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

Ma destination de rêve n’est pas une ville précise, c’est une trajectoire : celle d’un train qui traverse l’Europe à l’aube, quand les paysages défilent encore dans le silence et que tout semble possible. Si je devais lui donner un nom, ce serait quelque part entre les Dolomites baignées de lumière, les lacs autrichiens miroir du ciel, et les ruelles de Ljubljana qui sentent le café et l’aventure.

Je rêve d’un voyage où chaque arrêt devient une surprise, où je descends sans trop savoir pourquoi, juste parce qu’un quai m’inspire. Un Interrail, ce n’est pas seulement aller d’un point A à un point B, c’est collectionner des instants, des visages, des paysages et rentrer avec l’impression d’avoir vécu mille vies en quelques jours.

My favourite slow train route was from Vigo Guixar to Porto Campanha, when me and my best friend did our first interrail trip after finishing high school, especially cool was the fact that we got a train that was kinda old so the journey felt like in a movie. 

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 say without a doubt the Oslo to Bergen route in Norway. It's definitely the most beautiful train journey I've ever been on. The section through the mountains at an altitude of 1,000 metres is breathtaking; it feels as though you've stepped out of time, on a train ready to transport you to Hogwarts. I still dream about it today.

I would love to do a tour of the swiss alps in some of their wonderful trains. Oslo to Bergen is definitely on my bucket list too!

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 travelled from Calatayud in Spain via Barcelona and Girona to Nimes, Reims, Paris and then home to England.

My favourite train route was the one from Paris to London. I remember the experience of going through the tunnel to UK, so fast, so comfortable and so scary if you think about it.

2 Journey in my mind ! In my country, in France : Le Cévenol, from Langeac to Saninte-Cécile d’Andorge. One of the most beautiful train in France, to see my grand father in Les Cévennes. 
The other ? Betwenn Glasgow and Fort Williams. Unbelivable, notably during autumn and winter ! 

The joy of Interrailing is the freedom to discover new places and new cultures at a pace where you can operate at your own speed, not too fast and not too slow. For that reason alone the best slow travel route must surely be “the next one”. Sure, there’s always going to be a favourite route slowly winding your way through Europe, taking in familiar foods and experiences, but nothing compares to discovering somewhere totally new. 

I love the journey from south to north, starting in Southern Italy and taking in the “classic” tourist hotspots of Napoli, Roma and Milano before heading up through modern, industrialised Germany via Switzerland. From there it’s northwards into the Baltic countries of Denmark and Sweden before the trains hug the narrow band of land between mountains and sea up the Norwegian Coast to the end of the line in Bodo. This route gives you a bit of everything, from “old world” cities bustling with people for 2000 years to a country with a population of less than that of Napoli, Roma and Milano. In between you have the heartland of Germany, traversing from the northern edge of the Alps to the shores of the Baltic Sea. Taking on this route will see a mix of short and long journeys, culminating in 2, eight-hour plus, routes covering over 850km between them in 18 hours of travelling. For me this really is the definition of slow travel!

Favourite: the InterCity from Sicily to Milan😍

J'ai aimé tous les trajets que j'ai fait, et beaucoup sont encore sur la liste "à réaliser" notamment en Grèce et en Europe du nord. Faire le trajet de l'orient express de Londres à Istanbul est un rêve né des livres d'Agatha Christie puis enraciné dans les découvertes des paysages et de l'immense richesse culturelle de toutes les étapes de ce periple qui traverse l'Europe. 

Mais le train lent que je souhaitais faire est celui de la West Highland Line en Ecosse de Glasgow à Mallaig, pour ces paysages extraordinaires, la magie de l'Écosse et ces contes exceptionnels ainsi que pour l'Histoire que cette ligne porte.

Pretty sure it was the Linha do Algarve in the south of Portugal. Faro to Lagos, a beautiful mix between the mountains and the ocean.

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 haven't gotten to experience many long train rides through Europe but I would love to explore Norway by train in the summertime or Scandinavia in general like on the journey between Oslo and Bergen.

The sleeper train from Split in Croatia to Ljubljana in Slovenia was amazing. The carriages are set up like the train to hogwarts and you can lean out the window to see the views. Also a chance to chat to people or have a carriage to yourself.

The best slow travel train journey, in my opinion, is the Glacier Express which operates in Switzerland. Interestingly, it’s one of the slowest trains in the world and that’s exactly what makes it special for me. Instead of rushing to get somewhere we can actually concentrate on enjoying the view, including the mountains, the valleys, and all those beautiful small villages.

The slow travel is actually appealing for a lot more people due to the constant seek for new experiences. I’m certainly one of them, this kind of travel is indeed very appealing, since it’s not just about getting somewhere, it’s about the actual journey, which becomes the main purpose of the trip. I can just relax, enjoy the breathtaking views, listen to music, and forget about the rest of the world.

Nowadays, people don’t have much time to just stop and try the “dolce far niente”, we are always in a hurry, so maybe The Glacier Express could be that for me, it’s definitely on my wishlist! 

My favourite rail journey took place in Mexico, some decades ago: starting from the city of Chihuahua the “Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico” takes travelers down from the highlands of “Sierra Madre Occidental” (highest point around 2.5km above sea level), via the stunning and enormous “Barrancas del Cobre” (Copper Canyon) via multiple tunnels (route includes 86 tunnels and 37 bridges) down to the tropical Pacific coast, finishing at Los Mochis. I treated myself to a more expensive tourist ticket, and they served great Mexican food & tropical fruits. A feast for all the senses - I think it deserves the title of “most spectacular rail journey in North America”.

I really want to take a train along norway (Flamsbana or bergensbanen), to experience the views, the nature and the calm environment. Seems a really good country to visit by train, from north to south

I would like to take the Bernina express line, to visit my friends and family in Switzerland, while enjoying the most beautiful views!

I travelled to Sofia from London via Hungary and Romania last summer, and it was perfection if, by perfection, one means old-school train travel that allows you to suspend quotidian life. Sleeper trains are my idea of heaven, and their rocking comfort was interrupted with layovers in 40 degrees and engine breakdowns in the middle of the countryside to bring me down to earth. I made several friends en route while topping up water in taps used to water fields and discussing the rich diversity offered by Europe to medical students. 

I may do the same route this summer, or perhaps travel via Brindisi. But my dream journey is to travel by Eurostar from London to Brussels, then sleeper from Brussels to Berlin and then Warsaw, and continue from Warsaw through Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to Helsinki with Rail Baltica (when it is completed). From Helsinki, I would continue by train to Vaasa, where I would take the ferry to Umeå (Sweden), and then the night train from Umeå to Narvik in northern Norway. If I am in the clover at this point, I would then travel from Narvik to Bergen with Hurtigruten to see the fjords in midnight sun. The Bergen railway would take me to Oslo, from where I would pick my way back to Brussels and then, Eurostar back to London. 

Sounds good, no?

I'm passionate about traveling through the Alps, especially going in vacation from Germany to Italy. The most amazing train ride I had so far was the Bernina Express in Switzerland, especially the part from St. Moritz to Italy. The views in winter through snowy landscapes were more than stunning. 

I’ve always imagined myself sitting by the window on a slow train from Lausanne to Chamonix, coffee in hand, just watching the world change outside 🌿

Starting by the calm waters of Lake Geneva, then slowly climbing into the Alps… passing little villages, green valleys, and those dramatic mountain views that don’t even look real. No rush, no stress, just the rhythm of the train and the scenery unfolding.

The most beautiful train journey was Rome to Naples and to Reggio Calabria, beautiful sea and sand views.  I can’t wait to read that book!

I absolutely loved visiting Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Kraków, Auschwitz and Prague last April :) All of the trees and plants were just starting to bloom and that's what made it so beautiful. Also I was travelling on my own so I met a lot of really nice people. 

My favourite route has to be Geneve → Milan. The lake Leman route just is unlike anything else. Then through the mountains on the other side.

My dream route is along the south of France into Italy as there both countries I haven’t experienced.

I have never traveled by train before but this summer I plan on starting in Sweden where i currently reside and taking the inland line from Östersund to Gällivare. Then I want to take the train to Narvik and explore Norway!