How to take the optimum rail journey from Paris to Wien/Vienna

Via: Kaiserslautern

This is a journey of four distinct phases.

1. Around 13 minutes after departure the train will move on to the high speed line, on which between Champagne-Ardennes and Lorraine, it should travel at more than 300 km/h (faster than the speed achieved by ICE trains in Germany).
2. Shorty after passing Lorraine TGV station, the train will move on to conventional tracks.
3. Between Kaiserslautern and Neustadt the train will travel through a series of forests in the valleys, this is the most scenic part of the journey.
4. After passing through the cities of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, the train will pass through the commuter towns to the south of Frankfurt.

Via: Strasbourg
This is a journey of three distinct phases.

1. The train will take the same high speed line from Paris, but will remain on it until around 5 minutes before arrival in Strasbourg.
2. On departure from Strasbourg the train will travel fairly slowly on a route it will share with local metro trains.
3. Then it will speed up, but remain on conventional railway tracks as it passes through Karlsruhe and Mannheim.

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

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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.

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.