There is a timelessness that applies to European rail journeys even on the shiniest, fastest new routes. The magic of travelling seamlessly across the continent, watching old stations dissolve into historic cityscapes, is difficult to achieve by boarding a plane from Gatwick — and trains usually involves less hassle. Interrailing through Europe can be wonderfully varied too, with some of Switzerland’s grandest railways offering alpine views from 3,000m above sea level and other routes taking you deep into the bustle of a capital. Whether you’re seeking a leisurely overnight journey or a new high-speed itinerary, here are ten of the most beautiful train journeys to take in Europe.
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1. Snooze your way north to Sweden
Scandinavia had long seemed like a (metaphorical) bridge too far for rail passengers departing from London St Pancras. However, that has changed with the Hamburg-Stockholm sleeper, unveiled in late 2022. It’s now possible to catch a Eurostar to Brussels and connect to Germany’s northern port, before snoring your way up to the roof of the continent. Passengers wake the next morning to the sea breeze at Stockholm Central, a short stroll from the city’s harbour and sublime island-strewn waters.
Details Five nights’ B&B in Stockholm and two nights in couchette-class sleeper from £1,399pp, including trains (sunvil.co.uk)
2. Spend Christmas in Cologne, Germany
Direct Eurostar trains between London and Cologne have long been mooted but sadly never materialised, but it’s still very possible to travel from St Pancras to one of Germany’s most spirited cities in about four hours via Brussels. Now’s the time to go, for Cologne is awash with Christmas markets. The first you encounter on disembarking at the station, its stalls pitched beneath the spires of the world’s tallest twin-spired church. More stollen and gingerbread can be sourced at markets on the city’s harbourside, where you can merrily sip glühwein and watch the Rhein ebb by.
Details Two nights’ B&B from £484pp, including trains from the UK
3. Tour Mitteleuropa by train
Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Budapest claim some of Europe’s grandest stations: the soaring arch of Budapest Keleti, the art nouveau splendour of Prague Hlavni, the space-age complex of Vienna and Berlin Hauptbahnhofs. Trains have served this quartet of capitals since Prussian and Austro-Hungarian engineers laid tracks well over a century ago. The old empires are no more, but the four still work in concert as a winning combination for a holiday by rail. Travelling between them is also a highlight: glimpse the Danube waltzing by as you trundle from Vienna to Budapest. A group tour with Rail Discoveries, flying from London to Berlin and back from Budapest, includes plenty of time for sightseeing, guided and independently.
Details Nine nights’ B&B from £1,599pp, including trains and flights (raildiscoveries.com)
4. See the Old Masters by rail in Belgium
It can be quicker to travel by train from London to Antwerp than it is to Aberystwyth or St Austell — it takes less than three hours to reach Belgium’s second city, connections permitting. There’s another compelling reason to make the hop following the reopening of the renovated Royal Museum of Fine Arts late last year. Inside you’ll find works by Peter Paul Rubens and other artistic titans (adult £17; kmska.be). The gallery features in Kirker’s art-focused guided tour of Flanders, which also includes detours to Ghent and Bruges.
Details Four nights’ B&B from £2,196pp, including trains from the UK and coaches and some meals (kirkerholidays.com)
5. Guided train-hopping trip from Paris to Madrid
The high-speed train journey from Paris to Madrid is one of Europe’s most spectacular: TGV services race the Rhône, skirt the Mediterranean and burrow under the Pyrenees before entering Catalunya. One connection later, Renfe services slice through sunlit sierras to reach Madrid Atocha station, linking the two capitals in under ten hours. That said, there’s no reason to rush it: Intrepid is offering new guided group tours hopping on and off this route over eight days. Pitched at the climate-conscious, travellers can explore Roman Nîmes, swim beneath the Pont du Gard and mainline tapas in Barcelona on the way.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £1,872pp, including trains, some meals and activities (intrepidtravel.com). Take the Eurostar to Paris
6. An Italian grand tour by rail
In centuries past people went on arduous overland journeys to undertake the “Grand Tour” of Italy; these days it’s much easier, thanks to the country claiming Europe’s fastest trains (looking a bit like Ferraris hauling carriages at up to 186 mph). Starting in Milan’s immense temple-like Centrale station, Frecciarossa services storm southward along a spine of high-speed lines. Stop for tagliatelle in the gastronomic capital of Bologna, alight in Florence to trot across the Ponte Vecchio, and end your journey in Rome’s Termini station, a little more than a spear’s throw from the Colosseum. This flexible trip makes the arrangements, with a choice of hotels along the way.
Details Nine nights’ room-only from £1,885pp, including trains and flights (citalia.com)
7. Tick off the highlights of Switzerland
Every trainspotter, at one time in their life, feels a calling to make a pilgrimage to Switzerland, a country where the rails are steeper, the viaducts loftier and where punctuality is treated with something akin to religious zealotry. Ffestiniog Travel offers an itinerary ticking off the highlights of the network in winter, thrashing through snowdrifts aboard the Bernina Express and Glacier Express and also savouring views of frosty peaks from the snug sanctuary of an old-school Rhaetian Railways dining car.
Details Nine nights’ B&B from £2,650pp, including trains from the UK (ffestiniogtravel.com)
8. See Norway’s ‘Troll Wall’ from a train
Norwegian railways are rivalled only by their Swiss counterparts for their combination of daredevil engineering and neck-deep snowdrifts. Starting in Bergen, you might set out to see the country by travelling its three most hallowed lines: first comes the Flamsbana, which runs from a crystalline sea fjord up to a mountain plateau, then the Bergensbanen, which trundles through serene forests on approach to the capital, Oslo. Lastly comes the Raumabanen, traversing the wild centre of Norway and passing the famous Trollveggen (Troll Wall) en route to the port of Trondheim.
Details Eight nights’ B&B from £1,505pp, including flights, trains and some meals (best-served.co.uk)
9. Train in Portuguese wine in the Douro
From some angles, the Douro Valley could pass for a Norwegian fjord, its slopes rising almost sheer from shimmering waters. Only on closer inspection might you spot the vineyards clinging to its precipitous contours, growing the grapes to make port and glorious red wine — and, in their midst, a single-track railway meandering among the trellises. The Douro Line is perhaps the most dramatic in all of Iberia, puttering from Porto’s azulejo-covered Sao Bento station to the cusp of the Spanish border. Ride it as part of a rail odyssey through Portugal, starting with wine tasting in a Douro quinta before venturing south to hit up the bars and barrios of Lisbon.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £1,304pp, including trains and some excursions (railbookers.co.uk). Fly to Porto and return from Lisbon
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10. Take the long route to Lake Bled, Slovenia
Lake Bled has long been a place to rest and recuperate; medieval pilgrims flocked to its island, 19th-century aristocrats came to unwind in its thermal waters, and Marshal Tito kicked back in his holiday home on the shore. Arrive in the right state of mind by taking an extremely long and leisurely rail journey from London St Pancras. After changing in Brussels you stop for a night in Munich, sinking a stein in the beer halls, before setting out to savour the final leg — a magnificent journey through the Austrian Alps, whose summits peek over the Slovenian border to the hallowed lake.
Details Seven nights’ B&B from £1,495pp, including first-class trains from the UK (planetrail.co.uk)
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