Best no-fly holidays you can book under £100 including France and Italy
Forget having to dig deep into savings or try to remember airport rules; many of the world's great city breaks can be reached via train from the UK for less than £100.
Hotspots such as Milan, Vienna, Copenhagen and Cinque Terre can easily be reached by train; plus for those looking to keep their carbon footprint down while feeding their fever for adventure, there is no better way to travel than by train.
Thanks to the Eurostar and an extensive, often quite cheap rail network on the Continent, many of Europe's great cities can be accessed via train.
We take a look at 10 no-fly holidays we think are worth having on your radar...
Geneva
Geneva is a great city to visit in the summer months (Getty Images)The wonders of modern train travel and a linked up European rail network mean you can now get from London to Geneva in eight hours and for £80.
All the places you can fly to for less than a tenner including Italy and Spain
The route from St Pancras to Paris's Gare de Nord, and then on from Gare de Lyon to Geneva.
The Swiss city may best be known as being a hub for ski holidays, but there's an awful lot more to it than that.
During the summer months Geneva comes to life as a hub of outdoor activities, its residents flocking out onto the great lake (called Lac Léman everywhere but the UK) to swim, dive and paddle board.
A great day can be had hiring a bike and cycling off around the lake, stopping off at the many municipal diving zones for a dip and a coffee.
As for the evening, the city's nightlife comes alive - and it has a brilliant karaoke scene too!
Vienna
Vienna can be reached in just half a day (Getty Images)Getting to Vienna via train from the UK will see you through France, Belgium and the whole of Germany, a 12-hour journey which makes the £78 price tag seem much more reasonable.
Hop on a train in London and make changes in Brussels, Frankfurt and Wurzburg to make it to the Austrian capital.
Once there you can bask in an historical city with an immense artistic and intellectual legacy that has been shaped by residents including Mozart, Beethoven, Sigmund Freud and Lenin.
The Schönbrunn Palace is the former summer residence of Austrian emperors and has some truly beautiful gardens, while the Hofburg Imperial Palace is home to countless pieces of art.
If you can get a ticket, a performance at the stunning Vienna State Opera - unarguably one of the world’s greatest renowned opera houses - is worth it for the experience alone.
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More readily accessible thrills can be found at the Prater Amusement Park and on the Wurstelprater Ferris Wheel, which offers great views of the city.
Milan
Milan's Piazza Del Duomo at sunset is a nice place to be (Getty Images)In ten hours and for £77 you can find yourself whisked off the streets of London and in the fashion capital of Europe.
Milan is the most easily accessible Italian city from the UK lying as it does close to the Swiss border and just below the Alps.
The journey is admittedly still quite a complicated one, travelling via Paris to Strasbourg, Basel and Lugano.
The city is great for cyclists and has miles of waterways in the form of canals and rivers, where families of the invasive mega-rodents coypu can be seen bathing.
A fun afternoon can be spent outside the Duomo di Milano watching scores of people take selfies with the stunning Gothic cathedral in the background.
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - a 19th-century arcade - is one of the oldest shopping centres in the world and certainly worth a visit as is the Brera District, a charming neighbourhood that is home to narrow cobblestone streets, quaint cafes, and art galleries.
Copenhagen
The vibrant houses at Nyhavn harbour are worth a visit (Getty Images)The fastest train from London to Copenhagen takes 14 hours and 10 minutes and costs around £100 each way, so it's not the quickest or cheapest of trips.
It is the most easily accessible of the great Nordic cities however, and a wonderful place to spend a few days.
In terms of famous tourist spots, the theme park at Tivoli Gardens, the stunning Nyhavn Waterfront and Amalienborg Palace are good places to start.
For those with an interest in break-away anarchist states, the Freetown Christiania sits in the middle of the city and has evolved from a military base squatted in the 1970s to its current status as a slightly lawless tourist hotspot.
The journey begins on the Eurostar to Amsterdam and continues via Osnabrück and Hamburg in Germany.
Marseille
A weekend in Marseille should not be sniffed at (Getty Images/EyeEm)In eight hours and for £68 you can get from London to Marseille, one of the most iconic and sought after destinations on the Mediterranean.
Arguably there is no more classically European weekend trip than one to the port town, where delicious food and ample cheap wine is served in abundance.
At its heart is the Vieux-Port, where fishmongers sell their catch along the boat-lined quay.
A must see are the Calanques, a series of stunning limestone cliffs and inlets located along the coast of Marseille.
You can spend the day exploring this stunning natural beauty, taking in the sweeping views and enjoying the crystal-clear waters, before heading back into the city for an evening of bright lights and music.
Another great spot is the Marché des Capucins, which is one of the oldest and largest markets in the area and sells fresh produce and local handicrafts.
The route goes via Paris to Saint Charles and on to Marseille.
The Cinque Terre
Remarkably the Cinque Terre can be reached by rail in less than 24 hours (Getty Images)This trip is definitely one for the more seasoned train traveller happy to wile away a day watching the French and Italian countryside slip by.
It will cost you slightly north of £100 to get to the Cinque Terre from London and take around 21 hours, but its undoubtedly worth it.
The string of five old fishing villages are perched high on the Italian Riviera in the region Liguria and are some of the most stunning destinations you could hope to visit.
Crystal blue waters lap against the cliffs, providing the perfect spot to cool off after a strident walk through the olive groves between the villages.
When the weather heats up a little in March there are plenty of places to enjoy a local interpretation of fish and chips or an aperitive on the harbour side.
The route is the same as the one to Marseille until Saint Charles, at which point riders should head to Ventimiglia, Genova and then Monterosso.
Lyon
The train to Lyon from London is about as long as the one to Edinburgh (Getty Images/Cavan Images RF)Down in the south of France, Lyon is a little more expensive to get to from London (from £85.50) and takes a little longer (4 hours and 41 minutes).
It's definitely worth it, and not just because of the excellent weather.
The city's old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which has been beautifully preserved for centuries.
There are few finer ways to spend an afternoon than strolling along the cobblestone streets and explore the many quaint shops, restaurants and galleries.
A boat tour of the Saône River, a visit to the Parc de la Tête d'Or or a walk around the botanical garden are also good bets.
Lyon - or 'the city of lights' - also has an excellent reputation for nightlife if you fancy dusting off your dancing boots.
Paris
Paris - the classic weekend destination (Getty Images)Paris is one of the most accessible cities on the Continent from the UK, with a train from London St Pancras costing from £29 each way and taking just over two hours.
Proximity and cheapness does not mean the French capital is not exhilarating to a British eye, or full of surprising delights.
If you are a first time visitor then the Louvre and its vast collection of priceless art, the view from the top of the 1,063 step tall Eifel Tower, and the Gothic magnificence of Notre Dame are worth taking in.
Equally if you want to stay away from the hub bub a little, there are worse things to do of a summer's evening than wandering along the city's cobbled streets before enjoying a bottle of wine on the banks of the Seine.
Parisian cuisine is, of course, legendary and very well represented by the likes of Chez Janou, La Petite Cour and Bistrot Paul Bert.
Cologne
The huge cathedral dominates the skyline (Getty Images)The historical German city is a four hour train ride away from London, with a trip on the rails available from £59 each way.
The first thing that'll strike you as you hop off the train is the magnificent cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site which attracts 20,000 visitors a day and towers over the city as the second tallest cathedral in Europe.
The Museum Ludwig has an excellent collection of modern art including the likes of Picasso, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, while the Wallraf-Richartz Museum houses an impressive array of old masters and modern art, as well as a library containing more than 200,000 books.
Once you're all cultured out, there are plenty of stunning views to enjoy from a Rhine River Cruise and samples to be eaten during an interactive tour of the Chocolate Museum.
Bruges
Bruges is particularly magical destination (Getty Images)For £62, within three and a half hours you can find yourself in one of Europe's most magical, chocolate box destinations.
Simply hop on the Eurostar to Brussels, and then it's a short hour-long direct train to get to Bruges.
The Belgian city is probably best known to British audiences as the setting for In Bruges, where cobbled streets and Gothic towers provide a perfect backdrop for shocking violence.
In reality a weekend in Bruges is much more likely to result in chocolate and strong beer overconsumption than bloodshed.
The town is particularly beautiful when viewed via a boat tour of its canals or from the vantage point of the Belfry or from the top of the Basilica of the Holy Blood.
The Bruges Market Square has plenty of stalls selling local treats so you can bring a little of the joy found at bars including Oud Arsenaal, Omer Vander Ghinste and Den Dyver home with you.
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