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Rail journey of the month

Brilliant rail explorations of some of Europe's finest scenery and most interesting culture

  • Quimper in Brittany, France<br>The town of Quimper in Brittany

    Rail route of the month: Nantes to Quimper, France – a Breton classic

    In Brittany, modern regional trains with huge windows invite you to soak up the views. Our author’s final piece in her series takes in the line to Finistère
  • Colorful houses of Ventimiglia near river mouth Roya flowing into Mediterranean sea

    Rail route of the month: from Genoa to Ventimiglia, Italy – a line of cinematic brilliance

    Along the coast through Liguria to the French border, our slow travel expert enjoys the mix of tunnels and dramatic coastal views
  • France, Rhone, Ampuis, Rhone valley, wine of Cote du Rhone, vineyards of Cote Rotie, Cote Blonde, Guigal domain<br>HWD680 France, Rhone, Ampuis, Rhone valley, wine of Cote du Rhone, vineyards of Cote Rotie, Cote Blonde, Guigal domain

    Rail route of the month: vines on the line from Avignon to Lyon, France

    Our slow travel expert takes the train through the Rhône’s wine country, hoping for grand cru views and a glass of Condrieu
  • The medieval Swiss town of Gruyères

    Rail route of the month: cheese, chocolate and a magical ride to the Swiss town of Gruyères

    The scenery – and delicacies – get better and better for our slow travel expert as she takes a local train through Canton Fribourg to a beautiful medieval village
  • train on bridge with snowy mountains in distance

    Rail route of the month: Slavic magic on a gentle trip to Zakopane, Poland

    Our slow travel expert discovers the legacy of popes and revolutionaries on a trip south from Kraków to the resort town in the Tatra Mountains
  • Switzerland swiss traffic bridge railroad bridge Centovalli road railway canton Ticino Southern Switzerland swiss autumn lake<br>BNNNAY Switzerland swiss traffic The Centovalli railway in the canton of Ticino.

    Rail route of the month: a dramatic ‘back door’ into Switzerland through the Italian Alps

    Our slow travel expert alights from the express train in Domodossola to discover a rural route through the hills into Switzerland
  • Passenger train Netherlands

    Rail route of the month: rewilding, polders and Hanseatic beauty by train in the Netherlands

    Our slow travel expert visits historic towns and a vast unexpected wilderness on a Dutch rail journey
  • Old town of Lubeck, Germany at night<br>2CCFN24 Old town of Lubeck, Germany at night

    Rail route of the month: across eastern Germany to the Polish city of Szczecin

    Our slow travel expert rides a train through a region of lakes and forests which deserves to be far better known
  • Masaryk square in the old town of Trebon, Czech Republic.<br>2HGG0N3 Masaryk square in the old town of Trebon, Czech Republic.

    Rail route of the month: along the Franz Josef railway from Prague to Vienna

    Our slow travel expert explores a historic central European rail route served by rural trains operating at a pace that would have been familiar to the Habsburgs
  • Steam train on Solkan bridge over turquoise water

    Rail route of the month: Slovenia’s ‘garden of Eden’ from Sežana to Jesenice

    Our slow travel expert takes in the undiscovered charms of the Soča valley and Julian Alps … in a country where train tickets have just got cheaper
  • SCHONWIES-AUSTRIA EC 163 EC Transalpin train

    Rail route of the month: the drama of an Alpine epic from Zurich to Graz

    This exhilarating, nine-hour journey trundles through the Swiss and Austrian Alps and soars to more than 1,000 metres above sea level as it crosses the Rhine-Danube watershed
  • 05-friedrichstadt-main-square A touch of Holland. Gabled houses on the main market square in Friedrichstadt.

    Rail route of the month: the gentle beauty of a ride from Hamburg into Denmark

    This cross-border journey through fenlands and small towns is so idyllic our writer breaks up this short trip with overnight stays
  • The Mont-Blanc Express.

    Rail route of the month: the Mont-Blanc Express from Switzerland to France

    Our slow travel expert takes the off-peak train, discovering along the way that the cross-border ‘express’ train is actually delightfully slow
  • Trondheim. Image of Norwegian city of Trondheim during twilight blue hour.<br>EYPWAW Trondheim. Image of Norwegian city of Trondheim during twilight blue hour.

    Rail route of the month: tracking St Olav from Sweden to Norway

    Our slow travel expert train-hops coast to coast from Sundsvall to Trondheim, following a pilgrim trail based on the life of the 11th-century king
  • The Belgum, Coastal Tram, the Kusttram on its journey by the sea on a cloudy and blue-sky day.

    Rail route of the month: a tram ride along the Belgian coast

    Our slow travel expert explores the world’s longest tram route, a cinematic journey through Belgium’s dunescapes and quirky seaside towns
  • Melk Abbey and river

    Rail route of the month: in the footsteps of railway pioneers through Austria

    Our slow travel expert reflects on a milestone in early railway history as she takes the Railjet from Salzburg to Vienna
  • A steam train drives through a snow-covered landscape at the Harz mountains near Wernigerode, Germany, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

    Rail route of the month: a steam-hauled climb through Germany’s Harz mountains

    Our slow travel expert explores villages and forests on a narrow gauge line that terminates at the top of the Brocken, northern Germany’s highest peak
  • Semmering, Semmering Railway with the Kalte-Rinne-Viadukt (viaduct), wall Polleroswand, train, Wiener Alpen (Vienna Alps), Lower Austria, Austria<br>P27MWR Semmering, Semmering Railway with the Kalte-Rinne-Viadukt (viaduct), wall Polleroswand, train, Wiener Alpen (Vienna Alps), Lower Austria, Austria

    Rail route of the month: through the Alps to the Adriatic – Vienna to Trieste

    Our slow travel expert finds the perfect excursion for winter days when daylight hours are short, leaving the Austrian capital just after dawn and reaching the Adriatic port at dusk
  • Ponte Eiffel (Eiffel Bridge) over Lima river in Viana Do Castelo, Portugal<br>2A1AMGA Ponte Eiffel (Eiffel Bridge) over Lima river in Viana Do Castelo, Portugal

    Rail journey of the month: Lisbon to Vigo via Porto, past dunes, rivers and the Atlantic

    Our slow travel expert enjoys the cross-border Celta train between Portugal and Spain, and not only because it costs just €5.25
  • The beach near the end of the spit on which Skagen is perched. The spit is the point where the waters of the North Sea meet the Baltic.

    Rail route of the month: the slow train to Skagen, Denmark, where the North Sea meets the Baltic

    Our slow-travel expert passes forests, dunes and sea to reach the country’s northernmost railway station
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