The Glacier Express is the window to the Alps, a train snaking past snow-capped peaks, lush Swiss meadows and chocolate box towns. Not only is the scenery absolutely fantastic, but the train’s amenities are too, offering gourmet three-course lunches, clean, comfortable carriages and panoramic views. The route takes you from Zermatt at the foot of […]
Author: railwaytraveller123
No trip to the Italian island of Sicily is complete without a ride on the Circumetnea Train, well, not for lovers of slow romantic train travel that is. Travelling for 110km and three hours the train travels from the island’s second largest city, Catania, to the seaside town of Riposto. It almost entirely encircles Mount […]
The Centovalli Railway connects Locarno in Italian-speaking southern Switzerland with Domodossola in northern Italy. Known as both the ‘Centovallina’ or ‘Vigezzina’, the train offers a unique journey across both Switzerland and Italy, running through the Centovalli (meaning 100 valleys), rocky gorges and past many waterfalls. The train serves both transit traffic and tourists and is […]
It’s not just the journey through Austria’s eastern Alps that’s spectacular; the Semmering Railway itself is very special. Built between 1848 and 1854, the Railway boasts sixteen viaducts, fifteen tunnels and 100 bridges on the 42-kilometre journey between Gloggnitz and Murzzuschlag. This was the world’s first mountain railway and given the considerable engineering feat in […]
The Schynige Platte Railway is a scenic mountain railway that travels from Wilderswil up to the vantage point of Schynige Platte, located in the Bernese Highlands area of Switzerland. Covering just 7.3km, the route climbs to a height of 1,420 metres, offering passengers spectacular views of alpine pastures, forests and the glittering lakes Thun and […]
Loved by locals and travellers alike, the Odontotos Rack Railway runs from the villages of Diakopto to Kalavryta on the northern Peloponnese in southern Greece. Running on the world’s narrowest gauge (0.75m), the railway runs for 22 kilometres from Diakopto though the spectacular Vouraikos Gorge and the old Mega Spileo Monastery, stopping en route at […]
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Mont Blanc Express – Switzerland
The Mont Blanc Express is a scenic mountain train that takes passengers across the Alps and Alpine villages, across Switzerland and France, linking Martigny and Chamonix at the foothills of Mont Blanc. The train has connected these regions for more than a century, stopping at key places and tourist attractions in the Chamonix valley and […]
The Rhine Valley is known the world over as one of Germany’s most scenic regions. So travelling by rail along this iconic river is a must-do when you find yourself next in Germany. The most scenic stretch of the river lies between the cities of Mainz and Cologne and it’s an easy journey in each […]
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Linha do Douro Railway – Portugal
The Linha do Douro is a popular rail route in northern Portugal that follows the Douro River from the city of Porto to the towns of Peso da Régua, Pinhao and Pocinho. The stretch between Peso da Régua and Pocinho where you can see the river and the steep valleys filled with vineyards, is one […]
Le Train de la Rhune railway is a scenic rail route in South-West France, in the beautiful Basque Country near the Spanish Border. The train takes passengers on a 10 km journey from Sare (near Saint-Jean-de-Luz) to the summit of the La Rhune Mountain, ascending to 905 metres in 35 minutes. First built in 1924, […]
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Jungfrau Railway – Switzerland
Known as the ‘top of Europe’, the Jungfrau Railway is certainly not for the fainthearted, a nine-kilometre journey ascending 11,332 ft to the highest railway station in Europe. The railway was built in 1912, running from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch, a viewing and adventure platform located between the Bernese Highlands and the Valais in Switzerland. […]
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Harz Railway – Germany
Arguably the greatest steam railway in the world, the Harz Railway, with three interconnecting lines, travels for 86 miles, stopping at 48 stations through the fairytale villages of Germany’s famous Harz mountains. This is Europe’s longest railway network and while other steam trains are now run for tourists only, this line serves the locals too. […]
The Gotthard Panorama Express isn’t just a train journey, it’s an epic adventure across the water and land by both train and boat. Known as the Wilhelm Tell Express until 2016, the route journeys from Lucerne to the lake town of Lugano in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking Ticino region. The journey takes 5 hours, 30 minutes and […]
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Golden Pass Train – Switzerland
The Golden Pass railway route is a rail journey made up of three segments around some of Switzerland’s most stunning scenery. The whole journey takes around 5 hours, 30 minutes, starting in the medieval city of Lucerne and finishing in ritzy Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva. Unlike the Bernina Express and Glacier Express […]
The Flam Railway is one of Norway’s most spectacular visitor attractions. In 2014 it was voted by Lonely Planet as the world’s most beautiful train journey and every year visitors from around the world enjoy a ride on this magnificent railway. The train runs from the end of Aurlandsfjord, a tributary of the world’s longest […]
The Drachenfels Railway is a popular rack railway line in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. The line runs from Konigswinter to the summit of the Drachenfels (Dragon) mountain at an altitude of 948 ft. The journey takes visitors to the top of the Drachenfels Mountain and past the Schloss Drachenburg Villa, which is said to have inspired the castle in Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. The […]
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The Chocolate Train – Switzerland
The Chocolate Train almost doesn’t sound real, but it is, and it’s every sweet-toothed traveller’s dream. The train runs between Montreux and the Cailler-Nestlé chocolate factory at Broc, Switzerland, whisking guests away on an epicurean adventure in grand vintage 1915 Pullman carriages. The journey takes 7 hours 30 minutes and starts in Montreux, before travelling […]
The Bernina Express is one of Switzerland’s most famous and scenic rail routes, giving railway travellers a breathtaking journey through the Swiss Engadin Alps on the centuries-old Rhaetian Railway. The train connects Switzerland’s postcard Alpine city Chur with Italy’s Tirano on a narrow-gauge train with panoramic carriages. Ride it in winter for snowy peaks and […]
The Belgrade to Bar railway line connects Serbia to Montenegro, on a journey through the Balkans that skirts Bosnia and Hercegovina’s spectacular eastern border. On the 11-hour trip passengers get to see mountainous landscapes, beautiful canyons, clear rivers and traditional working farms. The route, which opened in 1976, winds down from the Serbian capital to […]
The popular Altaria train is a long-distance high-speed train that connects the Spanish capital Madrid with four of Spain’s most popular southern cities – Algeciras, Granada, Murcia and Cartagena. The modern Altaria trains are designed with gauge changing technology that allows them to travel on both standard and high-speed rails. This allows them to reach […]