This summer, Great Western Railway will relaunch superfast services between Paddington and Swansea, making it 30 minutes quicker to reach South Wales from London. This coincides with the launch of a more flexible fare option across GWR services, called the Long Weekender ticket, which is cheaper than an Anytime Return and costs £129.
Once in Swansea, make a beeline for the Gower Peninsula, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Port Eynon youth hostel (yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-port-eynon) is a converted lifeboat station overlooking the sea and moments from Port Enyon village (rent the whole hostel from £450 a night).
Low-carbon Catalonia
Spanish operator Renfe has launched several high-speed routes between France and Spain, creating more opportunities to explore the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France and Catalonia in Spain on a single trip.
Ditch overtouristed Barcelona for Girona, via a night in Lyon. Catch the Eurostar from London to Paris (two hours and 16 minutes), TGV from Paris Gare du Lyon to the city of Lyon (two hours), and Renfe’s AVE from Lyon to Girona (four hours and 17 minutes). With plenty of trains on all these lines, it’s doable in a day and costs from £120.
Once in Catalonia, you could head off on Pura Aventura’s Girona, Garrotxa and Costa Brava self-drive trip (from £1,300pp) for a six-night journey to organic wineries, Dalí’s former home at Portlligat, volcanic national parks and a food-themed walking tour of medieval Girona. For a stopover in Lyon, the Grand Hotel des Terreaux (hotel-lyon-grandhoteldesterreaux.fr/en) is an Art Deco property in the old town (doubles from £121 a night).
Buildings in Stortorget, Stockholm
(Photo: Laurie Noble/Gett/Stone RF)Catch the sleeper to Stockholm
Since ferry services stopped running from the UK, flight-free travel to Scandinavia has been challenging. But that is changing thanks to the new EuroNight sleeper (sj.se/en) service from Hamburg in Germany to Sweden’s capital, Stockholm.
From London, catch an early-morning Eurostar to Brussels (one hour 53 minutes) and a German ICE train to Hamburg via Cologne (six hours 30 minutes). The Stockholm sleeper, which leaves Hamburg at 9.55pm and arrives 12 hours later, costs from £38pp in a six-berth couchette.
In Stockholm, Hotel Rival (rival.se) is a converted 30s cinema with doubles from £120. Or, catch a local train to Vår Gård Saltsjöbaden (vargard.se/hotell), a manor hotel in the Stockholm archipelago with doubles from £92.
Three in one
A railway line connecting the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium has long been in the making. As of last month, it is now possible to cross the three countries in one train on the Liège-Maastricht-Aachen line. Operated by Arriva, the journey takes just one hour 30 minutes. Getting from London to Liège via Brussels takes just over three-and-a-half hours and costs from £100.
Aachen is best known for its Unesco World Heritage Site cathedral, built by Emperor Charlemagne in 790CE, and thermal baths. After a day or two in the town, head 30km south to Eifel National Park, where 110 sq km of lakes, rivers, forests and mountains are home to black storks and wild cats.
The rocky cliffs of Riomaggiore in Italy,
(Photo: Andrey/Getty/iStockphoto)
All aboard the tourist train
In addition to the country’s existing, exceptional rail service (with prosecco or espresso on offer all day), Italy’s new seasonal tourist trains connect major cities to beaches, hills and mountains; the Espresso Salento sleeper from Rome to Puglia launched this week.
Departing Milan from 6 August, the Espresso Versilia will travel to the Cinque Terre, Pisa, and Versilia. Milan is just one transfer from London and is doable in a day if you take an early Eurostar London to Paris (two hours 20 minutes) and hop on the fast TGV or Frecciarossa service from Paris to Milan (seven hours). Tickets from Paris to Milan start from £25 one-way.
The beach clubs of Versilia are ideal for people-watching, then head to the serenity of the surrounding hills. Family-run and beautifully converted traditional homes, such as Le Gusciane (doubles from £100, legusciane.it/en), not only provide Italian hospitality, but will also help plan hikes and wine tours.
Three countries for £7
Reopened earlier this year after a 30-year hiatus, the rail line that connects Italy, Croatia and Slovenia offers a scenic journey through the region.
Operated by Slovenia Railways, the journey spans the three countries, with eight stops ripe for exploration.
Starting at Villa Opicina (30 minutes from Trieste) in Italy, the route winds through the Slovenian countryside to Ilirska Bistrica before crossing into Croatia and reaching its final stop in coastal Rijeka. The trip takes two hours and costs £7, with the option to bring your bike for a small additional fee.
In Trieste, known for its enthusiastic coffee culture, Austro-Hungarian architecture and sparkling Piazza Unità d’Italia, stay at The Modernist (themodernisthotel.eu), which has doubles from £103.
Travel to Trieste from the UK by rail via Paris and Venice; regional trains connect Venice and Trieste every hour and take two hours.
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Publish date : 2024-07-20 05:00:00
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