Great Continental Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo travels across the European continent with his handy Bradshaw guide book. Looking at history and trying 21st century things that changed since before The Great War...

Genre: Documentary

Cast:Michael Portillo

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ Madrid to Gibraltar

Sun, Oct 27, 2013

Michael Portillo travels to Spain, the country his father fled during the bloody civil war. He starts in the centrally located capital Madrid, Europe's highest and until a century ago uneasily accessed, focusing on the monument for a Spanish king's tragically bombed wedding to an English princess. Then he takes the super fast train to Andalusia, first stop Moorish marvel Cordoba. Next Seville, where he bought a house, and Jerez, which gave its name to the region's white wine sherry, and mountain citadel city Ronda. Finally to Alegeciras, port gateway to Morocco, and British enclave Gibraltar.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ Turin to Venice

Sun, Nov 3, 2013

Michael Portillo starts his train trip trough northern Italy in Turin, capital of Piedmont and the first years of its king's newly united realm, Italy minus Rome, and home of Fiat. Next Milan, capital of Lombardy and fashion. Then lake Como, the most touristic and idyllic stop on the early British traveler's grand tour. Finally splendid Venice, home to unique monuments and the modern Biennale.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ Dresden to Kiel

Sun, Nov 10, 2013

Michael starts a journey across Germany in Dresden, before the bombing a major European cultural center with star composer including Wagner, but also and the home of the back to nature, open air gym and general health movement. Still in Saxony, Leipzig, Germany's great industrial powerhouse, but also musical, with Bach and Mendelshon's foundations, conservatory and Gewandthaus orchestra. Next Brunswick, where Michael visits a beer brewery while a Hanoverian king George accepted bride Caroline from the ducal dynasty to ensure a fat allowance from parliament. Finally to Germany's major ports, first commercial giant Hamburg at the North Sea, ultimately Kiel, home at the Baltic of the imperial war fleet, both meant to rival Britannia to rule the seas and colonies.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ Copenhagen to Oslo

Sun, Nov 17, 2013

Michael travels to Scandinavia, the former Vikings home countries, once controlled by mighty Danish kings, now divided in three modest, pacific nation realms, yet tied by dynastic alliances with each-other, Britain and other European great powers. He starts in the Danish capital Copenhagen, also home of fairy tale champion Hans Christian Anderson i the grand old Tivoli amusement park, a well-preserved continental pioneer. By monumental bridge to Malmö, in Sweden, and the grand cathedral of Lund, once the Northern European archiepiscopal see, and the great port of Göteborg, also a major industrial center, home of companies like Volvo and great immigrant communities, firstly Scots like Michael's mother, whose traditional dances he partakes in. Past falls turned into a pioneer hydro-electricity plant and picnic-ideal countryside to the Norwegian capital Oslo, enjoying a ski jump-akin slide ride.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ Prague to Munich

Sun, Nov 24, 2013

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6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ Bordeaux to Bilbao

Sun, Dec 1, 2013

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1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ Sofia to Istanbul

Fri, Oct 16, 2015

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2Season 4

S4.E2 ∙ Vienna to Trieste

Fri, Oct 23, 2015

Michael takes the first railroad build I the huge Austro-Hungarian empire, from imperial capital Vienna to Adriatic main port Trieste. In Vienna he indulges in grandeur and spy (hi)story, then passes the greatest Alpine tunnel of its age to Graz, rural Styria's capital and Austria proper's second city then, now remarkably modern in harmony with its Baroque heritage. Then to Lublijana, capital of Slovenia (Catholic ex-Yugoslavia) and finally Trieste, then Italian jewel in the crown of Habsburg's Veneto-provinces.

3Season 4

S4.E3 ∙ Pisa to Lake Garda

Fri, Oct 30, 2015

Michael does part of the Italian Grand Tour, the precursor of Victorian 'mass' tourism, along Italian art cities. He starts in port city Pisa, discussing the leaning campanile. With a side-trip to Carrara, where unsurpassed marble for statues is cut, he heads for the highlight, Tuscan capital Firenze (Florence), with particular attention for the effects of its short-lived status as Italian royal capital between the Piemontese dynasty's Turin and eternal, imperial and papal Rome. Finally off to the ultimate holiday region of the grand lakes, at Lake Garda.

4Season 4

S4.E4 ∙ Athens to Thessaloniki

Fri, Nov 13, 2015

Michael makes a Greek odyssey from Athens's port of Piraeus to the city of Thessaloniki visiting the Acropolis, the Corinth Canal, Delphi and the little train of Pelion one of the world's narrowest gauge railways.

5Season 4

S4.E5 ∙ The Black Forest to Hannover

Fri, Nov 20, 2015

Armed with his 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo ventures deep into the Black Forest on a quest to discover the essence of Germany and discovers how Hansel and Gretel helped to unify the nation. A humbling masterclass in carving cuckoo clocks shows.

6Season 4

S4.E6 ∙ Barcelona to Mallorca

Fri, Nov 27, 2015

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1Season 5

S5.E1 ∙ Transylvania to the Black Sea

Tue, Sep 20, 2016

Michael Portillo ventures east through Romania. In Constanta, Michael loads cargo from a 100-foot crane.

2Season 5

S5.E2 ∙ Zermatt to Geneva

Tue, Sep 27, 2016

Michael Portillo is rescued from an 'avalanche' by a St Bernard puppy. On his next stop, Michael is caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross.

3Season 5

S5.E3 ∙ Tangier to Marrakech

Tue, Oct 4, 2016

Michael Portillo takes in the sights, smells and tastes of North Africa.

4Season 5

S5.E4 ∙ Genoa to the Brenner Pass

Tue, Oct 11, 2016

Michael takes trains trough northern Italy, which was only partially integrated into the present country. He starts in Genoa, the world class main port of Liguria, with grand monuments from its golden age around 1700 and later industrial boom. Next along the Italian Riviera to the luxury marina resort of Portofino, key in the occupation of Libya and preserved miraculously thanks to a Britton, finally to the vast naval base of La Spezzia. Up the Po plain to ancient university city Parma, famous for its aged ham. Then to Trento, capital of a part of Tyrol Austria lost in World War I. Finally to the Alpine town of Brenner, which gave its name to the mega-tunnel at the Swiss border.

5Season 5

S5.E5 ∙ Riga to Tampere

Tue, Oct 18, 2016

Michael Portillo ventures to the northernmost reaches of Europe.

6Season 5

S5.E6 ∙ Rotterdam to Utrecht

Tue, Oct 25, 2016

Michael Portillo discovers the magnificent art and architecture of the Dutch Golden Age.

1Season 7

S7.E1 ∙ Salamanca to Canfranc

Wed, Jul 29, 2020

Michael Portillo sports a modern edition of his Bradshaw's Handbook as he heads for Spain.

2Season 7

S7.E2 ∙ Orleans to Reims

Wed, Aug 5, 2020

Michael visits the magnificent stained-glass windows of the Cathedral of Sainte-Croix.

3Season 7

S7.E3 ∙ Berlin to Stuttgart

Wed, Aug 12, 2020

Michael hears how new rail lines transported spectators to the Nazi Olympic Games of 1936.

4Season 7

S7.E4 ∙ Palermo to Mt Etna

Wed, Aug 26, 2020

In Palermo, Michael takes in the art and architecture of the futurists.

5Season 7

S7.E5 ∙ Linz to Bratislava

Wed, Sep 2, 2020

Michael travels through Austria and the Czech Republic, exploring a dark era in history.

6Season 7

S7.E6 ∙ Stockholm to the Arctic Circle

Thu, Sep 10, 2020

Michael celebrates Midsummer in Marielund and learns to decorate a Dala horse in Mora.

Great Continental Railway Journeys

S1.E1 ∙ London to Monte Carlo

S1.E2 ∙ Hungary to Austria

S1.E3 ∙ Berlin to the Rhine

S1.E4 ∙ Switzerland

S1.E5 ∙ Amsterdam to Northern France

S2.E1 ∙ Madrid to Gibraltar

S2.E2 ∙ Turin to Venice

S2.E3 ∙ Dresden to Kiel

S2.E4 ∙ Copenhagen to Oslo

S2.E5 ∙ Prague to Munich

S2.E6 ∙ Bordeaux to Bilbao

S3.E1 ∙ Tula to St Petersburg

S3.E2 ∙ Rome to Taormina

S3.E3 ∙ Warsaw to Krakow

S3.E4 ∙ La Coruña to Lisbon

S3.E5 ∙ Haifa to the Negev

S3.E6 ∙ Lyon to Marseille

S4.E1 ∙ Sofia to Istanbul

S4.E2 ∙ Vienna to Trieste

S4.E3 ∙ Pisa to Lake Garda

S4.E4 ∙ Athens to Thessaloniki

S4.E5 ∙ The Black Forest to Hannover

S4.E6 ∙ Barcelona to Mallorca

S5.E1 ∙ Transylvania to the Black Sea

S5.E2 ∙ Zermatt to Geneva

S5.E3 ∙ Tangier to Marrakech

S5.E4 ∙ Genoa to the Brenner Pass

S5.E5 ∙ Riga to Tampere

S5.E6 ∙ Rotterdam to Utrecht

S6.E1 ∙ Kiev to Odessa

S6.E2 ∙ Batumi to Baku

S7.E1 ∙ Salamanca to Canfranc

S7.E2 ∙ Orleans to Reims

S7.E3 ∙ Berlin to Stuttgart

S7.E4 ∙ Palermo to Mt Etna

S7.E5 ∙ Linz to Bratislava

S7.E6 ∙ Stockholm to the Arctic Circle