From alpine passes to coastal cliffs, these iconic rail routes deliver jaw-dropping vistas, cultural insight, and the pure joy of slow travel.

Alpine Panoramas: The Glacier Express stitches together storybook villages, high passes, and ice-sculpted valleys into a single ribbon of scenery that never blinks. Through panoramic windows, the world opens to glaciated peaks, slate-blue rivers, and terraces of larch and pine. Highlights include the sinuous Landwasser Viaduct, a stone arc seemingly launched from a cliff, and the pale chasm of the Rhine Gorge, often called the Swiss Grand Canyon. The pace is unhurried, letting you savor every viaduct, tunnel, and sweeping curve. Pack a light layer even in warmer seasons, as altitude can cool the car, and keep a camera cloth handy for condensation near passes. Choose a seat that avoids direct midday sun if you plan to photograph, and consider timing your meal between major viewpoints so you never miss the drama. For many travelers, this route becomes the standard by which all Alpine rail journeys are judged, a masterclass in mountain spectacle.

Highland Wilds: Scotland's West Highland Line trades cities for moorland, lochs, and lonesome ridges that feel purpose-built for dreamers. The train glides over Rannoch Moor, a vast peat bog where the rails float across knotted heather and mirrored pools, then threads between sea lochs and silver-sand coves that flash into view without warning. Wind-skewed pines, red deer, and occasional sea birds create a slow-motion wildlife parade. The graceful arc of the Glenfinnan Viaduct always turns heads, but quieter interludes are equally transporting: mist pouring off a hillside, a croft tucked beneath a cairn, a distant lighthouse calling you onward. Pack a simple picnic to enjoy at the window, and watch for request stops, charming little platforms where you can step into a landscape that feels unchanged by time. Weather is a character here, painting the same mountain with a dozen moods in a day, and that mercurial palette is exactly what makes the line unforgettable.

Rocky Majesty: Crossing the Canadian Rockies by train is an immersion in granite cathedrals, turquoise lakes, and river-carved canyons that read like a geology lesson in motion. From domed coaches, you track the sinuous course of glacial rivers, study avalanche sheds clinging to cliffs, and spy spiral tunnels that solve impossible gradients. Look for bald eagles, black bears, and elk along gravel bars where the current softens. The forest shifts from tight ranks of spruce to open meadows, then back again, while the sky stages its own performance in blues and silver. Service is part of the romance: warm commentary, regional cuisine, and unobstructed views that make you forget you ever liked the aisle. Overnight stays in gateway towns mean you see the mountains under different light, returning to the rails refreshed. Bring polarized lenses to cut reflection from the glass, and keep your camera ready as each bend unveils another teal lake framed by snow-dusted spires.

Across the Southern Alps: New Zealand's TranzAlpine compresses big-country drama into a single, dazzling traverse. Starting amid the Canterbury Plains, the scenery gently gathers pace as you climb into the Southern Alps, where braided rivers, beech forest, and glacier-fed gorges knit together. The turquoise Waimakariri River braids and unbraids beneath lattice bridges, while switchbacks lead toward Arthur's Pass, revealing a highland amphitheater of waterfalls and rock scree. An open-air viewing car intensifies the elements: wind-whipped hair, the earthy scent of rain on stone, and the shiver of spray as you cross a viaduct. On clear days, serrated ridgelines sketch the horizon; when clouds drape the peaks, the drama turns moody and cinematic. Pack layers and a waterproof shell, as conditions can pivot between sunburst and drizzle. For skygazers, the light here is remarkably clean, giving photographs a crisp, color-true quality. It's a route that proves how quickly a country can change faces without ever losing its wild heart.

Scarlet Thread over the Bernina: The Bernina Express feels like a feat of magic, threading a bright red line over UNESCO-listed engineering and high Alpine passes without ceding an inch to the terrain. The journey vaults the elegant Brusio Circular Viaduct, curves past the dwindling tongue of the Morteratsch Glacier, and crests near Lago Bianco, where milky waters glow in cool light. Unlike many mountain lines, this route forgoes rack-and-pinion assistance, relying instead on genius alignment and sweeping curves that allow steady climbs. The carriages offer broad glass for uninterrupted views, and the commentary quietly decodes what you see, from stone galleries to avalanche barriers. Expect contrasts: larch and fir give way to rock and snow, then to palm-dotted valleys as you descend toward Italy. Keep snacks and water within reach so you stay glued to the window, and watch for spiral viaducts that reveal the same landscape from multiple angles, each more astonishing than the last.

Fjords and Falls: Norway's Flam Railway plunges from a high-mountain junction to a fjord-side village on one of the steepest standard-gauge lines on Earth. The ride feels like a vertical voyage: emerald Aurlandsfjord waters far below, hairpin turns through hand-hewn tunnels, and farms perched like bird nests on impossible ledges. The thunder of Kjosfossen waterfall arrives before the spray, and on misty days the whole valley shimmers with light shafts and dew. Pair the train with a fjord cruise to see how cliffs that tower above your carriage also plunge beneath the waterline in sheer walls. Sit on either side without anxiety; the route choreographs views so thoughtfully that no seat feels second-best. A compact day pack with a warm layer, gloves, and a camera strap keeps you comfortable when you step out at viewpoints. Every descent tells a story of engineering audacity blended seamlessly with a landscape that refuses to be tamed.

Through the Red Heart: Australia's Ghan stretches across the continent's outback, bridging tropical wetlands, ochre deserts, and ghost gum savannas in one stately arc. The scale is the point: horizons that seem to slide away as you approach, starlit skies that feel close enough to touch, and ridges that glow ember-red at dusk. Onboard, unhurried service and picture windows create a moving lounge where you watch wild horses, wedge-tailed eagles, and rust-toned escarpments drift past like a living mural. Off-train excursions reveal water-carved gorges and cultural narratives that deepen the scenery with story. Pack breathable fabrics for heat by day and a warmer layer for crisp nights, plus a notebook for the thoughts that long horizons often prompt. The tempo invites you to slow travel, to measure time by shadow and color rather than schedule. By journey's end, the desert's subtle palette and vast silences feel like old companions.

Canyons of Copper: Mexico's Chepe route bursts through the Sierra Tarahumara, conquering gradients with switchbacks, bridges, and tunnels that rival any mountain railway for drama. The Copper Canyon complex reveals itself in stages: ochre cliffs cleaved by green, villages tucked into folds of rock, and rivers corkscrewing to find the path of least resistance. Windows frame vultures surfing thermals and terraces of corn that defy the slopes. Station stops like Divisadero deliver cliff-edge balconies where you can trace the line you just traveled in delicate threads across the canyon walls. Bring sun protection and extra water; the high-elevation sun is bright, and you will want time outdoors at viewpoints. The train's measured pace lets you read the canyon's geology like a book, from layered volcanic deposits to rubble-strewn talus cones. This is front-row geography, raw and exhilarating, where every curve exposes a new chapter in the land's deep, ongoing story.