INTRODUCTION - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 4

one of the various types of rail passes available today, it's easy to modify our com-
fortable rail travel concept to suit your budget and itinerary. Armed with a rail pass
and a current copy of Europe by Eurail , you become your own tour guide, packing
and moving on only when you want to. For the experienced traveler or the novice,
it's the only way to go.
How to Use Europe by Eurail
Base City-Day Excursion Concept
In 1976 Europe by Eurail first launched a new concept for easy, comfortable,
hasslefree train travel by combining the economy of a Eurail pass with the Fer-
gusons' Base City-Day Excursion method of touring Europe. Now proudly in its
39th edition, Europe by Eurail has proven to be a most useful tool for travelers us-
ing any type of rail pass that allows access to any or all of the Eurail system.
Currently, the Eurail system includes a total of 27 countries, stretching from Ire-
land to Turkey and from Portugal to Finland.
We identify base cities throughout Europe in which you may stay in comfort and
from which you may make numerous day excursions to interesting places, return-
ing each night to the same hotel room. This concept eliminates the hassles of daily
packing and unpacking and luggage lugging. This more relaxed approach to rail
travel is not only an enjoyable way to visit Europe but also affords the time to see
and do a delightful variety of things outside of the major cities.
You do not have to be a geographer to use Europe by Eurail . It is conveniently
arranged alphabetically—first by country, then by base city. Rail system maps ac-
company each country chapter.
Europe by Eurail picks up the traveler disembarking from the train on arrival from
another base city (or at the airport if it is the traveler's entry point to Europe) and
leads him or her step-by-step through the essentials of European rail travel.
We take a pragmatic approach to European rail travel by providing explicit walk-
ing directions and explanations based from rail stations. For example, a bewildered
tourist standing on a train platform in one of Brussels's three train stations needs
practical, no-nonsense information—in a hurry:
The Grand'Place? How do I get there?
Where's the tourist information office?
Europe by Eurail leads you with specific directions: “To reach the Grand'Place
from Gare Centrale (Central Station), walk downhill in the direction of the Town