Europe's best-rated scenic railway journeys

Taking the train has always been so much more than a way of getting from A to B; it’s an experience in its own right. 

There are few greater joys than leaning from a train window as it winds around a coastal cliff face, with elegant cypress trees below and the smell of rosemary on the breeze. From a commuter ride in the Scottish highlands; a luxurious trundle across the Swiss Alps and a windswept tour around the Norwegian fjords, your top 10 unique train rides all had one thing in common – the magic of the scenery. 

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Europe's best scenic railways

The UK's best scenic railway journey

Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales

• Journey score: 91%
• Railway: Ffestiniog Railway
• Price: £50 return (The Quarryman - standard)

Stretching 13.5 miles between the harbour at Porthmadog and the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, this is the world’s oldest narrow-gauge railway. With the option to travel in first-class Pullman carriages, you can push down windows, breathe in the sweet air and whizz through the Welsh countryside in just three hours – pulled by a whistling steam engine. On a summer’s day, you’ll pass glistening lakes speckled with little egrets, before rattling along the precipice of bridges, often within arm’s reach of wild grass and the backs of stone houses. Twisting around tight bends, the train offers a peek into the depths of dense forests before running above hamlets where residents wave up from their farmhouses and chickens cluck in the yard. Towards the summit, great rolls of cloud cast shadows on sunlit valleys and the landscape unfolds as far as the eye can see. Shorter, part-route journeys are also available.

Europe's best scenic railway journeys

Oslo to Bergen, Norway

• Journey score: 90%
• Railway: Bergen Railway
• Cost: From £53 one way (seniors get 50% off)

The Bergensbanen connects the capital city to the fjords in the far west in seven hours (including 180 tunnels and 22 stops). Built between 1875 and 1909, the railway includes 308 miles of track that transports passengers past mirror-clear lakes with armies of sugar-dusted spruce circling their banks. The train runs along the Drammenselva river – a popular spot for salmon fishing – and on to the pretty little town of Honefoss. From here, buildings begin to thin out, with miles of empty landscape rushing by in between each village. In winter, cabins are submerged in snow with single spirals of smoke betraying their hiding places. And on the approach to Bergen, the land shrinks to a mere finger stretching across a sheet of water with the train seemingly gliding across the surface.

Chur, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy

• Journey score: 90%
• Railway: Bernina Express
• Cost: From £70 one way 

One of the highest railways in Europe, the Bernina Express offers passengers a four-hour Alpine adventure from within the cosy confines of a shiny, red, panoramic dome car. Although the route came joint second overall, this was the only railway journey to score a standout five out of five star rating for its magnificent scenery. During winter, expect to curl around frozen lakes and monstrous snowdrifts, while in summer, you’ll see bell-wearing cows picking their way through meadows of lilac asters overlooked by snow-capped peaks. There are some hair-raising moments. The train squeezes onto bridges anchored in rock faces, while green rivers churn and swirl below. And it travels through more than 50 tunnels, plunging passengers into darkness before emerging into sunlit valleys dotted with terracotta rooftops, wooden churches and pretty picket fences. Keep cameras to hand, and bring a packed lunch of cheese, deli meats and bread as there’s currently only a minibar service on board.

Zermatt to St Moritz, Switzerland

• Journey score: 89%
• Railway: Glacier Express
• Cost: From £197 one way

This is the most luxurious way to see the Swiss Alps. With wide leather seats and a new Excellence Class that offers a seven-course menu with wine pairing, the journey is the destination. Soon after departure, the majestic, ice-slicked Matterhorn looms into view with wisps of cloud-like steam around its head and its reflection in the lake below. Meandering through the three cantons of Valais, Uri and Graubunden, the train allows passengers to look inside clusters of chalets, their balconies bright with flowers. And from vertiginous viaducts, passengers can gaze upon the Rhine Gorge where apple-green waters crash and roll, and forests slip down to the water’s edge. 

Historic train journey

Wernigerode to Brocken, Germany

• Journey score: 86%
• Railway: Brocken Railway
• Cost: From £50 return

One of the few remaining steam railways used by both commuters and tourists, the Brocken Railway is a branch of Germany’s Harz Narrow Gauge Railway network, carrying passengers to the summit of the Brocken mountain – once a major Soviet-era spy station. With a thump and a clank the train rolls out of the town of Wernigerode, running parallel to little streets lined with yellow half-timbered houses with steep red roofs. Huffing uphill, the train cuts through dense woody landscape, fir tree fingertips running along its sides, and from the open windows passengers can look out across a sea of spruce – lime green, brown and red. If there’s no mist swirling at the summit, expect a spectacular panoramic view of the national park in all its glory. Just be aware that from 2 March to 31 August 2026 there will be a replacement bus service for the section between Ilfeld and Eisfelder Talmühle.