Top slow travel trips

Reading about slow travel has always been one of my quiet joys. There’s usually a journey-based travel memoir by my bed, and a stack of Hidden Europe magazines on my desk. The wise words of the late travel (and food) connoisseur, Anthony Bourdain, live rent-free in my head. I hope, as one of our newsletter readers kindly put it, that you, too, enjoy "a dose of armchair travel” here too.

Still, if the spirit of slow travel is about real connection and discovery, it’s something that must be lived, not just read about. If you’ve yet to dip a toe into the still pool of slow travel (or perhaps it’s a gently flowing river? I digress), consider this your invitation. 

I've gathered a collection of trips that make for the perfect introduction to slow travel: scenic trains, simple journeys, and delightful stopovers in places off the beaten path.

Radek Kozak

Austria through the Tyrolean Alps

Nothing's off limits when a single itinerary takes you through Austria's food capital, the birthplace of Mozart, and the heart of the Alps. But there will be no waiting to 'arrive', travelling along the spectacular Arlberg Railway and the Semmering Railway, the first ever UNESCO-listed train line through the Austrian Alps.

Raymond Morland

French and Italian Rivieras

Menton and Alassio are the off-beat alternatives to glitzier neighbours along the classic Riviera, best explored in the pleasant off-season. Connected by rail, the Riviera line offers some of the most uninterrupted coastal train views around.

Bruno Neurath-Wilson

The Moselle Valley

Two stays at either end of Germany's Moselle Valley are strung together with the Moselstrecke railway, which runs right along the left side of the river. From bases in Koblenz and Trier, cycling, hiking, castle-climbing and vineyard-hopping are all on the agenda. 

Sara Cudanov

Slow food and Renaissance Tuscany

If anyone knows how to slow down, it's the Italians. First stop is unsung Turin, home of the slow food movement. Direct trains through the Tuscan countryside lead on to fresco-clad Florence, for swooning over Renaissance masterpieces and unhurried espresso. 

Azzedine Rouichi

Switzerland's Bernina route

Trains don't get much more scenic than Switzerland, especially traversing the tracks along the Rhaetian Railway on the Bernina Express route. Pause in pockets best reached by rail: glacial lakesides, mountain valleys, and beside Alpine rivers.

Read more about the art of slow travel, why we love to take the local train, or our manifesto for wonder.

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