As 2025 draws to a close, Rail Europe is sharing a set of booking insights that highlight how North American travelers chose to explore the continent this year. The figures confirm the weight of this audience for European rail: visitors from the United States and Canada represented almost half of all sessions on Rail Europe and showed some of the highest average order values across markets. Their behavior points to a clear shift toward multi-city trips, scenic routes and smaller destinations — a sign that many travelers were looking for richer cultural experiences and a slower, more enjoyable pace.
Most booked European destinations for North American travelers (in no particular order):
Barcelona, Brussels, Edinburgh, Florence, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Seville and Vienna led the way, underlining the role of rail as one of the simplest and convenient ways to move between Europe’s major cultural centers — without the stress of airports or the limitations of domestic networks.
Destinations showing the strongest growth in 2025 (in no particular order):
Annecy, Bordeaux, Bolzano, Budapest, Lucerne and Zermatt recorded the fastest increases. Their growth reflects a rising interest in alpine landscapes, wine regions, lakeside towns and character-rich smaller cities that are often more enjoyable to reach by train.
What shaped travel trend this year
A few clear patterns defined travel behaviour in 2025. North American travellers continued to turn to rail for the flexibility it offers when moving around Europe. One-way tickets were the norm, with many travellers combining several journeys into a single booking to build multi-city itineraries. Last-minute booking also played a significant role: more than one in four booked within seven days of departure.
For summer travel, planning tended to happen earlier, typically 60 to 90 days in advance, broadly in line with carrier booking windows. Solo travel remained consistently high, while cross-border journeys continued to gain momentum throughout the year.
Together, these trends point to a clear appetite for modular, rail-led trips across countries, landscapes, and cultural regions.
With connections to more than 250 operators and 25,000 stations, Rail Europe continued to give North American travelers a simple, reliable way to plan and book routes across borders. This helped many visitors combine Europe’s iconic highlights with quieter, characterful destinations that reveal a different side of the continent.
Country snapshots: where North Americans travelled inside Europe in 2025
Although North Americans travelled widely across Europe, Spain and France stand out for both the volume of demand and the diversity of routes chosen. Together, they offer a good illustration of how travelers built multi-city, cross-border itineraries in two of Europe’s most visited countries.
Spain
Rail remained central to how North Americans explored Spain. The Barcelona–Madrid corridor accounted for almost 50% of all revenue from US and Canadian travellers. A key driver behind this demand is the ability to compare and book services from multiple rail operators on the same route. On Spain’s main corridors, three different carriers operate in parallel — and Rail Europe brings them together in a single booking flow, making it easier for travellers to compare options and build itineraries.
Beyond the main hubs, destinations such as Granada, Sevilla and Valencia continued to gain momentum, reflecting growing interest in warmer regions, strong food cultures and mid-sized cities with a clear sense of place.
France
France remained the top market for North American travelers, with rail playing a key role in domestic and cross-border itineraries. Paris maintained its leading position, while Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille and Nice also saw notable growth. High-speed TGV routes continued to anchor long-haul itineraries thanks to their speed, frequency, and easy onward connections.
Behaviour that defined the year
Across both countries, several patterns were consistent. An overwhelming majority of US and Canadian travellers opted for one-way tickets (94%), favouring multi-city routes over classic round trips. More than half (53%) combined multiple journeys within a single booking, while 26% booked within seven days of departure — a higher share of last-minute bookings than seen in other regions.
Seasonality also continued to shift. Around 28% of travellers planned to move their trips to cooler months, driven by a desire to avoid extreme heat, peak crowds and rising prices.
Rail Europe expects, during 2026, continued growth in cross-border routes, distinctive lesser-known destinations and itineraries that prioritize connection, discovery, and a more personal way of experiencing Europe by rail.
