The best rail journeys in Europe for food lovers

It's also worth noting that these booking sites give minimum connection times between trains as standard, which does not account for delays. This may leave you out of pocket if you have, say, a non-refundable sleeper train booking. So, allowing more generous connection times makes travel less frenetic for families – but you should also consider turning those connections into stops. This not only breaks long journeys but adds another destination that can be explored, and splitting your booking into separate legs can make things cheaper, too.

A rail pass could be a good option if you’re planning a bigger trip. Bjorn Bender, CEO of Rail Europe says: “For those planning extensive travel, especially across multiple countries, rail passes can offer excellent value. Passes like the Eurail Pass or the Swiss Travel Pass provide unlimited travel within certain regions and time frames, making them ideal for family vacations or extended trips.”

For detailed information on the very best routes for specific destinations, related bookings windows and who to book with, the all-knowing Man in Seat61 is your trusted guide. Advocacy group, Flight Free Travel has some great inspiration for trips while Snow Carbon is an invaluable resource to plan winter trips to the Alps, including a useful rail-ski map of France.

And if you need a little handholding when it comes to setting up a holiday by train, operators including Railbookers and Byway can organise tailor-made trips with train and hotel bookings built in.

The best European train routes for food lovers

Take the train to Spain

Ride the rails all the way to the Spanish seaside around Barcelona, taking in a slice of Provence as you go. Hop on the Eurostar to Paris where you can see the revamped Notre Dame newly risen from the ashes, and break the journey to indulge in crêpes at Breizh Café or enjoy farm-to-fork food and a leg stretch at Le ReCyclerie, on Paris’s former Petite Ceinture railway line. For overnight stays, fun and funky Yooma is walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, and has family rooms sleeping up to six, with bumper breakfasts (free for under 2s), and an organic fruit and veg ‘farm’ on its rooftop.

The fast TGV service (3hr, direct) from Gare de Lyon includes services on kid-pleasing duplex (double-decker) trains that have a café-bar serving drinks, simple sandwiches and a few hot dishes (quiche, lasagne and the like). See the Rhône River Valley – and maybe even a distant glimpse of the Alps – the Burgundy vineyards and the Provence lavender fields roll out before you as you head south to the walled city of Avignon. Visit its medieval gothic palace and try some exemplary Provencal cuisine by popping into Les Halles. The market, with its living Mur Végétal green wall, is a great place to pack a picnic for onward travels – from herby olives and regional goat’s cheeses to freshly baked fougasse loaves plus fruits, veggies charcuterie and more.

Then it’s off to the sunny southern shores of Spain, to Barcelona – the fastest services with Renfe or TGV taking around four hours, while slower trains allow stops in places like Nîmes, Montpellier, Narbonne, Perpignan and, across the border in Spain, Figueres and Girona.

In Barcelona, check into family-friendly Casa Camper where spacious rooms sleep up to four, children under five stay free, and living areas are strung with a hammock. Informal, Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant, Dos Palillos is on site, while the complimentary snack bar, stocked with wraps, salads and drinks, is a treat for families. As is the rooftop terrace with sun loungers and a plant-shaded shower to cool off in. Set in the Raval neighbourhood, it’s right in the thick of things, walking distance from the MACBA modern art museum, buzzy Boqueria food market and pedestrian La Rambla boulevard. And if you want a quieter beach break, take the R1 train line north along the coast to nearby castle-topped Canet de Mar, or the Rodalies de Catalunya commuter train south to neighbouring Garraf and Castelldefels for windsurfing and coastal hikes.

How do to it:

The Trainline has one-way tickets to the above destinations. London – Paris costs from £51, and children under four travel free if sitting on an accompanying adult’s lap. Paris to Avignon costs as little as £12.96, and children under 12 can get a half-price ticket on TGV INOUI trains, while under fours travel free if sitting on an accompanying adult’s lap. Avignon to Barcelona costs from £39.27 and under threes travel free on AVE services, as long as they don’t occupy a seat and carry a free child ticket. Children from 3 to 14 years old get a 40% discount on ticket prices.

A tale of two canal cities: Amsterdam & Haarlem

Eurostar’s direct service puts London in reach of the Dutch capital in four hours – with up to 80% lower CO2 emissions than taking a flight between the two cities. And from February 2025, when Amsterdam Centraal station completes refurbishments, direct services will resume inbound, making this a quick and easy round-trip, perfect for families making their first foray into holidaying by train.

You can expect the usual Eurostar provisions – wifi, accessible loos with baby changing facilities and café cars selling sandwiches, snacks and some hot food. A meal is included in Plus & Premier classes, with wine if it’s after 11am. Once you’ve cleared the Kent countryside and the 20-minute transit through the Channel Tunnel, you’re off through the fields and villages of northern France rattling along at up to 300 km/h (186 mph), Calais and Lille flashing past, before crossing into Belgium. There’s a brief stop at Brussels Midi station, before you speed into the Netherlands, crossing several windmill flanked rivers.

Amsterdam offers plenty of foodie fun, but it can get very busy. So, make a day of it then hop on a local train from Centraal station, 20 minutes to Haarlem, a more tranquil canal city near the sea. Here, you’ll find similar gabled houses flanking canals, the beautiful De Adriaan windmill on the river Spaarne and a bevy of museums including the Netherland’s oldest, The Teylers Museum with arts and science collections including fossils and dinosaur skeletons. Try the Thrill Grill for upmarket burgers with Dutch beef and gouda, helmed by local TV chef, Robert Kranenborg, or head to Jopenkerk a brewery-bar in a spectacular former church setting with bistro-style food including a kid’s menu, toys and books, and an outdoor terrace.

Check into Hello I’m Local, a boutique hostel with a library of board games, a café serving all-day breakfasts (everything from Stroopwafel to scrambled eggs), and rooms sleeping up to 14, many with their own loos and showers. And from here, it’s a 15-minute bus ride to the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park for sand dunes and lake swimming, and the beach town of Zandvoort.

How to do it:

Byway has a five-day trip to Amsterdam and Haarlem, including return rail travel and B&B hotel accommodation from £498 per person based on a family of four, with two children under 12, sharing a room.

Into the Alps & the lakes

The Bernina Express, the panoramic train connecting the north and south of Europe is one of the world’s most unique rail rides, taking you from snowy peaks to palm trees. Passing through 55 tunnels and crossing 196 bridges & viaducts on its way from Chur in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy, it snakes past the Morteratsch glacier, multiple mountain lakes and, topping out at 2,253m (7,391ft) above sea level, it’s Europe’s highest rail pass. Then, once you’re in Tirano, local Italian trains take you straight to Lake Como (in just over an hour) and Milan (just under three hours), where Italy stretches out before you, including Rome in just under three hours.

To get to the Bernina’s start point in Chur, take the Eurostar from London to Paris (2h20). Cross the city by metro or taxi to Gare de Lyon where the Man in Seat61 always recommends lunch at its chandelier- and fresco-decked Le Train Bleu for iconic rum baba and traditional gratin dauphinois, after which you can catch a double-decker, high-speed TGV-Lyria train through the rolling hills of France to Zurich in four hours.

A leafy, lakefront city backed by mountains and surrounded by parks, Zurich is the perfect place to burn off steam before the onwards journey. Have a fondue with a view at Hillz restaurant on nearby Uetliberg mountain, complete with cable car, playground and ice cream kiosk. Overnight at Meininger Greencity, with family rooms and discounts on breakfasts and room rates for kids.

The double decker train from Zurich comes complete with a family coach and play area, and whistles along lakes Zürichsee and Walensee before climbing into the mountains to Chur in around an hour. Pick up the shiny red Bernina Express on a neighbouring platform for the narrow gauge railway ride into the Alps, complete with panoramic sightseeing cars and a little refreshment trolley serving snacks and drinks.

How to do it:

The Trainline has a one-way ticket from London to Zurich from £93.38. Children under four can travel free on Eurostar trains, as long as they're sitting on an accompanying adult's lap. Swiss Federal Railways sells tickets for the Zurich to Tirano route, including the Bernina Express, from CHF 96 (€101) per adult, children under six travel free, and under 16s half price.

To Sicily by sleeper train & ferry

Italy is a supremely child-friendly place to travel by rail, with plenty of sleeper services to explore but none is as legendary as the route from Milan and Rome to Sicily that includes the train shunting onto a ferry to cross the Straits of Messina. It’s a bucket-list travel experience, a thrill for kids and it saves a night’s hotel bill, too.

Intercity Notte (ICN) trains have 1-4 berth sleepers (with ensuite showers and loos), and more affordable couchettes (bunk rooms with toilets and washrooms in the carriage); both have bed linens. Berths come with bottled water, a salty packet snack plus a light breakfast (juice, coffee, packet pastries), but there’s otherwise no café or food service, so pack a picnic.

If you’re travelling from Rome, get yourself some goodies at the covered market in Testaccio, with some of the city’s best street food, and revered panini from Mordi & Vai. And if you’re travelling from Milan, make sure you leave enough time to wonder at the scale of its Centrale station, a Mussolini-era monolith with sky-scraping columns and vast rooftop sculptures of mythological animals. It’s also one of Italy’s busiest railway station, with 24 platforms so it’s not one to dash through easily. Its 40-plus food outlets take in everything from pizza at Spontini, Naples street eats À Puteca di Rossopomodoro and an entire two-level food hall.

Trains depart Milan late evening and Rome just before midnight, with the early morning sea crossing usually shaking passengers awake. Then, once in Sicily, the train offloads again, to run down the east coast, skirting the foothills of Mount Etna before passing flamingo-filled lagoons en route to the coastal city of Syracuse.

How to do it:

From €39.90 (£33) per person, in a four-person couchette booked via ItaliaRail. Book with Rail Europe or The Trainline if you want to include the journey from the UK (around 10hrs with one change to Milan).

A string of city breaks to the home of New Nordic cuisine

Have a real rail adventure, taking in a string of beautiful European cities, including the birthplace of New Nordic cuisine, Copenhagen. Start by taking the Eurostar direct from London to Brussels (1h56), to pause and explore this handsome city lined with gothic palaces and Art Nouveau mansions.

Try beers from local breweries in the guinguettes found in most city parks, café kiosks serving house-made salads, waffles and burgers, including Parckfarm in Tour & Taxi Park, a former industrial area now with a community orchard, with beehives, a bread oven and a greenhouse cafe serving veggie dishes from local producers. Check out the Banksy Museum and pick up some handmade chocolates at Sainte-Catherine Food Market, before heading back to Brussels Midi to pick up high-speed ICE service to Cologne Hbf (1h48), and from there onto Hamburg (4h37).

Speed north through Germany, and while the scenery is largely suburban, some trains have seating areas at either end behind the driving cab, with a glass screen offering views along the tracks – a boon for little navigators. And if you haven’t packed a picnic, there’s a proper restaurant car with table service, and a changing menu of German dishes, like goulash and bratwurst.

Take an overnight pause in Hamburg and its lovely Alster lakes, and explore the impressively revamped waterfront HafenCity district, home to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg's futuristic concert hall that looks like its sailing into the river Elbe. Check out Miniatur Wonderland, the world’s largest model railway, taste a superior fish sandwich, fischbrötchen, at Brücke 10, a pontoon restaurant floating at St Pauli Piers. Then check into 25 Hours Hotel HafenCity with family rooms sleeping four, which can be connected to twin bunk rooms, and children under seven stay and breakfast free (a buffet with pastries, bircher muesli and hot food).

And finally, it’s off to Copenhagen on Deutsche Bahn (4h37), a journey of many bridges spanning the increasingly water-frayed landscape, including the vast Rendsburg High Bridge with a gondola below transporting cars across the canal. Pack a picnic as, at best, food provisions extend to a refreshment trolley.

From the Tivoli Gardens amusement park to harbourside trampolines and child-pleasing museums including a Carsten Höller-designed slide in the city’s Danish Architecture Centre, Copenhagen is supremely family-friendly. And it’s one of Europe’s pilgrimage spots for food lovers. Read our pick of the places to eat here. And of course, if you’re seeking onwards train adventures, Denmark’s blonde sand beaches and Legoland are a short journey away, and there are direct trains to the Swedish coastal cities of Malmo and Gothenburg, gateways to the rest of Scandinavia.

How to do it:
Book London to Brussels on the Eurostar (from £26). The final three routes – Brussels to Cologne (from £14), Cologne to Hamburg (from £13) and Hamburg to Copenhagen (from £22) – aboard Deutsche Bahn services. You can book directly with them, or use Rail Europe to book the route, end-to-end. Children under six travel free on Deutsche Bahn trains and don’t need a ticket if they don’t require a seat. Children six-14 require a child ticket but travel free when accompanied in most cases (children six-14 travelling alone get a 50% discount). See more information on the Deutsche Bahn website.

Ride the rails to the French Riviera

With high-speed, double decker TVG trains putting France’s sunny south coast within direct reach of Paris or Lille in around six hours, travelling to the French Riviera by train is a no-brainer for families. If you want to skip Paris and head straight for the beach, changing trains in Lille involves just a platform switch, rather than a cross-city transfer, for direct service to Marseille, then onwards connections along the Riviera.

Going via Paris is usually cheaper, overall faster and offers more frequent connections including a direct TVG to Cannes and Nice from Gare de Lyon, and an overnight Intercité de Nuit sleeper from Gare d'Austerlitz to the same destinations plus Toulon, St Raphael for St Tropez, Cannes and Antibes. Both routes, via Lille or Paris, use trains with a café car selling drinks, basic cold snacks and a few heated up meals.

Sleepers have four- and six-berth couchettes, which can be booked in their entirety via the ‘Espace Privatif’ option. But pack a picnic: there’s no food on sleepers, apart from some coffee and croissants sold in the morning. Ouigo, a subsidiary of SNCF French Railway, runs a similar daytime service from Paris to the south of France. It has cheaper fares, but there are airline-style baggage limits/fees and no catering.

Opting for the sleeper one way and a day service the other offers kids both the excitement of bedding down on a train, and the fun of seeing the landscape change during daylight hours. Once you’ve left Paris or Lille, you’ll shortly be through the farmlands to Lyon, south of which you’ll cross the Rhône Valley and its waterways on towering viaducts, spotting the Alpine foothills, zipping past pretty Provencal hilltop villages to reach the glint of the Mediterranean at Marseille. If you continue to Nice, the train hugs the water along the Côte d'Azur passing mega-yacht populated harbours, sandy beaches and cliffy inlets studded by palm-shaded mansions.

How to do it:

Byway has a six-day trip travelling from the UK to Marseille then onwards along the Riviera to Cassis, gateway to the rocky, coastal Calanques National Park. It costs from £493 based on two adults and two children under 12 sharing B&B hotel accommodation in a family room (three nights in Cassis, two in Marseille), including return train travel.