Rail travel across Europe keeps going from strength to strength, and 2027 is shaping up as a particularly good year to book. Alongside the classics, a wave of new routes is launching across the continent, so travellers who plan early will have first pick of the best seats and cabins.
The appeal is simple: the holiday starts the moment you board. There's no airport security, no baggage carousel, no transfer shuttle — just a seat by the window and scenery doing its thing. Overnight sleepers take it a step further. You fall asleep in one country and wake up in another, rested and ready, without ever seeing a departure board.
Two names stand out for very different reasons. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is the old-school glamour option — polished wood, evening dress, and a route that still feels like a film set. At the other end of the price spectrum sits the Santa Claus Express, the night train that rolls north through Finland towards Lapland, a cheap and surprisingly scenic way to reach the Arctic for a winter trip.
For something warmer, one route that keeps appearing on wishlists is the Mediterranean hop from the French Riviera along the coast to Liguria in Italy — think pastel harbour towns, olive terraces and sea views for most of the line. It's a trip that works just as well in shoulder season as at the height of summer, and pairs neatly with stops in Nice, Menton and the Italian Riviera villages.
The bigger story for 2027, though, is the expansion. With operators across Europe adding new connections, trips that once required awkward multi-train itineraries are becoming straightforward. For anyone who has been flirting with the idea of a flight-free holiday, next year is the moment to stop flirting and start booking.
Who is this for? Slow travellers, obviously — but also families who dread airports, couples after a trip that feels like an event in itself, and anyone combining a few destinations without the carbon cost of short-haul flights. The practical advice is to book early: sleeper cabins on the famous trains sell out months ahead, and the new 2027 routes will be at their cheapest and most available before the timetable beds in.
