There is a quality to watching a country reveal itself from a train window. The rhythm is unhurried, the perspective shifting but constant, the world beyond the glass unfolding with a patience that air travel simply cannot replicate. Beautiful train journeys invite us to slow down, to observe, to let a landscape build gradually rather than arrive all at once. The six routes gathered here span fjords and mountain passes, highland viaducts and Andean valleys, each offering a reminder that how we travel shapes what we see.
Some of these beautiful train journeys are measured in hours, others in days. Some pass through scenery so dramatic it has drawn travellers for well over a century; others trace the engineering ambitions of an earlier age, routes carved through mountains and across ravines at considerable human cost. What they hold in common is a certain quality of attention, the kind that settles over you when the outside world is moving at exactly the right speed, and there is nothing to do but watch it pass.
Belmond’s Britannic Explorer, United Kingdom
The first luxury sleeper train to operate in England and Wales, the Britannic Explorer departs London Victoria for three-night journeys through Cornwall, the Lake District and Wales. Designed by London studio Albion Nord, the ten carriages blend contemporary British style with a heritage sensibility drawn from the golden age of rail. Eighteen cabins, including three grand suites with double beds and marble en-suites, are dressed in botanical colour palettes inspired by the landscapes outside the windows.
Rattan panels, mirrored ceilings and floral light fittings give the two dining cars, Malva and Samphire, a warmth that shifts with each route. Chef Simon Rogan, whose restaurants collectively hold nine Michelin stars, oversees menus built around seasonal, regional British produce. A Victorian apothecary-inspired bar in the observation car anchors the social life of the train, serving botanical cocktails alongside craft beers from independent British breweries, with a wellness suite providing a further point of retreat. As beautiful train journeys go, this is one of the most distinctly British.
Quick Summary:
- 🇬🇧 Route: London Victoria through Cornwall, the Lake District and Wales
- 🌙 Duration: Three nights
- 🛏 Accommodation: 18 cabins including three grand suites with double beds and marble en-suites
- 🍽 Dining: Chef Simon Rogan oversees menus built around seasonal, regional British produce
- 🍸 Highlight: Victorian apothecary-inspired bar in the observation car, plus on-board wellness suite
- ✨ Ideal for: Slow travel enthusiasts seeking a luxury British rail experience
belmond.com, @belmondbritannicexplorer
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train
Few trains carry as much accumulated mythology. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express traces its lineage to the original 1883 Orient Express service, and the restored 1920s sleeping cars that form today’s train preserve that heritage with extraordinary fidelity. Polished cherry wood, Lalique glass inlays in the Côte d’Azur dining car, and lacquer panels in L’Oriental create interiors that feel simultaneously museum-worthy and warmly intimate, making it one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world for those drawn to history as much as scenery.
Operating between March and November, the train connects London, Paris, Venice, Rome, Prague, Vienna and Budapest, with a signature annual journey extending to Istanbul. Chef Jean Imbert oversees the dining, working with local producers along each route to shape seasonal menus that reflect the passing geography. Grand Suites named Paris, Istanbul and Venice offer en-suite bathrooms and private drawing salons, a rare elegance that speaks to the train’s enduring faith in the art of slow travel.
Quick Summary:
- 🚂 Heritage: Traces its lineage to the original 1883 Orient Express service
- 🗓 Season: March to November
- 🌍 Routes: London, Paris, Venice, Rome, Prague, Vienna and Budapest, with an annual journey to Istanbul
- 🍽 Dining: Chef Jean Imbert, menus shaped by local producers along each route
- 🛏 Suites: Grand Suites named Paris, Istanbul and Venice, each with en-suite bathrooms and private drawing salons
- 🎹 Highlight: Bar car fitted with a baby grand piano
The Flåm Railway, Norway
One of the steepest standard-gauge railways in the world, the Flåm Railway descends 867 metres across just 20 kilometres, connecting the mountain station of Myrdal with the fjord village of Flåm in western Norway. Construction began in 1923 and was completed in 1940, with 18 of the line’s 20 tunnels carved entirely by hand, including one that spirals 180 degrees inside the mountain. The engineering alone would justify the journey.
The scenery, however, is what has earned this route its place among the world’s most beautiful train journeys. Over the course of one hour, the train passes waterfalls plunging from sheer rock faces, rivers cutting through deep ravines, and remote mountain farms perched on slopes that seem to defy habitation. A scheduled stop at Kjosfossen waterfall allows passengers to step onto the platform and feel the force of the water at close range.
Quick Summary:
- 📍 Route: Myrdal to Flåm, western Norway
- ⏱ Duration: One hour
- 📐 Engineering: Descends 867 metres across 20 kilometres; 18 of 20 tunnels carved entirely by hand
- 💧 Highlight: Scheduled stop at Kjosfossen waterfall, where passengers step onto the platform
- 🗓 Operates: Year-round
- ✨ Ideal for: Scenic rail travel and fjord exploration
Amtrak’s Empire Builder, United States
Named after James J. Hill, the railway tycoon who built the Great Northern Railway linking St Paul to Seattle, Amtrak’s Empire Builder covers over 2,200 miles between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest across two nights. The route follows significant stretches of the Lewis and Clark trail, tracing the Mississippi River before crossing the vast expanse of the Great Plains. By the second morning, the landscape transforms as the train climbs into Montana’s Rocky Mountains, skirting the southern boundary of Glacier National Park and crossing the Continental Divide at over 5,000 feet.
The descent through the Cascade Range towards Seattle, or along the Columbia River Gorge towards Portland, provides a final act of considerable visual force. A Sightseer Lounge with panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows offers the ideal vantage point throughout. This is not a luxury train in the European tradition, but among beautiful train journeys defined by sheer scale, few can match it: the American landscape, revealed without interruption across two full days.
Quick Summary:
- 📍 Route: Chicago to Seattle or Portland via the Pacific Northwest
- 📏 Distance: Over 2,200 miles across two nights
- 🏔 Highlights: Glacier National Park, the Continental Divide at over 5,000 feet, Columbia River Gorge
- 🪟 Feature: Sightseer Lounge with panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows
- ✨ Ideal for: Travellers drawn to the scale and variety of the American landscape
Belmond Hiram Bingham, Peru
The blue-and-gold carriages of the Hiram Bingham follow the Urubamba River from Cusco to the foot of Machu Picchu, descending through the Sacred Valley as Andean cloud forest thickens around the narrowing track. Named after the American explorer who brought the Inca citadel to global attention in 1911, the train launched in 2003 with interiors that evoke the elegance of 1920s parlour cars. Polished wood panelling and brass finishes line the dining and bar cars, where a three-course menu built around Peruvian ingredients is prepared entirely on board.
Live traditional musicians move between carriages as the landscape shifts from high plateau to verdant gorge. An open-deck observation car at the rear offers an unobstructed view of the valley walls rising steeply on both sides, their upper reaches often lost in low cloud. The journey lasts roughly three hours in each direction, with brunch served outbound and a full dinner on the return through the darkening valley.
Quick Summary:
- 📍 Route: Cusco to Machu Picchu via the Sacred Valley and Urubamba River
- ⏱ Duration: Roughly three hours in each direction
- 🎶 Highlight: Live traditional musicians moving between carriages throughout the journey
- 🍽 Dining: Three-course menu built around Peruvian ingredients, prepared entirely on board
- 👀 Feature: Open-deck observation car at the rear with unobstructed valley views
- ✨ Ideal for: Combining luxury rail travel with one of the world’s great archaeological sites
belmond.com, @belmondhirambingham
Glacier Express, Switzerland
Billed, without irony, as the world’s slowest express train, the Glacier Express takes the best part of eight hours to cover the 291 kilometres between Zermatt and St Moritz, and every minute earns its place. Departing beneath the Matterhorn, the route climbs through the Mattertal valley before crossing 291 bridges and threading 91 tunnels through the heart of the Swiss Alps, reaching its high point at the Oberalp Pass, 2,033 metres above sea level.
The descent follows the Rhine through the Ruinaulta gorge, Switzerland’s answer to the Grand Canyon, before the Landwasser Viaduct, a six-arched stone bridge curving directly into the mountainside, announces the final stretch to St Moritz. Part of the UNESCO-listed Rhaetian Railway and operating since 1930, this is one of Europe’s most beautiful train journeys by any measure. Excellence Class adds gourmet dining and a dedicated concierge service for those who want the full complement of Alpine indulgence to accompany the view.
Quick Summary:
- 📍 Route: Zermatt to St Moritz through the Swiss Alps
- ⏱ Duration: Best part of eight hours across 291 kilometres
- 🏔 High point: Oberalp Pass at 2,033 metres above sea level
- 🌉 Engineering: 291 bridges and 91 tunnels, including the six-arched Landwasser Viaduct
- 📜 Heritage: Part of the UNESCO-listed Rhaetian Railway, operating since 1930
- 🍽 Upgrade: Excellence Class offers gourmet dining and dedicated concierge service
