Europe's best-rated scenic railway journeys

As European train travel undergoes a resurgence with the tantalising promise of new routes and the revival of sleeper services, we asked you to rate your favourite scenic journeys across Europe.

On a warm summer evening, there are few greater joys than leaning from a train window as it winds around a coastal cliff face, with elegant cypress trees below and the smell of rosemary on the breeze. From a commuter ride through the Scottish highlands to a luxurious, glacial sweep across the Swiss Alps and a windswept tour around the Norwegian fjords, your top 10 unique train rides all had one thing in common – the magic of the scenery. 

Europe's best scenic railways

The UK's best scenic railway journey

Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales

• Journey score: 91%
• Railway: Ffestiniog Railway
• Price: From £40 return

Stretching 13.5 miles between the harbour at Porthmadog and the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, this is the world’s oldest narrow-gauge railway. With the option to travel in first-class Pullman carriages, you can push down windows, breathe in the sweet air and whizz through the Welsh countryside in just three hours – pulled by a whistling steam engine. On a summer’s day, you’ll pass glistening lakes speckled with little egrets, before rattling along the precipice of bridges, often within arm’s reach of wild grass and the backs of stone houses. Twisting around tight bends, the train offers a peek into the depths of dense forests before running above hamlets where residents wave up from their farmhouses and chickens cluck in the yard. Towards the summit, great rolls of cloud cast shadows on sunlit valleys and the landscape unfolds as far as the eye can see.

Europe's best scenic railway journeys

Oslo to Bergen, Norway

• Journey score: 90%
• Railway: Bergen Railway
• Cost: From £20 one way

The Bergensbanen connects the capital city to the fjords in the far west in seven hours. Built between 1875 and 1909, the railway includes 308 miles of track that transports passengers past mirror-clear lakes with armies of sugar-dusted spruce circling their banks. The train runs along the Drammenselva river – a popular spot for salmon fishing – and on to the pretty little town of Honefoss. From here, buildings begin to thin out, with miles of empty landscape rushing by in between each village. In winter, cabins are submerged in snow with single spirals of smoke betraying their hiding places. And on the approach to Bergen, the land shrinks to a mere finger stretching across a sheet of water with the train seemingly gliding across the surface.

Chur, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy

• Journey score: 90%
• Railway: Bernina Express
• Cost: From £54 one way 

One of the highest railways in Europe, the Bernina Express offers passengers a four-hour Alpine adventure from within the cosy confines of a shiny, red, panoramic dome car. Although the route came joint second overall, this was the only railway journey to score a standout five out of five star rating for its magnificent scenery. During winter, expect to curl around frozen lakes and monstrous snowdrifts, while in summer, you’ll see bell-wearing cows picking their way through meadows of lilac asters overlooked by snow-capped peaks. There are some hair-raising moments. The train squeezes onto bridges anchored in rock faces, while green rivers churn and swirl below. And it travels through more than 50 tunnels, plunging passengers into darkness before emerging into sunlit valleys dotted with terracotta rooftops, wooden churches and pretty picket fences. Keep cameras to hand, and bring a packed lunch of cheese, deli meats and bread as there’s currently only a minibar service on board.

Zermatt to St Moritz, Switzerland

• Journey score: 89%
• Railway: Glacier Express
• Cost: From £130 one way

This is the most luxurious way to see the Swiss Alps. With wide leather seats and a new Excellence Class that offers a seven-course menu with wine pairing, the journey is the destination. Soon after departure, the majestic, ice-slicked Matterhorn looms into view with wisps of cloud-like steam around its head and its reflection in the lake below. Meandering through the three cantons of Valais, Uri and Graubunden, the train allows passengers to look inside clusters of chalets, their balconies bright with flowers. And from vertiginous viaducts, passengers can gaze upon the Rhine Gorge where apple-green waters crash and roll, and forests slip down to the water’s edge.