Eurorail is
the way to get across the width and breadth of
Europe, particularly for tourists who want to make their way across multiple countries without renting cars or adapting to
the harsher European standards of driving ettiquette.
Eurorail is, simple, a train system extending throughout 17 countries in Europe: Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, Greece. The beauty of the system is the Eurorail pass, which allows you unlimited travel on any train in the system for certain periods of time.
There are a few variations on the Eurorail pass, and they change occasionally, so check the site at www.eurorail.com. The major players are consecutive day passes and flexible passes. Consecutive day passes are what you might expect: you buy a 1 month pass and you get to ride the rails as much as you want during that month. Flexibe passes allow you to ride for a limited number of days within a 2 month period. Right now, they've got 10 and 15 day flexi-passes. Both passes (for various lengths of time) are available at a discount if you are under 26 (doh I am 26.)
Not having ridden Eurorail, I've been given the following advice:
They've got overnight trains with sleeping compartments for a bit extra, try to plan your trips so you can travel at night, and save hostel or hotel money.
Think about where you're going and consider a flexi-pass. If you're planing to spend a week in five places, you don't need more than a 10 day pass to do that.
For flexi-pass, the day starts at 7pm, so keep that in mind, you can travel from France to Germany, and make a stop to spend most of a day in Frankfurt before heading to Berlin for your week of prodding at the wall.
There also seems to be some good advice in Eurail travel.
Eurorail has provided the framewok for european travel vacations for decades. The trains are great places to meet fellow travelers, try out your french, or soak up the landscapes while still chugging along towards your next stop. If you're planning a European vacation, they're really the only way to go.
Note: I've never ridden Eurorail, but I'm planning a trip to Europe throughout June. Check back here then for a more complete description and thoughts.