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Ideas & Inspiration The Best Rail Holidays in Europe
On the train from Rome and Naples to Sicily

The Best Rail Holidays in Europe

Save 5% on all of the rail journey adventures offered by our partners, including our pick of the best trips !

| Last Updated: 13 days ago
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Experiencing the best of Europe on an organized rail holiday can be a fabulous and easy travel adventure:

  • You don't need to look at a boring and confusing timetable to plan a route.
  • Or seek out the optimum ticket
  • Also no need to figure out if you need seat reservations, or how to get them.
  • You don't need to work out where to stay, or track down a good room rate- all of the holidays include accommodation!
  • No need to add up the budget, you can see the full cost.
  • Plus you can access support in circumstances, such as a booked journey being disrupted.
  • You can choose to travel solo, with friends or family -or join a group tour.

Hence ShowMeTheJourney has teamed up with multiple rail holiday specialists with excellent online reputations, who all offer a great alternative to crawling through (ahem) all of the info we have produced.
Collectively these partners offer 100s of rail based holidays, all of which can be accessed from this page.
Though to make things easier, ShowMeTheJourney has cherry-picked the 66 holidays which we would most like take, and presented them below - in the anticipation that you will agree that they have a wow factor!

Unless where stated the use of → indicates a journey by train.
Click on each description to see the minimum cost, details of what's included and the accommodation options.
Use the Contents Menu to jump direct to your preferred location.

Save money with ShowMeTheJourney promotions

How to use the ShowMeTheJourney promo code when booking a Swiss Travel Centre holiday on a PC or laptop Booking a Swiss Travel Centre holiday on a PC or laptop
How to use the ShowMeTheJourney promo code when booking a Swiss Travel Centre holiday on a mobile phone Using the promo code when booking a Swiss Travel Centre holiday on mobile

ShowMeTheJourney users can save money on all of the rail holiday packages put together by both the Switzerland Travel Centre and by flight-free travel specialist, Byway.

Save on Switzerland Travel Centre holidays

This is done by entering promo codes in the respective boxes which will be encountered along the respective booking paths - see above on how to enter the code of AFFSMTJSWISS to save 5% when booking the Switzerland Travel Centre Holidays.

Save on Byway holidays

How to enter the ShowMeTheJourney promo code when booking a holiday with Byway Place the code in the referral code box on the Passenger Details screen when booking with Byway

See above on how to enter the code of JOURNEY50 to save £50 on first time bookings, when booking the selected, 'marked' holidays below, which are provided by Byway.
Terms and conditions:

  • Valid for first time customers
  • Discount code expires on 31/03/2025

Save on Euroventure holidays

Euroventure has emailed ShowMeTheJourney with this message;

A 5% discount will be given to ShowMeTheJourney's users if they quote ´SHOWMETHEJOURNEY´ in the comments box on any enquiry with us, either a custom quote request - or booking a set trip, including all of the Euroventure holidays that have been featured below.

Circular Tours from London

Experience multiple countries flight-free on amazing looping routes which leave from, and arrive in, London.

Book a European Cities by train holiday
Europe City Highlights 11 Days: London → high speed train to Amsterdam → Berlin → scenic journey to Prague → Vienna → scenic journey to Zurich → London. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!
Edinburgh station has a fantastic location
Grand Tour Of Europe 40 Days: London → Dublin → Belfast → Glasgow → Edinburgh → Brussels → Paris → Zurich → Milan → Rome → Innsbruck → Prague → Berlin → Amsterdam → London. Includes two ferry crossings. No night trains. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!
See Bruges on a Charms Of Europe rail holiday
Charms Of Europe #1 7 Days: London → by high speed train to Paris → by high speed train to Luxembourg → high speed to Brussels and on to Bruges → by high speed train to London: Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
See Cologne on Charms Of Europe rail holiday
Charms Of Europe #2 14 Days: London → Eurostar to Paris → by TGV to Luxembourg → scenic journey to Cologne → by high speed train to Bruges → Lille → Eurostar to London: Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
Locarno
Mountain Lakes 9 Days: London → high speed trains to Basel → scenic journey to Locarno → Lugano → Lecco on Lake Como → high speed trains to London. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!
See Krakow on the Pan European holiday
The Pan-European (slow paced) 57 Days: London → Brussels → Amsterdam → Berlin → Krakow → Prague → Munich → Vienna → Bratislava → Budapest → by bus to Belgrade → by bus to Zagreb → Ljubljana → Venice → Rome → Florence → Milan → Nice → Barcelona → Paris →London: Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
Venezia Santa Lucia station is the flat roofed building to  the right
The Whole Hog: 6 weeks 43 Days: London → Amsterdam → Berlin → Krakow → Prague → Vienna → Bratislava → Budapest → by bus to Zagreb → by bus to Ljubljana → by bus to Venice → Florence → Rome → Milan → Nice → Barcelona → Paris → London: Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
Gorgeous Budapest-Keleti station
The Whole Hog: 5 weeks 36 Days: London → Amsterdam → Berlin → Vienna → Bratislava → Budapest → → by bus to Zagreb → by bus to Ljubljana → by bus to Venice → Florence → Rome → Milan → Nice → Barcelona → Paris → London (not Krakow and Prague): Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
Florence on a Whole Hog Rail Holiday
The Whole Hog: 4 weeks 29 Days: London → Amsterdam → Berlin → Vienna → Bratislava → Budapest → by bus to Zagreb → by bus to Ljubljana → by bus to Venice → Florence → Rome → Milan → Paris → London (not Krakow, Prague, Nice and Barcelona): Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
Budapest on a Whole Hog rail holiday
The Whole Hog: 3 weeks 22 Days: London → Amsterdam → Berlin → Vienna → Budapest → by bus to Zagreb → by bus to Venice → Florence → Rome → Milan → Paris → London (not Krakow, Prague, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Nice and Barcelona): Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
How to travel by Nightjet
Europe's Imperial Cities 17 Days: London → by Eurostar + sleeper train to Berlin → scenic journey to Prague → sleeper train to Budapest → Vienna → sleeper train to Amsterdam → by Eurostar to London. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!
Book a European Cities by train holiday
A round trip to Prague 13 Days: London → by high speed trains to Zurich → Vienna → Budapest → Prague → scenic journey to Berlin → by high speed trains to Brussels → by Eurostar to London. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!

Scenic Journey Holidays

These holidays are based around a sequence of beautiful journeys of a lifetime by train.

Swiss Holidays arranged by the Switzerland Travel Centre

Simplify the glorious journeys by train and cable car to Swiss peaks, by booking holidays or mountain excursion packages.

To and from Switzerland

Yet more trips of a lifetime in the country with more scenic railways than any other! However, these holidays also include travel to and from Switzerland by train.

The Luzern to Interlaken Express takes a spectacular route passing four lakes
The Swiss Explorer 15 Days: London → Paris → Zurich → Lucerne → Interlaken → Bern → Lausanne → Geneva → Paris → London; Use the referral code: Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
Things worth knowing about travelling on The Glacier Express
The Glacier Express: Two Weeks 15 days: London → Paris → Zurich → St Moritz → the full Glacier Express route to Zermatt → Interlaken → Geneva → Paris → London: Quote SHOWMETHEJOURNEY in the comments box to receive a 5% discount!
Travel the length of the delightful Centovali Railway
Classic Switzerland 13 Days: London → Cologne → Lucerne → the Gotthard route to Locarno → by the Centovali Railway to Domodossola and on to Montreux → the Golden Pass route to Bern → Mainz → though the Rhine Gorge to Cologne then on to London. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!
(Better Than) The Bernina Express 9 Days: London → Basel → Lugano → by bus and ferry to Varenna on Lake Como → by the Bernina Railway and the Albula Railway to Chur → Zurich → Paris → London. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!
Crossing the Landwasser Viaduct on the Samedan to Chur train
The Rhaetian Railway with The Glacier Express 8 Days: London → Turin → Lecco on Lake Como → by the Bernina Railway and the Albula Railway to Chur → to Brig on the Glacier Express and on to Bern → Paris → London. Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!
Looking down on Andermatt from a train heading to Oberalp
Golden Pass, The Glacier Express and Lucerne 8 Days: London → Genveva → by the Golden Pass route to Interlaken → to Brig and by the Glacier Express to Chur → Lucerne → through the Rhine Gorge to Cologne → London: Use the referral code JOURNEY50 to save £50!

Across Europe By Train

These wonderful trips are end-to-end holidays which pass through multiple countries.

Author

Simon Harper

I wanted to share my passion for train travel and explain how anyone can take the fantastic journeys I have taken.

ShowMeTheJourney

This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.

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