European Rail Tickets: availability, deals and age limits

A comparatively odd aspect of European rail travel is that there isn't a universal booking window for how far ahead of travel that tickets and reservations can be purchased.

Tickets and reservations for Interrail users can't be made available until schedules have been confirmed, but the usual timetables can be impacted by maintenance and construction work - the details of which are typically confirmed around 6 months in advance.

Hence many European rail operators have a usual booking window of up to 6 months ahead of travel for express train services - Though the German rail operator, DB, offers tickets for travel by its ICE trains up to a year in advance.

However, these usual booking periods are universally shortened by the impact of the annual pan-European timetable update, which occurs on the second Sunday in December.

This is because tickets can't be placed on sale for travel after the second Sunday in December until every aspect of the timetable has been confirmed - which usually occurs around mid-Autumn.

The second Sunday in December: Why it matters | Conductor Sam

The second Sunday in December is the key date on the European rail calendar, so in 2026 that's Dec 13th. Discover why it matters and how it may affect your travel plans.

Current booking windows by country

The table below focuses on the booking periods for long-distance express trains.

Train Services Click for more details on routes etc	Tickets available for travel...
Austria: Nightjet	until 12 months ahead
Austria: Railjet / ICE / EC	until Dec 12th
Austria: Regiojet	until Nov 30th
Belgium: National trains	until 1 month ahead
Belgium: ICE trains to Germany	until Dec 12th
Belgium: EC and ECD to Netherlands / Eurostar to London	until a year ahead
Belgium: Eurostar to Paris / Germany / Netherlands	until 11 months ahead
Czechia: National trains	until 2 months ahead
Czechia: International trains to Austria / Germany / Hungary Slovakia	until Dec 12th
Czechia: International trains to Poland	until 2 months ahead
Czechia: Leo Express	until Dec 12th
Czechia: Regiojet	until Nov 30th
Denmark: National trains	until 12 weeks ahead
Denmark: Oresundstag trains	until Dec 12th
Denmark: Snalltaget trains	until Dec 12th
Denmark: to Germany	until Dec 12th
European Sleeper trains	until Mar 18th
France: TGV InOui / Intercités	until Jan 7th
France: Ouigo	until 9 months ahead
France: Lyria to Switzerland / TGV to Italy, Spain	until 6 months ahead
France: Eurostar to London	until a year ahead
France: Eurostar to Brussels / Germany / Netherlands	until 11 months ahead
Germany: ICE trains national and international / Railjet / Nightjet / TGV / EC	until Dec 12th
Germany: Nightjet	until 12 months ahead
Germany: Eurostar to Brussels and Paris	until 11 months ahead
Great Britain: Avant West Coast / Chiltern / Greater Anglia / Lumo / Scotrail / SWR / TFW	until 12 weeks ahead
Great Britain: CrossCountry	until 3 months ahead
Great Britain: Southeastern hi-speed	until Dec 2nd
Great Britain: EMR / Grand Central	until Dec 12th
Great Britain: GWR inc the Night Riviera	until Feb 22nd
Great Britain: Lner / TPE	up to 24 weeks ahead
Great Britain: Eurostar / Caledonian Sleeper	until a year ahead
Hungary: national trains	until 2 months ahead
Hungary: international trains	until Dec 12th
Italy: Frecce trains (national journeys)	until 30 weeks ahead
Italy: EC trains to Switzerland	until Jan 31st
Italy: Intercity trains / Treno Notte trains Frecce to Italy / TGV to Italy / Railjet to Austria	until Dec 12th
Italy: Nightjet to Austria	until 12 months ahead
Netherlands: national trains	until Nov 29th
Netherlands: ICE trains to Germany	until Dec 12th
Netherlands: Eurostar to Paris	until 11 months ahead
Netherlands: EC trains and ECD trains to Belgium / Eurostar trains to London	until a year ahead
Netherlands: Nightjet trains	until 12 months ahead
Norway: national trains / Snalltaget trains	until Dec 12th
Poland: national trains	until 1 month ahead
Poland: all international trains from Poland	until 1 month ahead
Portugal: AP trains and IC trains	60 days ahead
Spain: national trains operated by Renfe / trains to France / Ougio Espagna trains	until Dec 12th
Spain: iryo trains	until a year ahead
Sweden: national trains / Oresundstag trains / Snalltaget trains	until Dec 12th
Switzerland: national trains	until March 30th
Switzerland: EC trains to Italy	until Jan 31st
Switzerland: ECE trains to Germany / ICE trains to Germany / Railjet trains	until Dec 12th
Switzerland: Lyria trains to Paris	until 6 months ahead
Switzerland: Nightjet trains	until 12 months ahead

Current booking windows on major routes

from Paris

	Tickets available for travel...
to Amsterdam / Brussels / Cologne	until 11 months ahead
to London	until 12 months ahead
to other cities in France	until Dec 12th
to Basel / Geneva / Zurich	until Dec 12th
to Frankfurt / Stuttgart / Munich	until Dec 12th
to Barcelona	until Dec 12th
to Turin > Milan	until Dec 12th
to Hamburg / Berlin	until Mar 18th

from London

	Tickets available for travel...
to Amsterdam / Brussels / Paris	until 12 months ahead
to Birmingham / Glasgow / Liverpool, Manchester / Norwich	until 12 weeks ahead
to Nottingham / Sheffield	until Dec 12th
to Bristol / Cardiff / Cornwall / Cheltenham/ The Cotswolds / Plymouth / Hereford / Worcester	until Feb 22nd
to Aberdeen / Edinburgh / Leeds / Newcastle / Inverness / Perth / York	up to 24 weeks ahead

from Brussels

	Tickets available for travel...
to Amsterdam / London / Rotterdam	until 12 months ahead
to Cologne (by Eurostar trains) / Paris	until 11 months ahead
to Cologne (by ICE trains) / Frankfurt	until Dec 12th
to Avignon / Lyon / Marseille / Montpellier / Strasbourg	until Dec 12th
to Salzburg / Linz / Vienna	until 12 months ahead
to Berlin / Hamburg / Dresden / Prague / Milan by European Sleeper	until Mar 18th
to other cities in Belgium	until 1 month ahead

from Amsterdam

	Tickets available for travel...
to Brussels / London	until 12 months ahead
to Paris	until 11 months ahead
to Berlin / Cologne / Frankfurt / Munich	until Dec 12th
to Basel / Zurich / Linz / Vienna	until 12 months ahead
to other cities in The Netherlands	until Nov 29th

from Cologne

	Tickets available for travel...
to Brussels (by Eurostar train) / Paris	until 11 months ahead
to Milan	until Mar 18th
to Brussels (by ICE train)	until Dec 12th
to Amsterdam / Basel / Zurich / Bern / Linz / Vienna / Salzburg / Graz / Klagenfurt	until Dec 12th
to other cities in Germany	until Dec 12th

from Frankfurt

	Tickets available for travel...
to Amsterdam / Brussels / Basel / Zurich / Bern / Vienna / Salzburg / Graz / Klagenfurt	until Dec 12th
to / Paris / Lyon / Marseille /	until Dec 12th
to Milan	until Dec 12th
to other cities in Germany	until Dec 12th

from Hamburg

	Tickets available for travel...
to Basel / Vienna / Zurich by ICE train	until Dec 12th
to Basel / Vienna / Zurich by Nightjet train	until 12 months ahead
to Copenhagen / Malmo / Stockholm	until Dec 12th
to Prague / Bratislava / Budapest	until Dec 12th
to other cities in Germany	until Dec 12th
to Paris	until Mar 18th

from Berlin

	Tickets available for travel...
to Basel / Vienna / Zurich by ICE train	until Dec 12th
to Basel / Vienna / Zurich by Nightjet train	until 12 months ahead
to Copenhagen / Prague / Bratislava / Budapest	until Dec 12th
to Krakow / Warsaw / Wroclaw	until Dec 12th
to other cities in Germany	until Dec 12th
to Paris	until Mar 18th

from Munich

	Tickets available for travel...
to Amsterdam / Basel / Zurich / Salzburg / Vienna / Graz	until Dec 12th
to Paris	until Dec 12th
to Prague	until Dec 12th
to Innsbruck / Bolzano / Verona / Bologna / Venice by Railjet train	until Dec 12th
to Bologna / Venice / Florence / Rome by Nightjet train	until 12 months ahead
to Ljubljana / Zagreb	until Dec 12th
to other cities in Germany	until Dec 12th

from Zurich

	Tickets available for travel...
to Salzburg / Vienna / Graz / Innsbruck / Cologne / Berlin / Frankfurt / Munich by day trains	until Dec 12th
to Amsterdam / Vienna / Graz / Cologne / Hamburg by Nightjet train	until 12 months ahead
to Paris	until Dec 12th
to Prague / Berlin by CD Night train	until Dec 12th
to Zagreb	until Dec 12th
to Milan / Verona / Venice / Bologna / Florence / Genoa / La Spezia	until Jan 31st
to other cities in Switzerland	until Mar 30th

from Vienna

	Tickets available for travel...
to Amsterdam / Zurich / Berlin / Hamburg / Frankfurt / Munich / Cologne by day trains	until Dec 12th
to Amsterdam / Zurich / Berlin / Hamburg by Nightjet train	until 12 months ahead
to Ljubljana / Zagreb	until Dec 12th
to / Venice / Florence / Rome / Trieste	until Dec 12th
to Budapest	until Dec 12th
to Warsaw / Krakow	until Dec 12th
to other cities in Austria	until Dec 12th

from Milan

	Tickets available for travel...
to Frankfurt / Lyon / Paris	until Dec 12th
to Basel / Geneva / Zurich	until Jan 30th
to Venice / Bologna / Bari / Lecce / Florence / Rome / Naples / Trieste / Turin (Frecce trains)	up to 30 weeks ahead
to Bari / Genoa / Ventimiglia / La Spezia / Pisa / Livorno / Perugia (Inter City trains)	until Dec 12th
to Lecce / Palermo / Syracuse (Treno Notte trains)	until Dec 12th
to Cologne / Brussels by European Sleeper	until Mar 18th
to Frankfurt	until Dec 12th

from Venice

	Tickets available for travel...
to Innsbruck / Munich / Graz / Vienna / Stuttgart by day trains	until Dec 12th
to Innsbruck / Munich / Vienna / Stuttgart by Nightjet trains	until 12 months ahead
to Geneva / Zurich	until Jan 30th
to Milan / Bologna / Bari / Florence / Rome / Naples / Trieste / Turin (Frecce trains)	up to 30 weeks ahead
to Bari (Inter City trains)	until Dec 12th

from Rome

	Tickets available for travel...
to Innsbruck / Munich / Graz / Vienna by Nightjet train	until 12 months ahead
to Milan / Bologna / Bari / Lecce / Florence / Rome / Naples / Trieste / Turin / Verona / Bolzano / Genoa (Frecce trains)	up to 30 weeks ahead
to Bari / Genoa / Ventimiglia / La Spezia / Pisa / Livorno / Perugia / Palermo / Syracuse (Inter City trains)	until Dec 12th
to Palermo / Syracuse / Trieste (Trenno Notte trains)	until Dec 12th

from Barcelona

	Tickets available for travel...
to Paris / Lyon / Marseille	until Dec 12th
to Madrid / Malaga / Seville	until Dec 12th
to Alicante / Valencia	until Dec 12th
to Pamplona / San Sebastian / Leon	until Dec 12th

from Prague

	Tickets available for travel...
to Berlin / Copenhagen / Hamburg / Budapest / Vienna / Graz	until Dec 12th
to Basel / Zurich	until Dec 12th
to Amsterdam / Brussels by European Sleeper	until Mar 18th
to Frankfurt / Warsaw / Bratislava / Kosice (Leo Express trains)	until Dec 12th
to Bratislava / Vienna / Budapest / Kosice	until Dec 12th
to Warsaw / Krakow	until 2 months ahead
to other cities in Czechia	until 2 months ahead

Current Promo Offers and Deals

(1) DB is offering a 20% discount to all travellers aged 15 to 26 who will be travelling in Germany before December 12th.

(2) ScotRail is offering a Family Pass - a week of unlimited travel in Scotland for two adults and up to four children for a flat rate of £60.

Child Ticket Conditions

Another quirky aspect of European rail ticket booking is that there is no universal standard at which child ticket terms apply.

Children typically* save 50% on the Adult ticket prices at the ages shown below when travelling on European trains.
Above these ages the adult rates apply to tickets, but below these ages, children travel for free.

*= exceptions can apply between different train operators, including when cities manage local rail network.

Austria	aged 6 to 14 (see below)
Belgium	11 and under (free travel)
Czechia	aged 6 to 14
Denmark	11 and under (free travel)
Denmark	aged 12 to 15 (50%)
France	aged 4 to 11
Finland	aged 4 to 17
Germany	aged 6 to 14 (see below)
Great Britain	aged 5 to15
Hungary	aged 6 to 14
Italy ( Trenitalia express trains)	aged 4 to 14
Italy (Trenitalia regional trains)	aged 4 to 11
Netherlands	aged 4 to 11
Norway	aged 4 to 15
Poland	n/a - dependent on national ID cards
Portugal	aged 4 to 12
Spain	aged 4 to 13
Sweden	15 and under (special rates apply)
Switzerland	aged 6 to 15

When an adult (a person aged 15 and over) books the cheapest type of ticket for long-distance journeys, both within or from / to Austria and Germany, up to four children aged 14 and under travel for free with the 'Adult'.
It doesn't matter if the Adult books 1st or 2nd class tickets.

In other countries including Czechia, Great Britain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland, railcards or passes are available which enable further savings when adults travel with kids.

Planning Tips when Travelling with Children on European Trains | Conductor Sam

The practical info that is good to know about tickets and reservations when travelling with kids on European trains.

Senior Ticket Conditions

These are that are the ages at which discounts can be accessed by senior travellers.

Though in Austria, France, Great Britain, Italy, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Switzerland, the discounts can only be applied when using associated railcards or passes.

Austria	65
Belgium	65
Czechia	65
Denmark	67
France	60
Finland	65
Germany	65
Great Britain	60
Hungary	65
Italy	60
Netherlands	60
Norway	67
Poland	60
Portugal	65
Spain	60
Sweden	65
Switzerland	64 (women) / 65 (men)