Over the years I’ve done a lot of travel and plenty of train travel too. I’ve caught sleeper trains in Thailand, Vietnam, long two-day trains in China, scenic trains in New Zealand, even the bamboo railway in Cambodia!
It’s a superb way to travel, it enables you to see so much more of a country than simply flying over or even self-driving, for me it’s much more of an adventure. But I’ve got a confession to make, I haven’t done that much train travel in Europe. OK, so I’ve done plenty in the UK and even the Eurostar to Paris, Brussels and taking trains around Belgium. But I feel part of my adventurous travel hasn’t yet explored Europe by rail. The only excuse I really have is the lack of free time because it’s becoming increasing simple to train it around Europe these days.
Easy Way To Travel Europe
Europe’s leading rail ticket agency Voyages-sncf are on a mission to prove that you really don’t have to do it the hard way when planning a rail trip in Europe. They’ve team up with us and several other bloggers for their campaign, #TheEasyWay. To find out just how easy it can be, check out the fun little video at the end of this post!
I was so excited by the notion of how simple, easy and enjoyable train travel can be in Europe that I thought I’d draw up a wish list of journey’s I’d like to take by train. I’d love to hear about yours, so do leave a comment.
1. Heading East on the rails (Eastern Europe)
I haven’t spent an awful lot of time in Eastern Europe other than short trips to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland so exploring by rail in this part of Europe would be an epic trip.
I’d start my trip in Germany’s party capital, Berlin. I’d look to take a little more time than I have on my previous brief visits, perhaps checking out some of the local graffiti and street art, museums and outdoor beer gardens.
On wards through Krakow and Prague, both places I’ve visited but would like to take the time to explore them again as there is quite a lot to see in the way of culture, history and stunning architecture. There’s plenty to marvel at when visiting Wawel Castle in Krakow and Prague Castle.
After taking in all that history and architecture my feet would be pretty worn out so stopping off in the Hungarian capital, Budapest sounds like the perfect place to recover. I’d be looking forward to unwinding in the medicinal waters of their thermal baths. If that wasn’t enough, Zagreb the Croatian capital would be the perfect base to venture out to the coast to catch some sunshine and explore the beaches.
Route: Berlin – Krakow – Prague – Bratislava – Vienna – Budapest – Belgrade – Zagreb – Ljubljana
2. The Chocolate Train (“Train du Chocolat”)
Photo by Timo Newton-Syms
This is no ordinary train journey, “Train du Chocolat” which is a joint partnership between GoldenPass Services and Cailler-Nestlé takes you on a visit to a cheese dairy ( ‘La Maison du Gruyere’) and a chocolate factory (‘Maison Cailler-Nestle’).
I’d be hoping to settle down in my seat with an early morning hot chocolate and croissant peering out of the windows taking in the scenery on the way to Gruyères. If I was lucky enough to be able to stretch to first class I’d seek out the first class vintage 1915 “Belle Epoque” Pullman car. Either way, the journey promises stunningly beautiful views out from your carriage of lakes, mountains, vineyards and the medieval town setting of Gruyères.
Route: Montreux to Broc, Switzerland
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins, roundtrip
3. Longest Train Journey in the world – Trans-Siberian Railway
Photo by Boccaccio1
OK, so we’re heading from Europe to Asia, but it still counts, and it is certainly well worthy of inclusion. The Trans-Siberian is a much talked about epic journey in travel circles. The draw here is the huge expansion Russian landscapes the chance to escape and really go on an adventure.
One appealing aspect of taking such a lengthy journey overland is the opportunity to stop off and experience a number of intriguing little towns and cities, I’d never have thought of visiting places such as Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk and The city of Perm. There’s a certain mystique around this journey, and a sense of getting away from it all, dare I say going “offline” for a while?
The journey is long, would take plenty of planning, I’d need plenty of visas but it’d be well worth the effort from what I’ve heard through the grapevine.
Duration: 19 days
Route: Moscow – Vladivostok, Russia
4. Train Ride Through Italy
Photo by Martina Serra
Another country that I’d love to get the opportunity to travel overground through is Italy. I’ve barely ventured there at all with only a brief visit to Sardinia.
A train journey in my mind would be the only a way to traverse Italy and really take in the beauty of the countryside, rather than peering through the clouds on a plane to the ground below. First stop on this trip would be Milan, Italy’s fashion capital, packed full of museums, historical churches, monuments, parks and gardens. For me, a “must do” would be catching a football match at the San Siro, home to AC Milan. I’d be looking forward to seeing for myself just what Venice is truly like (It’s such a familiar picture postcard image) and taking a gondola ride through the city whilst hoping to avoid the mass of tourists!
By this time I’d hopefully have built up a large enough appetite to take on Bologna, because from what I’ve seen and heard about Bologna it is truly a gastronomic feast! Heading off with a full belly, the next stop would be the renaissance and neoclassical masterpiece that is Florence. It’s architecture revolutionised the way every major European city was built, including London, Rome, Paris and Barcelona. I’d stroll around the city in awe of its architectural beauty where the likes of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Botticelli and Donatello all left their mark.
If I hadn’t already devoured enough Italian food they’d be little choice but to sample one of my favourites, the pizza, to see if it tastes even better in its original birth place, Naples. Rounding off this bustling, cultural and culinary trip I’d finish in Rome, with a visit to that iconic historical landmark, the Colosseum.
Route: Milan – Turin – Venice – Bologna – Florence – Naples – Rome
5. Going Football Crazy – Germany, Italy, Spain, France
Being a bit of a fanatical football fan it’s extremely tempting to plan a trip around some of the top European football clubs, even if it’s just to give the journey a bit of a running theme. It’d be a little tricky to line up a home game at all the destinations but all the clubs do a stadium tour for those looking to check out the boot room and benches.
First stop off travel from Paris (overnight sleeper train) would be Munich, home to the biggest sports club in Germany and 4th biggest football club in the world, Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. The stadium was opened back in 2005 and is home to both Bayern and TSV 1860, it took under three years to build. I’d get the opportunity on the two-hour tour to wander around the dressing room, VIP lounge, Media lounge, Sponsors lounge and of course for any Bayern fans, buy a present from the gift shop!
After touring the Allianz Arena I would jump back on the train down to Italy and hopefully to attend the clash of Italian titans, “Derby della Madonnina” or the Milan derby between Inter Milan and AC milan at the San Siro. Possibly the biggest Derby, not just in Italy, but the world.
After the passions of derby day in Milan I’d head back to Paris, then over to Barcelona FC at the Nou Camp, hopefully timing it just right to catch a game along with a few glasses of catalan cava and some tapas. Whilst in Barcelona I’d take some time to relax on the beach and explore some of Gaudí’s stunning creations.
Staying in Spain I’d catch the super quick train to the capital to experience the Bernabeu (Estadio Santiago Bernabeu), home to Real Madrid. An easy to get to stadium by tube and its a huge imposing venue with a renowned atmosphere on match days. It’s fair to say that there’s a pretty packed trophy cabinet here and plenty of photo opportunities, if I get the chance to visit in the future expect plenty of selfies!
After all the excitement of Spain I’d be heading back into France for one last stop before heading home, to the Stade de Gerland home of Olympique Lyonnais (or Lyon). One of the most popular and also richest club in France, Lyon. Stade de Gerland is one of the oldest stadiums in France and was renovated for the 1998 world cup, it boasts 40,000 seats.
Route: Munich – Milan – Barcelona – Madrid – Lyon
Easy Way To Travel – Competition
Europe’s leading rail ticket agency Voyages-sncf (used to be known as Rail Europe) want to show you just how easy it is to travel Europe by train, they’ve produced an amusing YouTube video all about it! How far would you go to get train tickets to Europe? I’d probably spend hours trying to get the tickets out from the sliding door (0.41 seconds in on the video) before realising it’s probably better to take #TheEasyWay!
If you want to try an even easier way…er maybe, well if you’re lucky! Then try entering Voyages-sncf’s competition to win one of 12 pairs of train tickets from London to Avignon, Barcelona, Geneva or Milan.
Have you had a great experience traveling by train in Europe? What was your favourite train journey? Let us know in the comments.
This post is brought to you as part of a campaign created and managed by iambassador and Voyages SNCF. As always all opinions are my own.
