17 Most Beautiful Train Tours in Europe

If you are going on a journey for peace and for fun, and you don’t just want to jump to your destination without any fun, then our list of seventeen most beautiful train tours in Europe is for you!

Along a train journey, and you might take advantage of the beautiful scenic views around you as these trains stop around the best spots for tourism and enjoyment.

Most Beautiful Train Tours in Europe

1. Flåm Railway, Norway

Norway’s Flam Railway is considered one of the most beautiful train journeys in Europe because of its steep standard gauge railway lines on a gradient of 5.5% having captivating scenery that captures the heart of the viewer so that he will not fail to remember every moment that he spends taking 20 km-long train ride in about 40 minutes.

The train takes you from Sognefjord sea level to the Myrdal mountain station. During traveling you’ll see the exceptional aspects of breathtaking panorama of Western Norway that includes spittle waterfalls through 20 twisting tunnels, precipitous ravines, beautiful countryside, and promises so many landmarks that a mere trip up and down isn’t enough for anyone.

2. La Rhune, France

If you want a 360-degree view across the Atlantic Ocean and Pyrenees that is the most divine visit in Europe, La Rhune takes you to the top at 905 meters, higher than “Eiffel Tower, Paris” in 35 minutes. And you’re gonna experience remarkably extraordinary travel to see up the French coast through the Pyrenees Mountains and along the Northern coast of Spain as well.

Several hiking trails go up to the top if you feel right up to it. Require roughly 2h30 to ascend, and 2 hours to descend. The endearing little train with wooden carriages takes you to the La Rhuna summit that departures every 40 minutes. Anything else you would like to 3000 feet.

3. West Highland Line, Scotland

The West Highland Line believed to be the most scenic railway adventure in the world, leaving Glasgow behind and dives deep into the wild West coastline. It consists of 3 tours including Glasgow to Oban, Glasgow to Fort William, and Glasgow to Mallaig. Take the West Highland Line to Mallaig to cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct–used for the Hogwarts Express in Harry Potter movies.

You’re going to ride across a stunning mountain landscape, steep-sided moorlands, and heather moors. Have an eye out for red deer, setting sun on a skyline or from the heather half-hidden.

You’ll hit some of the most remote network stations–a couple of houses, and nothing more for miles around. And you’re going to be happy to have come by rail, going through the country where no roads have ever been built that raise your glass in this memorable journey.

4. El Transcantábrico, Spain

This is a perfect way to travel from Santiago de Compostela to San Sebastián or from San Sebastián to Santiago, where the traveler is waiting for the wonders of northern Spain.

History and culture, sculpture, landmarks, and landscapes are introduced to the traveler from the comfort of a five-star train hotel, El Transcantábrico Gran Lujo, from Galicia to the shores of the Bay of Biscay.

Those include the bar car with its own dance floor, establishing a small night-club where there is vibrant entertainment every night until the early morning hours. Though the trains usually run from April to October, the Transcantábrico can also tailor a ride if you wish to move at certain times, as far as you order it beforehand.

5. Rome to Palermo, Italy

A heady blend of ancient ruins, awe-inspiring architecture, and lively street life, the hot-blooded capital of Italy is one of the most romantic and charismatic cities on earth. Today Rome is among the world’s most popular tourist destinations due to the incalculable vastness of its archeological and artistic riches, the elegance of its peculiar rituals, the beauty of its spectacular views, and the majesty of its majestic “villas”.

Palermo is proud of its 8th-century Arab heritage and its three major markets, Capo, Vucciria, and Ballarò, are reminiscent of Arab souks. If you just enjoy rail travel and want to see the scenery, take the Intercity rail to Palermo during the daytime. It’s a long ride, dull in sections, and the railcars are far from “state of the art,” but still some people enjoy the trip.

6. Kalavryta railway, Greece

A tourist attraction is the Diakopto-Kalavryta Rack Railway. This is a train that can hit high altitudes via territories of unique interest and stunning views, and run on steep grades. With an unprecedented journey that lasts about an hour and starts from Diakopto, the rack railway runs via Vouraikos gorge and Zachlorou village, ending up at Kalavryta.

Kalavryta is famous for the rack rail service Odontotos (inaugurated in 1896) which covers the 22 km Kalavryta–Diakopto road. The train takes passengers on a trip of Vouraikos Gorge, and it is considered one of Greece’s most scenic routes. Now, the train is one of the features of the city, in harmony with the surrounding environment. The journey finishes at the shores of the Gulf of Corinth.

7. Mariazellerbahn, Austria

Crossing one of the most remote regions of the Austrian Alps, the famous Mariazell Railway negotiates the spectacular scenery through several different engineering features–here many spiraling curves and short tunnels help the electric trains make the fantastic mountain journey.

Our ride on the narrow-gage line starts in St Polten, Lower Austria’s capital. The landscape soon becomes wilder as we exit the city as we head into the undulating Alps foothills. The line passes through the Pielach Valley shortly before long, where lush forests line the sloping hills that run down to the Pielach River.

From here the Mariazell Railway starts a long and steady climb, passing a series of stunning villages lined with classical Austrian architecture.

8. Wolsztyn to Leszno, Poland

Enjoy a full-throttle Continental local rail steam ride from the core of Poland to the Baltic Seaside on a rare one-off ride that will cater to both steam enthusiasts as well as experienced’ road bashers’ alike. Using your complimentary travel rover fare, you’ll have plenty of time to explore its rich cultural heritage, spectacular architecture, and extensive tram network centered in Poznan’s historic area.

Experience a steam adventure behind the amazing locomotive Pt47-65 as you travel to the seaport town of Szczecin, covering both the mainline and some rare track. Enjoy four days in a row of local train steam in strictly reserved First Class comfort on excursions to Swinoujscie on the Baltic Sea, Kolobrzeg’s iconic beach, plus steaming through this so-called’ Greater Poland ‘ fields and forests.

One of the signature highlights of your tour is Europe’s last active mainline steam shed as you encounter’ Plandampf’ behind a Class Ol49 tend passenger train around Wolsztyn, a visit to the windmill there and a personal photo charter to Powodowo as well.

9. Stockholm to Narvik, Sweden-Norway

Less stressful and far more environmentally sustainable than driving, one of the nicest ways to discover Norway is by taking the train. Long-distance trains are (typically) very quiet, but nothing replaces pulling away from civilization to see stunning Scandi scenery whizzing by the screens.

There are some amazing rail journeys in Scandinavia to be enjoyed, but as you may have expected, things can get pretty costly. It is especially valid if you take long rides, overnight. One of the great train journeys across Europe is from Stockholm to Norway’s Narvik.

Having traveled the Iron Ore line through Luleå in Sweden and Narvik in Norway, you embark in uber-cool capital Stockholm and disembark inside the Arctic circle in Narvik. Meanwhile, you enjoy the warmth, the viewpoints, and the food, and also meet and greet with fellow explorers. What’s to be said and done?

10. Gyermekvasút, Hungary

A train line passes among stations hidden deep in the forests, in the green hills above Budapest. This is not the world’s best train service but one of the cutest. It has ticket offices, diesel engines, signals, guards, and a schedule just like every other railway.

Unlike everyone else, this is run by men. The youngsters of the Gyermekvasút railway, which celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2018, look at the part with their stylish red, blue, and white uniforms. They sell and test tickets quickly, and welcome trains as they exit stations. They look like they have a lot of fun too.

11. Glacier Express, Switzerland

The Glacier Express (GEX) is an expressway that connects the railway stations of the two main Zermatt and St. Moritz mountain resorts via Andermatt in the middle Swiss Alps.

The train isn’t an “express” in the sense of being a fast-speed train, but instead in the sense that for an eight-hour journey it offers a one-seat trip and ignores stops run by local trains. The Glacier Express is known as the slowest express train in the world. Never before has a rail ride across the Swiss Alps been so lavish.

The Glacier Express Excellence Class sets new expectations with guaranteed window seats, an exclusive lounge, onboard entertainment, a concierge service, and personal travel guides.

12. Mainz to Koblenz, Germany

A strong Linmac Collection. St. Goar is probably the most beautiful river spot in Germany. I’d add Boppard, the largest but still small town, with its beautiful central square and old town, river waterfront, minor Roman remnants, and fun chairlift run.

It is used every day by around 60,000 travelers and tourists and is, therefore, the busiest station in Rhineland-Palatinate by far. The station used automatic face recognition as an area of trial for a CCTV scheme.

13. Nice to Digne-les-Bains, France

We would imagine that you are a busy train enthusiast who will get up at a crack of dawn to ride for nearly 6 hours on a narrow-gauge railway that will take less than half an hour to catch a coffee or other refreshment.

If you want to cycle, you can get from Nice to locations such as Antibes, Cap Ferrat, Cap d’Ail, and Cap Rocquebrune, all of which are littoral but are not difficult. The nearby bus service is very cheap and provides regular excursions to Vence / St Paul de Vence and Eze.

14. Bar to Belgrade, Montenegro-Serbia

One of the most beautiful rail trips in Europe and one of my favorites is the ride from Belgrade to Podgorica and the Bar in Montenegro through Belgrade to the Hotel.

This is a masterpiece of engineering that carries you from the Serbian capital to the Adriatic on 254 tunnels and 435 bridges spanning 296 miles. The building of the route, which opened by President Tito himself in the 1950s but only finished in 1976.

15. Levanto to La Spezia, Italy

If you are planning to go to Italy by Levanto to La Spezia, you are looking for an adventurous ride. It takes roughly 15 minutes to travel from La Spezia to Levanto, covering about 17 km. The railway between La Spezia and Levanto is regularly worked. Similar trains have been located between La Spezia and Levanto.

Currently, we have approximately 66 direct trains per weekday from La Spezia to Levanto. Typically there are smaller departures at weekends where only 57 departures are located. The travel time of La Spezia to Levanto is usually around 15 minutes, regardless of the distance. The earliest train is usually scheduled for Levanto on weekdays to La Spezia by 4:30 and the last train by 00:50.

16. Bernina Express, Switzerland to Italy

When taking a train’s journey there is a lot of scenery that may mesmerize you deeply. In two hours of streamlined Alpine Splendour, the epic line Centovalli begins at Domodossola, Piedmont, and finishes at Locarno, Switzerland, across 83 bridges.

Another charm is the deliberately slower Trenino Verde in Sardinia, restored in the 1990s and running on the narrow-gage route with four only summer tourist trains through some of the isolated enclaves of the island.

Any of Italy’s finest trains cross-regional frontiers with its northern neighbors. Perhaps the most gorgeous train trip in Europe is the Bernina express route that connects Munich to Venice over the Alps, while the EuroNight overnight train between Rome and Vienna with two-bed sleepers is a comfortable way if you’re never lying on a track.

The new Italo trains run by NTV, which provide free Wi-Fi and lunch boxes provided by the high-speed food market, Eataly, provide a bit of friendly competition at the end of events. Like Frecciarossa, in the south Salerno and Naples are linked by way of Rome, Florence and Bologna to Venice, Milan, and Turin, in the north. Treat the stunning mountains, the turquoise sea, the bucolic vineyards, and the olive groves to rest behind the panoramic windows.

Over Herculaneum and Pompeii archaeological sites. This spectacular trip gives a panoramic view of Mount Vesuvius and Naples ‘ Harbor. This train tour is certainly one of Italy’s most picturesque journeys. The line runs six hours in the breathtaking landscape across the coast.

Start from Rimini, take a seat to the front, and have a picnic for a wonderful trip with you! The train traverses lemon groves and lava streams along the road to Catania with stops at some important stations. Enjoy a romantic train ride in between two of Italy’s famous towns.

17. Rauma Line, Norway

Enjoy the scenic rail trips of Norway with its magnificent landscapes, stunning mountains, lush National Parks, beautiful rivers, and waterfalls. Experience the beautiful landscape in the Rauma Line and train journey in Europe.

Norway’s famed fjords–U-shaped coastal valleys formed by icebergs and then filled with Atlantic water-appear to be a focal point for any conversations about the natural wonders of the country as stunning as they may be.

The fjords are only one thing that visitors will quickly learn while on some of the fantastic Norway train tours with Amazing Train Journeys. Daily trains between Åndalsnes & Dombås are operated all year round by the Rauma Railway.

The train travels through the rugged forest of the Reinheim National Park and popular landmarks such as Kylling Bridge and Trollveggen Wall. It takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes and the distance from Åndalsnes to Dombås is 114 km. The morning and afternoon from Åndalsnes are two daily departs.

A day tour is preferred. Travel from Åndalsnes by train from 09:30. Around 11.00 you are going to come to Dombås. Then there are three hours to relax in the Dombås mountain village.

No matter where you go, make sure to pack your luggage with cameras and enjoy the food of all the stops. Don’t make your bags heavy with food, try something new on your trip! Your journey will be better with new scenery and its scenic food’s flavors engulfing you within.