Great Continental Railway Journeys
Great Continental Railway Journeys is a TV show on BBC2. All aboard! Michael Portillo explores Europe’s most beautiful, historic and enchanting regions by rail, uncovering how nature and history have shaped the continent. The program has been available since 2026. A total of 65 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in September 2026.
Last episode
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Continuing his travels in Budapest, Michael Portillo begins in the small town of Huvösvölgy, where he encounters a surprising railway run almost entirely by children.
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Exploring Hungary's capital city of Budapest by tram, Michael Portillo travels to the extraordinary open-air museum of Memento Park in the suburbs.
Series 4
1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels from the Athens port of Piraeus, north to the city of Thessaloniki, exploring the Acropolis and sampling moussaka and baklava.
1:00:00Michael Portillo experiences first-hand Italy's 'need for speed' in a Maserati sports car, and discovers how the leaning tower of Pisa was rescued from near collapse.
Series 9
Michael Portillo begins his Hungarian adventure in the far north west of the country in the town of Sopron.
On the final leg of his Belgian journey, Michael Portillo travels to Namur, capital of Wallonia, to discover a citadel dating back to the 10th century.
Series 4 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels the Habsburg imperial line from Vienna across the impressive Semmering Pass, a railway line through the Alps, as he heads toward Trieste.
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 9
Michael Portillo’s Belgian journey takes him back to Brussels to examine a dark chapter in the country’s past: the brutal seizure of the Congo under King Leopold II.
Continuing his Belgian tour, Michael Portillo heads to the beach resort of Knokke-Heist and the world’s longest coastal tram, which enjoys splendid views across the North Sea.
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.
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through Israel and Palestine, visiting Jerusalem's Christian, Jewish and Muslim quarters and Bethlehem in the West Bank.
Series 8
In the apple orchards of the Calvados region, Michael Portillo discovers how the classic digestif has been distilled since 1865 at the Pierre Huet estate.
Michael Portillo admires the Bayeux Tapestry, the 70-metre-long work of art commissioned to record William the Conqueror's conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Series 9
Michael Portillo’s Belgian rail journey continues in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. He discovers Antwerp's historic diamond industry and visits a Van Eyck masterpiece in Ghent.
Michael boards the Eurostar at London’s St Pancras International, bound for the Belgian capital, Brussels.
Series 8
Michael Portillo’s railway adventure reaches Rennes, capital of Brittany. At the Lycee Emile Zola, he hears how the school was used as a military court for the second trial of Alfred Dreyfus.
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.
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.
Series 3 1:00:00
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.