The 10 most scenic European rail journeys to take now we have left the EU
Sample a wealth of great experiences while enjoying the most civilised form of transport. Simon Calder is your guide
Europe has the world’s finest rail network. Inter-city services provide fast and frequent connectivity across the continent. High-speed links cross international frontiers to connect France with Spain and Germany. Rail passengers in eastern Europe are seeing rapid improvements. And even in Greece, which for a time seemed to be the land that railways forgot, a new high-speed line connects Athens with Thessaloniki.
Yet besides these modern iron superhighways, there are thousands of less celebrated tracks which offer a wealth of great experiences while enjoying the most civilised form of transport.
Naples to Sorrento, Italy
The beautiful bookends of the Bay of Naples are connected by the Circumvesuviana, a partly single-track railway prone to disruption and using rolling stock almost as old as the Roman Empire. But all is forgiven as it arcs around the bay beneath the skirts of that infamous volcano, Vesuvius. You can alight to explore this rumbling giant, or the cities that it devastated: Pompeii and the much less visited and more rewarding Herculaneum. Stay on the line to Sorrento and you discover one of Italy’s most indulgent resorts, itself a scenic wonder.
Hendaye, France, to San Sebastian, Spain
From a station on the French side of the Franco-Spanish border, the narrow-gauge line steals across the river that makes the frontier, and then carves a course close to the Basque Coast – with a wide-screen vision of mountains, villages and the spectacular shoreline, before ending the journey in arguably Spain’s most glorious city.
St Moritz to Zermatt, Switzerland
The Glacier Express is the slowest “express” train in Europe, taking eight hours between these mountain resorts. The line between them owes its existence to an influx of wealthy tourists in the early 20th century, lured by the spectacular landscapes of the Swiss Alps. The route follows numerous gorges and the early stage of the Rhine. The engineering high point is the Landwasser Viaduct, which passes 213 feet over the Landwasser River before disappearing into a tunnel in the adjacent cliff. The altitudinal high point is the Oberalp Pass, where the line reaches a height of 6,670 feet.
Prague, Czech Republic, to Vienna, Austria
Modern expresses use the historic line between the Czech and Austrian capitals, through deep valleys and across high moorland. While experiencing a slice of 19th-century Europe beyond the windows, you can enjoy free wifi and draught beer on tap. As you cross the near-invisible international frontier at high speed, toast the collapse of the Iron Curtain three decades ago.
Howth to Dun Laoghaire, Ireland
The Dart (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) railway through the Irish capital is a humdrum suburban train that happily fringes Dublin Bay, connecting two fine coastal towns and giving a new perspective as it slices through the city centre. All yours in return for an investment of under €5 and under an hour.
Fort William to Mallaig, Scotland
Scotland has so many superb rail journeys that it could fill all 10 spots. Many contend that the West Highland Line north from Glasgow over the wilds of Rannoch Moor to Fort William is the most spectacular. But the continuation to Mallaig is even more impressive. It offers views of Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest mountain, as the train rumbles north and west parallel to the historic “Road to the Isles”. Pause at Glenfinnan for a walk to the viaduct that features in Harry Potter, or to stay the night in a vintage railway carriage. Watch the mesmerising scenery towards the raw edge of mainland Scotland – and, from Mallaig, the ferry to southeast Skye and the end of the world.
Villefranche to Latour-de-Carol, France
France has Europe’s original high-speed rail network, but I prefer some other 20th-century achievements – most of all this absurd line from the pretty town of Villefranche, inland from Perpignan, into the high Pyrenees. This narrow-gauge railway folly took 24 years to complete, and today the engineering miracles of its creation still form part of the great SNCF empire. The Petit Train Jaune (“little yellow train”, which also has flourishes of red) even has open-top carriages in summer, for an all-round vision of some of Europe’s mightiest mountains.
Menton to Grasse, France
Among the many other great journeys in France is this classic line along the Cote d’Azur west from Menton – on the border with Italy – but then turns inland to reach the fragrant Provencal hill town of Grasse. The train makes 26 stops between the two, including subterranean Monaco, handsome Nice Ville and high-end Antibes. At Juan-les-Pins, the line runs through a faded tableau of terracotta then converges with the coast.
Bucharest to Constanta, Romania
The former eastern bloc has a million great train journeys, such as the line of the Orient Express through Bulgaria and the steam-hauled main line services in western Poland. They are also pleasingly cheap. Best of all is the four-hour journey from the Romanian capital, paralleling the Danube through bucolic countryside to the handsome resort of Constanta on the Black Sea.
Moscow to St Petersburg, Russia
The journey between the present and past Russian capitals has neither the scale of the Trans-Siberian nor the drama of some other railways in the world’s biggest country, such as the line that runs between the mountains and the Black Sea serving the resort of Sochi. But its beauty lies in the way that it portrays day life in rural Russia – a sequence of images of cottages, lakes and meadows, into which grim Soviet relics only occasionally intrude. You can cover the 400 miles on an express in as little as 3h30m, but I prefer to take a slower train to appreciate the nuances – and to stop off in the fine city of Novgorod.
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