Imagine a holiday where you don’t need to arrive hours before departure…where there are no expensive taxis to inconvenient out-of-town locations or extra charges for daring to bring a medium-sized suitcase, and where the journey begins on time.
All this is well within the realms of possibility – and has been for decades. Train travel is enjoying something of a revival. Although the travel time is longer on paper, you often find you win hours back, as the train takes you to/from a central location without a wait for your luggage and a bumpy transfer bus at the other end.
More often than not, the journey itself is an adventure. So what are you waiting for? Here are seven ideas for a rail-based escape.
Barcelona and Girona, Spain
Journey time: around 10h
The high-speed rail line from Paris to Barcelona is not one you need to bring a book for.
This romantic route zips you through the vineyards of Burgundy, flirting with the banks of the Rhone, the outskirts of Avignon and various national parks before plunging down to the Mediterranean coast – the Pyrenees in the backdrop.
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