Scenic Routes

The Bernina Pass There is a fast way to travel from Milan to Zurich. And then there is the way you will remember. Direct international trains can whisk you between the two cities in a little over three hours, disappearing beneath much of the Alps through the extraordinary Gotthard Base Tunnel. Efficient? Absolutely. But if you have five days rather than five hours, there is another route entirely. Leave Milan on a regional train and travel north beside Lake Como. Spend your f

View of the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain There is something rather satisfying about leaving London by train and, a few days later, emerging from a railway station beneath the brilliant blue skies of Madrid. No airport lounges. No baggage carousels. No hire car waiting at the other end. Instead, the journey unfolds gradually. London disappears beneath the Channel. Paris provides the first overnight stop. The following morning, France begins slipping past the window as a

SBB Gotthard Train crossing the Alps There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about the idea of leaving Paris by train and arriving in Venice a few days later. Not old-fashioned in the sense of being slow or difficult. Quite the opposite. Europe's modern railways have made this journey remarkably easy. High-speed trains carry you from Paris into Switzerland in around four hours. From Zurich, a direct EuroCity crosses the Alps into Italy. Another fast train takes you from

Ferrovia Circumetnea in Sicily Most visitors experience Mount Etna from a coach window or on a guided excursion to the summit. They admire Europe's highest active volcano for a few hours before returning to the coast, never discovering the communities that have lived in its shadow for centuries. The Ferrovia Circumetnea offers a completely different perspective. Departing from Catania, this historic narrow-gauge railway circles the lower slopes of Mount Etna through ancient l

Castelgrande Castle in Bellinzona, Switzerland Few journeys reveal Switzerland’s cultural variety as vividly as the route from Bellinzona to Lucerne. It begins among Ticino’s stone piazzas, chestnut trees and Italian-speaking cafés, climbs through one of Europe’s most historic Alpine corridors, then emerges beside the lakes and mountains of German-speaking Central Switzerland. The celebrated way to experience it is aboard the Gotthard Panorama Express, combining the historic

Menton, France There are train journeys where the destination is everything, and then there are journeys where you find yourself reluctant to arrive. The railway from Marseille to Ventimiglia falls firmly into the second category. For almost four hours, the tracks hug the Mediterranean coastline, weaving between fishing ports, glamorous resorts, sandy beaches and rocky headlands before quietly crossing into Italy. Unlike many scenic railways that exist purely for sightseeing,

Oeschinensee Lake, Switzerland There are destinations that become famous because they are easy to photograph, and there are others that stay with you because of how they make you feel. Oeschinensee belongs firmly in the second category. Long before the lake appears, the journey itself begins to slow your pace. Trains leaving Bern climb steadily into the Bernese Oberland, passing immaculate villages, flower-filled meadows and timber chalets backed by dramatic limestone peaks.

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Lake Geneva by Train Some railway journeys are spectacular because they climb into mountains. Others succeed because they remain close to the water. The route along the northern shore of Lake Geneva belongs firmly in the second category. Leaving Lausanne, trains slip between terraced vineyards and the lake, passing stone villages, church towers and rows of vines that descend almost impossibly towards the water. Across the lake, the French Alps rise in the distance. Ahead lie

Mont Saint Michel, Normandy, France Few places in France capture the imagination quite like Mont-Saint-Michel. Rising dramatically from the sands of Normandy Bay, crowned by a soaring medieval abbey, it seems almost too extraordinary to be real. For centuries, pilgrims walked across the tidal flats to reach it. Today, high-speed trains have replaced those long journeys, but the sense of anticipation remains remarkably similar. The first glimpse of the Mont rising above the ho

Sweeping Views From Erice Some towns impress you because of what they contain. Erice captivates you because of where it sits. Perched high on a mountain overlooking western Sicily, this beautifully preserved medieval town appears to float above the sea. Stone streets wind between ancient churches and hidden courtyards, castle walls cling dramatically to the cliffs, and from almost every corner there are sweeping views across Trapani, the Egadi Islands and the sparkling Medite

Mount Pilatus Cogwheel Railway Some Swiss mountain journeys are famous because of the view. Mount Pilatus is famous because of the way you get there. From Lucerne, the journey combines lake, rail, mountain and sky in one extraordinary day: a boat across Lake Lucerne, the world’s steepest cogwheel railway from Alpnachstad, a summit high above central Switzerland, and a descent by cable car and gondola towards Kriens. It is one of the most complete day trips in Switzerland. And

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Take the Train up to Montserrat, Spain Some places look impressive in photographs. Montserrat somehow manages to exceed them. The jagged mountain peaks appear almost unreal as they rise above the Catalan countryside, while the monastery seems improbably perched among the rocks. For more than a thousand years, pilgrims have travelled here. Today, visitors arrive for the same reasons they always have: spirituality, scenery and the sense that Montserrat is unlike anywhere else i

San Sebastian Some train journeys connect two cities. Others reveal an entire country. The journey from Barcelona to San Sebastián belongs firmly in the second category. In a little over six hours, Spain unfolds outside the train window in all its diversity. You leave behind the Mediterranean coast, cross the broad plains of Aragón, pass through the changing landscapes of Navarra, and arrive in the green hills and Atlantic light of the Basque Country. It is a journey between

Liencres Natural Park in Cantabria Why this journey? Most visitors arrive in Spain and head south. Madrid. Barcelona. Seville. Perhaps Granada. Few ever explore the country's northern coast. That is a mistake. Stretching from the Basque Country to Galicia, northern Spain offers some of the most dramatic scenery, distinctive cultures and rewarding food experiences in Europe. And one of the best ways to discover it is by train. The journey from Bilbao to Santiago de Compostela

Train Ferry Crossing from Calabria to Messina, Sicily There are sleeper trains. And then there is the train from Milan to Palermo. At almost twenty hours, it is one of the longest rail journeys in Western Europe — a train that leaves the financial heart of northern Italy one evening and arrives beneath the palms, domes and markets of Sicily the following afternoon. Most travellers fly. Many never see the country between. But on this train, Italy unfolds slowly. Cities become

Sunset at Lej Pitschen at The Bernina Pass, Graubünden, Switzerland Few rail journeys in the world are as instantly recognisable as the Bernina route. Images of red trains crossing high stone viaducts, glaciers in the background and lakes reflecting the sky have become almost shorthand for “scenic travel in Switzerland.” But what most people don’t realise is that the best way to experience this journey is not necessarily the famous panoramic train. It’s doing it independently

Zurich by Night There is a point, somewhere after leaving Zurich, when the city lights disappear and the train begins climbing south toward the Alps. The dining car slowly empties. Conversations soften. Reflections from station platforms give way to darkness and mountain silhouettes. By midnight, most passengers have disappeared behind compartment doors as the Nightjet continues through Switzerland toward Italy. By morning, you wake approaching Rome. Not an airport outside th

Paris by Night There is something quietly satisfying about leaving Paris after dinner and waking beside the Mediterranean. Not dramatic. Not luxurious in the Orient Express sense. Just deeply civilised. The overnight train to Nice still preserves a version of European travel that airports have almost completely erased: the sense that the journey itself matters. At around 8pm, passengers begin filtering into Gare d'Austerlitz carrying paper bags from wine shops, backpacks pack