Great Continental Railway Journeys
Great Continental Railway Journeys is a TV show on BBC2. Michael Portillo ventures onto the European rail network. The program has been available since 2024. A total of 45 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in December 2024.
Last episode
1:00:00
1:00:00Great Continental Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo travels the Habsburg imperial line from Vienna across the impressive Semmering Pass, a railway line through the Alps, as he heads toward Trieste.
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1:00:00Michael Portillo makes the spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station.
Series 4
1:00:00
1:00:00Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo travels from Sofia to Istanbul along part of the route taken by the Orient Express.
Series 1 1:00:00
1:00:00Passing through the Harz Mountains, Michael Portillo travels from Berlin to the Rheingau.
Series 3 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through France from Lyon down to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast, where he joins a pilot boat leading a supertanker to its berth.
Series 1 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo explores the once-great empire of Austria-Hungary.
Series 3 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through Israel and Palestine, visiting Jerusalem's Christian, Jewish and Muslim quarters and Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Series 1 1:00:00
1:00:00Armed with his 1913 guide, Michael Portillo follows the most popular Edwardian route through France, stopping at Paris and the Cote D'Azur along the way.
Series 3 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through Spain and Portugal, meeting people from all over the world on the pilgrims' trail to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
1:00:00Michael Portillo uses his 1913 copy of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide to explore Poland, visiting Warsaw, Lodz, Poznan, Wroclaw and Krakow along the way.
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels down the spine of Italy from Rome to Sicily, along the way visiting Naples to find out about the country's first railway.
1:00:00Michael Portillo ventures on to the European rail network once again with his 1913 Bradshaw's guide, travelling through Russia from Tula to St Petersburg.
Series 7 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo embarks on a scenic thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the Arctic Circle.
Series 2 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels from Bordeaux to Bilbao, exploring the industrial ties between France and Spain and learning how to cook a traditional Basque dish.
Series 7 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels by train through Austria and the Czech Republic, beginning in the northern Austrian city of Linz, where Adolf Hitler lived as a boy.
Series 2 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through Bohemia and Bavaria, test driving a state-of-the-art passenger train in Pilsen and sampling the spa waters of Marianske Lazne.
Series 7 1:00:00
1:00:00On a railway journey from the capital Palermo to Europe's largest volcano, Mount Etna, Michael Portillo explores Sicilian life under Mussolini.
Series 2 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through Scandinavia, crossing the bridge linking Denmark to Sweden to retrace the train journey of a revolutionary Russian passenger.
Series 7 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo goes on a rail journey through Germany, beginning in the vibrant city of Berlin, where he visits the Museum of Modern Art in Kreuzberg.
Series 2 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through Germany, revealing how British yachtsmen spied on the German navy in the early 20th century.