The Best Luxury Train Journeys in Europe: 7 Trains Compared for 2026

Expeditions · Europe · By Richard J. · Updated 1 July 2026

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If you want one answer: the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is the definitive European luxury train — original 1920s carriages, the Paris–Venice overnight, from roughly £3,800 per person. But it is not automatically the right one. For pure Alpine scenery the Glacier Express delivers more for far less, from about £350. For intimacy and whisky, the 40-guest Royal Scotsman has no equal. For value, the Bernina Express crosses a UNESCO Alpine route from £70. Below, all seven are compared on cost, route and character — and each section tells you exactly what to book to ride it.

Europe invented the luxury train — and unlike most inventions, it has continued to refine the original rather than replace it. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express still runs the carriages it built in the 1920s. The Royal Scotsman crosses the Highlands with the same whisky-infused intimacy it has delivered for decades. But the field has widened: the Swiss panoramic trains offer the most dramatic mountain scenery in rail travel, Al Andalus traverses Moorish Spain in a way no other transport can, and the Golden Eagle runs routes from the Balkans to Central Asia. What follows compares seven European luxury train experiences — what each costs, what each delivers, and which suits which traveller.

The comparison table

The seven trains split into two families: overnight luxury services where the train is the destination (VSOE, Royal Scotsman, Al Andalus, Golden Eagle), and premium day-trip panoramic trains where the scenery is the point (Glacier Express, Bernina Express, Northern Belle). Price reflects that divide more than quality does.

Two things the table cannot show. First, the overnight trains book out far earlier — the Royal Scotsman carries only 40 guests and the VSOE's best dates go a year ahead, while the Swiss panoramic trains can be reserved weeks rather than months out. Second, the day-trip trains are the easiest to slot into a wider itinerary: you can ride the Bernina or Glacier Express as a single spectacular day inside a Swiss or Italian holiday without committing to a multi-thousand-pound overnight. We come back to both points under How to choose.

Venice Simplon-Orient-Express — the benchmark

The VSOE is a journey you build a trip around rather than slot into one. Most riders take the single Paris–Venice overnight; the longer five-night runs to Istanbul, or the seasonal Amalfi and Portofino departures, are rarer and pricier still. Because it is a one-night experience for most guests, where you spend the nights either side matters as much as the train itself — a considered stay in Paris before and Venice after is what turns a single night on rails into a complete trip. For the full breakdown, see our VSOE complete guide, the detailed price breakdown, and how to build a week around the train.

One practical note that catches first-timers out: the VSOE's departure cities are not always where you are flying in from, and the train's timings are fixed. Building a day of slack into the city before departure — rather than connecting on the morning of — removes the single most common way a once-in-a-lifetime journey starts badly.

Belmond Royal Scotsman — the most intimate

Itineraries run from a two-night taster to a seven-night grand tour, with the off-train programme — Speyside distilleries, clan castles, a private gundog display — doing much of the work. Most riders fly into Edinburgh to join, which makes a night in the city beforehand both practical and worthwhile. For the full account of cabins, routes and seasons, see our Royal Scotsman guide.

Glacier Express — the most scenic

The accessibility is the point: no multi-night commitment, no formal dress code, no booking a year ahead. You can ride it as a single extraordinary day inside a wider Swiss holiday, then base yourself in Zermatt or St Moritz either side. Excellence Class is limited and does sell out in peak summer and over the Christmas markets, so it is worth securing your seats — and your departure date — in advance. For the full Swiss panoramic picture, see our guide to the Glacier, Bernina and GoldenPass trains.

Bernina Express — the UNESCO crossing

The Bernina Express runs from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in northern Italy, crossing the Bernina Pass at 2,253 metres — the highest rail crossing in the Alps, on the UNESCO-listed Rhaetian Railway. The journey takes roughly four hours and costs from about £70 in first class, making it the most accessible luxury-adjacent train in Europe. The Landwasser Viaduct (shared with the Glacier Express route), the Morteratsch Glacier and the spiralling Brusio circular viaduct on the descent into the Italian Valtellina deliver four hours of near-continuous drama for a fraction of any overnight fare.

For travellers building an Italian itinerary around the VSOE, the Bernina Express taken from Tirano up to St Moritz can be added as a day trip from the Italian side — pairing the definitive luxury train with the definitive scenic train inside a single ten-day trip. It is the single best value-for-scenery decision on this page.

Al Andalus — Moorish Spain by rail

Al Andalus is the least known of the European luxury trains outside Spain and arguably the most underrated. A six-night circuit through Andalusia — Seville, Córdoba, Granada, Ronda, Jerez, Cádiz — in restored 1920s carriages with en-suite cabins, a dining car, a lounge, and the particular warmth of Spanish hospitality, which operates at a different register from its northern European counterparts. The off-train excursions — the Alhambra in Granada, the Mezquita in Córdoba, the sherry bodegas of Jerez — give it a cultural density no other European luxury train matches. Pricing starts from roughly €3,500 per person for the full six nights, exceptional value for the duration and the quality of both on-board and off-train experiences.

Because the circuit begins and ends in Seville, the city is where most riders arrive the day before — and where the off-train highlights, the Alhambra and Mezquita in particular, reward booking timed-entry tickets in advance rather than queuing on the day.

Golden Eagle — the expedition train

The Golden Eagle operates extended luxury rail journeys across routes no other operator covers — the Balkans (Budapest to Istanbul via Serbia and Bulgaria), Scandinavia and the Arctic Circle, and the Silk Road through Central Asia. These are not overnight services or day trips; they are multi-week expeditions with hotel-standard en-suite cabins, a dedicated restaurant car and off-train excursions at each stop. Pricing starts from roughly £8,000 per person for a seven-day Balkan itinerary and rises beyond £25,000 for the longest Silk Road crossings. For travellers who have done the VSOE and the Royal Scotsman and want rail that covers genuinely unfamiliar territory, the Golden Eagle is the next step.

These journeys cross multiple countries and time zones over weeks, often through regions with patchy local connectivity, which makes two pieces of practical preparation worth more here than on any other train on this page: reliable data and proper insurance for a long, far-flung trip.

Northern Belle — the accessible introduction

The Northern Belle is a Pullman-style day-trip service running across the UK — typically from northern English cities to the Lake District, Edinburgh, York, Bath and beyond. The carriages are restored in full Pullman style (polished wood, table lamps, white linen), a multi-course lunch is served en route, and the format gives you a taste of luxury rail at roughly £300 per person for a day. It is not in the VSOE or Royal Scotsman category — but for travellers who want to experience the format before committing to a multi-thousand-pound overnight, it is the most accessible starting point in the UK.

How to choose

Two patterns are worth naming. If your priority is the journey as occasion — a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a milestone, the train as the event — the VSOE and Royal Scotsman justify their price and should be booked six to twelve months ahead. If your priority is the scenery, the Swiss panoramic trains deliver more visible Alps per pound than any overnight service, and slot into a wider holiday without dominating it. The single most common mistake is paying overnight-train money expecting panoramic-train views; the VSOE crosses the Alps in the dark.

And the combinations genuinely work. The VSOE to Venice, then up to St Moritz on the Bernina Express, is the strongest pairing in Europe — the definitive luxury train and the definitive scenic train in one trip. The Glacier and Bernina Express together make a complete Swiss week based in Graubünden. If you are weighing the wider field, our guides to the world's best luxury train journeys for 2026 and the great rail journeys guide set Europe's seven in global context.

Frequently asked questions