The Good Night Train: Summer Report
10 August 2026
Summer has a way of changing how we travel. The days are longer, evenings arrive later, and there is more time to enjoy the journey.Summer has a way of changing how we travel. The days are longer, evenings arrive later, and there is more time to enjoy the journey.
By the end of the summer months, more than 65,885 passengers will have joined us onboard between Paris and Berlin, and between Brussels and Prague, including at the many stops along the way.
Some were heading off on family holidays, others to festivals, beaches or city breaks. Along the way, they shared stories, photos and reflections that show what summer travel by night train can feel like.
Here are a few of our favourites.
For Lukas and his family from Berlin, the night train wasn’t the whole adventure, it was just the beginning.
Travelling with their two children, they hopped on European Sleeper to Paris, got a good night’s rest along the way, and continued by TGV towards Avignon the next day. No airport queues, no early-morning flight. Just one journey flowing into the next.
“Overall, it was a great experience. The compartments and bedlinen were clean, the air conditioning was working, and the train was on time. We arrived really well rested.
Thanks to the new European Sleeper connection to Paris, we can now reach the Côte d’Azur, Brittany or even the southern Atlantic coast in roughly one day of travel, without flying.”
For families like Lukas’, that’s part of the magic of travelling by night train: falling asleep together, waking up somewhere new, and seeing just how far across Europe the rails can take you.
One day in Berlin
In July, we welcomed our new colleague Rebeka to the team, and what better way to celebrate than by sending her straight off on a night train adventure?
Her mission was simple: board in Rotterdam, sleep while the train travels to Berlin, spend the day exploring the city, then hop back on the train that evening and wake up back home.
From morning strolls to sunset sightseeing, Rebeka made the most of her day in Berlin before settling in for the journey back. Across the two nights, she tried both a women-only shared compartment and a private Classic compartment, getting a taste of two very different ways to travel overnight.
Two trains, one city, and a pretty memorable way to kick off a new job. Watch Rebeka’s recap video on Instagram and come along for the ride!
There’s a moment on a night train when everything starts to slow down. Bags are tucked away, people settle into their compartments, and the train finds its rhythm.
One passenger travelling between Paris and Berlin captured it perfectly:
“Once the train settled into its cruising rhythm, everyone found their place. Everything became calm and peaceful. The last rays of sunshine streamed through the train and it felt like the beginning of a very good night.”
Not every journey is without its hiccups. Our carriages have been in service for many years and, despite being refurbished, occasionally need a little extra attention along the way. On this journey, that meant limited toilet availability for part of the trip.
What stood out was how everyone responded. Passengers stayed patient, kept things tidy and looked out for one another. “It should be normal,” the passenger wrote, “but today it still feels surprisingly refreshing.”
They also had plenty of praise for the crew, who they described as incredibly friendly and attentive throughout the journey.
And just to add one more twist to the night: the World Cup final was on. So somewhere between Paris and Berlin, passengers were winding down in their compartments, watching the match unfold on their phone screens.
Summer views
Some night train moments are all about what’s happening outside the window.
For one passenger travelling from Paris to Berlin, it was “watching the skies darken and a dramatic thunderstorm as we travelled through the Netherlands” that stayed with them.
While the storm rolled across the sky outside, things were much more relaxed inside. They settled in with a picnic and a few beers, watching the scenery and cities change as the train made its way east.
Cheers to summer 2026
Thank you to everyone who travelled with us this summer, and to everyone who shared their stories, photographs, and videos along the way! They give a real sense of what these journeys are like, from the moments onboard to the places passed along the way.
To close, the Prague-Brussels night train, captured by @jhnns_95 in Halberstadt as the light faded just before sunset.
