By Interrailing to Europe’s smaller towns, you can escape the summer hordes

For a more laid-back rail journey of Europe, we took our teenage sons on more sedate lines, stopping in Utrecht rather than Amsterdam and Baden-Baden rather than Berlin

I realised we’d made the right decision while we were sipping beers in silence in a Ghent bar. Ghent was bustling but not congested, joyous but serene. Our three-week Interrail trip with our 16- and 18-year-old kids began that same night. The quiet ambience of the mediaeval Belgian city soothed us instead of wearing us out after a long train ride.

With an Interrail ticket, you may travel by rail through 33 European nations, and many people utilise it to see the capital cities of their dreams. Principal locations on an itinerary often include Paris, Prague, Rome, and Madrid. But we decided to go in a different direction.

We had a 22-day uninterrupted Interrail pass, so there were no extra travel expenses to worry about, and we planned to make the most of it

Budapest was our ultimate goal, but along the way we passed through smaller, more sedate towns and cities. We went with Delft and Utrecht over Amsterdam, Berlin over Baden-Baden in Germany’s Black Forest, Salzburg over Vienna, and Lausanne over Zurich.

After taking the Eurostar to Brussels, we had a hot and crowded train journey to a busy and disorienting station. By contrast, Ghent felt tranquil as we emerged an hour later. We found a table with ease when we wandered to the charming quayside that was dotted with cafés and bars that first night. Even at 10 p.m. on a Saturday in July, the streets were deserted as we made our way back to the hotel.

For the first three nights, we stayed in Ghent, partly because it was a convenient base from which to explore other areas. We had a 22-day continuous rail pass, so we didn’t have to pay for any additional travel expenses, and we wanted to make the most of it.

Bruges’ cobblestone streets, canals, horse-drawn carriages, and chocolate stores were all part of our first day excursion there. We went on a half-day guided tour of Ypres the following day, including memorials, cemeteries, and battlegrounds. This may not seem like the most obvious thing to do with teenagers, but it really made their history classes come to life.

Part of the reason we spent our last day in Belgium in Brussels was that the next day we had to take a train to Munich (via Frankfurt) at 6:23 am. We saw the key attractions in a hurry.

My tickets were booked well in advance. While most trains are free to board with Interrailing, there are some that need reserved seats, and for those that don’t, it’s best to make reservations in advance to avoid spending hours on the floor.

Amsterdam resembled the gritty, less handsome big brother of Delft. We made haste to return to Delft

We enjoyed the quiet and isolation as there weren’t many other people out strolling. We spent the evening in one of the town’s hot springs, Caracalla Spa. It was a stark contrast to the spa we had visited in Budapest. There was enough area to swim without running into anyone, even if it wasn’t empty.

We spent the last five days in the Netherlands. Because of the high costs during the peak season, we only intended to visit Amsterdam. Thus, we first stayed in the quaint little cities of Delft and Utrecht, which are both full of canals. Although we were happy to see the capital, Amsterdam gave off the impression of being the gritty, less appealing big brother of Delft. We swiftly made our way back to Delft for dinner outside, expressing our relief at being back to the waitress. “I often hear that,” she answered.

We had so much fun on our Interrail trip that we’ve already planned this year’s itinerary, focusing again on more manageable stops. We’re travelling to Lucerne in Switzerland, Innsbruck in Austria, Heidelberg, Nuremberg, and Trier in Germany, with a stopover in Antwerp. If you want, you can take the direct train, but I like the less-traveled route more.