Updated routes · June 2026 Rail or
Rail or
Flight?
One question, every major European city pair we cover, an honest answer for each. We measure door-to-door — not station-to-station — and we tell you when the train loses. Pick a pair to start.
Today's call on Copenhagen → Hamburg:
train wins.
Featured route Copenhagen
Copenhagen
→ Hamburg
"Take the train. The plane wins on the stopwatch, loses on every other axis you'd care about."
Train
9.1/10
Flight
6.4/10
Read the case → Train wins
The launch lineup.
Curated city pairs — chosen because the answer matters and isn't obvious. More routes added through 2026. See the criteria →
№ 01 Train wins
Copenhagen → Hamburg
Take the train. It's the simpler door-to-door choice for almost everyone.
№ 02 Depends
Copenhagen → Stockholm
Five hours station-to-station, or one in the air. The answer is what you're doing in Stockholm.
№ 03 Depends
Amsterdam → Berlin
A long train day, or a short flight with the usual airport tax. Honest tie.
№ 04 Train wins
Amsterdam → Paris
Thalys/Eurostar puts you in central Paris in three hours, hands down.
№ 05 Train wins
Amsterdam → London
Eurostar wins on time, comfort, and the bit where you don't go through Schiphol.
№ 06 Train wins
Paris → London
The Eurostar is the most under-debated decision in European travel.
№ 07 Train wins
Paris → Lyon
TGV in under two hours. The flight exists for nostalgia reasons.
№ 08 Train wins
Paris → Marseille
Three hours to the Mediterranean without a single boarding pass.
№ 09 Train wins
Paris → Amsterdam
Reverse of the easy one. Still easy.
№ 10 Depends
Berlin → Munich
Sprinter ICE has narrowed it, but the plane still wins on raw time.
№ 11 Train wins
Berlin → Hamburg
Two hours flat between two city centers. There's no flight to argue with.
№ 12 Train wins
Berlin → Prague
The four-hour ride along the Elbe valley is the trip, not the cost.
№ 13 Depends
Berlin → Vienna
Sleeper or eight-hour day train. Honest answer: book the Nightjet.
№ 14 Train wins
Vienna → Budapest
Two and a half hours through Hungary's plains for the price of a haircut.
№ 15 Train wins
Zurich → Milan
The Gotthard run is one of the great train journeys in Europe. Book a window.
№ 16 Train wins
Zurich → Paris
Four hours flat on the TGV Lyria. Comfortable, civilized, central.
№ 17 Train wins
Milan → Rome
Three hours on Frecciarossa. The plane is for people who haven't tried it.
№ 18 Train wins
Madrid → Barcelona
Two and a half hours on the AVE. The shuttle flight is a relic.
№ 19 Train wins
Brussels → Amsterdam
Under two hours direct, hourly. Flying it borders on absurd.
№ 20 Flight wins
Stockholm → Milan
Two and a half days by rail vs. a 2h45 flight. The plane is the honest answer.
№ 21 Flight wins
London → Barcelona
Eurostar plus TGV plus AVE is a beautiful day; the flight is two hours.
№ 22 Flight wins
Madrid → Rome
Two hours in the air or a multi-day rail puzzle via Marseille and Milan.
№ 23 Flight wins
Stockholm → Rome
Three hours flying vs. two and a half days of trains. There's no contest.
How we decide.
No algorithm. A small editorial team, real door-to-door research, one verdict per route. Revisited every quarter.
01
Door-to-door, not gate-to-gate
The clock starts at your front door, not the airport curb. Most flight-vs-train comparisons cheat on this.
02
Realistic, not idealised
Normal weekday, normal weather, normal luggage. Best-case isn't a useful answer.
03
Honest when train loses
Some routes shouldn't be on the train. We say so. The verdict is the product.
04
Refreshed quarterly
Schedules change, prices drift, new tunnels open. Last-reviewed dates are real, not decorative.