CHAPTER ONE: PREHISTORY—THE DAWN OF TIME • Grotte de
Rouffignac, Vézère valley, France—An electric cavern train that
carries you past friezes and engravings of rhinos and mammoths •
Caspian Odyssey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan—Explore countries on the east and west of
the Caspian Sea including 6,000 prehistoric rock engravings at
Gobustan in Azerbaijan • Grand Canyon Railway, United States—Take a
steam or diesel-pulled guided tour from Williams, Arizona to the
South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, in beautifully
restored vintage railcars • The Glacier Express, Alps,
Switzerland—Witness spectacular "Ice Age" glacial scenery from
Zermatt, at the foot of the Matterhorn to Saint Moritz • Crossrail,
London United Kingdom (opens 2018)—This 62 mile (110 km) feat of
engineering across London has unearthed a layer cake of history
beneath its streets including prehistoric animal bones
CHAPTER TWO: THE ANCIENT WORLD—DAWN–600 CE • Trans Mongolian
Express, Russia, Mongolia, China (easternbound)—Follow the ancient
tea route from China to Russia, taking in the Great Wall of China •
Desert Express, Namibia, Africa—More wildlife safari than train
ride, see giraffes, zebras, elephants, dolphins and the Welwitschia
mirabilis, Namibia’s most famous plant, some of which are said to
be over 1,500 years old • Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece—This
4.5-hour, domestic InterCity service includes stunning views of
Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the Greek gods • Rome to Ostica
Antica, Italy—A classic route from the magnificent Colosseum to the
beautifully-preserved ruins of Ostia, the old port city of Ancient
Rome • Cairo to Alexandria, Egypt—An Egyptian odyssey from historic
Rameses Railway Station in Cairo, gateway to Giza’s Pyramids, to
Alexandria's “Pearl of the Mediterranean” via the palm-dotted
plains of the Nile Delta
CHAPTER THREE: MIDDLE AGES—600–1500 CE • Eastern and Oriental
Express, Thailand —This most exotic of train services includes a
route through the "Ancient Kingdom of Lanna", from Bangkok to the
northern Thailand cities of Lampang and Chiang Mai • Copenhagen to
Roskilde, Denmark—Take a "Viking Voyage" from the capital’s
National Museum to the island of Zealand to witness Viking ships
excavated from the nearby Roskilde Fjord • Balkan Explorer,
Istanbul to Venice—Explore Ottoman and Byzantine sites and the
turquoise coastlines of the Balkan and surrounding nations •
Vodkatrain, The Marco Polo, Istanbul to Beijing—Follow in the
footsteps of the Italian explorer Marco Polo along the Silk Road,
linking Europe with Asia • Paris to Chartres, Frances—An
enlightening day trip to the double-spired, stainedglass, Gothic
splendor of Cathedral Notre-Dame de Chartres
CHAPTER FOUR: TOWARD THE MODERN WORLD—1500–1800 CE • Palace on
Wheels, India—Match the palatial, Rajput-inspired interiors of this
famed ride with a round tour from New Delhi through royal Rajasthan
• The Ghan/Indian Pacific, Australia—Explore the vast continent
that is Australia, with this epic train ride down country from
Darwin to Adelaide, then on to Sydney, where the first British
colony made its base • Florence to Venice, Italy—From the "City of
Water" to the birthplace of Renaissance Italy, with non-stop
architectural and artistic splendour along the way • The Hague to
Haarlem, Netherlands—Ride to the heart of the Dutch Golden Age from
Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring in The Hague, to “Tulip
Mania” in blooming Haarlem • Konkan Railway, Mumbai to Goa,
India—Travel to the namesake town of Portuguese explorer Vasco de
Gama, and beyond to beautiful Goan beaches, on a stunning route
through lush valleys and mythical mountains
CHAPTER FIVE: 19TH-CENTURY RAILWAY JOURNEYS • Trans Siberian
Express, Moscow to Vladivostok, Russia—Experience the vast Russian
landscape via one of the longest train journeys in the world; and
be glad you didn’t have to help build it • Venice Simplon-Orient
Express, Paris, France to Istanbul, Turkey—Make like Hercule Poirot
and travel in the tracks of the original Orient Express’ 1883
inaugural journey in a luxury Art Deco coach • Settle to Carlisle
Railway, Yorkshire Dales to Scottish Borders, United Kingdom—
Highlights of this bucolic journey include limestone scenery,
Victorian architecture and the impressive 24 arches of the
Ribblehead Viaduct, built 1870–1874 • Rocky Mountaineer, Vancouver
to Banff/Calgary, Canada—Follow the former "Kicking Horse Route",
now "First Passage to the West", over the famous Canadian Pacific
Railway (opened 1885) with epic views of the monumental Rockies •
Arctic Circle Train, Kiruna, Sweden to Narvik, Norway—Experience
the midnight sun, polar night and the Northern Lights, in one of
the northernmost railways in the world, a nod to the
nineteenth-century "Race to the North Pole"
CHAPTER SIX: 20TH-CENTURY RAILWAY JOURNEYS—PRESENT DAY • The Blue
Train, Pretoria to Cape Town, South Africa—This most lauded, luxury
train of “kings and presidents” first set off in 1923, complete
with butler service, gold-tinted picture windows and black tie •
Marrakesh Express, Tangier to Marrakesh via Fez, Morocco—Hit the
1960s hippie trail meandering past olive groves and goats in trees,
to reach colorful and exotic souks, medinas, riads and kasbahs •
The Pride of Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Cape Town, South
Africa—Lovingly restored Pullman Carriages hark back to the halcyon
days of 1920s luxury train travel at its most romantic: visit the
Zambezi River, Victoria Falls and Table Mountain • Shanghai Maglev
(Shanghai Transrapid), Shanghai, China—The first commercially
operated high-speed magnetic levitation train in the world; don’t
expect to see much scenery at a top current speed of 268 mph • The
Eurostar, London to the South of France—New stops on this
twenty-year-old, highspeed, multi-destination route under the
English Channel include gastronomic Lyon (also HQ of the French
Resistance in World War II) and the sunshine-soaked, rough diamond
port of Marseille
Sarah Baxter grew up in Norfolk, England and now lives in Bath. Her passion for travel and the great outdoors saw her traverse Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States before settling into a writing career. She was Associate Editor of Wanderlust magazine, the bible for independent-minded travellers, for more than ten years and has also written extensively on travel for a diverse range of other publications, including the Guardian, the Telegraph and the Independent newspapers. Sarah has also contributed to more than a dozen Lonely Planet guidebooks.
"a detailed and highly entertaining account" "with this
book you can travel to some of the world's most remote, remarkable,
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historical book"
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