About

About ULTIMATE Rail Journeys

ULTIMATE Rail Journeys is an independent guide for visitors to the world by train. We publish 1 curated lists: and book a rail holiday. We cover the story of the railway, the rail journeys of the cities in the ULTIMATE network, and the operators you can book a rail holiday with.

Our editor

Jai Michael is Editor-in-Chief of the ULTIMATE City Guides. With more than 25 years in the media industry, he founded ABSOLUTE brighton and London TV, and has worked with leading luxury brands around the world.

How we choose

Every operator we list is one we have checked on its own website. We link straight to the operator, with no affiliate codes; we don’t use review scores, and nobody can pay to be included.

Before you go

Timetables, routes and seasonal services change from year to year, so please check with each operator before you travel.

For venues

Run a venue in the world by train and spotted something to update? We review our lists regularly and welcome corrections.

Photo credits

• The polished blue-and-gold carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express at a platform, a pink lamp glowing in a window, by Øyvind Holmstad, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The red carriages of the Glacier Express crossing the stone arches of the Landwasser Viaduct below a snow-capped peak, by Kabelleger / David Gubler, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A Srbijavoz Soko InterCity train at the platform, by Mediji Srbijavoz, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A green sixth-generation Peak Tram climbing on its stone viaduct through the forest at Barker Road, Hong Kong, by LN9267, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The train shed at St Pancras International, by sagesolar, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, by Joe Ravi, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A red-and-yellow Chemins de fer de Provence railcar at Annot station, below wooded mountains, by Gamau-M, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Maglev arriving at Longyang Road, by 惭, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The red-brick Bukit Timah railway station of 1932 among palms on the Rail Corridor, with a yellow inspection trolley on the old tracks, by Sgconlaw, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A red Gornergrat Bahn train climbing through the snow towards Gornergrat, with the Matterhorn rising behind, by Kabelleger / David Gubler, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A train crossing the Nine Arches Bridge near Ella, by Knthabrew, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The black-and-red FS Class 640 steam locomotive of the Treno Natura at Siena station, by LigaDue, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Railroad workers and officials crowd around two locomotives at Promontory Summit, Utah, as the last rail is laid on 10 May 1869, by Andrew J. Russell (restoration: Adam Cuerden), licensed Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Alhambra in Granada in the evening light, by Jebulon, licensed Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The floodlit Acropolis and Parthenon at dusk, seen from Philopappos Hill, by Giles Laurent, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The pink sand beach of Harbour Island, the Bahamas, by Rüdiger Stehn from Kiel, Deutschland, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The road winding out to the lighthouse on Cap de Formentor, Mallorca, above the open sea, by Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Grand Palace reflected at dawn, by Nawit science, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The golden sand and calm water of Paynes Bay, St. James, by Barry haynes, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Sagrada Família lit up at night, by Maksim Sokolov, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Belgrade's old town and the spire of the Cathedral Church of St Michael above the Sava at sunset, photo: © ULTIMATE International Media.
• The Romanian Athenaeum in its garden, by Jorge Franganillo, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Hungarian Parliament lit up at night on the Danube, by Tom Ek, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Bixby Creek Bridge on the Big Sur coast, by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A cruise ship in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro, by Gzzz, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Burj Khalifa and Business Bay at blue hour, by Robert Bock, licensed CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A schooner silhouetted against the sunset off Key West, by Joe Parks from Berkeley, CA, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Aerial view of the white sand spit of Ses Illetes and Llevant, the salt pans and, across the strait, Ibiza and Es Vedrà, by Beni Marull, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Baie des Anges, Nice, by Tobi 87, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Blue domes of Oia above the Santorini caldera, by Norbert Nagel, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Helsinki Cathedral above the South Harbour, by Ввласенко, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Hong Kong Island and the harbour at night from Victoria Peak, by Benh LIEU SONG (Flickr), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The walls of Dalt Vila and the cathedral above the harbour of Ibiza Town, in late sun, by Charles from Port Chester, New York, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Hagia Sophia and its minarets in golden evening light, by Nserrano, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Las Vegas Strip at dusk, by Dietmar Rabich, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Congress Square, Ljubljana, with the castle on its hill behind, by Petar Milošević, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower lit at dusk across the Thames, by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Downtown Los Angeles at sunset beneath the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains, by Alek Leckszas, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Metrópolis building at the start of the Gran Vía, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• La Seu, Palma’s Gothic cathedral, and the Almudaina above the old sea wall, seen from the Parc de la Mar, by Enric, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• An aerial view of a small island ringed by reef in the Maldives, by Luka Peternel, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Yachts in Puerto Banús, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Turquoise water below the pine-topped cliffs at Cala Macarella, Menorca, by Markus Trienke, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Art Deco hotels on Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, by Robbschultz69, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Monaco from above, Port Hercule and Monte-Carlo below the mountains, by Spike, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Taj Mahal Palace and the Gateway of India from the harbour, by iMahesh, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Sunset at the Naples Pier, by pmarkham, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The New York City skyline from Top of the Rock, by Dillan Payne, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Millennium Bridge over the Morača, by Desemeus, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild and its gardens, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, by Berthold Werner, edit by Böhringer, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The red carriages of the Glacier Express crossing the stone arches of the Landwasser Viaduct below a snow-capped peak, by Kabelleger / David Gubler, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Church of St John at Kaneo above Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia, by kallerna, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Golden Gate Bridge seen from Battery Spencer, by Christoph Strässler, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Sebilj fountain and the square of Baščaršija, by Yukof, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Lujiazui skyline lit up at night across the Huangpu River, by King of Hearts, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The towers of the Central Business District lit up at night, reflected in Marina Bay, by Bijay Chaurasia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Matterhorn in winter above Zermatt, by JoachimKohler-HB, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Warrior on a Horse fountain in Macedonia Square, Skopje, lit at night, by Diego Delso, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, under a pink evening sky, by Jose Ligero Loarte, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A caparisoned elephant in the Esala Perahera procession, Kandy, by Daniel Liabeuf, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Gros Piton and Petit Piton, the twin volcanic spires of the UNESCO-listed Pitons, by xiquinhosilva, licensed CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Longtail boats on West Railay beach beneath the limestone cliffs, by Krzysztof Golik, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The restored Pyramid of Tirana under a blue sky, by BBB2021, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Rolling green hills and a farmhouse near Pienza in the Val d’Orcia, by Tom Ek, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• Calatrava’s Hemisfèric lit at twilight, reflected in its pool, by Diliff, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The tiled roof of St Stephen’s Cathedral and the rooftops of central Vienna, by Dietmar Rabich, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• St Mark's Church and its tiled roof on St Mark's Square, Zagreb's Upper Town, by Jorge Láscar from Australia, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The railway track leading to the gatehouse of Auschwitz II-Birkenau, now a place of remembrance, by Michel Zacharz, licensed CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A Tōkaidō Shinkansen bullet train crossing a steel bridge beneath snow-capped Mount Fuji, by Alpsdake, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A red Gornergrat Bahn train climbing through the snow towards Gornergrat, with the Matterhorn rising behind, by Kabelleger / David Gubler, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The red carriages of the Glacier Express crossing the stone arches of the Landwasser Viaduct below a snow-capped peak, by Kabelleger / David Gubler, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• LNER No. 4472 Flying Scotsman in steam at Carnforth, in black and white, by Barry Lewis, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• The polished blue-and-gold carriages of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express at a platform, a pink lamp glowing in a window, by Øyvind Holmstad, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A black steam locomotive and red carriages of the Harz narrow-gauge railway ploughing through deep snow on the Brocken, under a blue sky, by Markus Trienke, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
• A Soviet P36 steam locomotive with a star on its smokebox door, standing in falling snow, in black and white, by Maxim Sinelshchikov, licensed CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.