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Train journeys

Taking the high-speed AVE train between Madrid and Seville.

I took high-speed trains in four countries. We are an embarrassment

Want to know the height of sophistication? It’s standing up while travelling at 300km/h, eating a tostada with jamon iberico, and sipping an icy beer.

  • Ben Groundwater
Shimonada station, overlooks the calm waters of the Seto Inland Sea.

Forget Tokyo or Kyoto. This humble station is Japan’s most photographed

Not even the frenetic train terminals of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto can match the Instagram appeal of this obscure whistle-stop station in a remote beauty spot.

  • Anthony Dennis
Camera, action – getting the picture in Hanoi’s Train Street.

The new, safe and comfortable way to do Vietnam’s infamous Train Street

The spectacle and buzz of life on the track remains Hanoi’s most alluring attraction, but now there’s a new way to see it.

  • Julie Miller
The traditional ger homes of Mongolia.

The 2250km, more diverse alternative to the Trans-Siberian railway

A journey through Mongolia on a Soviet-era train feels like a step through a time portal.

  • Jamie Lafferty
An artist impression of the Celia Carriage.

Fantasy on wheels: Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin design train carriage

Drama, theatrics and a whole of colour will be onboard this designer-led luxury train.

  • Julietta Jameson
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A lot of travel content on social media is inauthentic, paid, stunt-driven or AI generated, and lacks the spontaneity it seeks to capture.

The six modern travel trends we hate (and the six we love)

“Naked flying”, Instagram and Aperol Spritz are all on our hated list. But glamping, e-visas and food trucks get the thumbs-up.

  • Brian Johnston
The Great Southern– all 711 metres of it.

If you love train travel, this Australian journey ticks all boxes

For most of the year, this train is the Ghan, travelling the historic route between Darwin and Adelaide. Come summer, there’s a change of scenery.

  • Justine Costigan
Railway with Jungfrau mountain Switzerland
Photo: Lonely Planet/Supplied
Handout image supplied for use in Traveller. No syndication. Use must be related to "Lonely Planet's Guide to Train Travel in Europe"
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Train journeys

Environmentally friendly, spacious, and often delivering you to the centre of your destination with ease, any train journey is an adventure in itself.

Budapest Keleti railway station was built between 1881 and 1884.

This grand old station is the perfect place to begin a train journey

An impressive survivor from the golden age of rail, this European hub has been updated and modernised for 21st-century travel.

  • Tim Richards
Qantas’ specially modified A350-1000ULR on the Airbus assembly line in Toulouse, France. 

Faster trains, longer-haul planes: 10 things that will change how we travel

Nothing stays still in today’s travel world, and 2026 is set to bring the launch of a host of exciting, and at times revolutionary, transports of delight.

  • Brian Johnston