Win a copy of Platform Europe + an Interrail Pass! (closed)

My favourite slow travel train route is Napoli-Palermo in Southern Italy. Putting the train on the ferry, what a brilliant idea ! The sea is wonderfully blue, it is always a delight.

It was probably the journey from Milan to Paris in the summer of 2022, the first in a series of trips me and my friends made for the Interrail that year. We got off to a slow start: it took us half the time just to reach the border. Then, from there, we began to see first the French Alpine landscapes, then the typical expanses of central France with rolling fields, rivers, a few small villages scattered here and there and, in my opinion the most beautiful sight of all, a Roman bridge that must have been several thousand years old but was still standing. The journey took a long time, but the beauty of the landscape didn’t make it feel tedious; on the contrary, it made it part of the journey.

I really liked going by night train from Irún, France to Lisbon, Portugal. Best dinner in a dining wagon with good food, and service. Good company in the sleeper with a group of very friendly spanish people that woke me up in the middle of the night and served beer and stories. 

I would like to do that again or take the train through England and Scotland ending wirh ferry to the Orkney Islands  

I would dream of traveling by train through the UK and Scotland. It has been sooo long ago that I’ve been there and I’m very curious to see the nature and history by slow traveling by train. I’ve got a very romantic feel to it. So maybe…..

I really like the “train des Merveilles” between Nice and Tende in the South of France. 

My next train ride I am planning is from Hamburg to Florence and then all the way down to Sicily to explore the island. I was there last July for only 2 days and that was definitely too short a visit 😁

Hey everyone!!

let me take you on a little journey to reminisce on my favourite train ride ever. My best friend and I decided that we were going to drive from our home Vienna to surprise my friend who lives in Cologne. We have never been to cologne together so we decided it would be great to have someone give us a tour while we’re there. So we took the train in the morning and arrived in Cologne in the afternoon. After arriving we bought some cookies and brought it to his house and he was very excited to see us and we had a lovely day in cologne. Around 11 pm at night we decided that we might as well make a quick stop in Zürich Before we drive back home to Vienna, so we boarded a train to Zurich and had the most magnificent view we had ever seen! This is what makes me truly appreciate train rides  the views are unreal! Ofc we had a blast in Zurich before heading to Munich (because why not) and then to Vienna, but this was by far one of the best trips I’ve ever had! 
Thank you for reading!!

My favourite journey was from Porto via Lisboa to Faro.

it was very nice and beautiful in spring 2023.

I would like to go from Amsterdam > Munich > Bled > Ljubljana Stegne (Slovenia) > Zagreb!

We’re celebrating the release of Platform Europe, the latest book written by our longtime friend Bart Giepmans. Bart is an author, travel journalist, photographer and a passionate advocate for exploring Europe by train.

He is a true champion of slow travel and spends much of the year discovering Europe by rail, embracing historic stations, meaningful encounters and the stories found along the tracks. He wrote and photographed most of the journeys featured in Platform Europe!

😍Win a copy of Bart’s beautiful book AND a FREE Interrail Global Pass (7 days in 1 month)!

Participation is open to all persons 16+ living in Europe. The giveaway ends on 28 April 2026 at 12 pm CET. Five winners will be randomly selected and contacted via the community DM on 28 April 2026. The winners will receive 1x Interrail Global Pass for 7 travel days within 1 month (2nd class) and 1x Platform Europe book. The book will be shipped free of charge.

📄 Read the full Terms & Conditions, here.

How to enter the giveaway

Whether you are an experienced rail traveller or still dreaming about your first trip:

💬 Tell us your favourite slow travel train route – or the train journey that's next on your wishlist – and why.

Share your answer in the comments below to enter the giveaway👇

I’d love to take the last European soviet train from Bucharest to Moldova. My favourite slow train ride is probably the one going from my university back home to my parents with green landscapes in summer and endless a endless winter wonderland in December and January. Everyone is staring at their phone and oh well sometimes so do I but it’s really worth enjoying the time and looking outside. 

I love train travel in general but probably the most beautiful one that I have done the most is Dresden to Prague along the Elbe River. When you reach Bad Schandau you see the mountains of Saxon Switzerland across the river - its just breathtakingly beautiful. And Prague is always a great destination (and so is Dresden btw ;))

I would love to travel along the Nordlandsbanen in Norway, going north from Trondheim through the beautiful landscapes of Norway.

My favorite one was for when I traveled through Europe, and went from NL through France, around the Swiss lake into Italy – continuing past the small towns in the Tuscany region.

I would to once take the train from Nova Gorica to Jesenice in Slovenia 😍

My favourite slow travel route is from Paris to Istanbul, going through Switzerland and Hungary before catching the Bosphorus express from Romania to Turkey. Great memories and beautiful sceneries!!

I would love to take the train from Brussels to Sicily, stopping along the way in different Italian cities. I’d love to slow down, pass through small villages, watch the landscapes change between pages of book and naps, and take the time to enjoy fresh Italian lemons. I’m also curious to experience the train crossing to Sicily by boat. Ending the trip by the sea in the sunshine would make it all worth it.

Go to sleep in Vienna and wake up in Genova sounds like perfect start of the day with my best friend on my side! Then traveling across the Italy and take a ship to Corfu where we met the most kind and friendly cat that we almost adopted - but luckily, she has someone to take care about her. But we think about her from time to time and hope she is living her best life on the island. 

My favourite railtrip is Milano/ Berlin with a night train from Zurich that stops at many german station througout the night. It’ s wonderful to see the panorama of Brandeburgo with the first light in the morning

Still planning my first trip! I would love to wind my way from lake to lake… Annecy, Garda, Bled… many more I’m sure! Beautiful scenery, delicious food, swimming and adventure for my kids!

I really enjoyed the journey from Budapest to Ljubljana. It passes through many little places. It was very beautiful to be in the train, see all the landscapes 🌄, and talk to people. I would really like to share this experience with my big sister ! The night train was also a very nice experiment🚂

One slow travel journey I’d love to take is exploring France by train. Moving slowly through different regions,from Bordeaux to Provence,would let me fully enjoy the landscapes and local culture.

At the same time, being surrounded by the language would help me naturally improve my French skills, making the trip both enriching and meaningful.

My favorite train ride was my graduation trip, fully by train! I used a 2 month interrail ticket and went from Geneva all the way to Thessaloniki 😆 I passed Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and finally Thessaloniki, Greece. I also stopped at every country for at least 2-3 days to experience the culture, food, and socialize with people.

It's cool to see different scenery and people through train rides. Train rides in Switzerland is beautiful and amazingly on time, and I loved the train ride from Slovenia to Hungary, it's slower, beautiful and i could open the window to let the air in! There i met other solo travelers there and shared a train cabin. 

Interrail made it super easy for me to travel and I would definitely do it again!

Looking forward to train journey to Carcassonne this year and then heading up into the mountains. Always look forward to my walk across Paris form Gard du Nord to the connecting station.

I love a train ride through the mountains. My favorite route would be from Chur to Tirano! Such a beautiful contrast in the summer.

My favourite journey so far has been from Bern to Rome. On a trip to visit one of my best friends in the beautiful historical capital of Italy, I took a couple days in between in Bern. When I continued my journey I was amazed by the beautiful views of the Swiss and Italian Alps. But what stood out to me the most was the conversations I had with my fellow passengers. Strangers that for just one moment became friends before they got of and became strangers again.