Gare du Nord to catch the Eurostar and arrive back in London at 4.37pm. Route 2: Via Lille If you prefer not to cross Paris to change trains, then the option of simply changing trains in Lille could be for you. It requires a simply same-station change of train in Lille down to Lyon where you stay overnight (there are plenty of hotels very close to the station in Lyon - see below), and then in the morning you can take a ' Frecciarossa' high-speed train to Turin and Milan. These Frecciarossa trains are run by Trenitalia (the Italian railway operator). Hotels near the railway station in Lyon ( for your departing train to Italy the following day) Lyon is a great place to stop over en route to Italy Onwards by train through Italy from Turin and Milan There are onward trains from Turin and Milan to destinations throughout Italy. It's just a short onward journey to both Lake Como (Como San Giovanni) and Lake Garda (there are two stations on Lake Garda (it's a big lake!): Desenzano del Garda-Sirmione and Peschiera del Garda). In fact, both lakes can reached in the same day from London – just take the onward train from Turin or Milan –Lake Como is just 50 minutes from Milan and Lake Garda is about an hour and half from Milan. See our guides to how to travel to the following destinations, with sample schedules and transfers, all the way from London: Train from London to Rome Train from London to Florence Train from London to Naples Return journey back from Italy to the UK via Lyon and Lille As with the outward journey via Lille and Lyon, you can travel back from Italy to the UK by train via Lyon and Lille (you can actually do the return journey in one day). For instance, you could take the 6.25am train from Milan or the 7.11am from Turin to arrive in at Lyon at 11.08 then take the 11.35am train to Lille arriving at 3.48pm to catch the 4.48pm Eurostar and arrive back in London at 5pm – or if that's a bit tight (remember you'll have the 45-60min check in time for Eurostar), you could catch the 7.35pm Eurostar arriving in to London at 7.57pm. By ferry and train from the UK to Italy There are three options to go by ferry: i. From Harwich in the East of England to The Netherlands and then onward by train to Italy. The ferry service is Stenaline's integrated Rail & Sail initiative, which combines a rail ticket to Harwich with the cost of the overnight ferry over to Hoek van Holland (Rotterdam). The joy of this trip is that as well as the excellent on board facilities on the ferry (including restaurants and cabins) it's just a short walk from Harwich railway station on to the ferry, and also on arrival off the ferry at Hoek van Holland to the departing train. On arrival at Hoek van Holland you can take the train to Amsterdam and then onwards to Munich (arriving in the early evening) and then catch any number of trains to Italy, including an overnight sleeper train to Venice (from where you can take trains to Florence, Rome and Naples). ii. From Hull to The Netherlands and then onward by train to Italy. P&O operates an overnight cruise ferry from Hull to Hoek van Holland (Rotterdam) from where you can take the train via Amsterdam and the sleeper from Munich to Venice (see above). Tickets provided by P&O ferries: iii. From Newcastle to The Netherlands and then onward by train to Italy. DFDS Seaways run an overnight cruise ferry from Newcastle to IJmuiden (Amsterdam) from where you can take the train to Munich and then the sleeper to Venice (see above). Tickets provided by DFDS Seaways: The slow route to Europe, by overnight ferry from Harwich, Hull or Newcastle to The Netherlands ============ Please note : The information on this page aims to give you a reasonable idea of train and ferry routes, times and tickets, in order that hopefully there’s enough detail to know what's available, how to plan a journey and where to book tickets. The information was up to date at time of publication, but services do change from time to time and we cannot take responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies we provide. Always confirm details when you book with the relevant travel operator. If you are aware of any inaccuracies, we'd really appreciate being informed via our contact page so we can make the relevant changes to the information provided for the benefit of other travellers.

There are lots of ways to travel overland to France from the UK without flying thanks to a variety of train , coach , car ferry and foot passenger ferry services from southern England. Our team has tried and tested many of them and so we have tried to summarise all the available options in this post based on our experience. The good news is that if you're travelling on foot, then on arrival at many of the ports and railway stations in France, there are plenty of options for onward travel by rail and bus throughout France . Furthermore, it's fast becoming feasible to take an electric car to France - the infrastructure is improving all the time with charging networks being rolled out at terminals and there's currently a huge expansion of charging facilities throughout France. Less Carbon, More Fun! Photos: Eurostar, Brittany Ferries and Wix Media By train from the UK to France It is easy to travel by train to France in a day from the UK. The fastest route is to take the Eurostar from London St Pancras International Railway Station to either Lille Europe (1 hour 22 mins) or to Gare du Nord in the French capital Paris (2 hours 16 mins). Both these stations are hubs to onward travel throughout France. In Lille, all the trains leave from the same station you arrived at from London, while in Paris, although some onward trains leave from Gare du Nord (mostly Thalys trains for Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands ), most trains for destinations in France leave from five other stations dotted throughout the capital: Gare de l'Est (which is just a few minutes walk from Gare du Nord), Gare de Lyon, Gare d’Austerlitz, Gare Montparnasse, Gare de Bercy, and Gare Saint Lazare . For instance, if you want to travel down to Nice, you have to change stations in Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon, which can take about half an hour on the Paris RER line. If you're not used to Paris, transferring train stations may seem daunting but in practice the connections are pretty seamless –s ee our guide to How to transfer between train stations across Paris . Tickets provided by Trainline, which allows you to buy tickets for multiple train operators in multiple European countries. It does charge a small booking fee, but offers several useful facilities, such as a free email alert service to let you know as soon as bookings open for your chosen route so you can snap up the cheapest tickets when they become available. For more information about train travel to specific places in France, see our step-by-step guides for how to travel from London to the following: How to travel by train from London to Lille How to travel by train from London to Paris How to travel by train from London to Nantes How to travel by train from London to Valence How to travel by train from London to Avignon How to travel by train from London to Marseille How to travel by train from London to Bordeaux How to travel by train from London to Bayonne How to travel by train from London to Toulouse How to travel by train from London to Nice How to travel by train (and ferry) from London to Corsica How to travel by train by Ski Train to the French Alps How to book train tickets as part of a package with accommodation If you want someone to book the whole journey for you or combine it with staying in hotels en route, get in touch with the travel agent Byway through its page for booking enquiries . Stopover hotels to break the journey in Lille or Paris If you want to break the journey and stay overnight to see a bit more of Lille or Paris while you're travelling through, there are lots of lovely places to stay conveniently near the Eurostar arrival station in Lille Europe (Lille) and Gare du Nord (Paris). Hotels near Lille Europe: Hotels near Gare du Nord: By Coach from the UK to France The major coach operators from the UK to France are Flixbus, which runs coach trips from Manchester, Birmingham and London to multiple cities in France, and National Express, which runs a service from London to Paris (nationalexpress.com); if you’re travelling from outside London, you can travel to London to connect with the international service. National Express also runs coaches from most major cities in the UK. Luggage allowance is one medium sized suitcase and one piece of hand luggage per person. As with coaches operating in the UK, there’s free Wi-Fi, charging sockets, and onboard toilets. You can also book Flixbus and National Express tickets through Omio (omio.co.uk), which also sells tickets for Eurolines, which works with 29 coach companies throughout Europe (eurolines.de). Foot Passenger Ferry Services from the UK to France The modernisation of ferry services has revolutionised the experience of travelling across the English Channel. Especially for longer overnight crossings to the continent where you can travel in style on spacious ships, enjoy fine dining in la carte restaurants, spa treatment rooms, and comfortable en suite cabins, so on arrival you feel refreshed for the onward journey. There are also plenty of facilities to keep children entertained during the crossing, including soft play areas, games rooms, live entertainment and cinema. Europe has never felt closer. There are several operators that run ferries from southern England to northern France that cater for foot passengers. The ports on both sides of the crossing are well connected by public transport, so it’s easy to travel by bus or train to the ports in the UK, as well as disembark on the other side and continue the journey overland. One of the easiest crossings on foot is to go from Newhaven to Dieppe because there's such an easy transfer from the railway station in Newhaven on to the ferry. On arrival in Dieppe, you can either walk about 25 minutes to the railway station or there's a shuttle bus that can take you there. If you prefer to travel from elsewhere on the south coast of England, there are departures from Dover, Poole, Portsmouth and Plymouth with a variety of operators. For detailed information to how to take public transport to the UK's ferry ports, see Green Traveller's Guide to travelling as a foot passenger from the UK to Europe . The main ferry services from the south of England to northern France are as follows: Dover Dover to Calais: 5 sailings per day (for foot passengers) with P&O Ferries NB. although there are also sailings from Dover to Calais with DFDS Seaways (10 sailings per day), and Irish Ferries (4 sailings per day) they do not allow foot passengers. NB. There is also a ferry from Dover to Dunkirk (12 sailings per day with DFDS Seaways) but it is not available for foot passengers. Tickets provided by P&O Ferries. NB. when you book a ticket, the vehicle page is automatically populated to show a car, to change this to foot passenger select 'edit', and then from the drop down vehicle menu select 'Foot Passenger'. Select 'save' and then 'show times'. Newhaven to Dieppe 21 crossings per week with DFDS Seaways Portsmouth to Caen, Cherbourg or St Malo Portsmouth to Caen: 3 sailings per day with Brittany Ferries Portsmouth to Cherbourg: 1 per week with Brittany Ferries Portsmouth to St Malo: 1 per day with Brittany Ferries Ferry tickets provided by Brittany Ferries ( NB. To book as a foot passenger , choose the ' on foot' option from the vehicle selection drop-down selection on step 1 of the ferry booking process) : Poole to Cherbourg 1 sailing per day with Brittany Ferries Ferry tickets provided by Brittany Ferries ( NB. To book as a foot passenger , choose the ' on foot' option from the vehicle selection drop-down selection on step 1 of the ferry booking process) : Plymouth to Roscoff 1 sailing per day with Brittany Ferries Ferry tickets provided by Brittany Ferries ( NB. To book as a foot passenger , choose the ' on foot' option from the vehicle selection drop-down selection on step 1 of the ferry booking process) : Onward journeys by public transport from France's ferry ports When you disembark from the ferry there are plenty of local public transport services for onward travel. For step-by-step instructions for how to transfer from the ferry on to local services at all the major arrival ports in France, see our Guide to travelling as a foot passenger from the UK to Europe . By car from the UK to France Cars can be taken on all the major ferry routes described in the foot passenger section above, as well as the Dover to Calais route run by DFDS and Irish Ferries (neither take foot passengers on this route) and on the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle, which takes just 35 minutes from Folkestone to Calais (there are up to four departures an hour at peak times). Tickets for LeShuttle (Eurotunnel) provided by Direct Ferries, which allows you to search and compare prices for the different times through the tunnel. Driving electric cars from the UK to France You can also take an electric car on the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle - there are rapid chargers for universal electric and hybrid cars, as well as dedicated Tesla chargers, at both terminals so you can recharge before you head through the tunnel on either side. Electric car hire: There has been a huge increase in the production of electric cars in recent years and many of the large car rental companies, such as Enterprise, Avis, Europcar, and SIXT now hire electric cars in France, see: Enterprise: https://www.enterprise.co.uk/en/car-hire/vehicles/fr/cars/electric.html Avis: https://www.avis.co.uk/drive-avis/fleet/prestige/uk/Electric Europcar: https://www.europcar.co.uk/en-gb/p/car-rental/fleet/type/electric SIXT: https://www.sixt.com/magazine/fleet/electric-cars-pros-and-cons Do make sure you hire a car that has the appropriate mileage per battery that’s relevant for your use. Public charging networks provide a mixture of slow, fast and rapid charging points operated by either a national or regional network, so do check the location of the charging points as well as the charging time and payment methods. The car hire company may be able to advise on this when you hire the car – some may have arrangements with energy partners and can provide you with a charge card that you can use at a number of locations in France. Charging electric vehicles in France: Electric vehicle (EV) charging networks are expanding very quickly across France. As in the UK there are different companies providing chargers, but the market is much more fragmented on the continent – if you think it’s complicated in the UK, in France and across Europe there is a bewildering number of providers. In most cases, you need to log in using a network RFID card, a key fob or an app, some of which need to be pre-loaded with funds. Chargers that accept a contactless debit or credit card are still not widespread. Thankfully, there are aggregators who can provide an RFID card that works on several different networks, reducing the number of cards or apps you need to obtain. As in the UK, there are chargers at many motorway service areas and are also generally found where cars are likely to be parked for a while, such as supermarkets, shopping centre car parks, hotels and tourist attractions. The Automobile Association has a handy guide to recharging in Europe, including the latest information on the charging networks in France and breakdown cover for electric vehicles in Europe. The situation is changing rapidly, so it’s always worth checking the AA’s website again just before you embark on a journey in Europe. Also, keep an eye on the website zap-map.com for the latest news about electric vehicles and the expansion of charging networks throughout the continent. ============ Please note : The information on this page aims to give you a reasonable idea of train and ferry routes, times and tickets, in order that hopefully there’s enough detail to know what's available, how to plan an overland journey and where to book tickets. The information was up to date at time of publication, but services do change from time to time and we cannot take responsibility for any errors or inaccuracies we provide. Always confirm details when you book with the relevant travel operator. If you are aware of any inaccuracies, we'd really appreciate being informed via our contact page so we can make the relevant changes to the information provided for the benefit of other travellers. Bon Voyage!