TGV in France, ICE in Germany and AVE in Spain I find are very rapid and punctual with stations in the centre of town in my experience, Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Frankfurt, Berlin and Madrid, Seville...tickets are not expensive especially when purchased in advance. I've got the train from London to Bordeaux where the Paris-Bordeaux leg was 20 euros because I bought the ticket 3 months in advance.