Europe's Most Underrated Scenic Railways 2023

"The Most Undervalued Picturesque Railroads In Europe"

It's time to look outside the typical tourist routes for your next rail excursion as the world becomes more accessible for international travel once more. But how about using the train as your vacation rather than just a means of transportation? Here is our guide to the top 10 scenic rail lines in Europe for 2023.

Norway's Bod to Trondheim route

Few train trips can claim to have been through Hell and across the Arctic Circle, but Norway's magnificent Nordlands Railway (featured image) is unusual in every way. The longest and most remote railway in Norway, it travels 452 miles from Trondheim to Bod, through vast valleys, high mountain plateaus, and innumerable lakes and fjords during its epic 10-hour trek north. For the best views, take the daylight train, which only runs twice daily. For the return trip, there is also a comfortable sleeper train that connects with trains to and from Oslo. SJ Nord, a part of Swedish State Railways, presently runs the trains.
The railway's construction moved slowly from 1882 until 1940 when Nazi occupying forces accelerated it. However, it took 80 years from the first section's opening to Hell (a half-hour drive east of the city) for the entire route to Bod to be finished.

Although it continues to be difficult to maintain, the route is an essential lifeline for the sparsely inhabited areas it serves, particularly in the winter. Buses connect with trains at Fauske for those traveling even farther north to Narvik and Troms. This stunning route passes through untamed mountain scenery and numerous fjords.
Even while the Oslo-Bergen Railway receives the most attention, Norway has a lot more to offer. Most travels will provide remarkable beauty, not least the underappreciated Nordlands Railway.

Scotland from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh

The West Highland Line from Glasgow to Mallaig has regularly been rated as the best trip in the world, but further north is another strong competitor for that honor. Scotland is blessed with some of Europe's most beautiful scenic rail rides.
From Inverness, located in the Scottish Highlands, spectacular rail lines extend in three directions: south to Glasgow, north to Thurso (the farthest north on the UK rail system), and — our favorite — west to the small town of Kyle of Lochalsh, the entryway to the wild island of Skye.


The ScotRail train travels 80 miles in two hours and 40 minutes, climbing across untamed moorland (be on the lookout for herds of deer) and providing vistas of the Torridon Peaks to the north before dropping to skirt Loch Carron's shoreline. Consider making a pit stop in Plockton, a picturesque lochside village that served as the backdrop for both the infamous 1973 film "The Wicker Man" and the BBC drama "Hamish Macbeth" TV series. Even though palm trees are perhaps not expected this far north, Plockton enjoys a very nice climate because to the Gulf Stream's warming breezes. Although the little diesel train's restrooms are very rudimentary, you'll be too preoccupied admiring the scenery to notice. The final few miles are unforgettable as they lead to the quayside terminus. You are enticed to continue (sadly by bus) to the heaven for hillwalking on Skye or to the neighboring Eilean Donan Castle in Dornie, another instantly famous TV and film site, by the excellent vistas over Loch Carron and Loch Alsh to the Cuillin Mountains on Skye.

Bar, Serbia, and Montenegro, from Belgrade

If you're looking for grand technical achievements, take one of Europe's most breathtaking train excursions to the Balkans. Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, and Bar, the Adriatic port in neighboring Montenegro, are connected by two trains each day. With 435 bridges and 254 tunnels, the 296-mile route is a marvel of 20th-century engineering. Up until 2001, it held the record for the tallest railway bridge in the world. Marshal Tito, the dictator, started building the railway in the early 1950s, but it wasn't until 1976 that trains could travel the entire distance.

Despite the fact that Serbia and Montenegro are frequently disregarded by tourists in Europe, the Belgrade-Bar train is becoming more and more well-liked among foreign visitors who are using Interrail or Eurail travel cards. The 11-hour trip may still be taken for as little as €21 ($21) one way even without a pass. Mark Smith, often known as "The Man in Seat 61," a rail travel specialist, considers it to be "among the greatest €21 you'll ever spend."
The 660-foot-high Mala Rijeka viaduct in Montenegro, which connects Bijelo Polje and Bar, has some of the most picturesque views. For the finest views, take a seat on the right side of the train.
Unfortunately, the "Tara" daytime train's 2023 dates are from June 17 to September 17. Prior to the pandemic, it ran every day. If you travel in the summer, you can still see the greatest views from the "Lovcen" overnight train.

Switzerland and Austria from Zürich to Innsbruck

There are other different, equally comfortable train types that travel between Switzerland and Austria, but this one is the most attractive: the once-daily EuroCity Transalpine train from Zürich to Graz, which has a gorgeous Swiss panorama car for First Class passengers. You wish to take the first leg of the trip, from Zürich to Innsbruck.
This 3.5-hour, twisting west-to-east trip along the Arlberg Pass, one of Europe's oldest trading routes. The Arlberg line has not been bypassed and will not be, unlike many other significant Alpine lines. It is still mainly unmodernized, which adds to its beauty.
The single track clings to precarious ledges and climbs steeply in both directions to the summit tunnel at 4,300 feet, one of the highest main railways in Europe. Along the route, sharp curves and innumerable tunnels were repeatedly cut out of the Alpine granite by laborers in the 19th century.

The 84-mile mountain segment has long been challenging to keep free because of the persistent threat of avalanches, rockfalls, mudslides, and floods, and closures are not unheard of. Staff and passengers had to put up with the stifling effects of steam engines running nonstop through several tunnels before electrification in 1924. With air conditioning, it's much nicer! The journey's high point is Austria's narrow Trisanna Bridge, which spans a wide ravine at Landeck at a height of 390 feet while being watched over by the spectacular Wiesberg Castle. But the trip is much more than this brief glance. It's a genuinely unforgettable journey that enthralls even the most jaded of travelers, from the shores of Lake Zürich and the Walensee in Switzerland to the harsh snow-capped Alps and the last leg across the huge valley of the Inn river. And if you can't make the Transalpine, don't worry—every Zürich to Innsbruck train follows this route, even if they don't all have panoramic cars.

Ireland from Dublin to Wexford

As soon as your 2.5-hour Irish Rail train departs Connolly Station in the heart of Dublin and rumbles across the iron bridge crossing the River Liffey, the breathtaking views begin. It doesn't take long for the road to border Killiney Bay's almost Mediterranean sweep as it winds through the wealthy southern suburbs of the city to reach the coastal resort of Bray.

However, the enormous Bray Head, where the Wicklow Mountains plunge directly into the Irish Sea, stands in its way. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a famous Victorian railway engineer who was never one to back down from a challenge when it came to using other people's money, hacked a slender route through this tremendous obstruction where the mountains met the sea so that the train could reach Wicklow. Unfortunately, future generations of engineers have been cursing "Brunel's folly" due to the exposed location and potential for rockfalls. Even his first path, which was closer to the cliff edge and may have resulted in a train ending up in the water, is not the current one.

A fantastic journey filled with expansive sea views, commanding mountains, lush forested valleys, and charming tiny towns are highlighted by Bray Head, only one of its high points. Stop in Wicklow or Wexford to savor the top-notch regional cuisine and pubs, or travel on to Rosslare to board a ferry to Wales, France, or perhaps northern Spain.

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland runs the excellent "Sea Breeze" steam trains, which are the only ones in the world to serve draught Guinness from the bar car. If you're lucky, you could even get to travel the route on one of these magnificent trains.

Domodossola to Locarno, Switzerland and Italy

The rail transport is cutting against the natural scenery where the Swiss Alps meet the northern Italian Alps, this pleasant journey truly merits the moniker "100 Valleys." The Centovalli is slightly underrated compared to the well-known Bernina Express and Glacier Express routes farther north, although not for good reason.

One of the few trains that travel from east to west in the area is the Centovalli, which takes just under two hours and leaps across innumerable bridges spanning the river valleys that convey melting snow from the high Alps to the plains of Northern Italy. It connects the Gotthard and Simplon Pass roads, which have long served as important thoroughfares for trade and tourists between northern Europe and Italy.

The Centovalli trains travel through the beautiful pre-Alpine terrain of the Ticino region beginning at Locarno, a well-known tourist destination at the head of Lake Maggiore. They then cross the border into Italy and descend to the rail terminal at Domodossola.
Taking the tourist-friendly Treno Panoramico Vigezzo Vision, a unique panoramic train with wider windows is worthwhile for a modest surcharge. The ultimate picturesque railroad experience even includes one lucky passenger per trip getting to sit next to the driver! It's even better because the itinerary can be completed with other famous rail experiences. If you begin the day in Brig, you can go to Andermatt on the renowned Glacier Express and then to Locarno on the Gotthard mountain railway. Finish off by taking the Simplon Tunnel line back to Brig after your Centovalli excursion.

Corsica's Bastia to Ajaccio

Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean, is mountainous, poorly populated, and heavily forested, making it an unsuitable location for railroads. Additionally, in the mid-1900s, France's local railways were completely destroyed. However, three lines have managed to survive in Corsica despite all the odds.The rough topography of Corsica made life difficult for the 20,000 workers who built the railway in the late 19th century but also gave passengers a unique experience. Those willing to take their time and tour the island by rail will find craggy peaks, deep woods, waterfalls, unspoiled medieval villages, historic cities, golden sands, and sapphire blue bays there.

The network consists of 51 bridges, the most impressive of which is the 308-foot-high Vecchio Viaduct created by Gustave Eiffel. There are also 32 tunnels, the biggest of which is 2.4 miles long and at a height of 2,972 feet. Yes, the one; in addition to his tower in Paris, Eiffel also created some of the best railroad bridges in all of Europe.
Summer travelers can easily get to L'Ile Rousse and Calvi on weather-beaten meter-gauge trains, known as the Trinichellu or "Little Train," which radiate out from the inland hub at Ponte Leccia.
The 98-mile "main" line connecting Bastia in the northeast via Corte to Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, on the southwest coast, is made up of two additional branches.

The Chemins de fer de la Corse (CFC) still runs five trains every day (four on weekends) between Bastia and Ajaccio, requiring around four hours, as well as shorter trips on other lines, in spite of numerous attempts to shut down the system.

Austria, Slovenia, and Italy from Vienna to Trieste

On this nine-hour journey through three nations and an ever-changing kaleidoscope of landscapes, it is impossible to avoid hearing echoes of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The EuroCity "Emona" train from BB connects Vienna with Ljubljana and the stunning seaside city of Trieste, which served as the Austrian Empire's main port until 1918.
The slow but luxurious train travels via Graz to Ljubljana, weaving through the tiny gorge of the Sava River on its route to the Slovenian capital after conquering the severe inclines and hairpin curves of the UNESCO World Heritage Semmering Line.

In order to reach the Karst Plateau, which is an extraordinary upland scenery where exposed limestone is carved by wind and rain into underground rivers, gorges, and caves, it continues southwest through lovely farmscapes and climbs steadily toward the Slovenian-Italian border.
The best is saved for last: after crossing the Italian border, the train, now down to just three carriages, descended sharply, squeaking between limestone outcrops until emerging high on the mountainside to reveal breathtaking vistas of the Gulf of Trieste. Sit on the right side of the train and keep an eye out for Miramare Castle, which is perched far down on a cantilever over the water.

Wales' Heart of Wales Line

Many rural villages in Britain were left isolated as a result of the infamous "Beeching cutbacks" of the 1960s, the impacts of which can still be felt 60 years later. Wales' rural areas, where many lines were abandoned, were among the hardest hit.

The circuitous Heart of Wales Line, which connects the English border town of Shrewsbury with Swansea in South Wales, is one prominent surviving route. It takes three hours and fifteen minutes. The UK government rejected controversial closure proposals in the middle of the 1960s, in part because the route passed through no fewer than six competitive parliamentary districts.

A number of remote rural towns along the 121-mile road, as well as travelers and hikers taking in this magnificently unspoiled area, continue to profit from that political decision. Great walks are available almost everywhere, not least along the Heart of Wales Line Trail, which connects many of the stations.

A mesmerizing environment of mountains, forests, wild rivers, verdant meadows, and charming towns and villages is traversed by just five trains per day (three on Sundays). The charming town of Llandrindod Wells and Llanwrtyd Wells, the smallest town in Britain and site of the World Alternative Games, which feature unusual competitions like "wife carrying" and "bog snorkeling," which involves swimming through a peat bog, are highlights of the itinerary.

France from Clermont-Ferrand to Nîmes

The Massif Central region of France is one of Europe's best-kept secrets despite being in the shadow of the more famous Alps and Pyrenees. It is a rough highland region with mountains, extinct volcanoes, and plateaus. Two magnificent railways that snake through untamed gorges and across high mountain passes traverse the area from north to south.

Trains on the Cevennes Line travel 190 miles from Clermont-Ferrand, which is surrounded by the Puy de Dôme volcano, to Nîmes in around six and a half hours, passing through 106 confined tunnels and nearly 1,300 bridges. Although France is known for having many stunning railway bridges, the amazing horseshoe viaducts at Chamborigaud and Chapeauroux are worth the trip on their own.
The voyage is a captivating combination of breathtaking scenery and outdated industrial structures. At 3,635 feet above sea level, the line's top at La Bastide-Puy-Laurent hosts a junction of historic hiking trails, including the Robert Louis Stevenson Trail, which replicates the route the author and his donkey traveled in 1878.
The terrain gets increasingly more Mediterranean south of the top as the railway descends into the Languedoc, which is surrounded by Aleppo pines, cypress, and the area's renowned wineries.
The line had dedicated panorama trains and direct "Cevenol" trains to Paris and Marseille up until the 2000s, but both have since been abolished. One of Europe's best rail excursions is severely underrated today because only local trains run the route.

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