European Rail Travel

After 25 years of working with holidays by train we have decided that there is nothing quite like European rail travel. The continent is amazing. In the far north of the Icelandic hinterlands you can find a sandy desert which is as black as the night sky; in Belarus ancient buffalo graze beneath the canopy of a primeval forest; in Switzerland engineers built spiralling rail roads to take trains over the majestic Alps and in Germany you can still travel down the Marchenstrasse, the route the brothers Grimm followed when writing their compendium of fairytales.

European Rail Travel –the Heritage of Our Age

Whether you are looking for a weekend adventure in the highlands of Scotland, a Grand Tour of Italy or a cruise along the Seine, Great Rail Journeys is making it easier to find sophisticated European rail travel and to explore this magnificent continent. Click on the map or one of the buttons below for more information on European rail holidays.

The industrial revolution in countries like Britain, Germany, France and Switzerland was responsible for bringing together some of the brightest and most brilliant scientists and engineers from across the continent. Without trans- european rail travel academic and scientific study was much slower as only the incredibly rich could afford to travel across the vast distances involved. By investing in the rail infrastructure it became possible for more people, goods and ideas to flow across the continent bringing about a new age of enlightenment and understanding.

Nowadays people can fly between the major cities but in doing so they miss out on one of the major advantages of travel. Travel broadens the mind of the traveller but when you board an aeroplane you are transported directly to your destination without passing through anywhere else in between. From 37000 feet up you miss out on the gradual change of scenery as you cross unimaginable distances. We believe our European rail travel captures the spirit of adventure, the ability to change and the interchange of cultures on a personal level. Rail travel is not about moving from one place to another very fast, it's about understanding the place you arrive in.