WHY TRAINS BEAT PLANES IN EUROPE
City center to city center, a train beats a plane for anything under three hours. No security lines, no baggage fees, no hour-before-departure requirement, no distant airport. You sit in a comfortable seat, watch the landscape change, and arrive in the middle of the city you came to see. Some of these journeys are reasons to travel in themselves.
THE ROUTES WORTH TAKING
Glacier Express, Switzerland
The "slowest express train in the world" — 8 hours from Zermatt to St. Moritz across 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels in the Swiss Alps. Panoramic windows. The Alps outside. This is the train journey that makes people say they want to do it again immediately after finishing it.
Oslo to Bergen, Norway
Seven hours across the Hardangervidda mountain plateau, the highest railway in Northern Europe. Birch forests, frozen lakes, the dramatic descent into Flåm through the Myrdal mountain station. Take it in any direction. Spring through autumn is spectacular. Winter under snow is otherworldly.
Cinque Terre Coastal Train, Italy
The five villages of the Cinque Terre are connected by a coastal railway that passes through cliffs and tunnels above the Mediterranean. Each train takes less than five minutes between villages. The combined journey as a way to see the coast — water on one side, cliff on the other — is one of the best short rail experiences in Europe.
Paris to Barcelona Overnight, or Night Trains Generally
Night trains are making a comeback across Europe. Paris to Barcelona is newly restored. Vienna to Venice is back. Prague to Berlin. You sleep, you arrive. No hotel night lost, no airport morning. The couchette cars are not luxurious. They are efficient and you wake up somewhere different.
The Douro Line, Portugal
A regional train that follows the Douro River from Porto through the wine country, climbing alongside terraced vineyards for 170km to the Spanish border. Not fast. Not built for tourists. One of the most beautiful train rides in Europe at a fraction of the cost of Swiss rail.
| Route | Duration | Best Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Glacier Express, Switzerland | 8 hours | Alpine panorama, purpose-built for the view |
| Oslo to Bergen, Norway | 7 hours | Mountain plateau, fjord descent at Flåm |
| Cinque Terre, Italy | 30 min total | Mediterranean coast, village hopping |
| Douro Line, Portugal | 3.5 hours | River vineyards, almost no tourists |
| Paris to Barcelona (night) | Overnight | Save a hotel night, wake up in Spain |
| Trans-Siberian, Russia | 6–7 days | The journey as the destination |
"A train window is the best seat in any country. The landscape does the work. You just have to be willing to sit still long enough to see it."