All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by Condé Nast Traveler editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission.

Ludovic Balay/Belmond

When it comes to railway adventures, there are few things more exciting than falling asleep in one city and waking in the next, nudging up the blind to see what lies outside. Whether that reveals the golden haze of dawn or a moonlit night still holding on, the moment is one that’s always filled with magic.

AdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_4asadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_8asadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe

For the last three years I’ve been journeying around Europe documenting the resurgence in sleeper trains, watching passengers drift back to the romance of the railways, eschewing budget flights and bullet trains for cosy couchettes and a slower mode of travel. For scenery, comfort, and camaraderie, these are the seven best night trains that Europe has to offer.

The Good Night Train: Brussels, Belgium to Berlin, Germany

Crowdfunded, and launched by a Belgian-Dutch collective named European Sleeper, The Good Night Train made its inaugural run from Brussels to Berlin in May 2023 and has since extended its route to Dresden and Prague, with a winter service to Venice. Set up by two night-train enthusiasts, European Sleeper offers a no-frills service whose hodgepodge of carriages date back to the 1950s—but no one on board is bothered, and raucous groups uncork wine and spread out slabs of pâté and cheese in what feels like a house party on wheels. With a mixture of sleeper and couchette compartments, the train departs Brussels three times a week, clattering out of the Belgian capital at 7.20 p.m. and pulling passengers through Flanders’ golden meadows and waterways that turn blush in the setting sun. Stopping at Amsterdam, where canals glimmer through the darkness, the train then runs smoothly through the night, with barely a jolt or jerk, giving passengers a chance to sleep deeply before a dawn arrival in Berlin.

Lacquered walls, velvet furnishings, and Art Deco design in the head-turning suites onboard The Venice Simplon-Orient-ExpressLudovic Balay/Belmond

The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a Belmond train: Paris, France to Portofino, Italy

With its iconic blue carriages and gold trimming, Belmond’s legendary train is a familiar sight to lovers of luxury travel, but this route is a well-kept secret, and the most scenic of them all. Running only once a year in summer, the VSOE departs Paris Austerlitz at 3 p.m., taking passengers to the pastel-colored town of Portofino. To the pop of a bottle of Ruinart champagne served with Petrossian caviar and blinis, the train thumps and clacks south of the French capital, picking up pace through villages and vineyards, warm air billowing through the wind-down windows. Over a black-tie dinner, guests are serenaded before moving piano-side for an all-night singalong, the bar only closing when the last passenger has left. Wisely, Belmond ensures that the train stables at midnight at Avignon, granting passengers five hours of undisturbed sleep in damask bedding until the train departs at dawn. Nudge up the blind and bite into warm croissants as you watch the sun rise over the Mediterranean, paddle boarders on the waters, and purple bougainvillea blooming by the tracks. The rest of the journey is nothing but sparkling ocean, beaches and palms, ending with two nights at the newly renovated Hotel Splendido in Portofino, overlooking the bay.

For dinners on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, black tie is not a requirement but tends to be the norm.Karolina Marco/BelmondMenus onboard are designed by Paris-based culinary star Jean Imbert, who was appointed the train’s chef in 2022.BOBY/Belmond

Santa Claus Express: Helsinki to Rovaniemi, Finland

A regular passenger train that runs year-round, the Santa Claus Express is Finland’s flagship service carrying riders from Helsinki into Rovaniemi, on the edge of the Arctic Circle. Best ridden in winter, this green and white double-decker beast departs just before 7.30 p.m. and takes 12 hours to wind north through forests of fir sagging under the weight of snow. Filled with young families and tourists keen to meet the big man at Santa Claus Village, the train features some of Europe’s most comfortable compartments with wide berths, underfloor heating, and toilets that fold down into showers. Pro tip: Hop on, dump bags, and dash to the tinsel-covered dining car for smoked reindeer stew and steaming bowls of meatballs and mash before it fills up with drinkers who won’t shift until dawn. From the windows passengers can watch as nativity scenes twinkle through the woods, foxes dart through empty car parks, and Finland’s freshwater lakes gleam like pools of black ink.

Along its journey, the Nightjet passes hamlets, farms, and rows of cypress trees—unless you're traveling in winter, when you'll be greeted by magical snowscapes.Harald Eisenberger/ÖBBAdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_52sadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_92sadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe

Nightjet: Vienna, Austria to Rome, Italy

Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) has pioneered the resurgence in sleeper trains around Europe. In 2016, ÖBB launched its Nightjet network on 20 routes, and at the end of 2023 it released its new-generation service, purpose-built for sleeper trains only. Catering to solo travelers looking for privacy, the couchette compartments contain mini-cabins which feel as though you’re sleeping in an MRI scanner. Passengers can stash away belongings in private lockers then crawl into single berths, drawing a door around them until morning. For families and groups traveling together, choose the four-person private compartment for the journey from Vienna to Rome.

Departing just after 7 p.m., the train sails south of the Austrian capital and straight into the Alps, curling its way round darkening forests of pine. Passing hamlets, farms and paddocks of silk-skinned horses, the train plunges in and out of tunnels as passengers enjoy a soundproof, smooth journey. In the morning you’ll wake to sun-kissed fields in Tuscany, cypress trees trimming the tracks. Unlike other night services which usually terminate soon after waking, this ride allows for a leisurely breakfast of hot chocolate, apricot jam, and rolls as Umbrian cornfields and fortified cities flash by before the train draws into Roma Tiburtina just after 10 a.m.

540583818

The Nordland railway line will take you up to Bodø, which sits just north of the Arctic Circle and offers stunning landscapes.dmathies/Getty

2099553054

The Dovre line from Oslo to Trondheim travels through the majestic Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park.nikpal/Getty

The Dovre and Nordland lines: Oslo to Bodø, Norway

Home to some of the most compelling trackside views in the world, Norway is a sublime choice for railway enthusiasts with its smooth trains that whisper along. But for an intriguing take on ‘night’ travel, try them during the midnight sun. Between mid-May and mid-July, the sun doesn’t set north of the Arctic Circle, choosing to hover instead as it sends a blaze of fiery light across the landscape, coating everything in shades of pink and gold. Even though the Dovre line from Oslo to Trondheim lies outside the Arctic Circle, it’s still light at midnight as the train passes through the ghostly sight of Lake Mjøsa and the majesty of the Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park. With a strong coffee, take a seat in the dining car at 3 a.m. and look down to where anglers fish for salmon, pike and perch, and cyclists ride by, glancing sideways as the train barrels on through sunlit valleys and folds. Break up the journey with a night or two in the city of Trondheim then take the next sleeper train up the Nordland line to Bodø. On the 11 p.m. departure, watch as lakes burn like bodies of lava and roe deer scarper through the almost-twilight, before waking to forests and fjords, green with minerals and bubbling with foam.

1488378550

The Intercity Notte will carry you from Rome to Palermo, a city known for its cultural richness and vibrant food scene.Stefan Tomic/Getty

The Intercity Notte: Rome to Palermo, Italy

Departing Rome at 11 p.m. the comfortable Intercity Notte service whips towards the outskirts of the city as ivy-covered apartments rise up by the tracks, offering peeks into beautiful homes with spotlit paintings, grandfather clocks and bookshelves reached by ladders. In the absence of a dining car, the twin or triple-berth compartments are stacked like a shopfront, with cans of water, cartons of juice, and packets of Grisbi chocolate biscuits and croissants. In the face of high-speed rail and ever-advancing technology, this service involves a charming process that has all but died out around Europe. At around 6 a.m. the train arrives at the port city of Villa San Giovanni and you’ll wake to the gentle thump of the carriages uncoupling as they’re loaded onto a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina. Most passengers don’t notice, staying tucked in as the ferry makes the 20-minute crossing, but others are welcome to go up on deck to watch the silver waters shift in the dawn light. On the other side the train is coupled and sets off again along Sicily’s northern coastline, running alongside lemon groves, fat pads of prickly pear and grey-sand beaches, the waves spewing white foam up the rocks.

The Norrland Night Train: Stockholm, Sweden to Narvik, Norway

Drawing passengers up the length of Sweden and over the border into Norway, the Norrland Night Train is best taken at the beginning of spring, as the landscape says goodbye to the winter thaw. Pulling out of Stockholm Central the train wastes no time in thundering out of the city, flashing by woods, drifts and apartment blocks, before belting into the wilderness. Take a seat in the noisy dining car and make friends with Swedes on ski weekends to Kiruna, bonding over bottles of Riesling and ribbons of sweet gravlax. Couchette compartments are wide, warm, and communal, allowing for friendships to be made, stories to be swapped, and snacks to be shared as the train passes cabins fringed with ice and naked woods silhouetted against the moon. The highlight of the journey is the final stretch along the Ofoten line which begins at the resort town of Riksgränsen. Here, the train ascends up the cliff as the fjords emerge below, like black silk ribbons, a deadly majesty in their movement. Curling in and out of twenty tunnels, the train eventually slows into Narvik, bringing the 19-hour journey to a close.

AdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_5ssadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#_R_9ssadkalhb5fiv5vddbH1_ iframe

Monisha Rajesh is the author of Moonlight Express: Around the World by Night Train, published by Bloomsbury.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler

---

Trending Travel Destinations

Want to be the first to know? Sign up to our newsletters for travel inspiration and tips

A Guide to Korčula, Croatia, a Hidden Gem on the Dalmatian Coast

Why Everyone Will Be Going to Osaka in 2025

A London Local’s Melting-Pot Itinerary for Food, Drinks, and Chill Vibes in the Capital