There is a specific moment on every remarkable rail journey when you stop checking your phone, set it face-down on the table, and simply look out the window.
It might be a glacial lake so vivid it looks like a film set. It might be the sensation of coasting along a cliff edge while a valley drops hundreds of metres below. Or it might just be the steady rhythm of wheels on a track — the quiet realisation that you are not stuck in an airport queue or wedged into a middle seat.
The best train rides in Europe are not simply a means of getting somewhere. They are the destination. Below, our travel experts share the routes that genuinely deliver on their promise.
1. The Glacier Express — Switzerland
Start with the one everyone talks about. The Glacier Express has the audacity to market itself as “the slowest express train in the world”, which is either inspired copywriting or an honest warning, depending on how patient you are. The full journey between Zermatt and St Moritz takes around eight hours.
That time is well spent. The train threads deliberately through the Swiss Alps, negotiating 291 bridges and 91 tunnels on its way over the Oberalp Pass at 2,033 metres above sea level. You’ll wind alongside the Rhine Gorge and watch the landscape evolve from lush meadows to snow-capped peaks. The panoramic windows stretch nearly floor to ceiling, and there is a reason for that.
Touristy? Undeniably. Worth it anyway? Absolutely. Some clichés earn their reputation.
Insider tip: Book a seat in the restaurant car for lunch over the Oberalp Pass — the timing is usually perfect.
2. The Bernina Express — Switzerland to Italy
If the Glacier Express is the famous sibling, the Bernina Express is the one who quietly outperforms everyone. Many seasoned rail travellers consider it one of the best train rides in Europe, full stop.
This UNESCO World Heritage route connects Chur in Switzerland with Tirano in northern Italy. It climbs to 2,253 metres at Ospizio Bernina before descending through 55 tunnels and over 196 bridges. The Landwasser Viaduct — that elegant curved stone arch that appears in every Swiss railway photograph — runs on this line.
The undeniable highlight is Lago Bianco. Sitting at the journey’s highest point, this lake shimmers a shade of turquoise that seems implausible against the surrounding grey rock and residual snow. It looks digitally enhanced. It isn’t.
3. The Flåm Railway—Norway
Twenty kilometres. One hour. Eight hundred metres of elevation change. The Flåm Railway is among the steepest standard-gauge rail lines anywhere on the planet, and it packs more scenery per minute than most routes manage across an entire day.
The train departs from Flåm, a small village at the head of the Aurlandsfjord, and hauls itself upward through tunnels blasted by hand into a sheer mountainside. A scheduled pause at Kjosfossen waterfall gives passengers time to step outside and stare, which everyone does, every time, regardless of how many travel photos they’ve seen in advance.
This line anchors the celebrated Norway in a Nutshell itinerary, pairing the railway with a fjord cruise through the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord. Norway’s greatest landscapes, sequenced into a single unforgettable day.
4. The Bergensbanen—Norway
The Oslo-to-Bergen rail line does not receive the international recognition it deserves, which is genuinely puzzling given its credentials.
Over six and a half hours, the Bergensbanen traverses the Hardangervidda, Europe’s largest high-altitude mountain plateau. The train climbs through ravines, skirts the edges of glaciers, and passes through landscapes so open and undisturbed that they create a particular, welcome sense of smallness. It is one of the best train rides in Europe for travellers who want solitude and scale rather than tourist infrastructure.
The line first opened in 1909, an engineering achievement that still feels impressive today. Seat yourself on the right-hand side heading west for the best views of the plateau. Though honestly, you can’t go far wrong whichever side you choose.
5. Vienna to Prague to Budapest—Central Europe
Not every outstanding rail route is defined by mountain passes. If Alpine superlatives are not your priority, go east instead.
The Vienna–Prague–Budapest triangle represents one of the best train rides in Europe for travellers drawn to history, architecture, and the particular pleasure of arriving in a grand city by rail. Three capitals, three distinct personalities, all connected by efficient, comfortable services that allow you to wake in one celebrated European city and fall asleep in another.
Vienna brings the imperial coffee houses and ornate palaces. Prague delivers gothic spires and medieval bridges. Budapest counters with thermal baths, ruin bars, and a riverfront that glows at dusk. Together, they offer a richly textured survey of Central European culture, history, and the fine art of doing very little in spectacular surroundings.
The journeys themselves are about anticipation. Fields, forests, and a hilltop fortress appear briefly before the outskirts of a new city announce themselves.
6. The Santa Claus Express—Finland
This one is for the romantics, for anyone who has never quite outgrown the magic of childhood wonder, and for those dreaming of the best train rides in Europe.
Finland’s overnight service from Helsinki to Rovaniemi carries passengers from the country’s capital to the edge of the Arctic Circle—and to the self-proclaimed hometown of Santa Claus. This is not a children’s excursion. It is an experience that tends to move adults considerably more than they expect.
The appeal is the possibility of watching the Northern Lights from your sleeper berth. Nature offers no guarantees, of course. But on a clear January night, with the aurora shifting quietly across the sky above a frozen forest while you are warm beneath a blanket—that is the kind of memory that stays.
Even without the lights, waking up to an endless white landscape of snow-dusted trees and ice-locked lakes is its own reward entirely.
7. The GoldenPass Classic—Switzerland
The GoldenPass Line route links Lucerne and Montreux across three sections, but the standout leg is the GoldenPass Classic between Montreux and Zweisimmen — widely considered one of the best train rides in Europe. The carriages are restored Belle Époque originals—polished timber panelling, brass fittings, and the ambient atmosphere of a genteel 1920s novel.
The train moves through the Pays-d’Enhaut valley, past snow-dusted vineyards, traditional chalets, and mountain ranges arranged in a manner that seems almost deliberate. Switzerland, presenting itself to its best advantage, which it does with considerable consistency.
Upgrading to a front-facing first-class seat offers unobstructed views through the driver’s window. On a route this scenic, the extra cost tends to feel reasonable, especially for travellers seeking the best train rides in Europe.
Why Travel by Train at All?
Flying is fast, occasionally affordable, and reliably transfers passengers from one city to another. It also involves a remote airport, extended security procedures, and the indignity of a middle seat next to someone who has brought warm food in a sealed container.
That is part of why the best train rides in Europe continue to appeal to travellers who value the journey as much as the destination. Trains arrive in city centres. You can walk between carriages, eat properly, and watch the countryside shift from industrial periphery to rural breadth to the first signs of a new place. You arrive feeling like a person rather than cargo.
Rail is also one of the lowest-carbon options for covering significant distances across the continent. If travelling more lightly on the planet matters to you — and it increasingly does — the best train rides in Europe make that easier without requiring any sacrifice in comfort or experience.
The best train rides in Europe are not only memorable for their views, though the views are frequently extraordinary. They are memorable because they remind you that arrival does not have to be the only rewarding part of the journey.
Ready to Travel in the Best Train Rides in Europe?
There is no single answer to what makes the best train rides in Europe unforgettable. The ideal route depends entirely on the kind of journey you want — dramatic alpine crossings, quiet northern landscapes, historic capitals, or coastal stretches where the scenery becomes part of the experience.
Travelling through Europe by rail offers a way to see multiple regions at a slower, more connected pace, with routes that naturally link cities, countryside, and iconic landscapes. From mountain railways and panoramic trains to long-distance cross-border journeys, each route reveals a different side of the continent.
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