The WORST episodes of Great Continental Railway Journeys
Every episode of Great Continental Railway Journeys ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Great Continental Railway Journeys!
All aboard! Armed with his trusty Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo explores Europe’s most beautiful, enchanting regions, uncovering how the railways have shaped the continent.
#1 - Aarhus to Odense
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/20/2025
Michael Portillo’s Scandinavian rail adventure reaches Denmark’s second city, Aarhus, an architectural playground with dazzling contemporary buildings set alongside historic half-timbered houses.
#2 - Rennes to Mont Saint-Michel
Season 8 - Episode 18 - Aired 4/2/2025
Michael Portillo’s railway adventure reaches Rennes, capital of Brittany. At the Lycee Emile Zola, he hears how the school was used as a military court for the second trial of Alfred Dreyfus.
#3 - Brest to St Brieuc
Season 8 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/1/2025
Michael Portillo’s railway journey reaches the naval port of Brest, home to France’s oceanographic fleet. He also learns how to make a sweet, buttery Breton cake called kouign-amann.
#4 - Roskilde to Copenhagen
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/21/2025
Michael Portillo concludes his epic rail journey across Norway and Denmark, crossing an 18-kilometre box girder bridge between the islands of Funen and Zealand, known as the Great Belt Bridge.
#5 - Bergen to Flåm
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/17/2025
Michael Portillo embarks on a Scandinavian railway adventure from the Norwegian port of Bergen to the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
#6 - Bayeux to Argentan
Season 8 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/3/2025
In Bayeux, Michael Portillo admires the Bayeux Tapestry, the 70-metre-long work of art commissioned to record William the Conqueror's conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
#7 - Myrdal to Heddal
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/18/2025
Michael Portillo’s rail journey continues on the Bergen Line, heading towards the Norwegian capital of Oslo, with its fine modernist architecture and 19th-century parliament building.
#8 - Lisieux to Giverny
Season 8 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/4/2025
In the apple orchards of the Calvados region, Michael Portillo discovers how the classic digestif has been distilled since 1865 at the Pierre Huet estate.
#9 - Nantes to Lorient
Season 8 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/31/2025
Michael Portillo’s rail travels take him to the north west corner of France, where he explores the beautiful regions of Brittany and Normandy and learns of their connections with Great Britain.
#10 - Larvik to Holstebro
Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/19/2025
Michael’s saga resumes in Larvik on Norway’s southern coast, where he investigates the city’s prized natural resource, a distinctive blue rock named larvikite.
#11 - Eger to Hortobágy
Season 9 - Episode 15 - Aired 6/1/2026
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.
#12 - Linz to Bratislava
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/2/2020
Michael travels through Austria and the Czech Republic, exploring a dark era in history. At Prague Central Station, Michael meets a woman who, as a young girl, travelled by train to safety in London.
#13 - Huvösvölgy to Kobanya
Season 9 - Episode 13 - Aired 5/28/2026
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.
#14 - Rotterdam to Utrecht
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/2016
Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo discovers the magnificent art and architecture of the Dutch Golden Age.
#15 - Switzerland
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/29/2012
Michael Portillo explores Switzerland, taking in Basel, Zurich and Lake Lucerne before making a spectacular ascent by train to Europe's highest station.
#16 - Sopron to Keleti
Season 9 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/26/2026
Michael Portillo begins his Hungarian adventure in the far north west of the country in the town of Sopron.
#17 - Pula to Pazin
Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/10/2025
Michael Portillo mounts a valiant defence against fierce latter-day Roman gladiators in Pula's amphitheatre as he begins a journey across the Balkan countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
#18 - Buzet to Pag
Season 8 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/11/2025
Ably assisted by Lila, an expert labrador, Michael Portillo hunts for truffles in the Istrian countryside near the hilltop town of Buzet.
#19 - Maienfeld to the Rhine Gorge
Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 3/24/2025
Michael Portillo is transported back in time to the tiny Alpine village home of Switzerland’s most famous child, Heidi. He then heads to the Rhine Gorge, also known as the Swiss Grand Canyon.
#20 - Zweisimmen to Lausanne
Season 8 - Episode 15 - Aired 3/28/2025
Aboard the Golden Pass Express, Michael Portillo wends his way in style down steep mountainsides from Interlaken to the Swiss Riviera. In Lausanne, he contends with a knife-wielding robotic arm.
#21 - Nuoro to Macomer
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/20/2026
Michael Portillo continues his Sardinian railway adventure, arriving in Mamoiada to investigate the town’s extraordinary pagan traditions.
#22 - Ajaccio to Vizzavona
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/21/2026
Michael Portillo’s railway journey through the islands of Sardinia and Corsica sees him leave Sardinia and arrive into Corsica, the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean.
#23 - Vivario to Corte
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/22/2026
Michael boards one of Europe’s most dramatic railways, which winds through Corsica’s breathtaking mountainous landscapes.
#24 - Brussels to Ghent
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 6/2/2026
Michael Portillo’s Belgian rail journey continues in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. He discovers Antwerp's historic diamond industry and visits a Van Eyck masterpiece in Ghent.
#25 - Knokke-Heist to Bruges
Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/3/2026
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.