R/F RailorFlight

By city

Train or fly from London

Train or fly from London? Times, fares and CO₂ for every route we cover, counting the airport trip.

ATLANTIC NORTH SEA BALTIC SEA MEDITERRANEAN UNITED KINGDOMFRANCESPAINGERMANYITALYPOLANDSWEDENNORWAYBALKANS Copenhagen Hamburg Stockholm Amsterdam Berlin Paris London Lyon Marseille Munich Prague Vienna Budapest Zurich Milan Rome Madrid Barcelona Brussels Nice Seville Edinburgh

From London

Flight wins
London → Barcelona
Eurostar plus TGV plus AVE is a beautiful day; the flight is two hours.
Train wins
London → Amsterdam
Direct Eurostar, St Pancras to Amsterdam Centraal in four hours. The reverse of the easy call.
Train wins
London → Edinburgh
Four hours twenty on the LNER, King's Cross to Waverley, straight through the middle of both cities.

To London

Train wins
Amsterdam → London
Eurostar wins on time, comfort, and the bit where you don't go through Schiphol.
Train wins
Paris → London
The Eurostar is the most under-debated decision in European travel.