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Making Tracks
Published in the October-December 2009 issue.
Sue Wallace heads off to experience the best of France, Switzerland and Italy on a relaxing rail holiday.
I sink into my comfortable reclining seat, order a glass of good French wine and a gourmet ham-and-cheese baguette, and relax. No, I’m not on a business-class flight: I’m travelling from France to Switzerland in a first-class carriage on a sleek, fast train. And it’s a sheer delight. “Bonjour, madam,” says our moustached conductor, as he checks the Rail Europe Pass that will take me to three countries in five days.
Train travel in Europe has come a long way since my backpacking days, when we sat up all night on uncomfortable seats, guarding our passports and wallets. Nowadays, modern, high-speed trains provide a seamless service, allowing you to traverse the continent in comfort.
Travelling by rail is so much easier than flying between the great cities of Europe. You can forget about delayed flights, lengthy check-in procedures and passport checks. Train travel is safe, reliable and efficient. What’s more, you can watch the world pass by from the comfort of your seat while gliding smoothly from one city centre to the next.
In these eco-conscious times, it’s also fashionable to travel by train – and designers have jumped on board, leaving their stamp on everything from uniforms to seats. Christian Lacroix has created bright-orange and vivid purple upholstery for the TGV East Line trains that zip between Paris and Champagne and Alsace.
One of the most appealing aspects of travelling by rail, rather than air or road, is that you leave a smaller environmental footprint. A train trip uses two to three times less energy than the equivalent journey by road, and a railway line takes up half as much space as a motorway.
Judging by the traffic-jammed motorway I spot from the carriage window, I’m glad I’m on this train. It takes less than four hours to reach Basel on the river Rhine, where we change trains for Lucerne.
I’m fast getting the hang of modern European rail travel: I’ve already done a day trip from Paris to the charming town of Honfleur, in Normandy – a destination a little off the railway line that has lured artists toting sketchbooks for centuries. The pretty coastal town sits on the estuary of the River Seine and is renowned for its remarkable light, so beloved of the artists who’ve worked here. Visitors come to see Honfleur’s distinctive tall houses with slate-covered exteriors, beautiful Saint Catherine’s Quay and the Vieux Bassin, one of the most frequently painted harbours in the world. I catch the train back from nearby Deauville, a glamorous seaside resort regarded as the queen of Norman beaches with a renowned racecourse, harbour and marinas, extravagant hotels, a casino and its own international film festival.
It made the perfect contrast after a busy few days in Paris, where I’d seen the city’s main attractions from the back of a cute vintage Citroën 2CV, enjoyed dinner at the Hotel Le Bristol’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant in fashionable Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, dined at the ritzy L’Atelier Renault restaurant and exhibition hall on the Champs-Elysées, and caught a late-night show at Lido de Paris, home of the famous French cabaret.
Soon, my train pulls into Lucerne and I take a whistle-stop tour of this city of bridges, squares and churches, and a quick peep at the Rosengart Foundation (formerly the Picasso Museum), home to some 200 works by 23 ‘classic modernist’ artists: notably, 50 Picassos, housed on the ground floor, and 125 works by Paul Klee, sequestered in the basement. Then I catch a bus to Kriens and ride the Aerial Panorama Gondola to the summit of Mount Pilatus, 2,132 metres above the city. My Swiss Pass enables me to catch trains, buses, boats and urban transportation.
Mount Pilatus, still covered in snow, is a breathtaking sight. I spend the night at the steel-clad, circular Hotel Bellevue, built in the early ’60s and reminiscent of a set from a James Bond movie. From the nearby lookout, the views are amazing: I can see Lucerne, the lake, and as far as Italy and Germany. There’s also the historic Hotel Pilatus, where Queen Victoria visited in 1868. In those days, there was no gondola: Her Royal Highness was carried up the steep mountain track.
After a night in the Swiss Alps, I descend on the world’s steepest rack railway. On a gradient of 48 per cent, the Alpnachstad–Pilatus train travels through seven tunnels and across 18 bridges and viaducts, taking around 40 minutes to make the descent. The little train operates from mid-May to November – at other times of year, you can catch the gondola.
Back at Lucerne station, Swiss precision is well in evidence: my next train, bound for Interlaken, rolls in right on cue. There are no delays on Swiss trains, it seems – they run like clockwork. At Interlaken, I catch the Golden Pass Panoramic Express for one of the most picturesque rail trips in Switzerland. My VIP seat at the front of the train provides 180-degree panoramic views of the snow-covered Alps, charming chalets and undulating green meadows. Descending the mountain, we pass through the trendy alpine resort of Gstaad, haunt of the rich and famous, and the manicured vineyards fringing Lake Geneva.
Several hours later, we arrive in Montreux, nestled between Lake Geneva and the snow-capped mountains. I check in at the Grand Hotel Suisse-Majestic: dating from the 1870s, it sits just across the road from the station and has a great terrace from which you can soak up the views. Montreux has long been a drawcard to the poets, musicians, actors, politicians, sculptors and engineers who’ve fallen in love with the region. Charlie Chaplin, Graham Greene, Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway and more latterly, Freddie Mercury, all have links with this area. Mercury and his band Queen loved visiting the Swiss Riviera and, lured by its serenity and beauty, Mercury even lived here for a while. A statue of him punching the air stands near the waterfront.
One of Montreux’s most noted attractions is Château de Chillon, perched on a rocky inlet on the eastern shore of Lake Geneva. Built by the counts of Savoy in the late 12th and 13th centuries and used as a state prison in the 16th century, the castle was the setting for Lord Byron’s work, The Prisoner of Chillon.
After a few days in Montreux, it’s time to head to Italy – by train, of course. I board in Montreux at midday, arriving in Milan about 3pm; from there, it’s on to Padua, a vibrant city with a wealth of fine Medieval, Renaissance and modern architecture. The city is a fascinating mix of historic buildings, churches, cobbled streets, trendy shops, markets and food to die for. Traditional and modern Paduan cuisine can be enjoyed in tiny cafés and chic restaurants: don’t leave without tasting the famous Paduan hen salad (gallina a la canavéra).
Giotto’s magnificent 14th-century frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel are another must-see. I stand under the blue, starry heaven, mesmerised by panel after panel of vivid paint.
The University of Padua, established in 1222, is one of the oldest universities in the world and an early seat of medicine. Here, you’ll see Galileo Galilei’s original chair, the statue of Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia, the world’s first female graduate (she took out the honours in 1678), and an amazing anatomy theatre, built in 1594, in which up to 300 students could watch legal human dissections. The Botanic Gardens, founded in 1545, is the oldest university botanical garden in the world: it’s yet another of the city’s scientific treasures.
For a day out, I head to the Euganean hills, known for its spa resorts and medieval towns: Arquà Petrarca, Monselice and beautiful Este. I enjoy a cruise on the Brenta Canal all the way to Venice, passing magnificent palaces and watching daily life unfold along the way.
In Padua, I stay at the trendy Methis Hotel; it has a perfect location, close to a city centre that’s been transformed into a wide pedestrian square lined with lively street cafés, designer boutiques and antique stores. Shopping here is great, and I can’t resist a suede jacket and a leather bag. That’s another plus for train travel: luggage restrictions don’t apply.
Photography by Sue Wallace and Rail Plus.
TRAVEL FACTS
getting there
- Etihad Airways services numerous destinations in Europe, flying from Sydney 11 times a week and from Melbourne daily. Phone 1800 998 995 or visit www.etihadairways.com
getting around
where to stay
further information
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