Great Continental Railway Journeys
Great Continental Railway Journeys is a TV show on BBC2. Michael Portillo ventures onto the European rail network. The program has been available since 2026. A total of 65 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in October 2026.
Last episode
50:00
50:00Great Continental Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo makes the spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station.
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1:00:00Passing through the Harz Mountains, Michael Portillo travels from Berlin to the Rheingau.
1:00:00Michael Portillo explores the once-great empire of Austria-Hungary.
1:00:00Armed with his 1913 guide, Michael Portillo follows the most popular Edwardian route through France, stopping at Paris and the Cote D'Azur along the way.
Series 9
On the last leg of his journey, Michael Portillo arrives in the historic city of Eger. At its famous castle, he discovers how Ottoman invaders were defeated by an outnumbered Hungarian force.
At Budapest’s historic Nyugati station, Michael Portillo explores its sumptuous royal waiting room, built specially for the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph I and his empress, Elizabeth.
Series 4 1:00:00
1:00:00Travelling from Barcelona to Majorca, Michael Portillo traces the early roots of the Spanish Civil War, which divided his family and sent his father into exile.
1:00:00Michael Portillo goes deep into the Black Forest, and he discovers how Germany's reputation for making quality goods was established.
Series 9
Continuing his travels in Budapest, Michael Portillo begins in the small town of Huvösvölgy, where he encounters a surprising railway run almost entirely by children.
Exploring Hungary's capital city of Budapest by tram, Michael Portillo travels to the extraordinary open-air museum of Memento Park in the suburbs.
Series 4 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels from the Athens port of Piraeus, north to the city of Thessaloniki, exploring the Acropolis and sampling moussaka and baklava.
1:00:00Michael Portillo experiences first-hand Italy's 'need for speed' in a Maserati sports car, and discovers how the leaning tower of Pisa was rescued from near collapse.
Series 9
Michael Portillo begins his Hungarian adventure in the far north west of the country in the town of Sopron.
On the final leg of his Belgian journey, Michael Portillo travels to Namur, capital of Wallonia, to discover a citadel dating back to the 10th century.
Series 4 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels the Habsburg imperial line from Vienna across the impressive Semmering Pass, a railway line through the Alps, as he heads toward Trieste.
1:00:00Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo travels from Sofia to Istanbul along part of the route taken by the Orient Express.
Series 9
Michael Portillo’s Belgian journey takes him back to Brussels to examine a dark chapter in the country’s past: the brutal seizure of the Congo under King Leopold II.
Continuing his Belgian tour, Michael Portillo heads to the beach resort of Knokke-Heist and the world’s longest coastal tram, which enjoys splendid views across the North Sea.
Series 3 1:00:00
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through France from Lyon down to Marseille on the Mediterranean coast, where he joins a pilot boat leading a supertanker to its berth.
1:00:00Michael Portillo travels through Israel and Palestine, visiting Jerusalem's Christian, Jewish and Muslim quarters and Bethlehem in the West Bank.