Explore 5 European Countries in 7 Days on Europe’s Highest Railway

Every once in a while, a train trip pops up that is exceptional — and if riding Europe’s highest railway and celebrating the New Year in Switzerland isn’t exceptional, I don’t know what is. The “Interlaken and the Jungfrau Express at New Year” from Vacations By Rail is a guided week-long tour through five countries over the New Year holiday. Along the way, guests will be treated to a breathtaking ride on the Jungfrau Railway, the highest train station in Europe, a cable-car journey to the highest peak in the Bernese Alps, and five nights in a small Swiss village. The cherry on top is a New Year’s Eve gala dinner with newfound friends in Interlaken, Switzerland.

The trip starts and ends in London, promising travelers seven days packed with train travel and mountain views. Lodging at four-star properties is included, along with most meals.

The journey kicks off in London, where travelers will hop aboard their first train: the Eurostar to Brussels, Belgium. After a train change in Brussels, the adventure continues to Cologne, Germany, where guests will check into their first hotel and enjoy dinner.

The next morning, everyone hops aboard a German railway line for a scenic journey into Switzerland along the Rhine Gorge, known for its steep mountain walls punctuated by castles and fortresses. The final destination is Interlaken, Switzerland, a city nestled in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps under the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau mountains.

Interlaken, a quaint Swiss village set between mountains and lakes, will serve as home for the next five nights. From there, the group will embark on smaller day trips, including a train trip to the mountain village of Mürren. A cable car will whisk travelers to the top of Schilthorn Mountain, a peak with a rotating restaurant, featured in the famed James Bond film, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

After a down-day in Interlaken—where travelers can explore the area’s 45 mountain railways and aerial gondolas on their own—the group will make their way to Grindelwald, a snowy Alpine village set at the base of the Eiger, before returning to Interlaken for a special New Year’s Eve dinner.

On New Year’s Day, the trip will culminate with an excursion on the Jungfrau Railway, an iconic route that tunnels through the Eiger mountain and tops out at Jungfraujoch, a lookout platform at 11,332 feet in elevation—well above the perennial snowline.

From the heights of Jungfraujoch, the tour continues via train to Basel and then Paris, where travelers will hop aboard the Eurostar back to London.

The trip runs from Dec. 27 or 28, 2023, through Jan. 2 or 3, 2024. This week-long adventure is currently available for $2,595 per person, including all rail travel, six nights of hotel accommodation, a professional tour escort, local guides, and 11 meals. Guests are responsible for purchasing their flights to and from London and arranging their own airport transfers.