Here is a scenario that plays out constantly: a first-time European rail traveler buys a 15-day Eurail Global Pass for €620, then discovers that nearly every high-speed train on their itinerary requires a mandatory seat reservation on top of the pass — €10 to €40 per journey. By the end of a Paris–Milan–Rome–Florence trip, the extra fees add up to €130. The pass that was supposed to be the flexible, all-in solution ends up costing more than buying the same tickets individually would have. This is not Eurail’s fault. It is a mismatch between what passes are built for and…
