Love on the tracks – the joy of European train travel

Do the locomotion… [View in browser]( [Image](   [HOTELS]( [INSPIRATION]( [OFFERS]( [Image]( Maybe it’s watching the fields fly by. Or the baggage allowance (meaning you can bring back more of that wine you had). Or perhaps this is a bucket-list journey played out in lacquered suites and a dining car. Whatever it is that makes you choose the train, we’ll wager that when the setting's right, it’s your favourite way to travel. From trips along the Puglian coast to routes that slice through Swiss mountains, here are some of the world's best rail journeys (and hotels to end them with). [OUR ODE TO RAIL TRAVEL](   [Alternate text]( [Alternate text]( CAFÉS, CANALS AND CHET BAKER A CREATIVE KICKSTART IN AMSTERDAM Our editor-in-chief wonders why anyone bothers with airports after the Eurostar deposits him right in the cobbled centre of Amsterdam in time for lunch. As well as beers and bitterballen, the city serves up Dutch masters and Mondrians, waylays him in a jazz bar until the early hours and tempts him to buy far too many coffee table books – what excess baggage? [READ THE FULL STORY](   [Alternate text]( PLAYING POIROT [CROSSING THE ALPS BY TRAIN]( Royal schlosses, precarious mountain passes and snow-coated villages – bag yourself a window seat on one of the world’s most spectacular train journeys. Our stop-by-stop guide to riding the Arlberg Pass through the Alps passes snow-coated Innsbruck, cinematic Salzburg and into imperial Vienna. [READ THE FULL STORY](   THE NEXT STOP WILL BE… [Alternate text]( PARIS [HOTEL LES DEUX GARES]( Tucked between de l'Est and du Nord, Hôtel Les Deux Gares is a riotously-coloured rethink of the station hotel with audacious interiors by Luke Edward Hall. It's literally a five-minute walk from the Eurostar terminal, ensuring you’ll be perched à la terrasse before you know it. [VIEW HOTEL]( [Alternate text]( AMSTERDAM [SIR ADAM]( Just across the water from Centraal Station is Sir Adam. The free, 24-hour Buiksloterweg ferry will shuttle you across the water in five minutes to this warehouse-industrial wonderland with a burger joint in the atrium, a nightclub in the basement, a record player in every bedroom, and city views galore. [VIEW HOTEL]( [Alternate text]( VENICE [IL PALAZZO EXPERIMENTAL]( It feels somehow correct to arrive in Venice by train – delayed gratification and all that. The romance will continue once you float over to this Renaissance-era palace (part of the esteemed Experimental Group, famous for its creative cocktails and inch-perfect interiors). You’ll be riding high on main character energy as you watch the gondolas glide by from the restaurant terrace or tuck into plates of cicchetti in the quiet back garden. [VIEW HOTEL]( [Alternate text]( LAKE COMO [PALAZZO ALBRICCI PEREGRINI]( With just six rooms, this petite palazzo (just 40 minutes by train from Milan) feels intimate, like you’re staying with well-heeled friends. And in a sense you are – its owners transformed their family house into a hotel with help from their architect children. By day, they’ll arrange boat trips or point you towards the best restaurants on water-spying terraces; in the evenings, guests gather for a very sociable aperitivo hour in the dining room. [VIEW HOTEL]( [Alternate text]( ZURICH [MARKTGASSE HOTEL]( Once you’ve pulled into Zurich’s main station (on time, naturally – this is Switzerland), catch an electric tram to Marktgasse Hotel in the centre of the Old Town with cobblestoned surrounds and period features, yet surprisingly sleek and contemporary interiors. Opera, art and shopping enthusiasts will find distraction aplenty on the doorstep. [VIEW HOTEL]( [Alternate text]( VIENNA [ALTSTADT VIENNA]( As well as housing hundreds of pieces of its own contemporary art, Altstadt Vienna is positioned perfectly for a whirl around Austria's most famous museums. This turn-of-the-century townhouse also has a carbon footprint as comparatively light as the route you took to get here – it was the first in Austria to receive an 'Eco Seal' for sustainability. [VIEW HOTEL](   YOUR MEMBERSHIP LEVEL BlackSmith LOYALTY CREDIT $0   Why book with us? [Image]( BEST-PRICE GUARANTEE [Image]( SMITH EXTRAS ON ARRIVAL [Image]( NEW FINDS EVERY MONTH   [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [YouTube]( [Spotify]( We only contact you with news and offers that we genuinely believe will be of interest and we will never sell your details to third parties. This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Mr & Mrs Smith. [Unsubscribe]( or [update]( your contact details. Registered office: Registered office: Mr & Mrs Smith (Americas) Inc, 60 Broad St, Suite 2415, New York, NY 10004, United States. Company registration no: 443 8845 VAT no: GB802561850