London to Istanbul
How long did it take to travel from London to Istanbul in the 1920s and 1930s, and what did it cost? In 1925: 5 days door to door, £27 10s. in first class.
Passage computes it for Call of Cthulhu and any 1920s or 1930s tabletop campaign: pick two places and a date, and print the ticket the purser's clerk would have written.
The journey in 1925
- Getting to the port
- London → Southampton (by rail, about 2 h, estimate); Cherbourg → Paris (by rail, about 5 h 30, estimate); Paris → Lausanne (by rail, about 8 h 18, estimate); Lausanne → Milan (by rail, about 5 h 30, estimate); Milan → Venice (by rail, about 4 h 30, estimate); Venice → Belgrade (by rail, about 13 h 48, estimate); Belgrade → Sofia (by rail, about 6 h 30, estimate); Sofia → Constantinople (by rail, about 9 h 18, estimate)
- Embarkation
- Southampton
- Sailing
- Saturday 14 March 1925
- Steamer
- R.M.S. Tamar · Albion Line · Southampton – Cherbourg – New York
- Calls
- Paris, Lausanne, Milan, Venice, Belgrade, Sofia
- via
- Dijon, the Simplon tunnel, Trieste and Zagreb
- Arrival
- Constantinople, Wednesday 18 March 1925
- Door to door
- 5 days
- Fare · First Class
- £27 10s.
- Fare · Second Class
- £18
Transfer at Paris to the Trains de Luxe
The journey in 1933
- Embarkation
- London
- Sailing
- Saturday 16 September 1933
- Steamer
- City of Glasgow · Empire Air Routes · London – Paris – Genoa – Naples – Piraeus – Alexandria – Baghdad – Basra – Karachi
- Calls
- Paris, Genoa, Naples, Piraeus
- Night stops
- Genoa
- via
- Lyons and Marseilles, Corfu
- Arrival
- Istanbul, Tuesday 19 September 1933
- Door to door
- 3 days
- Fare · Single class
- £75
Transfer at Piraeus to the Messageries Transocéaniques
Open the Passage atlas — MGS Toolbox