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…

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….

Amsterdam Central Station – Best sustainable places in and around

Stations

Built between 1881 and 1889, Amsterdam Central Station – known locally as Amsterdam Centraal – is the second busiest railway station in the Netherlands behind Utrecht. As a result, arriving here can be a little…

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…

Soviet War Memorial Treptower Park, Berlin

Battle of Berlin: 15 silent witnesses

Destinations

Despite the devastation, several landmarks and battle scars still survive today scattered across Berlin, serving as an important reminder to the last major offensive of the Second World War in Europe.

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…

Wildlife on the tracks, Inlandsbanan, Sweden

Railtripping to the Arctic Circle

Journeys

Often described as Europe’s last wilderness, Sweden’s remote and sparsely populated far north is a land of striking beauty – and in summer it’s easy to visit without a car or plane. The slow trains…

The Walter Benjamin Monument by artist Dani Karavan, Portbou

Across the Pyrenees to freedom

Rail & Hike

Along sun-drenched wine terraces, colourful paths full of flowers and herbs and an endless Mediterranean Sea runs one of the most impressive hiking routes in Europe – not only for its scenery, but especially for…

10 places around Berlin Hauptbahnhof

Stations

Berlin Hauptbahnhof lies at the heart of Europe with trains departing for Amsterdam and Prague, Moscow and Zurich, Vienna and Warsaw. The station is a monument to modernity, a palace of glass – but there’s…

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…