meIs there a better feeling for a traveler than when a train pulls out of a tunnel? A sudden flood of light, that howling rush of air. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks trains are the new (old) planes, with UK train journeys up 7% in 2025 and more Europeans than ever before trying to catch a train.
It’s late December and I’m embarking on a slow train journey across the historic railways of the Swiss Alps and across Italian lakes. The approximately 2,900 km (1,800 miles) journey crosses five countries, almost entirely by scenic day train.
What is clear from the start is how easy and slightly confusing this type of train travel can be. Passing through stations, crossing platforms and drifting across borders, it’s hard to believe that we’ve arrived in three countries – the UK, France and Switzerland – in less than a day. Gone are the sweaty finger scans through airport border checkpoints, replaced by the most courteous immigration police I’ve ever encountered. “You travel a lot,” one person said with a wry smile with his German shepherd, to which I replied, “Legally,” to cover my back.
Outside, the French countryside soon blurs into the Swiss hills, all behind a thin veil of white winter light. Fields with clumps of bare trees appear frozen and still, as if bracing for an impending explosion. As we enter Zurich we get our first glimpse of the milky Alpine peaks.
This is the thrill of train travel. A constantly changing scene, the rise and fall of a landscape fermented like fresh bread. The next morning, we’re greeted by clear blue skies as we head up the mountain via the Matterhorn Gotthard railway, one of Europe’s most historic train routes. The original line opened in 1882 and was the railway that transformed Europe, passing through barren mountains and isolated villages.
We took one of the historic trains (IR46). We wanted to avoid any route through the Gotthard primary tunnel that would bypass the beauty. In summer, tourist trains with bigger windows and bigger price tags ply the exact same route famously described by JMW Turner and described in awe-inspiring terms by Goethe. “Here we must obey nature,” he wrote. Although it was the cafe cars selling Swiss coffee at eye-watering prices that made me revise Goethe, here inflation.
With our phones duly charged (as is slow train travel etiquette), we spent three hours staring out the window, eating Swiss truffles and winding through the mythical Alps via the famous Gotthard "spiral”. This is a corkscrew track built inside the mountain for a steady climb. Dizzying canyons, foaming rivers, and snow-capped peaks are the stuff of oil paintings.
From Göschenen we decided to take the short, steep rack-and-pinion route to the former garrison town of Andermatt for lunch. It has now been reborn as a sophisticated ski resort. The snow is thick here. Between him and the dark alpine stone, we feel as if we have entered a black and white photograph. A relaxed lunch in excellent Biselli with a few glasses of Swiss Ticino red (a liquid lunch, another perk of slow train travel) will help you escape the thick fog that permeates the railway line for the rest of the day. Fortunately, the sky is clear in Italy. Terracotta Valley Village remains in the distance. Cross another border at Chiasso, where cappuccino prices drop from 5 CFH to €2 and one of Italy’s most famous lakes comes into view.
At dusk, we arrived at Lake Como. After dropping the bag, we easily capture the last rays of light passeggiata (Walk) Take a walk around the famous lake. Fortunately, there are no crowds during peak season. Colorful street lights line the water’s edge like washed pearls, and in the distance the cable car ascending to the hill town of Brunate glows with a series of golden lights hanging along the slope like a lost jewel. It’s hard to imagine Como any other way.
The next morning, we pack up in record time and grab coffee at the station, immersed in the silence of the slow train. For our final destination we are heading towards the much needed metropolis. Leave Milan, the least interesting city in Italy, and enter Turin, one of the most underrated cities.
Stepping off the winding regional train at Torino Porta Susa, we found a lively, laid-back student town that seemed contentedly trapped in a kind of temporary ragu. An 18th-century Baroque building with an Art Deco neon sign from the 1920s and a vintage store run by students dressed in 1990s clothing.
Miraculously, all these groups of students and students are united under an impressive portico that stretches unbroken for more than 18 kilometers, lined with boutiques and historic coffee bars, and blends in well with the more conservative seniors. We finished our first night. aperitif At Caffè Università, a classic art school spot with a worn edge and a charmingly dated daily buffet.
The next morning, Turin’s enviable portfolio of museums and galleries beckons. Most of them are free to enter with the Turin Card. Here, the timeless atmosphere continues within the soaring spire of the 19th-century Mole Antonelliana, now home to the magnificent Museo Nazionale del Cinema. It is the only neoclassical building with a xenomorph egg from the movie Alien? Likewise, the Lingotto complex, another repurposed building, boasts an even more bizarre upcycle. The famous Fiat test track on the roof has been reborn as La Pista 500, an open garden walkway complete with art installations and historical skidmarks. It’s proof that Turin is not just interested in preserving history, but also in evolving it.
As the air grew chilly, we ducked in for a perfect meal at the rustic but excellent Osteria Rabezana, part of the Mangébin circuit promoting Piedmontese cuisine. that Brasato al Barolo (beef stewed in Barolo wine) and local Agnolotti del Flynn (Beef and Cabbage–stuffed The pasta) is great. This family-run restaurant and winery opened shortly after World War II and, judging by the convivial atmosphere filled with locals on an office gala outing, has been serving the city ever since.
The next morning, we returned to Paris on the 7.36 TGV. As we fall asleep and wake up, we catch a last glimpse of the Italian Alps. By the time we reached the pit stop in Paris, daylight had sunk in on its own, and it wasn’t long before we were sitting back in the Eurostar with a bag of clinking wine bottles buffered with crushed panettone next to us. Excited to get home, we reluctantly plunged back into the darkness of the Channel Tunnel, leaving all light behind.
Transportation Provider: Eurail; A pass for seven days of travel within a month costs £255 for youth, £339 for adults and £305 for seniors (under 12s travel free). Eurostar returns from London to Paris start from: £78. Accommodation was provided at The Home Hotel Zurich (from £165B&B), Hilton Lake Como (from) €270 B&B), NH Collection Turin Piazza Carlina (B&B from £203)) and 25Terminus Nord hours in Paris (rooms only from €179) ).