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4 Of Europe’s Best Winter Train Routes For Spectacular Snowy Scenery

If you’re looking for winter wonderland views on a train trip this festival season, travel experts at JR Pass have ranked the best for snow and scenery.

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Rail travel has seen a major revival in recent years offering a host of advantages over flying from greater comfort to less impact on the environment. Joining the list of pros is the mesmerizing scenery passengers can admire from train windows, especially in winter. Some routes are so popular they are considered attractions in their own right with ratings on travelers review websites like TripAdvisor.

If you’re looking for winter wonderland views on a train trip this festival season, travel experts at JR Pass analysed popular seasonal train routes from around the world to determine the best for snowy scenery. They used factors including TripAdvisor reviews, Instagram hashtags and snowfall data to create the ranking. Two rail routes in Europe make it into the top five, with two more in sixth and seventh place—here is Europe’s top four.

Montenvers Train, France

Topping the rankings for Europe with a score of 7.95/10, the Montenvers Train offers a magical winter escape to France's Mer de Glace glacier in Chamonix. This historic rack railway takes passengers on a steep climb through the snow-covered Alps, with awe-inspiring views of jagged peaks and icy valleys.

The winter attraction has been given a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor and draws 1,000 monthly searches. With 461 cm of annual snowfall in the area and elevations of over 1,000 meters, the journey combines breathtaking scenery with a touch of adventure.

Bergen Line, Norway

Just behind with a score of 7.48/10, the Bergen Line offers an unforgettable journey through Norway’s winter landscapes. Crossing the snow-covered Hardangervidda plateau—one of Europe’s highest rail stretches at nearly 1,200 metres—the route speeds past stunning fjords, frozen lakes and towering peaks.

The area has an annual average of 141 cm of snowfall and the line has a perfect 5-star rating on TripAdvisor. It also garners 900 monthly searches and has over 2,500 Instagram hashtags.

The Bernina Express, Switzerland-Italy

Coming in third place in the ranking of Europe's best winter trains with a score of 7.45/10, the Bernina Express is a now-iconic train trip through the heart of the Swiss Alps. The UNESCO World Heritage route takes travelers from Chur to Tirano, crossing the dramatic Albula and Bernina passes at lofty altitudes of up to 2,253 metres. Along the way, passengers are treated to panoramic views of chalet-filled alpine villages and glacial landscapes blanketed by an average snowfall of 246 cm.

This train has a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor, whilst attracting over 185,000 monthly searches and featured in more than 108,000 Instagram hashtags.

Gornergrat Railway, Switzerland

With a score of 7.21/10, the Gornergrat Railway is Europe’s highest open-air cog railway and a favorite of skiers and view-seekers alike. The journey ascends to the summit of Gornergrat offers stunning 360° views of the pyramidal Matterhorn Mountain and over 30 towering 4,000-meter peaks. With the area seeing an average snowfall of 392 cm, travelers are all but guaranteed snow-draped vistas during the colder months.

The railway has a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor, more than 2,149 Instagram hashtags and 4,300 monthly searches.

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