Germany by train. There's no check-in, you walk straight from the city centre into the station, glance at the indicator board to find your train & hop on, any time before departure... Buy German train tickets online direct from DB at www.bahn.de... I recommend buying direct from Deutsche Bahn with all the cheap fares shown, no booking fees and print-at-home or show-on-smartphone tickets. I recommend registering when prompted, so you can log in and check or re-print your tickets at any time.

Inter-city train tickets from €19...

Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) high-speed IC and ICE trains are easily the best way to travel between major town & cities all over Germany, in comfort at ground level. DB's ICE trains travel at up to 186 mph from city centre to city centre, and if you pre-book direct with the operator you can find some really cheap fares.

COVID-19 update: See COVID-19 travel information.

Train travel within Germany...

How to buy tickets online

How to buy tickets by phone

Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket: discontinued

Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket: Unlimited travel after 09:00 weekdays for €44

Lander tickets: Unlimited train travel in one region

Bayern Ticket: Unlimited day's travel Munich, Neuschwanstein, Berchtesgaden, Salzburg

Railpasses for Germany

What are German trains like?

Travel tips: Luggage, food & drink, lounges...

How to visit Neuschwanstein Castle

How to visit the Harz mountains steam railway & the Brocken

How to visit Obersalzberg & Eagle's Nest

Escape to Colditz by train

Useful country information: Currency, dial code, etc

Recommended guidebooks

Hotels & accommodation in Germany

International trains to & from Germany...

Trains from the UK to Germany

Trains to Germany from other European cities

Trains from Berlin to other European cities

Trains from Hamburg to other European cities

Trains from Cologne & Düsseldorf to other cities

Trains from Frankfurt to other European cities

Trains from Munich to other European cities

Munich to Prague by train not bus

Berlin to Prague by train

Berlin-Warsaw Express trains

Station guides...

Berlin Hbf station information

Cologne Hbf station information

Hamburg Hbf station information

Munich Hbf station information

General train travel information...

General European train travel information

Train seat numbering plans

Luggage on trains

Luggage lockers at stations

Eurail passes & InterRail passes

Taking bikes Taking dogs

How to check times, fares & buy tickets online...

To check times & prices and to buy tickets in advance go to the German Railways website www.bahn.de (on a mobile device, use this link).

Anyone from any country can use bahn.de, all international credit cards accepted, you print your own ticket or can simply show it on your laptop or smartphone.

I recommend registering when prompted, so you can log in, check all your bookings and re-print your tickets at any time.

Maps of the German rail network...

Do you need to buy tickets in advance?

No , for regional trains - the ones marked R, RE, M, ALX & so on in the search results on www.bahn.de. Regional trains have one fixed price with unlimited availability and no reservations necessary or possible. Treat them as you would a city metro: Turn up, buy a ticket and hop on the next train. They cannot 'sell out'! If you're making multiple journeys, there are some regional train passes explained here.

No , for longer distance trains - the ones marked IC, ICE, EC and so on in the search results on www.bahn.de - if you are happy paying the relatively expensive Flexpreis = full-flex standard price . These full-fare tickets have a fixed price, unlimited availability and cannot sell out. they are valid on any train that day, a seat reservation isn't necessary but can be made as an 'optional extra' for a small fee, around €4.50.

Yes , for longer distance trains if you want to save money with cheap advance-purchase fares - cheap Sparpreis ( saver ) advance-purchase fares are offered if you book in advance, this which varies from €19.90 upwards depending how far ahead you book and how popular that train, day or date is. If you buy one of these cheap fares you can only travel on that specific train, limited refunds and no changes to travel plans.

For example, Frankfurt to Berlin costs €120 Flexpreis if you buy on the day of travel, but starts at just €29 upwards (meaning it could be €39, €49, €59, whatever) if you book in advance. So book ahead!

When does booking open?

Booking now opens up to 6 months ahead for German domestic tickets. It was increased to 6 months from the previous 92 days in December 2016. However, the booking period is often less than this for dates immediately after the twice-yearly timetable changes at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in June and 2nd Saturday in December. For example, bookings for dates after the mid-December timetable change, including the Christmas period, have always opened in mid-October.

Flexpreis or Sparpreis?

If you use www.bahn.de to book a long-distance train you'll see two columns of fare shown against each train, the Flexpreis (previously shown as Standard fare) and a Saver fare ( Sparpreis in German).

The Flexpreis can be bought online or at the station on the day, at the same fixed price. Flexpreis fares are flexible and refundable, you can use any train you like, just hop on and find any empty unreserved seat, seat reservation on long distance IC, ICE & EC trains is optional for a small extra charge, around €4.50.

In the Saver fare column you'll see whatever cheap Sparpreis or SuperSparpreis fare is available on that train, from €19, €29, €39 etc depending on the length of the journey and on how far in advance you book. These fares are cheaper, but they only allow travel on the specific train you've booked. The prices varies like air fares, rising as departure approaches and the cheaper tickets are sold. They disappear a few days before departure, leaving only the standard Flexpreis fare. Sparpreis fares are refundable (although for a DB credit voucher, not cash) up to the day before departure with a small fee deducted, no changes or refunds allowed from the day of departure onwards. A 1st class Sparpreis will get you into a DB first class lounge. Important update: From 15 December 2019, only the most expensive full-flex Flexpreis tickets will get you into the DB Lounges. Sparpreis fares will no longer give you access. SuperSparpreis means no refunds, no changes. A 1st class Supersparpreis will not get you into a DB first class lounge.

Children go free! On DB trains, children under 6 go free, no ticket needed. Children over 6 but aged under 15 also go free if they travel accompanied by a fare-paying adult, a great offer. Book your tickets at www.bahn.de and it will work all this out for you.

Credit card no longer necessary as ID for print-at-home tickets...

If you wanted to use a German Railways print-at-home ticket (shown as online ticket on bahn.de) you used to have to show your credit or debit card as I.D. on board the train. I'm glad to say that this changed in October 2016, all you now need is a passport or other recognised ID to prove your name to support a print-at-home online ticket. You may or may not be asked for it by the conductor.

Only one name is necessary to support a print-at-home ticket, even if the ticket covers more than one passenger.

No ID is necessary if you select tickets by mail, as conventional train tickets have no names on them and need no ID.

Tips for using www.bahn.de...

Stopovers . If you'd like a stopover en route, but still want a cheap saver fare from end to end, no problem. Go to www.bahn.de and enter your start and end point, simply click Add intermediate stops , enter the place where you want to stop off, enter the number of hours stopover and off you go. Maximum 2 days validity with a Sparpreis fare.

Alternatives to using bahn.de: Bahn.de is one of the best train operator sites, but if for any reason you want an alternative site which can also book DB trains at DB prices, try these two: Raileurope.com has a direct connection to DB's ticketing system so it sells the same trains, same prices, same print-at-home tickets at Bahn.de, but with a small booking fee. It accepts all international credit cards so can be used by anyone from any country. Raileurope.com also connects to the French, Italian & Spanish ticketing systems so can easily book multi-operator journeys such as Munich to Naples (which involves DB and Trenitalia) or Frankfurt to Bordeaux (which involves DB and SNCF). Raileurope.com is also capable of splitting the booking to book some cross-Germany journeys (for example, Brussels to Poland) for which you'd have to manually split the booking at some logical point within Germany if you wanted to use bahn.de. www.thetrainline.com also has a connection to DB's system, so can sell print-at-home tickets (but not those which need to be posted) for DB train at the same prices as DB, but with a small booking fee.

Competing private operator: Flixtrain...

Almost all long-distance trains in Germany are operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB), the State-owned German Federal Railways. But there is now one other long-distance operator worth mentioning.

Flixtrain, www.flixtrain.com. Flixtrain has taken over the one daily train Berlin-Cologne-Heidelberg-Stuttgart previously run by Locomore and the Cologne-Osnabruck-Hamburg trains previously run by HKX. Flixtrain offers cheap tickets, even if the competing DB trains are more frequent and faster.

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Tickets by phone in the UK...

If you live in the UK you can buy German train tickets direct from Deutsche Bahn on their special UK telesales line, 08718 80 80 66 . Lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee. Normal national UK phone rates apply.

Alternatively, you can call International Rail on 0844 248 248 3, lines open 09:00-17:00 Monday-Friday. They charge a £10 booking fee for bookings under £100, £20 for £100-£300, £30 above £300. In many cases tickets can be emailed to you as e-tickets, so there's no postage fee or delay.

Custom-made train travel & hotel arrangements...

A hassle-free option is to get reliable specialist agency Railbookers to arrange your whole trip, with train bookings, hotels and transfers all sorted with one phone call. Just tell them when and where you want to go, and they'll create the best rail-based tour for you. UK call 020 3327 0761, www.railbookers.co.uk. US call free 1-888-829-4775, www.railbookers.com. Canada call free 1-855-882-2910, www.railbookers.com. Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526, www.railbookers.com.au. see website. New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or

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Special regional tickets

These one-day unlimited travel passes are well worth knowing about, even though they're not valid on fast long-distance trains, only on slower regional trains. If you want a railpass valid on all trains, including high-speed and long-distance ones, see the German Rail Pass section below.

Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket: Unlimited regional train travel at weekends

The Schönes-Wochenende (Happy Weekend) ticket used to give a whole day's unlimited travel on regional and regional-express trains throughout the whole of Germany on either a Saturday or a Sunday for €40. However, DB discontinued this ticket in June 2019.

Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket: Unlimited regional train travel on weekdays after 09:00 = €44...

The Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket is the weekday equivalent of the Happy Weekend ticket. It gives a day's unlimited travel after 09:00 until 03:00 the following morning on all regional and regional-express trains (RE, RB, IRE, S-Bahn) throughout the whole of Germany. The first traveller pays €44, each additional passenger pays just €8 to be added to the same ticket, up to a maximum of 5 passengers in total.

You can't use fast IC, ICE or EC trains, only slower regional trains, so a long-distance journey which could be made on a fast direct IC or ICE train could be very slow and involve several changes if made using purely regional trains. But it can be a very cheap way to go, especially if you haven't been able to book a cheap advance-purchase ticket for an ICE or IC train.

For more information (but only in German, so use Google Chrome browser's automatic translation feature), see www.bahn.de/p/view/angebot/regio/ qdl.shtml?dbkanal_007=L01_S01_D001_KIN0001_startseite-topangebote-QDL_LZ01.

To buy a ticket online and print it out yourself, click the 'Book now' link on www.bahn.de/p/view/angebot/regio/ qdl.shtml?dbkanal_007=L01_S01_D001_KIN0001_startseite-topangebote. I strongly recommend registering when prompted, so you can log in, check your bookings and re-print at any stage. Alternatively, these tickets can also be bought on the day of travel from the self-service ticket machines at German stations, although it costs €2 more if you buy from a staffed counter.

Lander tickets: A day's unlimited regional train travel in one region, e.g. Bavaria...

A bargain worth knowing about! Each region of Germany offers a Lander Ticket giving unlimited travel on regional trains in that region, meaning RE, RB, IRE & S-Bahn, but not long-distance IC, EC or ICE trains. There's more information at www.bahn.de/en/view/offers/regional/regional-day-tickets.shtml.

You can buy a Lander ticket online at www.bahn.de/en/view/offers/regional/regional-day-tickets.shtml and print it out or simply show it on your smartphone or laptop, or you can buy at the station on the day, but it costs €2 more if bought at a staffed travel centre rather than online or the self-service ticket machines. If you buy online, I recommend registering when prompted, so you can log in, check your bookings and re-print at any stage.

Bayern ticket: Munich, Füssen (Neuschwanstein castle), Berchtesgaden (Eagle's Nest), Salzburg...

The Bayern Ticket (Bavaria Ticket) is the Lander ticket to buy for day trips from Munich to Salzburg, Munich to Füssen (for Neuschwanstein castle) or Munich to Berchtesgaden for the Eagles Nest.

It costs €25 for a solo traveller or €32 for 2 people travelling together or €39 for 3 people or €46 for 4 people or €53 for 5 people.

It gives unlimited travel on regional & inter-regional throughout Bavaria for a whole day, on weekdays from 09:00 until 03:00 the following morning, and on Saturdays & Sundays from 00:00 until 03:00 the following morning.

It also covers most Bavarian buses, including the bus between Füssen station and Hohenschwangau for Neuschwanstein castle.

How to reach Neuschwanstein castle from Füssen station & how to reach Eagle's Nest & the Berghof from Berchtesgaden.

City Mobil: Urban city transport added to your inter-city rail ticket.

When booking online to many major German cities, you are often offered a City Mobil add-on for a few euros, with choice between a single ticket or a day ticket. If City Mobil is available in that city, it will appear after you select your train and proceed past the seat reservation stage. The single ticket option gives one trip on urban bus, tram or U-bahn transport to a destination within that city within 2 or 3 hours of your arrival. A day ticket gives unlimited travel on the urban bus, tram & U-bahn network in that city.

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InterRail Germany pass (for European residents): Click to check prices & buy online...

If you are a European resident (but live outside Germany) you can buy an InterRail pass for Germany giving a choice of 3, 4, 6 or 8 days unlimited travel on all Deutsche Bahn trains within an overall 1 month period. You can choose 1st class or 2nd class.

To explain that a bit more, when you buy the pass you choose the date on which the overall 1 month validity starts, and you choose how many days you want to buy, either 3, 4, 6 or 8. You then 'spend' each of these unlimited travel days on any date you like within that 1 month validity period simply by writing the date in one of the boxes printed on the pass. You can make as many journeys as you can cram in on each day, there is no limit (that's what unlimited means).

The pass is valid on all DB trains, including the high-speed ICE trains and fast IC and EC trains. It's also valid on a few small private regional operators, but not private operators HKX or InterConnex.

In Germany, there are few if any reservation fees to pay, and (unlike France) no quotas for passholders. In 99% of cases you just write the date in your pass, then hop on any trains you like spontaneously with no reservation or extra fee payable. Germany is therefore one of the countries where passes retain their flexibility and convenience, unlike (say) France, Italy or Spain.

Is a pass better value than point-to-point tickets? Well, an adult 6-day 2nd class pass costs £268, that works out at £45 (€51) per day. You could go online at www.bahn.de 2-3 months ahead and buy a long-distance train ticket in advance from just €29, limited refunds or changes to travel plans. But imagine you wanted to make two such journeys a day, not one. Or didn't book 3 months in advance, so are now seeing higher prices, perhaps €69 or €89 fares online at www.bahn.de? Or simply want flexibility, and don't want to commit to specific trains with a no-changes no-refunds ticket in advance? Then a pass can be great value.

Click here to check InterRail prices & buy online

German Rail pass (for overseas visitors)...

If you live outside Europe, you can buy an German Rail Pass giving a choice of 3 to 10 days unlimited travel on all Deutsche Bahn trains within an overall 1 month period. You can choose 1st class or 2nd class.

To explain that a bit more, when you buy the pass you choose the date on which the overall 1 month validity starts, and you choose how many days you want to buy, any number between 3 and 10. You then 'spend' each of these unlimited travel days on any date you like within that 1 month validity period simply by writing the date in one of the boxes printed on the pass. You can make as many journeys as you can cram in on each day, there is no limit (that's what unlimited means).

The pass is valid on all DB trains, including the high-speed ICE trains and fast IC and EC trains. It's also valid on a few small private regional operators, but not private operators HKX or InterConnex.

In Germany, there are few if any reservation fees to pay, and (unlike France) no quotas for passholders. In 99% of cases you just write the date in your pass, then hop on any trains you like spontaneously with no reservation or extra fee payable. Germany is therefore one of the countries where passes retain their flexibility and convenience, unlike (say) France, Italy or Spain.

Is a pass better value than point-to-point tickets? Well, an adult 6-day 2nd class pass costs $343, roughly €200, that works out at €33 per day. You could go online at www.bahn.de 2-3 months ahead and buy a long-distance train ticket in advance from just €29, limited refunds or changes to travel plans. But imagine you wanted to make two such journeys a day, not one. Or didn't book 3 months in advance, so are now seeing higher prices, perhaps €69 or €89 fares online at www.bahn.de? Or simply want flexibility, and don't want to commit to specific trains with a no-changes no-refunds ticket in advance? Then a pass is great value.

You cannot buy a German railpass if you are resident in Europe.

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Maps of the German rail network...

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InterCity Express (ICE): More photos & info ...

InterCity Express high-speed trains, usually known as ICE, are German Railways' front-rank trains, travelling at up to 175mph (ICE1 & ICE2) or 186mph (ICE3). You'll find information about ICEs on the ICE page.

ICE1 or 2, 2nd class ICE1 or 2, 1st class An ICE2 at Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

InterCity trains travel at up to 125mph, usually using a locomotive and conventional carriages. Some InterCity trains cross borders into neighbouring countries and these will be classified EuroCity (EC) rather than InterCity.

InterCity trains are now being refurbished with similar seating to ICEs. Virtual tour of InterCity train... InterCity 2nd class. You'll also find a few compartment coaches on InterCity trains, and a bistro or restaurant car... InterCity 1st class, often available in both open-plan saloons like this and in compartments.

Regional trains...

Regional trains are sometimes operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB, German Railways) or sometimes outsourced to a private operator such as Abellio, Metronom, Erixx, but still run as part of the national network, with tickets sold by DB at www.bahn.de. They come in many different shapes and sizes, some single-deck, some double-deck.

Seats on a double-deck regional train... DB Regio double-deck regional train at Hamburg...

DB Regio regional train on a rural route... 2nd class seats on a rural DB Regio train...

There are several types of ICE, for plans of the seating layout on IC, ICE and various other types of train in Germany see the Train seat numbering page.

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Train formation poster or Wagenstandsanzeiger, on a German station platform, showing where along the platform each car of a train will stop, so you can be waiting in the right place when your train comes in!

Maps of the European rail network: See the section on the Train travel in Europe page about rail maps.

Language problems: First-time visitors often think this will be a problem, but it hardly ever is. At stations, signs are usually in English as well as German, or they use easy-to-understand pictograms. On-train announcements on long-distance trains are often made in English as well as German.

Food & drink on German trains: Most long-distance trains have at least a bistro car serving tea, coffee, wine, beer & snacks from a counter, with some tables nearby if you'd want to eat and drink in the bistro car rather than take it back to your seat. See sample ICE bistro menu. Many German long-distance trains have a proper sit-down waiter-service restaurant car. In first class on ICE you'll often be asked if you want to order food or drink, and it will be brought and served at your seat. Alternatively, feel free to bring your own food and drink (even a bottle of wine, if you like) onto the train, there's no rules against that on the rails!

Luggage on trains: There are no baggage fees or weight limits, and you don't check your bags in, you simply take them with you onto the train, placing them on the racks at the end of each car or amongst the seats, or above your head. It's usually possible to keep all your bags in sight. More information about luggage on trains.

Should you reserve a seat or not? Reserving a seat is optional on most German trains. You can add a reserved seat to your booking for €4.50, when buying a first class ticket it may be free. If you don't reserve, you simply sit in any empty unreserved seat. Small LED displays above each seat show which seats are reserved between which stations, and which seats are free. Travelling alone, middle of the day, mid-week in February, you'll have plenty of seats to choose from. But a family group, travelling on a Friday afternoon in July would be well advised to reserve seats. And for any long journey it's best to be on the safe side and reserve. You can make a seat reservation separately (i.e. after buying your ticket) simply by going to www.bahn.de and clicking the Seat only (no ticket) link right at the bottom.

On the train's LED seat reservation displays above each seat: ggf. reserviert - this means the train's on-board reservation system hasn't been updated with the latest information from the main DB reservation system. Usually all of the seats show this message if this happens. Seat reservations are still valid, but cannot be shown on the LED displays, so you can sit in these seats but you could be asked to move if someone shows up with a reservation. ggf. freigeben - this is a last-minute reservation seat. You can sit in it if you like, but will have to move if someone shows up with a reservation. bahn.comfort - travellers holding a frequent traveller BahnCard have priority for these seats. You can sit in these seats but someone with a BahnCard may show up and claim it. Though how they'd know you didn't have a BahnCard and so ask you to move is another question! Schwerbehinderte means that seat is reserved for people with disabilities.

First class lounges at stations: There are lounges for first class passengers at Berlin, Bremen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt Main Airport, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Leipzig, Mannheim, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart. Just follow the signs to the 'DB Lounge'. Most are open roughly 07:00-21:00 daily, search www.bahn.de for details. The lounges offer complimentary tea, coffee, soft drinks, beer & snacks. You can use DB Lounges with any first class national or international mainline ticket for DB trains or their partner railways, including cheap sparpreis 1st class fares, but excluding the extra-cheap supersparpreis fares. You cannot use DB Lounges with a railpass. Important update: From 15 December 2019, only the most expensive full-flex Flexpreis tickets will get you into the DB Lounges. Sparpreis & Supersparpreis will no longer give you access.

Left luggage at stations: All German stations other than the very smallest have left-luggage lockers in various sizes, up to suitcase-sized. More information on left luggage lockers & prices.

Bicycles: You can take a bike with you free of charge on suburban & regional trains, and for a fee on most InterCity train, with prior reservation required. Bicycles are not carried at all on ICE trains. To find a train that will take both you and you bike, simply use the online timetable at www.bahn.de, ticking the 'carriage of bicycles required' box. Within Germany, you can book a bike space and buy your ticket online this way, too. For more information, see the bicycles by train page.

Dogs & pets: Dogs can be taken on all German trains, sometimes free, sometimes for a small fee. For more information, see the dogs & pets page.

Places not served by the main rail network...

Neuschwanstein, Germany's fairytale castle: See details here.

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Take a good guidebook. For independent travel, the best guidebook is either the Lonely Planet or Rough Guide. Both guidebooks provide an excellent level of practical information and historical and cultural background. You won't regret buying one!

Buy online from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Or buy the Lonely Planets from the Lonely Planet website, with shipping worldwide. Alternatively, you can download just the chapters or areas you need in .PDF format from the Lonely Planet Website, from around £2.99 or US$4.95 a chapter.

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Tours of Germany by train

Custom-made tours of Germany by train...

If you want to tour Germany by train, with all your train reservations and hotels sorted for you to your own specification, contact rail travel specialists Railbookers and they'll create the best rail holiday for you, hassle-free. Unlike some overseas travel agents, they really do know all about train travel in Italy and right across Europe, and they know some excellent hotels, too. They take good care of their clients and it's not surprising they get a lot of repeat business, so I have no hesitation in recommending them.

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My favourite hotel search site: www.booking.com www.booking.com is my favourite hotel booking site and I generally prefer booking my hotels all in one place here. You can usually book with free cancellation - this allows you to confirm your accommodation at no risk before train booking opens. It also means you can hold accommodation while you finalise your itinerary, and alter your plans as they evolve - a feature I use all the time when putting a trip together. I never book hotels non-refundably. I have also come to trust their review scores - you won't be disappointed with anything over 8.0. Tip: It can pay to compare prices across multiple hotel sites: HotelsCombined.com is a price comparison site which compares hotel prices on Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia, Accor, Agoda and many others. Though if there's not much in it, I prefer keeping all my bookings together in one place at www.booking.com.

AirBnB: www.airbnb.com... www.airbnb.com began in 2008 when two designers who had space to share hosted three travellers looking for a place to stay. AirBnB is a platform which connects hosts with guests, so you can now book a room in people's homes, or an apartment, flat or house which people want to rent out. It can be nicer than a hostel, cheaper than many hotels.

www.hostelworld.com: If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in Paris and most other European cities at rock-bottom prices.

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