Travel tips

A book I recommend is the Rough Guide's "First-Time Europe" by Louis CasaBianca, ISBN 1-85828-381-7. His Three Great Travel Commandments are:

Go Early
Travel Light
Plan Ahead

These are commandments: If you don't follow them, prepare to suffer grievously. What I offer are tips that will make confusion less and let you get more worth for your time and money. These tips are neccessarily biased by my experience, which is travel by train in western Europe

Have a haircut before departure.
When you catch a train, it is worth your while to catch the express. The expresses may leave later, but it may arrive before or at the same time as the stopping train. The express is also less fatiguing, and your sleep will be less interrupted.
Don't carry your luggage with you. Leave it at the station. The money you spend on storage is repayed in time you can add to the end of your day.
When you are tired and depressed, take a nap.
If you are in a hurry, take time to get the precise directions
Buy a map at the station. If you don't you will have to give up sightseeing time to get one. The regional transport ticket offices often stock good city maps or streetplans at reasonable prices.
When you arrive at a station, spend some time there. It gives you the atmosphere of the city, and it will be the last chance you have to spend time there. Knowing your station may save you precious seconds when you have to catch the train out.
Work with the sun behind you. When you are exploring a street, have the sun at you back. Choose the shadow-side of the train or aircraft. Not only can you see better, but constant sunshine in your eyes causes fatigue.
Welcome-cards and day or week passes sometimes save you money, but always save you worry and time.
Keeping a journal is absolutely necessary if you want to remember your trip the way it was.
Locals who usually travel by car is often not your best information source on public transport
Learn the mantra:

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