2024 Rail Recap: Where Eurailers traveled this year
Rachel Schnalzer
December 23, 2024
This year, you went places.
Here at Eurail, we love seeing where our travelers go using our rail Pass. In 2024, our travelers have tagged us in photos they’ve posted from their journeys on famous train routes, such as the Bernina Express, Caledonian Sleeper and Dogu Express. Others have shared with us their favorite scenic routes and their pick for the most beautiful train station in Europe.
Some travelers even took to our Community to answer their fellow Eurailers' questions and offer tips for how to make the most of a rail experience.
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to look back at everything our travelers accomplished this year. Welcome to our inaugural Rail Recap – we're happy you’re on this adventure with us.
Austria was the sixth-most-visited country among Eurailers in 2024.
Norway's Flåm Railway offers some of the most beautiful natural views in the country.
By taking the train, you can score a front-row seat to The Netherlands' tulip fields.
Over 640,000,000 kilometers traveled
In 2024, you and your fellow travellers covered over 640 million kilometers of track. We’re talking about a truly astronomical distance – in fact, that’s like traveling from Earth to the moon and back…over 800 times.
In total, Europe is home to about 200,000 kilometers of train track, reaching from the southern coast of Spain to far above the Arctic Circle. Judging from the numbers, it’s clear Eurail travelers have made every effort to get out there and see each corner of the Pass network.
More than 3 million trains taken
Europe’s trains vary wildly, from modern, high-speed ICE trains whisking travelers across countries, to slower, regional trains that travelers use to visit the continent’s most off-the-beaten-path destinations. Once again, you managed to experience it all.
In total, Eurail travelers hopped on more than 3 million trains over the course of 2024, averaging about 10 trains per full Eurail trip.
110 million minutes traveled
Many say that time is our most precious resource. Eurail travelers chose to spend over 110 million minutes on the rails, watching the countryside, mountains, coastlines and villages of Europe roll past their train window.
That’s how long it would take to watch every moment of the 2024 Olympics…more than 4,000 times. It’s also roughly the amount of time it would take to become fluent in 833 new languages.
Most-visited countries
You ventured far and wide, from the green fields of Killarney in southwest Ireland to the far reaches of Kars, perched on a high plateau in eastern Turkey. In 2024, these countries received the most visits from Eurail travelers:
- Italy 🇮🇹
- Germany 🇩🇪
- Switzerland 🇨🇭
- France 🇫🇷
- Great Britain 🇬🇧
- Austria 🇦🇹
- The Netherlands 🇳🇱
- Belgium 🇧🇪
- Spain 🇪🇸
- Czech Republic 🇨🇿
The Black Forest is one of many natural areas train travelers can easily access in Germany, the second-most visited country among Eurailers.
Paris may be Eurailers' most-visited destination, but there are plenty of places to go in the city to escape the crowds.
Milano Centrale is the second-busiest train station in Italy.
Most-visited destinations
There are memories to be made at every train stop in Europe. And while Eurail's Pass network includes over 30,000 destinations, there are a few places that travelers couldn’t stop visiting, time and again.
Below are the most-visited destinations in Eurail's Pass network. A tip: if you visit these cities in 2025 or beyond, take time to venture beyond the tourism hotspots and experience the lesser-visited sides of each place. Seek to connect with each destination – for example, try some traditional food at a family-owned resturant and shop for locally-produced souvenirs.
- Paris 🇫🇷
- Zurich 🇨🇭
- Interlaken 🇨🇭
- Milan 🇮🇹
- Amsterdam 🇳🇱
- Munich 🇩🇪
- Florence 🇮🇹
- Rome 🇮🇹
- Venice 🇮🇹
- Brussels 🇧🇪
Over 300,000 Eurail travelers
Some of you traveled with friends and family this year, while others embarked on a Eurail trip all on your own. But even if you traveled solo this year, you were never really alone – after all, over 300,000 travelers used an Eurail Pass this year.
We feel grateful you decided to explore Europe by train with us. Now, it’s time to start dreaming about next year’s adventures. Take a look at a few of our itineraries for inspiration or simply create your own unique trip from scratch. We’ll see you out there in 2025.
Meet the writer
Rachel Schnalzer is a senior writer at Eurail, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Favorite train route of 2024:
In January, I traveled on the northernmost route in Eurail's Pass network, from Stockholm all the way to Abisko, Sweden. I loved waking up on the night train to the sight of a pink sunrise reflecting on the snow outside my train window..
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