What if your next festive break took you to a city built from gingerbread, aboard an overnight train to the Arctic Circle or across the Swiss Alps in winter?

Europe has plenty of reasons to travel during the festive season. In Bergen, an entire miniature city is constructed from gingerbread each winter, while Zurich has a Christmas tree filled with singing choirs. Turin turns its streets into an open-air gallery of light art. Barcelona, meanwhile, celebrates with one of Europe’s more unusual Christmas traditions.

There are some wonderful rail experiences too. You can enjoy Christmas lunch aboard the British Pullman, travel overnight to Rovaniemi to visit Father Christmas, or see Switzerland at a very different time of year aboard the Glacier Express.

Many of these experiences also fit naturally into a wider rail itinerary. A festive stay in Bergen can be combined with the Bergen Railway, for example, while Rovaniemi can be reached aboard Finland’s overnight Santa Claus Express. If Switzerland appeals, Zurich is an excellent starting point for a journey into the Alps. Our Travel Designers can tailor your holiday around the particular places and experiences you want to include.

Looking for information about Christmas markets? We have those covered too. Read our guide to the best Christmas markets to visit by train in Europe in 2026.

But for something a little different, read on for ten of our favourite festive experiences to visit by train in Europe in 2026.

Festive Experiences by Train: 2026/27 Dates at a Glance

Dates and programmes can change, so we recommend checking individual events before travelling.

1. Discover the World’s Largest Gingerbread City in Bergen

Every winter, something rather extraordinary happens in Bergen. A miniature city appears, constructed almost entirely from gingerbread.

Pepperkakebyen, or Gingerbread City, is the world’s largest, well, gingerbread city. Hundreds of gingerbread buildings are brought together in one enormous display. Some recreate recognisable buildings and local landmarks, while others are figments of their creator’s imagination.

Putting it together is a genuine community effort. Local schools and kindergartens take part alongside families, businesses and other organisations, creating a city that looks different every year.

It is also a good reason to see Bergen during the quieter winter months. Beyond Pepperkakebyen, you can explore Bryggen, take the Fløibanen funicular above the city and spend time around Bergen’s historic centre.

Make Bergen Part of a Rail Holiday

Bergen gives rail travellers another compelling reason to visit: the railway across the mountains from Oslo.

Our Norway in a Nutshell holiday combines Oslo and Bergen with the Flåm Railway and a fjord cruise. We can adjust the itinerary to give you more time in Bergen during the festive season.

Alternatively, our Norwegian Fjords Winter Holiday has been designed specifically for the colder months. It starts in Bergen and eventually reaches Oslo via some superb Norwegian rail journeys.

Find more Nordic inspiration on our rail holidays in Norway pages.

Pepperkakebyen, world’s largest gingerbread city

2. Take the Santa Claus Express to Rovaniemi

Few railway journeys have a destination quite as appropriate for Christmas as Finland’s Santa Claus Express.

The double-decker overnight train travels north from Helsinki and Turku towards Finnish Lapland. Book a sleeper cabin and leave southern Finland in the evening,  arriving in Rovaniemi the next morning.

Rovaniemi sits right on the Arctic Circle and is the official hometown of Father Christmas –  at Santa Claus Village you can cross the Arctic Circle and meet him in person if you like! If you are no longer a believer, winter activities on offer include husky sledding, reindeer sleigh rides and snowmobile excursions, while cross-country skiing and snowshoeing offer quieter ways to explore the surrounding forests. After dark, you can also head away from the city lights in search of the Northern Lights. 

Make Rovaniemi Part of a Rail Holiday

Rovaniemi already features in our Finnish Explorer rail holiday, including the sleeper train journey, a great winter experience.

The 14-day itinerary travels overland from London, reaching Finland after a journey through Scandinavia. It includes time in Rovaniemi before continuing south via Oulu to Helsinki.

You don’t have to follow the itinerary exactly. One of our Travel Designers can add extra time in Lapland or adjust the route to suit the particular experiences you want to include. 

Explore our wider collection of rail holidays in Finland.

Lapland

3. See Turin Illuminated by Luci d’Artista

Turin takes a rather different approach to festive lights.

Every winter, Luci d’Artista brings contemporary light artworks to locations across the city. First staged in 1998, it has developed into a large open-air exhibition, with installations appearing in Turin’s streets and public spaces.

These aren’t simply elaborate Christmas decorations. The works have been created by established contemporary artists, giving you a reason to explore Turin after dark and perhaps discover parts of the city you might otherwise have missed.

Turin makes an impressive setting for the artworks. Its elegant squares, long covered arcades and Baroque buildings give the city a strong architectural character, and the contemporary installations bring a very different dimension to these historic surroundings after dark.

Make Turin Part of a Rail Holiday

Our Venice and Vienna by Rail holiday already includes an overnight stay in Turin on the outward journey.

For a festive departure, we can extend the stay so you have time to explore Luci d’Artista before continuing to Venice and eventually Vienna.

There are plenty of other possibilities too. Browse our rail holidays in Italy, or ask a Travel Designer to build Turin into a different Italian itinerary.

4. Listen to Zurich’s Singing Christmas Tree

A Christmas tree that sings sounds unlikely, but in Zurich it has become an established Advent tradition.

At Werdmühleplatz, singers perform from a tiered stage constructed in the shape of an enormous Christmas tree. Different choirs from Zurich and the surrounding region take their places among its branches during the festive season.

The Singing Christmas Tree is just off Bahnhofstrasse and only a short walk from Zurich’s main railway station, so it is easy to see it if you’re only in Zurich for a while or between trains.

Make Zurich Part of a Rail Holiday

Zurich is one of Switzerland’s principal rail hubs, which opens up lots of possibilities for continuing into the Alps.

Our collection of Switzerland rail holidays covers scenic routes throughout the country or, tell us which parts of Switzerland interest you and we can make them into a full winter itinerary.

Singing Christmas Tree, Zurich

5. Enjoy Christmas Lunch Aboard the British Pullman

For a more indulgent festive experience, the British Pullman’s Christmas Lunch combines several hours aboard one of Britain’s best-known luxury trains with a five-course meal. On selected dates in December, the train leaves London Victoria for a leisurely journey through the English countryside before returning to the capital.

The beautifully restored carriages are a large part of the appeal. Each has its own history and design, with wood panelling, Art Deco details and intricate marquetry recalling the golden age of rail travel. Once aboard, you’ll be welcomed with Champagne before the five-course festive lunch is served at your table,

Book the  British Pullman Christmas Lunch experience as a day trip. We can even include it before or after a rail holiday in Europe.

Discover More Luxury Train Journeys

In Europe, you could travel aboard Belmond’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, with its beautifully restored 1920s and 1930s carriages. Our Classic Orient Express: London to Venice itinerary combines the journey with first-class rail travel and five-star hotels, and you can take it in the opposite direction too.

There are equally impressive experiences much further afield. Cross South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town aboard the Blue Train, or see the Canadian Rockies from the Rocky Mountaineer. We build your holiday around these journeys, arranging hotels and connecting travel to create a complete itinerary.

Explore our collection of luxury train holidays.

Belmond British Pullman

6. Celebrate Christmas the Catalan way in Barcelona

Christmas in Barcelona comes with unusual traditions you won’t find in many other European cities.

Tió de Nadal, sometimes called Caga Tió, is one of them. In homes across Catalonia, a smiling wooden log wearing the traditional red barretina hat is covered with a blanket and “fed” in the run-up to Christmas.

When the time comes, children tap the log with sticks while singing a traditional song. Sweets and small presents then appear from beneath its blanket.

Visitors can encounter the tradition on a much larger scale in Barcelona, where giant versions of the Tió form part of the city’s seasonal celebrations.

It’s one example of how Christmas in Catalonia has retained its own distinctive character and an ex use for visiting this city again in December, even if you know it well.

Explore More of Spain by Rail

Our Barcelona and Madrid by High-Speed Train holiday gives you three nights in Barcelona before travelling to the Spanish capital aboard an AVE high-speed train. Ample winter departures mean lot of options for festive trips.

For a very different journey, Barcelona via the Pyrenees approaches the city via Toulouse and the Pyrenees, with four nights in Barcelona itself.

Both are suggested itineraries rather than fixed packages, so we can change the route or extend your stay if you want more, or less, time in Barcelona.

See our Barcelona holidays by rail for further options.

7. Experience Lyon’s Fête des Lumières

For four nights around 8 December, Lyon becomes the setting for one of Europe’s great celebrations of light.

The Fête des Lumières grew from a local tradition of placing candles in windows. Today’s event is on a completely different scale, with artists using buildings and public spaces throughout Lyon for installations involving light, projection and sound.

Some of the city’s best-known architecture is transformed after dark, while installations elsewhere encourage visitors into less familiar streets and neighbourhoods.

Because the festival lasts only a few days, this is one experience where planning your rail itinerary around the dates is particularly important.

Make Lyon Part of a Festive Rail Break

Lyon’s position on the high-speed rail network makes it easy to include en route between the UK and southern Europe.

Our Barcelona City Break by Rail includes an overnight stay in Lyon on the return journey. During the Fête des Lumières, we could extend that stop so you have time to experience the festival.

The same holiday breaks the outward journey in Avignon before continuing to Barcelona, making good use of France’s high-speed rail network.

Alternatively, tell us where you would like to travel after Lyon and we can design a different route around the festival.

8. Hear Christmas Music in Vienna

Music is a big part of what makes Vienna special throughout the year, but Advent brings a particularly busy programme of concerts to the Austrian capital.

You’ll find performances in some of Vienna’s major concert halls as well as churches and smaller venues. The programme changes each year and covers much more than Christmas music, so it is worth checking what is taking place during your particular dates.

For anyone already interested in Vienna’s musical heritage, the festive season provides an added reason to visit.

Visit Vienna by Rail

Take a look at our Vienna holidays by rail for different ways to reach and combine the Austrian capital.

Our Venice and Vienna by Rail holiday, for example, travels via Turin and Venice before continuing to Vienna over the Semmering route.

Vienna’s excellent international rail connections also make it easy for us to build it into a tailor-made itinerary elsewhere in Central Europe.

Vienna State Opera

Looking for Europe’s Best Christmas Markets?

If Christmas markets are the main focus of your festive trip, we have a separate guide devoted to them.

Our guide to the best Christmas markets to visit by train in Europe in 2026 looks at destinations across Europe, along with expected opening dates and ideas for combining several places by rail.

9. Travel from Kiel to Oslo with a Scandinavian Christmas Buffet

This festive experience involves swapping the railway for a ferry overnight!

Travel through Germany to Kiel, then continue north by sea aboard Color Line’s overnight service to Oslo. During the festive season, the ship’s Grand Buffet serves a Scandinavian Christmas buffet, giving the journey a distinctly seasonal character.

The ships, Color Magic and Color Fantasy, are large cruise ferries with restaurants and bars, a shopping promenade, spa and swimming pool, theatre and a choice of cabins. After dinner and a night on board, it’s worth being up to see out on the final approach through the Oslofjord before arriving in the Norwegian capital.

Continue Through Norway by Rail

From Oslo, the Norwegian railway network takes over again.

Our Norway in a Nutshell holiday continues west towards Bergen, incorporating the Flåm Railway and a fjord cruise along the way.

One of our Travel Designers can adapt the route to include the Kiel to Oslo sailing and additional time in Norway. If you finish in Bergen during the festive season, you could also visit Pepperkakebyen, at number one in this guide.

Browse our Norway rail holidays for more possibilities.

Color Line Ferry in Oslo

10. Cross the Snowy Swiss Alps on the Glacier Express

Not every festive experience needs a Christmas theme.

From early December, the Glacier Express operates its winter services across the Swiss Alps between Zermatt and St Moritz.

Over the course of the route, the train crosses 291 bridges and passes through 91 tunnels. One of its highest points comes at the Oberalp Pass, more than 2,000 metres above sea level.

Travelling in December gives the familiar journey a very different appearance, particularly on the higher sections of the route where winter conditions transform the surrounding mountains.

Our dedicated Glacier Express holidays page has more information about the train and ways to incorporate it into a holiday.

Make the Glacier Express Part of a Winter Holiday

The Wonders of Winter in First Class holiday is particularly well suited to this time of year. The eight-day route reaches Switzerland via Cologne and Salzburg, before joining the Glacier Express from Chur to Zermatt.

If you would like to spend more time in the Swiss Alps, our Matterhorn and the Glacier Express holiday includes stays in both Zermatt and St Moritz.

Another possibility is the Glacier and Bernina Expresses itinerary, which brings two of Switzerland’s best-known scenic railway routes into the same trip.

Each can be adapted if you’d like to stay longer somewhere or incorporate another Swiss destination.

Create Your Own Festive Rail Holiday

These ten ideas are starting points. You might want to build an entire holiday around one festive event, or simply add one to a journey you are already considering.

That is where a tailor-made itinerary can be particularly useful. Perhaps you want an extra night in Turin so you can see Luci d’Artista after dark. You may want to spend longer in Lapland than our suggested itinerary allows, or time a Swiss journey specifically for the start of the Glacier Express winter season.

Our Travel Designers can adjust an existing itinerary or create something different from scratch. The route, duration and accommodation can all be planned around how you want to travel.

Read our guide to how to plan a tailor-made rail holiday to find out more.

You can also browse our collection of winter holidays by rail for further ideas.

Prague Christmas Market

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best festive experiences to visit by train in Europe?

There are plenty to choose from. Bergen’s Gingerbread City is one of the most unusual, while the Santa Claus Express provides a particularly appropriate way to reach Rovaniemi. Elsewhere, seasonal light festivals take place in Turin and Lyon, and Switzerland’s Glacier Express returns for its winter season in December.

If markets are your priority, see our separate guide to the best Christmas markets in Europe by train.

Where can I visit Father Christmas by train?

Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland is home to Santa Claus Village and can be reached from southern Finland aboard the overnight Santa Claus Express.

Our Finnish Explorer includes Rovaniemi and can be tailored around a festive visit.

What are some unusual Christmas traditions to see in Europe?

Barcelona’s Tió de Nadal is certainly one of the more distinctive. Children traditionally “feed” a decorated wooden log before tapping it with sticks so that it produces sweets and presents.

Bergen offers something completely different with its enormous community-built Gingerbread City, while Zurich’s Singing Christmas Tree puts live choirs at the centre of its festive tradition.

Can I visit Europe at Christmas without flying?

Yes. A wide range of European destinations can be reached from the UK by rail. For places further north, sleeper trains and ferry connections can also form part of the route.

Our winter holidays by rail provide some ideas of what is possible.

Can Tailor Made Rail create a holiday around a particular festive event?

Yes. If you want to attend a particular event, we can plan the itinerary around its dates and adapt the number of nights accordingly. We can start with one of our existing holidays or create a different route for you.

Our guide to planning a tailor-made rail holiday explains how it works or contact our friendly team of Travel Designers.