How to Book European Night Trains in 2026 (Omio, Trainline, Rail Europe & Direct)
*Last updated: August 2026.*
Booking a European sleeper is genuinely simple in 2026 — but the landscape of *where* you book has changed enough that a lot of older advice now points at dead websites. If you've followed a link to **Loco2**, **GoEuro** or **Thello** recently and hit a wall, you're not alone. Here's what happened, and the current working way to book every night train on the Continent.
The old names, and what replaced them
A quick clear-up, because half the internet still links to these:
| Old name | Status in 2026 | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| **Loco2** | Rebranded — bought by SNCF and folded into **Rail Europe** | raileurope.com |
| **GoEuro** | Rebranded to **Omio** in 2019 | omio.com |
| **Thello** (Paris–Venice) | Ceased operating in 2021 | ÖBB Nightjet / connect via Milan |
| **City Night Line (CNL)** | Discontinued 2016 | ÖBB **Nightjet** successor routes |
| **Paris–Vienna Nightjet** | Withdrawn December 2025 | Connect via Munich or the Brussels–Vienna Nightjet |
If a site you trust still links to any of the first column, that link is broken — and the live equivalent is on the right.
Which site should you actually use?
There's no single "best" site; it depends on the operator. Here's the honest breakdown.
| Platform | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| **Omio** | Almost everything, in one search | Sells ÖBB Nightjet, European Sleeper, Eurostar and most operators; clean app; small booking fee baked into the price. The easiest starting point. |
| **ÖBB (direct)** | Nightjet, cheapest fares | Booking direct with Austria's ÖBB avoids fees and unlocks the cheapest "Sparschiene" fares and the full choice of cabins. Best for Nightjet if you don't mind the ÖBB site. |
| **European Sleeper (direct)** | Brussels–Berlin/Prague, Paris–Berlin, Brussels–Milan | This operator's newer routes are most reliably booked on europeansleeper.eu. |
| **Trainline** | One-stop for Europe + UK legs | Good coverage and a familiar app; handy if you're also booking the Eurostar or UK connection. |
| **Rail Europe** | North-American travellers, passes | The old Loco2, now aimed at the international market; sells most sleepers and rail passes. |
| **Byway** | Done-for-you flight-free trips | Not a ticket shop — they plan and book the whole multi-leg journey for you (at a premium). |
For most people: **start on Omio** to find the route and see what runs, then, if you want the rock-bottom Nightjet fare, book that leg **direct with ÖBB**.
The three rules that save you the most
Whichever site you use, the fare is demand-priced and the same booking rules apply:
1. **Book early.** Tickets typically open around **six months** ahead (a little less around the mid-December timetable change). The cheapest couchettes and cabins are released first and vanish first — especially Friday/Sunday nights and summer. 2. **Pick the right berth, not just the cheapest fare.** A seat is not a bed. On the new-generation Nightjets the ladder runs seat → couchette → Mini Cabin → Comfort sleeper → Comfort Plus (en-suite). Our fare pages show what each costs on every route. 3. **A rail pass can beat point-to-point** if you're doing several trains — but remember an **Interrail/Eurail pass still needs a paid reservation** on most night trains, so factor that in.
Booking from the UK
There's no sleeper through the Channel Tunnel, so from Britain you take a **Eurostar** to Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam and connect onto a Nightjet or European Sleeper — in all three cases from the *same station* you arrive at. We've laid out exactly how each connection works, with times and buffers, in our guide to reaching Europe's night trains from the UK.
Route-by-route fares
If you already know where you're going, skip straight to the numbers — every cabin, time and "from" price:
- Paris → Berlin (European Sleeper) - Brussels → Vienna (Nightjet) - Amsterdam → Vienna (Nightjet) - Munich → Rome (Nightjet) - Vienna → Venice (Nightjet) - Every European sleeper route and fare →
And if you want the bigger picture of what's running this year, see which night trains launched — and which were cut — in 2026.