Great Continental Railway Journeys

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Season 7
58:53
Expired
Michael embarks on a scenic thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle. Steered by his 1936 edition of Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, Michael boards a steam train to celebrate Midsummer in Marielund, learns to decorate a Dala horse in Mora, ...
58:59
Expired
Michael Portillo travels by train through Austria and the Czech Republic following his Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, published in 1936. Michael’s journey takes him through spectacular scenery, from the handsome Baroque buildings of the northern Austrian city of Linz, through Czech South Bohemia to Prague, the City ...
58:51
Expired
Michael's 1936 Bradshaw’s Guide brings him to the Italian 'treasure island' of Sicily, full of natural beauty and 'scenery of the greatest charm'. But the interwar guidebook also tells him that the head of government in Italy is the fascist leader, Signor Benito Mussolini.
59:02
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Michael Portillo embarks on a rail journey through Germany, steered by a Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide published in 1936. His unique window on Europe between the world wars takes him through a tumultuous period in German history, when the nation's first democracy and its vibrant culture of art, design and decadence,...
59:01
Expired
Michael travels from the chateaux of the Loire Valley to the heart of the Champagne region at Reims. Beginning in historic Orleans, Michael follows his Bradshaw’s guide to the magnificent stained-glass windows of the Cathedral of Sainte-Croix, which tell the story of the heroine of France, Joan of Arc.
59:20
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Michael sports a strikingly modern edition of his Bradshaw’s Continental Handbook, dated 1936. His destination lies close to his heart: the ancient kingdom of Spain and land of his father, recommended in Michael’s guidebook for its exceptional climate and glorious history.
Season 6
59:08
Expired
Following the historic Trans-Caucasus Railway, Michael begins in the port of Batumi on the dazzling Caucasian Riviera. He savours the soul of Georgia in its wine and discovers a surprise nineteenth century tea plantation in the West Georgian countryside. The seat of power beckons in Kutaisi, home to the wonderful glass dom...
59:27
Expired
With his Bradshaw’s 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo ventures east to a land which a century ago was part of the Russian Empire and today is the independent state of Ukraine. His rail journey will take him from the grasslands of the Steppe to the shores of the Black Sea. In this borderland where Eur...
59:27
Expired
Michael Portillo discovers how an Edwardian Briton brought 'the beautiful game' to the historic port of Genoa. He's ambushed by singers of the city's legendary trallalero and learns to whip up a mean pesto Genovese. Then he takes the train as it clings to the cliffs along the Riviera Di Levanti to reach the picturesque and...
58:49
Expired
Michael Portillo ventures to the northernmost reaches of Europe where he braves the freezing temperatures of the Baltic Sea and finds peace paddling a canoe on the Lakes of Finland. On his journey from the Latvian capital, Riga, to Tampere, Finland, Michael encounters medieval knights in Tallinn, grills sausages in Helsink...
58:16
Expired
Steered by his 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo heads for the Netherlands, where he roots around the world’s largest flower auction in Haarlem, operates a crane in Europe’s largest container port, Rotterdam, and investigates Amsterdam’s famous red light district.
59:08
Expired
Michael Portillo leaves Europe behind to take in the sights, smells and tastes of North Africa as he travels from the Mediterranean port of Tangier to the Berber city of Marrakech.
59:03
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Michael Portillo uses George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide to explore the dazzling cities of the pre-war Low Countries before tasting the delicacies of Brussels. He then travels to the French sector of the Western Front, where from 1914 the trains carried a new cargo of artillery shells, with the Edwardian tour...
54:20
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Michael Portillo uses George Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide to explore Switzerland, whose remarkable railways helped make it a favourite with Edwardian tourists. He begins in the truly international city of Basel and travels east to visit industrial Zurich. He then heads for the glorious Alps and learns how astonishi...
59:06
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Michael Portillo begins this journey in Berlin, the capital of Germany, which at the beginning of the 20th century was a powerhouse of science and technology. Led by his 1913 railway guide, he then heads west via the picturesque Harz Mountains to the industrial Ruhr Valley to learn how imperial Germany was war ready. He th...
59:08
Expired
Steered by his 1913 railway guide, on this journey Michael Portillo explores the once-great empire of Austria-Hungary, domain of the famous Habsburg monarchs. Starting in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, he travels via Bratislava in Slovakia to the beautiful and elegant city of Vienna, where he immerses himself in pre-war...
59:12
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Michael Portillo embarks on a nostalgic railway adventure, which takes him across the heart of Europe. Steered by his 1913 ‘Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide’, Michael journeys through a prosperous pre-war Europe of emperors and kings, pomp and elegance. A continent whose industrialists, factories and mines had created...
58:55
Expired
Michael Portillo embarks on a new series of railway adventures across Europe, disovering new regions, cities and cultures through the eyes of followers of Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, which in 1913, opened up foreign travel to the discerning British tourist. In this episode, Michael travels east through Romania. H...
58:44
Expired
Armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo travels from the Swiss Alps to the shores of Lake Geneva. Along the way, he is caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross and rescued from an 'avalanche' by a St Bernard puppy. He takes to the skies in a vintage bi-plane to retrace the epic journey of the pioneering pilot...
54:00
Expired
Barcelona to Mallorca - Steered by his 1913 Bradshaw's Guide, Michael Portillo returns to Spain to trace the early 20th-century roots of the Spanish Civil War, which divided his Spanish family and sent his father into exile. On his travels, he is trampled underfoot at the bottom of a Catalan people steeple and learns to ma...
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