Mark Smith, aka the Man In Seat 61, shares his 10 favourite European rail journeys…
#2 Paris to Madrid on the Elipsos ‘trainhotel’
Leave London mid-afternoon, hop on the Elipsos Trainhotel and you’re in Spain next morning.
Cosy sleepers, some with private toilet and shower, a cafe-bar with full-length polished wooden bar and bar stools, elegant restaurant for a 3-course dinner. Over sparkling cava and excellent Rioja in the restaurant car you watch the traffic lights reflecting off the rain-covered streets as French villages flash past in the moonlight, by morning you’re in Spain, being served breakfast with the sun coming up over distant snow-capped mountains north of Madrid.
You’ll catch a glimpse of the walled city of Avila, then the royal palace at El Escorial before arriving in one of Europe’s most fascinating capitals, with Seville or Granada just a few hours more by high-speed AVE train.
See Seat61.com and elipsos.com for more information on this journey.
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