London to Wien / Vienna by train

How to take the rail journey from London to Vienna/Wien

There are four options available for taking a journey by train from London to Vienna/Wien:

  1. Making the end-to-end journey by day.

  2. If you will be leaving London on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, then it's possible to take a Eurostar to Bruxelles and then a night train on from there to Wien/Vienna.

  3. Or if you will be leaving London on the other days of the week, an option is to make a connection of around 2hr 20 mins in Bruxelles in to a train on to Koln/Cologne, where around 4 hours after arriving there, an overnight train will depart for Wien/Vienna.

  4. Or if you will be departing London on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday, a new option is to travel via Paris; though you will need to make a transfer between stations

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Routes

Option 1: travelling by day

Travel Information

It is possible to travel by day by train from London to Wien/Vienna
If you depart London at 08:16 on Monday to Friday you will have around 1hr 15 mins to make the connection in Bruxelles, but on Sat/Sun the Eurostar at 09:01 only allows around 10 mins to make the connection.
Though when the usual timetable is available, arriving in Wien/Vienna by the end of the day will also be dependent on making a connection in Frankfurt (Main) of around 50 mins.
This connection in Frankfurt is not wholly guaranteed and it will be into the final train of the day on from Frankfurt (Main) to Wien/Vienna.
Also due to the length of the route this journey is prone to being compromised by maintenance work on the railway lines.

1 x connection per day

Changing trains in: Bruxelles/Brussels and Frankfurt (Main)

Tickets

Eurostar does NOT sell tickets for this journey.

Seat Reservations:

Book a 1st class ticket(s) and your seats will automatically be assigned on all trains.

The tickets will be train specific, but seat reservations are optional in 2nd class on the ICE trains between Bruxelles/Brussels and Frankfurt and between Frankfurt and Wien/Vienna
The 2nd class ticket prices you will initially see on the agents do NOT initially include the costs of the reservation on these trains.
The reservation fee which covers both trains is 2nd class = €4.50.

Reservations are compulsory on the Eurostar and this is included when booking point2point journey tickets – your Eurostar seats will be automatically assigned irrespective of whether you book 1st class or 2nd class tickets.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline from €170 approx

Trainline Guide

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: Bruxelles-Midi or Amsterdam

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.

Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins before departure; though this time increases to 45mins before departure on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure

Crossing the River Medway Crossing the River Medway
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge over the River Thames can be seen from the right. The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge over the River Thames can be seen from the right.
Typical scenery between the tunnel and Lille Typical scenery between the tunnel and Lille

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with six distinct phases and highlights:

1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.

3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.

4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.

5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France and Belgium.

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Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

You will usually have to pass through security checks at Midi/Zuid station before boarding these trains and queues can build up at busy times.

Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main)

Between Leuven and Liege Between Leuven and Liege
Between Liege and Aachen Between Liege and Aachen
From the high speed line in Germany From the high speed line in Germany

This train journey from Bruxelles to Frankfurt is usually a great showcase for 21st century European train travel.

The sleek ICE 3 trains give any journey a wow factor and on virtually all of this route they're either travelling on a custom-built high speed line, or on a conventional railway that has been re-engineered so that the trains can travel faster.

The fastest part of this trip comes between Seigburg/Bonn and Frankfurt Flughafen, when the train will travel at up to 285 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed line.

Journey Features

Scenic - YesNot High SpeedRiver views

Good to Know

Final Destination: Wien Flughafen (airport) or Wien Hbf

All trains also call at: Linz and St Polten and Wien-Meidling

Arriving in Wien/Vienna:

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.

Journey description:

This is a journey of nine distinct phases: (the videos were filmed from a train travelling in the opposite direction)

  1. Between Frankfurt (Main) and Aschaffenburg the railway passes through a string of commuter towns.

  2. Then east of Aschaffenburg, is a scenic and slow part of the trip as the railway follows a series of valleys.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

  5. On to Nurnberg the train will be on conventional railway tracks.

  6. Between Nurnberg and Regensburg the train travels across a rolling landscape of hills.

  7. Between Regensburg and Passau the railway line is beside the River Danube, which can be seen on the left.

8. The highlight of the journey comes to the south of Passau, between there and the Austrian border, the railway line is by the banks of the River Inn, but on this part of the journey the river is over to the right. 9. Between Wels and Vienna the train will race across the Austrian countryside either side of Linz, **[this railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Railway_(Austria))** isn't a high speed route, but it has been straightened so that trains can travel at around 200 km/h
Between Regensberg and Passau Between Regensberg and Passau
Between Regensberg and Passau Between Regensberg and Passau
Between Passau and Linz Between Passau and Linz
Between Passau and Linz Between Passau and Linz

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Option 2: departing on Mon/Weds/Fri and travelling overnight from Bruxelles

Travel Information

If you will be departing London on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, this combination of trains will usually be available:

  1. Depart London at 15:04; arrive Bruxelles Midi/Zuid at 18:05
  2. Depart Bruxelles Midi/Zuid at 19:32; arrive Wien Hbf at 09:14.

Changing trains in: Bruxelles/Brussels

Tickets

Online bookings open 6 months ahead

You will need to book each journey separately; the details of how to do this are included on each of the respective journey guides:

London to Bruxelles

Bruxelles to Wien/Vienna

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Trainline *

Trainline Guide

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: Bruxelles-Midi

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.

The usual calls at either Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations, have been been temporarily suspended until further notice.

Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins before departure; though this time increases to 45mins before departure on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure

Crossing the River Medway Crossing the River Medway
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge over the River Thames can be seen from the right. The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge over the River Thames can be seen from the right.
Typical scenery between the tunnel and Lille Typical scenery between the tunnel and Lille

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with six distinct phases and highlights:

1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.

3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.

4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.

5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France and Belgium.

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

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 go here to say thank you.

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

Final Destination: Wien Hbf

The train also calls at: Linz and St. Polten and Wien-Meidling.

Bruxelles/Brussels has rejoined the European night train network, thanks to the restoration of a direct overnight train to Wien/Vienna from the Belgian capital.

The journey experience is dependent on the type of accommodation you choose to travel by on the train - click the 'Nightjet' button above to discover the available options.

Option 3: taking a night train on from Koln/Cologne

Travel Information

If you will be departing London on Tuesday, Thursday or at weekends, this combination of trains will usually be available:

  1. Depart London at 15:04; arrive Bruxelles Midi/Zuid at 18:05
  2. Depart Bruxelles Midi/Zuid at 18:25; arrive Koln Hbf at 20:15 (note the 20 min connection time)
  3. Depart Koln Hbf at 22:16; arrive Wien Hbf at 09:14.

Changing trains in: Bruxelles/Brussels and Koln/Cologne

Tickets

Online bookings open 6 months ahead

You will need to book each journey separately; which due to the long connecting time between trains shouldn't be an issue, the details of how to do this are included on each of the respective journey guides:

London to Bruxelles

Bruxelles to Koln/Cologne

Koln/Cologne to Wien/Vienna

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
*

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

Final Destination: Bruxelles-Midi

Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind - so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour longer.

The usual calls at either Ebbsfleet or Ashford International stations, have been been temporarily suspended until further notice.

Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins before departure; though this time increases to 45mins before departure on weekends and holidays.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure

Crossing the River Medway Crossing the River Medway
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge over the River Thames can be seen from the right. The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge over the River Thames can be seen from the right.
Typical scenery between the tunnel and Lille Typical scenery between the tunnel and Lille

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with six distinct phases and highlights:

1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.

3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.

4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.

5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France and Belgium.

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

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 go here to say thank you.

Journey Features

Scenic - NoNot High Speed

Good to Know

Final Destination: Frankfurt (Main)

The trains travel on high speed lines between Leuven and Liege and between Liege and Aachen.

Final Destination: Essen/Dortmund/Koln

All trains also call at: Aachen

The trains travel on high speed lines between Leuven and Liege and between Liege and Aachen.

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

Final Destination: Wien Hbf

The trains also calls at: Linz and St Polten

The journey experience is dependent on the type of accommodation you choose to travel by on the train - click the 'Nightjet' button above to discover the available options.

The coaches heading to Wien will be joined to another part of the train, which will be heading to Innsbruck
If you see a train heading to Innsbruck on the departure screens then the info will also apply if you are travelling to Wien.
Don't be concerned about boarding the wrong part of the train, your reservations will be in coaches that will be heading to Innsbruck.
The train manager will also greet travellers who have booked to travel in the couchettes or sleeping cabins.

Our guide to travelling on European overnight trains is available HERE.

Option4: departing on Tues/Weds/Fri and travelling overnight from Paris

Travel Information

Connecting in Paris
Train One: will arrive at the Gare Du Nord
Train Two: will depart from the Gare De L'Est

How to make the transfer between the stations in Paris.

Depart Tues/Fri/Sunday.

The shorter journey time involves taking the 15:31 from London

Tickets

This routing is not sold as an end-to-end journey by tickets agents so separate bookings will be required for each train.
As a consequence, in this separate booking scenario, there is no automatic protection against the need to re-book the Paris to Wien/Vienna journey and any associated costs of spending the night in Paris, in the event of a delay to a Eurostar causing a missed connection.
So two options worth considering are:

  1. A travel insurance policy to protect against this scenario
  2. Or heading off to Paris in the morning, using the left-luggage facilities at the Gare De Lyon and spending the afternoon having fun in the French capital.

Journey Features

High Speed (total journey)

Good to Know

On the usual timetable there is a daily departure at 14:31, which is due into the Gare Du Nord at 17:47 and the schedule will allow for more than two hours between the arrival and departure from Paris.
Which allows for contingency for delay as it's imperative that you don't miss the connection into the train on to Wien/Vienna.
If all goes as it typically will, making the connection will be comparatively stress-free and there will be time to have a pre-departure supper in or near the Gare De l'Est.

Though there is typically a Eurostar from London at 15:31, so if you take this train, you can save an hour on the end-to-end journey time and will have around 70mins to make the transfer in Paris.

The crossing of the River Medway - seen from the right of the train The crossing of the River Medway - seen from the right of the train
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train
From the high speed line between the tunnel and Lille From the high speed line between the tunnel and Lille

It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with SIX distinct phases and highlights:

1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).

2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.

3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.

4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.

5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.

6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France.

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

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 go here to say thank you.

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

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: 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:

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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.

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