Euro rail trips of a lifetime

Train travel guru Mark Smith lets us in on the finest journeys across the continent

Maybe you don't like flying, or are concerned about air travel's contribution to global warming. Perhaps you just prefer ‘real’ travel by train or ship, where the journey is part of the adventure. Travel by train from London to anywhere in Europe is a far more practical option than most people imagine - in fact, it can be easier and less stressful than flying. But in a world dominated by flights, finding out about train travel has become frustratingly difficult, if not downright impossible. Although many people would prefer a more civilised, comfortable, interesting, adventurous, romantic, scenic, historic, exciting, less stressful and more environmentally-friendly way to travel, the average travel agent only sells flights, flights, car hire and more flights.  

Mark Smith, railwayman and travel expert who’s won countless industry awards for his brilliant train travel website Seat61, has collaborated with climate change charity Global Cool to come up with a definitive list of the finest rail journeys in Europe – and we can reveal them here…

#1: London-Fort William by 'Caledonian Sleeper'

No matter where I go in the world, I keep coming back to this train as one of my all-time favourites. 

Leave London in the evening, sit back on the real leather sofas (yes, really) in the lounge car with a wee dram of Glenfiddich, then retire to your cosy 1 or 2 bed sleeper, wake up in the middle of the West Highlands, with streams, mountains, gnarled oak tress and deer bounding away from the train. 

Those deer give it its unofficial name - "The Deerstalker".

#2 Paris to Madrid on the Elipsos 'trainhotel'

Leave London mid-afternoon, hop on the Elipsos Trainhotel and you're in Spain next morning. You get cosy sleepers, some with private toilet and shower, a cafe-bar with full-length polished wooden bar and bar stools, and elegant restaurant for a 3-course dinner. Over sparkling cava and excellent Rioja in the restaurant car you can watch the traffic lights reflecting off the rain-covered streets as French villages flash past in the moonlight. By morning you're in Spain, being served breakfast with the sun coming up over distant snow-capped mountains north of Madrid.  

You'll catch a glimpse of the walled city of Avila, then the royal palace at El Escorial before arriving in one of Europe's most fascinating capitals, with Seville or Granada just a few hours more by high-speed AVE train.

#3 Paris to Nice by TGV at 186mph 

TGVs now take little more than five scenic and relaxing hours to link Paris and Nice, with flights taking around four stressful hours once check-in and airport links are included. Sit back and relax as the impressive double-decker 'TGV Duplex' races from Paris along the Rhone valley, crossing and re-crossing the rive Rhone on huge viaducts. 

You'll even catch a glimpse of the Palais des Papes and Pont d'Avignon in the distance as you cross the Rhone at Avignon, though if you can see anyone dancing 'sur le pont' you have better eyesight than me! 

Passing Marseille you'll glimpse the harbour and the infamous Chateau d'If (of Count of Monte Cristo infamy) just off the coast, and after Toulon you'll slow right down as the railway hugs the coast pass millionaires' villas, sandstone headlands and yacht-filled harbours.

#4 Cologne to Mainz along the Rhine Valley

Cologne to Frankfurt on the new high-speed line may turn a two-hour journey into just one hour, but it cuts out the wonderful but sinuous journey all along the famous Rhine Valley. ?If you're not in a mad rush you can still take an InterCity along the old low-speed route. The line clings to the west bank of the Rhine, past castles and wineries, and the legendary Lorelei Rock where sirens lured unwary sailors to their doom! 

#5 Across Switzerland on the 'Glacier Express'

One of Switzerland's and the world's most scenic train rides, showcasing the best of the Alps. It's an express in name only, as the 180-mile narrow-gauge journey takes seven wonderful hours in special glassed-in panoramic coaches so you don't miss a thing, whilst a great lunch is served at your seat along with superb Swiss white wine. The Bernina Express, from Chur or St Moritz to Tirano, is the other classic Swiss narrow gauge scenic ride.

#6 Zurich to Innsbruck via the Arlberg Pass

Take a train from Switzerland into Austria and you'll head through the wonderful Arlberg Pass route, where the railway hugs the steep valley sides through scenery lifted straight from 'The Sound of Music'.

#7 Zurich to Milan via the Gotthard route

The tilting 'Pendolino' EuroCity trains take only a few hours from Zurich to Milan, but it's perhaps the most scenic of all the mainline routes through the Alps to Italy. The train snakes through the mountains past villages and vineyards, climbing ever further towards the Gotthard pass, after an eight-minute transit of the famous Gotthard tunnel they descend towards Lake Lugano and on into Italy.

For more information on any of these journeys, check out Seat61.com

For more information on carbon-friendly travel, check out Global Cool