After a gap of fifteen years Paris and Wien/Vienna are once again being connected by a direct rail service, thanks to a new service of overnight Nightjet trains between the French and Austrian capitals.
Of the numerous daytime options you will likely see when looking up the train journey from Paris to Vienna/Wien on the ticket booking services, the option via Frankfurt (Main) has been singled out because:
On Mon/Weds/Fri/Sun when the direct overnight train from Paris isn't available, the routing via Zurich has been suggested for similar reasons; an easily timed connection in a station that's simple to navigate.
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
14hr 14min
Not Every Day
Departs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
OBB operates the Nightjet trains and it's bespoke booking path for these trains is particularly easy to follow, with detailed explanations of the accommodation options.
Booking places in the sleeping cabins
When entering 2 travellers as 1 male and 1 female, you will automatically be given the option to book a 3-bed cabin for the sole use of the two of you - the 'double' cabin option.
So you will be in the cabin together with no other travellers.
3 men + 2 women or 3 women + 2 men = three beds in a triple cabin + two beds in a double cabin is what you will be offered, though the cabins will then be male and female only.
So if the combination of travellers is 1 male/female couple + 1 male/female couple and a child, you will need to make two separate bookings so that the two couples can each share a cabin.
When 4 Adults are travelling together you will be given the option of booking double or triple cabins.
If you select 'Double' you will automatically be assigned 4 beds in two double cabins.
Because the Triple cabins are segregated into male and female, when two women + two men are in the travel party, the two men will be sharing a triple compartment with another traveller, as will the two women
When 3 men + 1 woman or 3 women + 1 man are the travel party, the fourth person will then be sharing a three bed cabin with two other people.
OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.
It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.
OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.
The train will be departing Paris on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday evenings evenings only and will be typically be scheduled to leave from the Gare De l'Est at 19:58.
The train will also call at: Strasbourg (depart 00:36) and Salzburg (arrive at 07:26); Linz (arrive 08:44) and St Polten (arrive at 09:36)
It will be typically scheduled to arrive into Wien Hbf at 10:12.
Usual onward connections:
In the opposite direction the train will depart on Monday, Thursday and Saturday evenings
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: from 6 months ahead of the travel date
The train conveys:
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Click the train details below for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains,
You can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
11hr 50min
Daily
2 x optimum connections per day
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
This routing via Frankfurt (Main) isn't the fastest option for a daytime journey by train from Paris to Wien/Vienna.
It isn't generally the cheapest either, so here's why we recommend travelling this way:
Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main)
This train takes takes the route via Strasbourg
Via: Kaiserslautern
This is a journey of four distinct phases.
Via: Strasbourg
This is a journey of three distinct phases.
Final Destination: Wien Hbf
This train also calls at: Linz and St Polten and Wien-Meidling
Arriving in Wien/Viennna:
Check the location of your final destination in Wien/Vienna.
If you're heading to the south west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House - then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you leave the train at Wien-Meidling station.
This is a journey of nine distinct phases: (the videos were filmed from a train travelling in the opposite direction)
Between Frankfurt (Main) and Aschaffenburg the railway passes through a string of commuter towns.
Then east of Aschaffenburg, is a scenic and slow part of the trip as the railway follows a series of valleys.
As the River Main comes into view on the right, the train will speed up before bridging the river and entering a tunnel which will link it to the high speed line.
The train will spend around 10-15 mins on the high speed line as it nears Wurzburg, just before the station look out on the right for a brief panorama over the river and city.
Because the train will spend such a small percentage of the journey on the high speed line, this hasn't been classed as a high speed trip
On to Nurnberg the train will be on conventional railway tracks.
Between Nurnberg and Regensburg the train travels across a rolling landscape of hills.
Between Regensburg and Passau the railway line is beside the River Danube, which can be seen on the left.
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Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
Reservations are optional on the ICE train between Frankfurt and Wien/Vienna, but reserving seats on this leg of the journey is highly recommended.
This connection via Frankfurt (Main) is the journey option which departs Paris at 07:20.
Though can save usually save money if you opt to change trains more than once and travel via Munchen or Salzburg.
Though when looking up those journeys check the connecting time between trains, those options sold by the ticket agents typically have connecting times of less than 20 mins in either Mannheim, Stuttgart station or Munchen/Munich
Making these connections between trains in Germany is not guaranteed, you won't incur a financial penalty as tickets/reservations can be transferred to a later departure in the event of a late arriving, but it's a hassle that is much more likely to be avoided if you travel on this route via Frankfurt.
from 13hr 10min
Daily
2 x optimum connections per day
The TGV Lyria train, which typically departs Paris at 07:22 is usually scheduled to arrive in Zurich around 1hr 15mins prior to the departure of a Railjet train on to Wien, which is due to arrive there shortly before 08:30.
Despite a connection which allows around 70 mins of contingency, in the event of the train from Paris being delayed and a step-free connection at Zurich HB, the tickets agents don't seemingly offer this as an end-to-end journey option.
Also the TGV Lyria train, which typically departs Paris at 10:22 is usually scheduled to arrive in Zurich just 15mins before the departure of a Railjet train on to Wien.
The agents seemingly won't allow prospective ticket purchasers to take a gamble on making this connection, so they don't offer it as a bookable end-to-end journey.
However, those travelling with Eurail and InterRail passes, can take their chances.
Rail pass users don't have to reserve on the Railjet trains, so if need be you can take the next train on Wien.
Though the ticket agents can over the end-to-end journey that involves connecting into this later train on to Wien, hence a connecting time between trains of around 2hr 15mins and an end-to-end journey time of around 14hr 15mins - which is around two hours slower than travelling via Frankfurt!
This is a journey of four distinct parts.
1: Initially the train will travel on the high speed line south from Paris.
2. The train switches to conventional tracks north of Dijon - the most scenic part of the journey
3. Between Dijon and Mulhouse there is another high speed line.
4. The final part of the journey from Mulhouse to Zurich is on conventional tracks.
These trains also calls at: Salzburg; Linz and St Polten and Wien-Meidling
Arriving in Wien/Viennna:
Check the location of your final destination in Wien/Vienna.
If you're heading to the south west corner of the city, or the area on the ring road around the Opera House - then it's likely that you'll have a faster and more convenient journey if you leave the train at Wien-Meidling station.
Step on board one of Europe's most epic rail journeys, with amazing views of two Swiss lakes AND a passage through the stunning Arlberg Pass.
Sit on the left (when facing the direction) of travel) on departure from Zurich for the best views.
Within 10 minutes of departing from Zurich there are a series of stunning views of not one, but two lakes, the Zurichsee...
...and then the Wallensee.
...can both be seen from the left of the train.
The best of the views as the train travels through the Arlberg pass will be over on the right, but the train will reverse direction on departure from Buchs.
Between Buchs and Feldkirch the train will travel through Liechtenstein, then after departure from Bludenz, the train threads through the stunning Arlberg Pass - though in summer the trees can get in the way.
In the pass, the best and most spectacular views of the entire journey are over on the right; even on a grey day.
But after St.Anton the best of the views are over on the left...
... with a particular highlight of the journey being the descent to Landeck station.
These trains used to take a more scenic route after departure from Innsbruck, but now between there and Worgl, they take a faster route which is mainly in tunnels.
Though by Kufstein they travel right by the River Inn.
The final third of the journey on from Salzburg is pleasant, but not particularly scenic, though east of Linz is the fastest part of the route.
For the faster options, book the journeys separately
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
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