London to Istanbul Rail Adventure

Our trip begins this morning at London's St Pancras Station, the home of the Eurostar. Here you'll check in for your Eurostar train and board your Eurostar train to Paris (unaccompanied). You'll have your tickets before you travel.



We'll meet our tour leader off the train at the Gare du Nord station in Paris and take the metro together to Gare de Lyon. Here, we'll board our train to Milan, flying through the French countryside and saying 'buona sera' to Italy, arriving around 10pm this evening.

We'll have a full morning in Milan to explore the city at our leisure. A walk through the stylish streets of Milan should begin at the Duomo - Milan's cathedral. Construction on this flamboyant building began in 1368, and it's an absolute masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Its rooftop terrace gives outstanding views across Milan, surrounded by the cathedral's Gothic spires - we recommend that tickets are purchased in advance if you'd like to visit.



Just opposite the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuel II - a glamorous European shopping gallery that's well worth a visit even if the world of high fashion isn't for you. This passage conveniently connects the Duomo with the famous La Scala theatre, and its elegant Renaissance stylings and wonderful mosaics are a fitting home for the fashion houses of Gucci, Versace and more.



After taking lunch in Milan, we'll catch a two-and-a-half-hour-long train to Mestre, a mainland offshoot of Venice, connected to the island by a short train ride. Our hotel is located close to the train station, and on arrival in Mestre we'll walk over to check in. There are plenty of options to eat locally tonight, but those with some energy left may wish to take the short hop over to Venice Santa Lucia. Venice is wonderful to stroll by night, stopping at local bars to taste an array of 'ciccheti' - sort of Venetian small plates, or tapas.

This morning we'll make the train journey into Venice. For a short ride, this journey gives us one of the most scenic arrivals into any city, right across the Venetian Lagoon.



Our tour leader will give us an orientation of the city to help us locate ourselves and the day is free to explore in your own time. Those who haven't visited this captivating city before might wish to explore the Doge's Palace and St Mark's Basilica. Or if the weather is good, you might prefer to take a boat ride along the famous canals. Forgo the gondolas for a ride on a vaporetto (Venice's water-based answer to a bus service) if you'd rather travel like a local. Stops are located throughout the city and are easily researched in advance on the ACTV website.



If you've been to Venice and seen the sights before, you may wish to head further afield. The Cannaregio is an atmospheric district off the tourist path, which houses the Jewish Quarter and some lively cafe culture. Or try catching a boat over to Murano, famed for its glasswork, or Burano, with its array of colourful houses.



At the end of the day, we'll make our way back to Mestre by train, where we'll spend the night. Like yesterday, the return train ticket is not included in the cost of the tour, in order to allow you flexibility to return whenever you choose.

We'll cross two borders today as we travel into Croatia via Villach, Austria. The train schedules allow us a few hours spare to explore the historic centre of Villach and eat lunch. Although it's a whistlestop visit, Villach's range of traditional restaurants offer the perfect opportunity to add Austrian specialities to our culinary odyssey as we work our way across Europe.



In the late afternoon, we'll take our onward train to Zagreb, arriving at night.

Once upon a time, the Baroque city of Varazdin, lovingly named 'Little Vienna' by locals, was the capital of Croatia. For its short reign, until 1776, Europe's finest craftsmen and architects constructed mansions, palaces and the array of superbly colourful pastel houses that line Varazdin's central streets. Its main attraction is the Stari Grad, a medieval castle so fanciful that it looks as though a Disney princess might wander out of it at any moment.



Today we'll take a bus to this gem of a town, just 80 kilometres north of Zagreb, and explore with a local guide. We'll have a walking tour of the old centre, and, time permitting, we might have a chance to visit one of the city's many fascinating museums - the Sermage Gallery of Old & Modern Masters, and the surprisingly beautiful World of Insects are two standouts. Despite its beauty, which is more than comparable to other classical European cities, Varazdin has escaped the mass tourist trade and retains a sense of 'normal' Croatian life.



This evening, we'll return to our hotel in Zagreb.

We'll start the day with a short orientation tour of Zagreb. Famously called a city of museums, with more museums per square foot than any other city in the world. The unique blend of Austro-Hungarian architecture and more hard-edged socialist buildings give the city an interesting diversity - its centrepieces are the Gothic Zagreb cathedral and 13th century Saint Mark's Church.



After getting our bearings, we'll have the rest of the day to discover the city at our own pace. You might like to take the funicular up from the main street (Illica), it's the shortest cable car in the world!

Today is a long travel day as we journey by train to Vinkovci, where we'll pick up a bus to cross the border and then jump back on the train to take us all the way to Belgrade. We'll arrive in Belgrade around 7pm. You'll then have the evening free to discover this fascinating capital city by night.

We'll begin today with an optional guided walking tour to see the earliest known areas of the city, Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park (departing 8:30 am). The fortress is a very appropriate setting to learn about the city's history through the centuries including Medieval, Roman and Ottoman periods. The Romans originally built a fortification here in the 2nd century AD due to its excellent strategic viewpoint on the hill overlooking the city and the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers. However, when the Huns and the Goths later waged war, the original structure was burnt down but fortunately rebuilt in the 6th century.



You'll have free time for lunch before leaving Belgrade around 15:00 pm to begin our train and bus journey to Drvengrad. We'll take the train from Belgrade to Uzice then drive one hour to Mokra Gora. This journey will take us around five hours in total, making a stop for dinner before arriving around 10pm to our unique accommodation at the old train station of Sharganska Eight.

This morning, after breakfast, we'll board the historic narrow-gauge railway, Sargan Eight (also known as Train Nostalgia). The line is part of the former track that once ran between Sarajevo and Belgrade. It was closed in 1974 but renovated and reopened in 1999. The renovation tried to recapture the railway's glory days, back in the 1920s, when it was admired as a world-class construction. The train makes a steep climb through the mountains, in a figure of eight, weaving through 22 tunnels and covering just over 15 kilometres (though the actual distance between Mokra Gora and Sargan stations is just 3.5 kilometres).



Crossing into Bosnia and Herzegovina, we'll drive to Visegrad on the Drina River. Here, we'll find the inspiration for Nobel Prize-winning author, Ivo Andric's novel, 'Bridge over the Drina'. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has been an iconic symbol of the region for generations and was the scene of some of the worst atrocities of the Bosnian War. Our local guide will provide some of the historical background during our walking tour of the town.



We then return to Mokra Gora for a sightseeing tour of Drevengrad. Drvengrad (also known as Kustendorf), is a distinctive mountain village in Mokra Gora built by the international film director, Emir Kusturica, for his movie 'Life is a Miracle'. Everything here is constructed from wood, and he wanted to recreate a traditional Serbian village, with the exception that all the streets are named after famous film directors. Nowadays the village is his home, a hotel and hosts an annual international film and music festival. We will make a stop for dinner before arriving around 10pm to our unique accommodation at the old train station of Sharganska Eight.

In order to avoid travelling back to Belgrade on the train, we'll cross Serbia by bus over the next two days. This also gives us the excellent opportunity to explore its rural heart, taking us into some interesting places that are off the main tourist trail.



A drive of around three-and-a-half hours brings us to the centre of Serbia's largest wine-producing region. Surprisingly Serbia does a great trade in robust reds and dry whites, and we'll take the opportunity to taste some of the region's best at one of the wineries just outside of Vrnjacka Banja.



After our wine-tasting, we'll continue to Vrnjacka Banja, a spa town that was once a favoured holiday destination of the aristocracy due to its natural hot springs. Nowadays most of the springs aren't used to swim in, but spa tourism is still very much alive for local Serbians. The hotel we use for most departures is a fine example of that, with an indoor swimming pool available for the hotel guests, and a spa offering an extensive range of treatments.

This morning we'll drive for an hour to the town of Stalac, where we'll pick up the train again for our onward journey to Nis. This cosmopolitan city is a place where old meets new, where modern cars travel beside horse and carts. It's a university city, so its old alleyways are home to sophisticated cocktail bars, as well as pop-up markets in summer and it has a burgeoning music scene. We'll have an orientation tour of the city, where our Tour Leader will point out Tito's Memorial, the Ottoman Citadel and the somewhat gruesome Skull Tower, which is embedded with the skulls of the rebels that fought and lost to the Ottoman forces at the Battle of Cegar. We'll then drive to Sofia, a journey of around two and a half hours, arriving to Sofia at about 8pm.

Sofia has a long history which is evident in its skyline of onion-domed churches, Ottoman mosques, Roman ruins, and old Soviet monuments. However, it's now largely modern and youthful with a wealth of museums, art galleries, cafes, and restaurants.



We'll have an orientation walk with our tour leader, including Alexander Nevski Cathedral, Sofia synagogue (entrance not included) the largest synagogue in Southeastern Europe, the Presidential Palace and the red-brick church of Rotonda Saint George. In your free time this afternoon, you may wish to take the metro to visit the Monument to the Soviet Army. This tribute to the Russian soldiers who died supporting Bulgarian efforts during World War II is surrounded by a large park. In recent years its sculpted bronze statues have frequently been vandalised with them being painted in a pop art style. The paint keeps being removed by the authorities and then a new design will appear a short time later. The statues have been all pink, painted in the style of comic book heroes and villains, in the colours of the Bulgarian flag, and more, so who knows what the statues will look like next.

Leaving Sofia this morning by train, we'll break our final journey towards Istanbul with a stop in the ancient city of Plovdiv. The old town's winding cobbled lanes are crammed with colourful mansion houses that are now museums, galleries, shops, and restaurants, and it's a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. We'll take a walking tour with our tour leader, including a visit to the Roman Theatre of Philipoppol, which is still used for concerts and theatrical performances. We'll see the exterior of this and if there are no performances taking place or being set up then you may be able to go inside the theatre.



You'll also have some free time this evening, our last chance to sample Bulgarian cuisine before we enter Turkey. Specialities include kebapche, small and spicy minced meat rolls, and surmi, stuffed cabbage or vine leafs.



The night train to Istanbul departs around 9pm. There's no catering on the train, so purchasing a low-cost bottle of Bulgarian wine and some snacks is a great option to while away the evening's journey! We'll be sharing four-person berths. There are no wash basins in the couchettes but there are toilets with wash basins at the end of each carriage. Bedding and blankets are provided but you'll need to make your bed yourself. The border crossing and document check happens during the night and requires disembarking at the Turkish border to get your passport stamped.

We've made it - 13 days across Europe, and we finally enter the gateway to Asia as Istanbul Halkali station greets us this morning.



A local Turkish guide will meet us at the station, and we'll take the Marmaray metro from Halkali to Sirkeci, in the heart of the city. Hotel check-in isn't available until this afternoon, but we have a room booked to leave bags and freshen up after the train journey.



We'll then explore the 'Old City' on foot, visiting the famous Blue Mosque, the opulent Topkapi Palace and the historic hub of Sultanahmet Square.



This afternoon is free for you to explore at your own pace. A trip to Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is highly recommended - located within the walls of Istanbul, there are around 60 streets and over 3,000 shops selling everything from jewellery to carpets and textiles and furniture to local arts and crafts. It's one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world.



You might prefer to visit the impressive 6th-century Sunken Palace cisterns or the great Hagia Sophia, which reigned as the greatest church in Christendom for 900 years. Alternatively, there is the chance to take a boat trip on the Bosphorus, offering stunning views of the Istanbul skyline. To appreciate the wonderful skyline of domes and minarets further, climb the Galata Tower for a birds-eye view.



After the group dinner, you may wish to enjoy Istanbul's nightlife, with its large selection of bars and entertainment.

Our tour ends this morning in Istanbul.



There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to depart from Istanbul Airport (IST), which is around a 90-minute drive away or Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW), which is around two hours away, depending on traffic, which can be heavy at times.



Istanbul is such a feast for the senses that you might wish to add post-tour accommodation to explore further. We also offer a three-night extension to Cappadocia, which explores the fairy-tale chimneys and rock-carved cave dwellings of this strange and beautiful region. For more information, see trip code RLAC.