Railtripping • The best slow travel tips & trips

The grande dame of the Pyrenees

Bart Giepmans

Stations

Canfranc station in the Spanish Pyrenees was built as a 241‑metre palace for international trains between France and Spain – a “grande dame” of the mountains in a village of barely 600 people. During the…

Along chalk white cliffs – on foot along the Hochuferweg on Rügen

Bart Giepmans

Rail & Hike

There are those hiking trails where time seems to stand still for a moment. The Hochuferweg along the steep north coast of the island of Rügen is one of those. A day trip full of…

The grande dame of the Pyrenees

Stations

Parc Floral: a green oasis on the outskirts of Paris

Destinations

You might not think so, but in a metropolis like Paris you really don’t have to travel for hours to refuel in the greenery. A ride on the underground or the RER is all you…

Rheinroute, Graubünden, Schweiz, Rhätische Bahn

To the source of the Rhine by train and bicycle

Journeys

As you stand on the banks of the Rhine and look out over this mighty river, many words come to mind. Enchanting, formidable, majestic. It’s hard to imagine that at its source you can step…

Royalty & Rail: The making of Brighton as a great escape

Destinations, Journeys, Themed routes

Brighton wears its moniker “London by the Sea” and “the LGBTQAI+ capital of the UK” with immense pride, and so it should. This loveable, fun and historic seaside city remains famously liberal, creative and progressive….

By train to Bern and Europe’s highest station

Journeys

From the Swiss Bundesstadt Bern, a train journey of about three hours takes you to the Jungfraujoch, Europe’s highest train station at a whopping 3,454 metres above sea level. Along the way, you’ll pass medieval…

Per stoomtrein naar de top van de Brocken, Wernigerode, Harz

Blowing off steam in the Harz Mountains

Destinations, Journeys

This rail trip goes back in time, past historic towns with half-timbered houses, castle parks and gardens, endless forests and Unesco World Heritage Sites, before your Harry Potter-like train adventure begins in Wernigerode, where you…

Dreaming of a green Christmas

Destinations

Mulled wine, roasted almonds, local handicrafts… What’s not to love about a good Christmas market? For many, Christmas is the season to be jolly – but ‘tis also the season to be wasteful. In fact,…

The ruins of Kostrzyn – Poland’s Pompeii on the Oder

Destinations

Walls protrude from the tangled undergrowth. Cobblestones cut through the grass with kerbstones delineating old pathways and tracks. Ahead, steps spiral up to what once must have been a grand doorway. A stone plinth stands…

On a royal trail: Joachimsthal’s Kaiserbahnhof

Stations

Entering the lush forests of Schorfheide by train, the hustle and bustle of Berlin seems miles away. Amid this green paradise lies a forgotten piece of imperial grandeur: Joachimsthal’s Kaiserbahnhof. Built in 1898, this charming…