I just read your article and really like it.

It is finally always the human who decides. If a human is to lazy and only use (booking) machines, of course not always the best results appears like “g.ferguson” mentions above. A machine will never be able to replace a human thinking. That’s why traveling the slow way is so interesting, without Internet and all this modern stuff.

Projects made by real travelers (not machines or commercial marketing humans) are good to find slow ways to travel – but read them carefully, what maybe “g.ferguson” missed. At Raildude there are a lot of connections listed seems to be made by the travelers directly, not by machines. My preferred route is for example the one crossing the Alps the indirect (made by these Raildudes) way and not the direct way (given by booking machines). The indirect is extremely scenic and if traveling with an Eurail pass even free to use (compared to the direct one): http://www.raildude.com/en/train-connections-city/zurich-milan/switzerland-italy/524
Open you eyes. Don’t be lazy. And only use machines as final step. Then slow traveling will be a success.
Thomas

Many thanks for your helpful response. I have just followed your directions and see the Paris – Lyon – Avignon trip. It sounds delightful, and a nice break from the speedy TGV route that I’m familiar with.

I’ll definitely be checking this out (and packing your book) before my next trip to France.

All the best,
Tom

The online HAFAS timetable system is a good way of identifying slow trains. That’s the timetable database which underpins http://www.bahn.de. For western and central Europe it is pretty good, though even there you’ll stumble on routes that are entirely missing.

To use HAFAS to find slower train connections, go to the HAFAS query home page on http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe. Enter your ‘start’ and ‘ziel’ and – most important – do the following two things:

1. Under “Verkehrsmittel” click on the “Nur Nahverkehr” button.
2. Untick the box that says “schnelle Verbindungen bevorzugen”.

The connections that then come up will be the slower non-premium trains – viz. the ones that we think are ideal for pass holders keen to really see more of rural Europe.

So, Tom, yes you can research these trains in advance. You cite a possible Paris to Avignon routing. You can do that very easily by slower trains, with just one change of train in Lyon. The journey south-east from Paris to Dijon, following the classic PLM line is very fine indeed. And then you trundle past vineyards aplenty. We describe the whole journey, Paris to Avignon, as Route One in our Europe by Rail book.

The beauty of such ‘slow’ itineraries is that they do not need to be booked in advance. No supplements, no reservations. So truly a chance to roam on a whim.
Hope this helps.
Nicky and Susanne
editors of hidden europe magazine
http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk
editors of Europe by Rail: The Definitive Guide
http://www.europebyrail.eu

Thanks for an excellent post about the benefits of opting for slower trains, in this case when using a Eurail pass. I’m sold!

A quick question on logistics and planning: How would one begin to research these slower routes?

If, for example, I wanted to get from Paris to Avignon, I know how to research the fast TGV trains (and book them) on the SNCF website (http://www.voyages-sncf.com/). However, I don’t see any slower train options here.

I checked out the Intercite trains (http://www.intercites.sncf.com), but I can’t quite figure out how to get between Paris and Avignon. I think I must have to break up the voyage into smaller journeys — but it’s not clear to me how to do this.

Do you have any suggestions for ways to research these slower trains? Can I do this in advance or do I just wait until I get to the train station?

Many thanks!
Tom