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The Best Episodes of Great Continental Railway Journeys

Every episode of Great Continental Railway Journeys ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Great Continental Railway Journeys!

The Best Episodes of Great Continental Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe, as he retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

Seasons8

  1. Background image for Buzet to Pag
    8.4/10(5 votes)

    #1 - Buzet to Pag

    S8:E2

    Ably assisted by Lila, an expert labrador, Michael Portillo hunts for truffles in the Istrian countryside near the hilltop town of Buzet.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Madrid to Gibraltar
    8.3/10(27 votes)

    #2 - Madrid to Gibraltar

    S2:E1

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for Tula to St Petersburg
    8.3/10(12 votes)

    #3 - Tula to St Petersburg

    S3:E1

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Pisa to Lake Garda
    8.3/10(21 votes)

    #4 - Pisa to Lake Garda

    S4:E3

    Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo visits Italy, where he experiences first-hand the nation's need for speed in a state-of-the-art Maserati sports car. Michael discovers how the leaning tower of Pisa was rescued from near collapse. In Carrara, he finds out how the marble used by Michelangelo is still quarried today and is invited to chip away at a contemporary sculpture. In Bologna, he embarks on a doomed search for spaghetti Bolognese until a cookery teacher shows him how to make a much more authentic tagliatelle al ragu. Following in the footsteps of Bradshaw's travellers, Michael explores the cradle of the Renaissance through Edwardian eyes. Heading north to Gargnano, Michael discovers the romantic hideaway of one of Britain's most famous writers, DH Lawrence, whose affair with his professor's wife scandalised his home country. Michael ends his journey in futuristic style with a high speed boat trip across Lake Garda.

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    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for The Black Forest to Hannover
    8.3/10(25 votes)

    #5 - The Black Forest to Hannover

    S4:E5

    Armed with his 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo ventures deep into the Black Forest on a quest to discover the essence of Germany and discovers how Hansel and Gretel helped to unify the nation. A humbling masterclass in carving cuckoo clocks shows him how the nation's reputation for quality and reliability in manufacturing was established from the early 18th century. A romantic stop at the ruined Schloss in Heidelberg follows before Michael gets an insider's guide to share dealing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. At Goettingen University, Michael discovers two sides of student life at the turn of the 20th century - the duelling fraternities and the groundbreaking scientists who laid the foundation for Germany's world class transport technology today. Braving the force of the Goettingen wind tunnel, Michael investigates the track where model trains are fired at up to 360km per hour.

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    Director:Ben Rowland
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Vienna to Trieste
    8.2/10(20 votes)

    #6 - Vienna to Trieste

    S4:E2

    In Vienna, Michael Portillo encounters a pre-Cold War spy and learns about the concert that caused a riot in 1913. He then travels the Habsburg imperial line across the Semmering Pass, a line blasted through the Alps. In Graz, the former politician ventures underground at the Lurgrotte Caves to find out about a famous rescue operation of the past, then in Slovenia discovers how an earthquake in Ljubljana prompted its citizens to assert their national identity in architecture and art. Arriving in the Italian port of Trieste, Michael savours the imported coffee that fuelled a cafe culture.

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    Director:Dave Minchin
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Turin to Venice
    8.1/10(22 votes)

    #7 - Turin to Venice

    S2:E2

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for Copenhagen to Oslo
    8.1/10(27 votes)

    #8 - Copenhagen to Oslo

    S2:E4

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Berlin to Stuttgart
    8.1/10(11 votes)

    #9 - Berlin to Stuttgart

    S7:E3

    Michael Portillo embarks on a rail journey through Germany, steered by a Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide published in 1936. His unique window on Europe between the world wars takes him through a tumultuous period in German history, when the nation’s first democracy and its vibrant culture of art, design and decadence were swept away by fascism, nationalism and the increasing likelihood of war. In a vast stadium, Michael hears how new rail lines were constructed to transport crowds of spectators to the Nazi Olympic Games of 1936. Michael learns how a planned boycott by the United States and other European nations failed and how the success of a black American athlete undermined the Nazi ideology of Aryan superiority.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for Palermo to Mt Etna
    8.1/10(9 votes)

    #10 - Palermo to Mt Etna

    S7:E4

    Michael Portillo’s 1936 Bradshaw’s Guide brings him to the Italian 'treasure island' of Sicily, full of natural beauty and 'scenery of the greatest charm'. But the interwar guide book also tells Michael that the head of government in Italy is the fascist leader Signor Benito Mussolini. On a railway journey from the capital, Palermo, through the ancient town of Agrigento and the port of Siracusa, to Europe’s largest volcano, Mount Etna, Michael explores Sicilian life under the dictatorship. Michael finds out how the dictator took on the mafia and asks whether it is true that under Mussolini, the trains ran on time.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Pula to Pazin
    8.0/10(6 votes)

    #11 - Pula to Pazin

    S8:E1

    Michael Portillo mounts a valiant defence against fierce latter-day Roman gladiators in Pula's amphitheatre as he begins a journey across the Balkan countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for Knin to Split
    8.0/10(5 votes)

    #12 - Knin to Split

    S8:E3

    Michael Portillo’s railway adventure reaches the Dalmatian coastal city of Zadar, once an important Venetian trading hub and still a centre for the production of Maraschino cherry liqueur.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for La Coruña to Lisbon
    7.8/10(18 votes)

    #13 - La Coruña to Lisbon

    S3:E4

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Barcelona to Mallorca
    7.8/10(13 votes)

    #14 - Barcelona to Mallorca

    S4:E6

    Steered by his 1913 Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo returns to Spain to trace the early 20th-century roots of the Spanish Civil War, which divided his Spanish family and sent his father into exile. He discovers a nation fractured at the time by social tensions and regional loyalties, which today offers a rich diversity of cultures to delight the tourist. Special dispensation to fly to the Balearic island of Mallorca allows Michael to spoil himself rotten with spectacularly scenic rides aboard a sublime 1912 vintage railway and a 1913 tram. On his travels, he is trampled underfoot at the bottom of a Catalan people steeple and learns to make the perfect paella. He pays homage to the genius of Barcelona's most famous architect and meets the man responsible for finishing off Antoni Gaudi's life's work. And he discovers a beautiful art nouveau Palace of Music with an emotional history.

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    Director:Titus Ogilvy
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Salamanca to Canfranc
    7.8/10(9 votes)

    #15 - Salamanca to Canfranc

    S7:E1

    Michael Portillo sports a strikingly modern edition of his Bradshaw’s Continental Handbook, dated 1936. His destination lies close to his heart: the ancient kingdom of Spain and land of his father, recommended in Michael’s guidebook for its exceptional climate and glorious history. 1936 was a turbulent time in Spain, with political upheaval descending into a brutal civil war. Michael begins an emotional rail journey, which takes him deep into his family’s past and reveals the tentacles of the regime which forced his father into exile.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Orleans to Reims
    7.8/10(10 votes)

    #16 - Orleans to Reims

    S7:E2

    Michael Portillo travels from the chateaux of the Loire Valley to the heart of the Champagne region at Reims. Beginning in historic Orleans, Michael follows his Bradshaw’s guide to the magnificent stained-glass windows of the Cathedral of Sainte-Croix, which tell the story of the heroine of France, Joan of Arc. The image of the saintly teenage warrior endures as a symbol of resistance, and her life is celebrated in an annual parade. Michael meets her modern-day incarnation.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Sofia to Istanbul
    7.7/10(25 votes)

    #17 - Sofia to Istanbul

    S4:E1

    Armed with his trusty 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo travels east through the Balkans along the most exotic section of the route taken by the Orient Express. His journey begins in Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, and includes stops in the ancient city of Plovdiv, the region of Rumelia, and former capital of the Ottoman Empire Edirne. Arriving in Istanbul, Michael takes a trip on the Bosphorus - a much-coveted stretch of water - finds out about Turkish delight and travels along the Marmaray metro line, which connects European and Asian Istanbul via a tunnel beneath the Bosphorus.

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    Director:Dave Minchin
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Batumi to Baku
    7.7/10(12 votes)

    #18 - Batumi to Baku

    S6:E2

    No description available

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    Director:Dave Minchin
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Stockholm to the Arctic Circle
    7.7/10(11 votes)

    #19 - Stockholm to the Arctic Circle

    S7:E6

    Michael Portillo embarks on a scenic, thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle. Steered by his 1936 edition of Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, Michael boards a steam train to celebrate Midsummer in Marielund, learns to decorate a Dala horse in Mora and takes an icy dip in one of the country’s 96,000 lakes.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Dresden to Kiel
    7.6/10(22 votes)

    #20 - Dresden to Kiel

    S2:E3

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Prague to Munich
    7.6/10(20 votes)

    #21 - Prague to Munich

    S2:E5

    No description available

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  23. Background image for Haifa to the Negev
    7.6/10(18 votes)

    #22 - Haifa to the Negev

    S3:E5

    No description available

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    Director:Dave Minchin
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for Warsaw to Krakow
    7.4/10(17 votes)

    #23 - Warsaw to Krakow

    S3:E3

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Lyon to Marseille
    7.4/10(17 votes)

    #24 - Lyon to Marseille

    S3:E6

    No description available

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    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Linz to Bratislava
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    #25 - Linz to Bratislava

    S7:E5

    Michael Portillo travels by train through Austria and the Czech Republic, following his Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, published in 1936. Michael’s journey takes him through spectacular scenery, from the handsome Baroque buildings of the northern Austrian city of Linz, through Czech South Bohemia to Prague, the city of a hundred spires, and onto the canyons and caves of the Moravian Karst region near Brno. He finishes on the River Danube in the Slovakian capital, Bratislava.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"Buzet to Pag" is the best rated episode of "Great Continental Railway Journeys". It scored 8.4/10 based on 5 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 3/11/2025. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Madrid to Gibraltar".