The Semmering Railway opened in 1854. In 1998, it was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The citation commends the route as “one of the greatest feats of civil engineering during the pioneering phase of railway building”. Enjoy Route 34 in Europe by Rail, which starts in Vienna and ends in Venice.
The very mention of the word Arlberg evokes memories of a belle époque of continental rail travel. On this route for Europe by Rail, we travel from Zürich to Vienna and on to Bratislava. The Arlberg Railway was opened in 1884.
Route 39 in Europe by Rail is a very useful fast hop south over the Alps from southern Germany to Italian sunshine. And it packs in an astonishing variety of scenery.
This long journey from Berlin to Bavaria and on across the Austrian border to Salzburg takes in some very fine German cities (including Leipzig, Weimar and Munich) and some decent countryside. It is one of two routes in this book which lead travellers from northern Germany to the Alps.