Travel routes
How to travel between the world’s most-booked city pairs — realistic journey times, the sensible mode, and the guides for both ends.
- London to Paris — The classic Channel crossing — 2h 20 city-centre to city-centre by Eurostar, or a one-hour hop by air.
- Paris to London — Direct Eurostar or an hour in the air — the fastest way to swap the Seine for the Thames.
- London to Amsterdam — Direct Eurostar from St Pancras or a short flight — canals and coffee bars are half a day away.
- Paris to Barcelona — High-speed rail through the Languedoc or a 1h 45 flight to the Mediterranean.
- Barcelona to Paris — Mediterranean to Marais by direct TGV or a quick flight north.
- Rome to Florence — Under 90 minutes by high-speed rail — Italy's single best short-hop route.
- Florence to Venice — Renaissance to lagoon in two hours — direct Frecciarossa services all day.
- Rome to Venice — Direct high-speed rail up the spine of Italy, or a 1h flight.
- Berlin to Prague — Scenic Elbe valley by direct EC train or an easy FlixBus alternative.
- Vienna to Budapest — The Danube two-step — hourly Railjet trains, no border formalities.
- Amsterdam to Berlin — Direct ICE now runs city-centre to city-centre; flying saves an hour once you factor airports.
- Copenhagen to Stockholm — The Öresund crossing then straight up Sweden — or a 1h flight if time is tight.
- Lisbon to Porto — The definitive Portuguese swap — Alfa Pendular services along the coast every hour.
- Madrid to Barcelona — One of Europe's fastest rail corridors — AVE trains beat the plane door-to-door.
- Edinburgh to London — Direct LNER services down the East Coast Main Line — or an hour in the air.
- Dubrovnik to Venice — Adriatic to lagoon — a short flight or a summer overnight ferry.
- New York to Boston — Amtrak Acela beats the shuttle when you count getting to LGA.
- New York to Miami — The classic east-coast weekender — direct all day, every day.
- New York to Los Angeles — The definitive transcontinental — 6 hours west, 5 back with the jet stream.
- San Francisco to Los Angeles — A quick shuttle flight or the full PCH road trip — very different weekends.
- Vancouver to Montreal — Coast to French Canada — direct all day on Air Canada and WestJet.
- Toronto to New York — Short-hop cross-border flight; Pearson to LGA/EWR/JFK several times an hour.
- Tokyo to Kyoto — The Nozomi Shinkansen at 285 km/h — Tokyo to old Japan in a bento box.
- Tokyo to Osaka — Rail is faster than flying once you count Haneda — every 10 minutes, all day.
- Kyoto to Osaka — Barely a train ride — 15 minutes and you're in Osaka.
- Singapore to Bali — The go-to weekender out of Changi — direct all day.
- Bangkok to Chiang Mai — A 70-minute flight or an overnight sleeper train up the spine of Thailand.
- Hong Kong to Tokyo — Four hours across the East China Sea — the classic North Asia hop.
- Sydney to Melbourne — One of the world's busiest air routes — shuttle-style flights every 15 minutes.
- Sydney to Auckland — The Tasman crossing — a short trans-Tasman flight, no jet lag.
- Dubai to Istanbul — Two of the world's great transit cities, one direct flight apart.
- London to Dubai — The bellwether long-haul route — served nonstop by every major carrier.