Exceptional train journeys
The train — grand, solid, gliding fast across the tracks — winds its way through mountains, valleys, and endless plains. Inside, time loosens. Space opens up for wonder, for watching.
Scenery slides past the window. Slowly. The rush of the modern world feels far away. Train journeys brings something else entirely — comfort, quiet elegance, and the feeling of leaving things behind.
From the Orient Express to the Rocky Mountaineer, from the Trans-Siberian to the Rovos Rail, each route offers more than just views. It’s an experience, unfolding across landscapes and cultures. Step aboard. Let the movement carry you. Every moment, a door into somewhere else.
Here are 13 exceptional or luxury train journeys worth experiencing.
Journey 1: The Orient-Express – London to Venice
No list of legendary trains would be complete without the Orient Express. Departing from London, the route reaches Venice via Paris in two days and one night. It all begins at Victoria Station. From the first step on board, it feels like stepping back in time — polished wood, deep armchairs, quiet service.
The train crosses the English countryside, then the Channel, arriving in Paris. A brief stop. Enough for a walk along the Seine or a coffee outdoors. Then come the Alps — towering, silent.
Further south, the Po Valley signals Italy. Venice draws closer, slow and steady.
Cabins range from refined compartments to full suites with private bathrooms. Meals are served in classic dining cars — white linens, curated wines, champagne. Everything invites you to slow down.
Journey 2: The Rocky Mountaineer – Vancouver to Banff
The Rocky Mountaineer only runs during the day. That’s the point. This train isn’t for sleeping — it’s for seeing. The journey starts in Vancouver, nestled between ocean and mountains. Soon, city towers give way to forests, icy rivers, rugged peaks.
Stops include Kamloops, Quesnel, Jasper. Not destinations, really. Just pauses. Space to breathe. The landscapes go on — wild, wide, untouched. Sometimes an eagle, or a bear. Sometimes nothing. And that’s good too.
The panoramic cars deliver the view straight to your seat.
At the end, Banff. A quiet mountain town, perfect for hikes, turquoise lakes, air that smells clean. A stop that makes you want to keep going, on foot this time.
Journey 3: The Rovos Rail – Cape Town to Dar es Salaam
Rovos Rail crosses South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. A long, slow journey through landscapes found nowhere else. It starts in Cape Town. Ocean breeze, golden light, vineyards, then the vast semi-desert of the Karoo, dry and immense.
Next, Kimberley — a city with a diamond-studded past. Then Pretoria, where political history meets leafy calm. Across the border, Botswana stretches into open plains. The train nears Victoria Falls. It stops. The roar of water. Mist in the air.
Then northward. Through Zimbabwe, into Tanzania. The trip ends in Dar es Salaam, on the edge of the Indian Ocean.
Onboard, everything’s hushed. Polished wood, quiet hallways, slow meals. The scenery drifts in, gently.
Journey 4: The Trans-Siberian Railway – Moscow to Vladivostok
The Trans-Siberian. A name that already feels vast. Cold. Endless. From Moscow to Vladivostok — almost 10,000 kilometers of track. It starts in the Russian capital. Red Square, the Kremlin, wide boulevards.
Then the train pulls away.
Kazan is the first major stop. Where the Volga meets the Kama — a mix of Russian and Tatar culture. The rhythm changes. The Ural Mountains mark the gateway to Asia. Then comes Siberia. Deep forests. Ice. Space.
Irkutsk follows, on the shores of Lake Baikal. Clear water, mirror-like reflections. Then Ulan-Ude — Buddhist, peaceful. The journey ends in Vladivostok, facing the Pacific. The air turns salty. The port bustles. The train halts, but something inside keeps moving.
Journey 5: Maharaja’s Express – Delhi to Mumbai
Hard to miss the opulence of the Maharaja’s Express. It’s not just a luxury train — it’s a moving story. Or many. Starting in Delhi, where early hours allow for wandering — the Red Fort, the soaring arches of Jama Masjid.
Then Agra. The Taj Mahal appears quietly, almost unreal in the sunrise. The train slips on to Jaipur, the Pink City. Soft colors, market sounds, powdered facades.
Next is Bikaner — dusty, still, palaces fading into the desert light. Then Jodhpur — noisy, alive, blue-washed. You get lost in its streets without minding. Udaipur slows things down again, by its lakes. Temples. Gardens. That distant feeling.
Mumbai closes the ride. A city of a thousand faces. Always shifting, never fully revealing itself.
Inside, the train is plush — air conditioning, TV, private bathrooms. Cabins range from Deluxe to the grand Presidential Suite. Everything is designed so the journey unfolds both outside and in.
Journey 6: The Glacier Express – Zermatt to St. Moritz
The Glacier Express is like watching Switzerland go by in fast-forward — but never rushed. From Zermatt to St. Moritz, the route cuts through the Alps. White ridges, hanging valleys, villages like model sets.
The Mattertal Valley opens wide at the start. Look up — the Matterhorn stands sharp at 4,478 meters. Then comes the Oberalp Pass, perched above 2,000 meters. The scenery shifts again. The Rhine Valley unfolds, a few lost castles, a river winding through pines.
On board, no one hurries. Dishes linger — game meat, blueberry desserts. All local, carefully chosen. And Swiss wines — quiet surprises — stand tall against the view.
Journey 7: Cloud Train – Salta to Polvorilla
They call it the Train to the Clouds. And it lives up to the name. Climbing high — very high — until it disappears into Andean mist. It leaves from Salta, in northern Argentina. Then rises, slowly. Tunnels, viaducts, steep inclines.
The Andes take over. Harsh beauty. Raw slopes. Each curve reveals something — a red cliff, an endless plain, a wandering herd.
The Polvorilla Viaduct is the peak. Literally. A metal bridge at over 4,200 meters altitude. Up there, silence hits differently. Just wind. And that strange, humbling smallness.
The Train to the Clouds runs 217 kilometers. Round trip, the journey takes most of the day — around 16 hours. It leaves from Salta. It returns. But something shifts along the way.
Journey 8: The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express – Venice to Istanbul
SoHHme trains define an era. Others pass right through it. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express belongs to the second kind. Since 1883, it’s been linking Europe’s capitals with its signature, undimmed elegance.
The journey begins in Venice. After weaving through alleys, over bridges, across quiet squares — maybe one last gondola ride, a coffee on the campo — it’s time to board.
Inside, time seems to pause. Polished wood, gold trim, thick velvet. It feels almost imagined. The train glides forward. Through the Alps, along deep lakes, into shadowed forests. Then the Balkans, their jagged peaks and watchful hilltop villages.
The train moves, but never rushes. The world drifts by behind the glass. Istanbul waits at the far end.
Journey 9 : The Ghan – Adelaide to Darwin
The Ghan draws a vertical line straight through Australia. From Adelaide to Darwin — a raw, cross-continental ride. Three days, 54 hours in all, tracing the country’s deep red core.
It begins in the south. Vineyards, rolling hills, open plains. Then the land shifts. The Red Centre. The Simpson Desert. Now and then, a shape — a kangaroo, a dingo, a camel crossing like it always belonged.
The train stops now and then. Port Augusta, Manguri, Coober Pedy — where they still dig for opals underground. Then Alice Springs. The Outback. Uluru on the horizon, still as stone. Kata Tjuta nearby, like scattered prayer beads. Guides speak of Aboriginal culture, of country, of stories held in dust and rock.
At the end: Darwin. Heat surges, colors pop. A tropical city — edged by parks, markets, beaches where things feel like they’re starting again.
Journey 10: The Danube Express – Istanbul to Budapest
With a name that already stirs the imagination, the Danube Express links two worlds. From Istanbul to Budapest, it moves gently across Eastern Europe — slow, composed. No one’s in a hurry here. It starts in Istanbul, a city that slips between continents. A few steps beneath the domes of the Blue Mosque, a pause in the Grand Bazaar. Then the train sets off.
It crosses the plains of Turkey, heading toward Bulgaria. Sofia appears, its wide streets, quiet squares. Mountains rise all around. As the climb continues, the light changes too. Romania follows — dense forest, villages that flicker between bends. Transylvania leaves a strange imprint — part old, part raw.
Then Hungary. Budapest, split by the river. The train glides in like the end of a long dream. The Parliament glows by the water. Buda watches Pest. You step off, but the journey lingers somewhere behind your eyes.
Journey 11: Belmond Andean Explorer – Cuzco to Arequipa
A white-and-blue train, high in the Andes. The Belmond Andean Explorer runs from Cuzco to Arequipa — rails threading through sky and mountains. Cuzco is the start. A hillside city, once the Inca capital, still alive with energy. The train climbs slowly out.
The high plains spread wide. Little moves except the herds. Then comes Puno, and Lake Titicaca — vast, still, edged by quiet Quechua villages. The train slows. Eyes linger on the view.
Further on: the Colca Canyon. Deeper than the Grand Canyon. Condors float there, slow, suspended. The silence changes — thicker, somehow.
Arequipa nears. The white city, built from volcanic stone. Shaded courtyards. Soft light. It’s the end of a winding journey. And maybe, a bit of an inward one too.
Journey 12: Bernina Express – Chur to Tirano
A bright red train climbs and curls through the Alps. The Bernina Express links Chur and Tirano. Not a long ride, but a remarkable one. It begins in Chur — Switzerland’s oldest city. You board, and the ascent begins. Mountain passes, tunnels, looping bridges. Numbers impress — like the Albula Pass at 2,253 meters — but it’s the views that stay with you.
There’s a stop in St. Moritz. Elegant houses, a frozen lake, ski runs beyond. Then comes the Bernina Pass — even higher. Snowfields, glaciers, blue-white lakes. Everything looks still. Too perfect, almost.
The train descends into Italy. Poschiavo. Brusio. Tiny villages where the train brushes past stone walls. At Brusio, it spirals downward on a circular viaduct.
In Italy, the landscape softens. Rolling hills, vineyards, red roofs. Tirano appears, nestled in the Valtellina Valley. A quiet town — a baroque church, a couple of museums. And the feeling that in just a few hours, you crossed an entire world.
Journey 13: The Coastal Pacific – Christchurch to Picton
A train that hugs the sea. The Coastal Pacific runs from Christchurch to Picton, along New Zealand’s South Island. From the start, it feels different. Christchurch is calm, measured — quiet streets, soft architecture, green parks.
Then come the Canterbury Plains. And soon, the ocean. Vast, alive. The train traces the shoreline, never far. One side: waves. The other: the Kaikoura mountains, towering and sharp. You sit close to the glass, quietly watching.
On board, things are simple. Comfortable. Wide windows, cushioned seats. You look. You let it pass. There’s a stop in Kaikoura — the whales aren’t far. Then Blenheim, nestled in the wine country.
Picton comes into view. A small town, ringed by hills and bays. The train stops. But there’s this urge to keep going — just to see what waits around the next bend.
