- Many European cities have more than one train station. Paris, for example, has six mainline stations. Make sure that you know where you must leave from, and don’t assume that it is the same station that you came into, or even where you may have bought your ticket. Similarly, when planning an arrival, make sure of which station you will be coming into, since some of the others may be a good distance from your intended destination.

- When traveling to or from large cities, try to get on your train early, or make a seat reservation. Some trains do fill up, especially in southern Italy, on weekends and holidays, and throughout late July and August all over Europe. Standing for live hours is never fun. Reservations usually cost a few dollars and can be made when you buy your ticket (or, if you have a pass, any time you happen to be at a station). If you know how long you want to stay in a place, making your outbound reservation when you arrive is a good idea. Reservations are also needed for couchettes, which are bunks for sleeping on night trains. (Sleeping on trains is covered in more detail in Chapter 7. “Accommodations”). Night trains leave a city in the evening, and adjust their speed to arrive early the following day, regardless of the distance involved.

There are typically several different kinds of trains in every country ranging from slow-poke local services that stop at every village to express trains that hit major cities only. The faster trains are usually marked in your timetables - trains marked as “EC” or “IC” for “Eurocities” and “Intensities” are most common. Even with a train pass, you can expect to pay a supplement and/or be required to make a reservation on trains like these. This supplement is usually not very much (about USD 10), especially considering the time saved, but it can be a surprise when you thought the trip would be free. For details on this, see the first page of your free Eurail timetable, or your InterRail bumph.