In the News - European Train Trips

Much of European train travel is about efficiency and comfort, but rail travel in the United Kingdom and in Europe is also about experience. Who wouldn't want to find themselves gaping out the window at Alpine glaciers or savoring gourmet cuisine in a restored last-century dining car. Accordingly, this list of favorite European trains don’t necessarily offer the fastest journeys, just the most memorable.

Sweet Switzerland: The Chocolate Train

This charming train running in summer and fall climbs from Montreux overlooking Lake Geneva to the medieval town of Gruyères. Tour the cheese factory and the local castle, have lunch, then reboard the train and continue on to Broc. From there you’ll bus to the Cailler-Nestlé chocolate factory for free samples, before making the return trip.

Route: Montreux to Broc, Switzerland
Duration: 9 hours, 45 minutes, roundtrip

The Bernina Express

This narrow-gauge, vertigo-inducing train takes on seven-percent inclines, a 360-degree spiral, 55 tunnels, and 196 bridges—reaching an apex of 7,391 feet and then descending 5,905 feet before coming to a stop. The word “express” refers to the availability of short-notice seat reservations, rather than the train’s velocity as it courses through the Alps south from Switzerland’s oldest town to a charming Italian town of Tirano.

Route: Chur, Switzerland, to Tirano, Italy
Duration: 4 hours, 14 minutes

Francisco de Goya
Enjoy a three-course dinner and the increasingly rural scenery as you leave Paris. Slumber to the soothing rhythm of the rails, and wake the next day as you arrive in Madrid, rested and ready to tour this fabulous city. 

Route: Paris to Madrid
Duration: 13 hours, 30 minutes

The Castles of Britain
Discover the United Kingdom’s historic fortresses on this itinerary combining a two-week BritRail pass with the Great British Heritage pass. You’ll get entry to 580 attractions, as you hop off for local touring. Start in Inverness, Scotland, near Loch Ness, to tour Urquhart Castle. Continue south to Stirling Bridge, where William Wallace triumphed over the English in 1297, and on to Edinburgh Castle. English sights include Dover Castle, with its wartime tunnels. In Gwynedd, Wales, tour Caernarfon Castle.

Route: Inverness, Scotland, to Gwynedd, Wales
Duration: 15 days

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express

Step aboard the VSOE, as the train is known, and the calendar turns back to the 1920s and ’30s, the golden age of rail on the Continent.  $16 million was spent restoring 35 sleeping cars to their original art deco sophistication; passengers are expected to dress elegantly for dinner: at a minimum, suit and tie for men and the equivalent for women; black tie and gowns encouraged. 

Route: London to Venice
Duration: Two days, one night

The Transylvanian Odyssey
At the top of the food chain among European trains is the Danube Express, a private train with classical elegance, modern conveniences, and fine dining. On this route, which begins in Budapest after your flight from London, you penetrate the heart of Transylvania and enjoy a walking tour of the medieval town that was the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler. Eventually you approach Istanbul along the Bosporus, where the Topkapi Palace marks the skyline.

Route: London to Istanbul, Turkey
Duration: 8 days (including stays in Budapest and Istanbul)

Let Rawhide Travel and Tours help you with all your business and leisure travel needs. Call us at (602) 843-5100 or visit our website: rawhidetravel.com.

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