Leaving London behind, armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo follows the most popular route of the Edwardian traveller through France. His first stop is Paris, where he absorbs the atmosphere of La Belle Époque, before he travels south to the Cote D'Azur, where he samples the Edwardian highlife and learns why the area attracted the rich and artistic alike. He then ends his journey as he arrives at the gaming tables in glamorous Monte Carlo.

Steered by his 1913 railway guide, on this journey Michael Portillo explores the once-great empire of Austria-Hungary, domain of the famous Habsburg monarchs. Starting in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, he travels via Bratislava in Slovakia to the beautiful and elegant city of Vienna, where he immerses himself in prewar decadence. From there, he travels to Salzburg, before heading to the magnificent scenery of the Salzkammergut region to visit the emperor's Austrian summer house at Bad Ischl, where in 1914 European history changed course forever.

Michael begins this journey in Berlin, the capital of Germany, which at the beginning of the 20th century was a powerhouse of science and technology. Led by his 1913 railway guide, he then heads west via the picturesque Harz Mountains to the industrial Ruhr Valley to learn how imperial Germany was war ready. He then travels south along the tourist trail of the castle-studded Rhein river and ends his journey in the Rheingau to taste the wines of its age-old vineyards.

Michael Portillo uses George Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide to explore Switzerland, whose remarkable railways helped make it a favourite with Edwardian tourists. He begins in the truly international city of Basel and travels east to visit industrial Zurich. He then heads for the glorious Alps and learns how astonishing engineering feats conquered the most challenging peaks, before taking in the striking beauty of Lake Lucerne. Michael's journey ends with a spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station, perched atop Switzerland's dramatic Jungfraujoch.

Michael Portillo uses George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide to explore the dazzling cities of the pre-war Low Countries before tasting the delicacies of Brussels. He then travels to the French sector of the Western Front, where from 1914 the trains carried a new cargo of artillery shells, with the Edwardian tourists of 1913 replaced by soldiers facing the horrors of the trenches. He will end his epic journey in the forest of Compiegne to hear how, after four years of conflict, the Armistice was finally signed in a railway carriage.

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In Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia, Michael Portillo traces the fateful last journey in 1914 of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie.

Michael Portillo enjoys a journey on the historic line from Sarajevo to Mostar, descending 600 metres through the Dinaric Alps, reflecting on the divisions which tour apart the old Yugoslavia.

Michael Portillo embarks on a Scandinavian railway adventure from the Norwegian port of Bergen to the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

Michael Portillo’s rail journey continues on the Bergen Line, heading towards the Norwegian capital of Oslo, with its fine modernist architecture and 19th-century parliament building.

Michael’s saga resumes in Larvik on Norway’s southern coast, where he investigates the city’s prized natural resource, a distinctive blue rock named larvikite.

Michael Portillo’s Scandinavian rail adventure reaches Denmark’s second city, Aarhus, an architectural playground with dazzling contemporary buildings set alongside historic half-timbered houses.

Michael Portillo concludes his epic rail journey across Norway and Denmark, crossing an 18-kilometre box girder bridge between the islands of Funen and Zealand, known as the Great Belt Bridge.

Michael Portillo is transported 150 years back in time to the tiny Alpine village home of Switzerland’s most famous child, Heidi, and heads to the Rhine Gorge, also known as the Swiss Grand Canyon.

Michael Portillo ventures into the bowels of an immense hydroelectric dam to learn how the Swiss use their mountainous environment to power the country.

In Zurich, Michael has a brush with the absurd in the anarchic paintings of the Dadaists and visits the Grossmunster Church to learn about the rebellious pastor at the centre of the Swiss Reformation.

Michael Portillo scales the Swiss Alps on one of the the steepest cog railways in the world and visits the 19th-century fairy-tale Grand Hotel Giessbach.

Aboard the Golden Pass Express, Michael Portillo wends his way in style down steep mountainsides from Interlaken to the Swiss Riviera. In Lausanne, he contends with a knife-wielding robotic arm.

Michael Portillo’s rail travels take him to the north west corner of France, where he explores the beautiful regions of Brittany and Normandy and learns of their connections with Great Britain.

Michael Portillo’s railway journey reaches the naval port of Brest, home to France’s oceanographic fleet. He also learns how to make a sweet, buttery Breton cake called kouign-amann.