Michael Portillo sports a strikingly modern edition of his Bradshaw’s Continental Handbook, dated 1936. His destination lies close to his heart: the ancient kingdom of Spain and land of his father, recommended in Michael’s guidebook for its exceptional climate and glorious history.\n\nBut 1936 was a turbulent time in Spain, with political upheaval descending into a brutal civil war. Michael begins an emotional rail journey that takes him deep into his family’s past and reveals the tentacles of the regime which forced his father into exile.\n\nHe starts in the beautiful golden city of Salamanca, where his father was happy as a young left-wing professor. Michael visits the University to hear of opposition to the fascist takeover of Spain by General Francisco Franco and gains access to the general’s archive of enemies of the state.\n\nHeading east to Avila, Michael overnights in a historic parador and learns how 1930s Spain positioned herself as a tourist destination. In Spain’s beautiful capital city, Madrid, Michael visits the 1930s art deco Telefonica Building and discovers what happened there during the civil war.
Source: BBC 2
Series 7: 6. Stockholm To The Arctic Circle
Michael Portillo embarks on a scenic, thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle. Steered by his 1936 ...
19-03-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: 5. Linz To Bratislava
Michael Portillo travels by train through Austria and the Czech Republic, following his Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, published in 1936. Michael’s journey ta ...
18-03-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: 4. Palermo To Mt Etna
Michael Portillo’s 1936 Bradshaw’s Guide brings him to the Italian 'treasure island' of Sicily, full of natural beauty and 'scenery of the greatest charm'. But the i ...
14-03-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: 3. Berlin To Stuttgart
Michael Portillo embarks on a rail journey through Germany, steered by a Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide published in 1936. His unique window on Europe between the wo ...
13-03-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: 2. Orleans To Reims
Michael Portillo travels from the chateaux of the Loire Valley to the heart of the Champagne region at Reims.\n\nBeginning in historic Orleans, Michael follows his Bradshaw&rsqu ...
12-03-2024
BBC 2
Series 7: 1. Salamanca To Canfranc
Michael Portillo sports a strikingly modern edition of his Bradshaw’s Continental Handbook, dated 1936. His destination lies close to his heart: the ancient kingdom of Spa ...
11-03-2024
BBC 2
Series 6: 2. Batumi To Baku
Steered by his 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo travels one of the most stunning rail routes of the world, through the former Russian empire from the Black Sea t ...
04-02-2023
BBC 2
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 10
Michael Portillo continues his scenic thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle, steered by his 1936 ...
03-01-2023
BBC 2
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 9
Michael Portillo embarks on a scenic thousand-mile rail journey from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, to Abisko in the northern reaches of the Arctic Circle, steered by his 1936 ...
03-01-2023
BBC 2
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 8
Michael continues his railway journey from Sicily’s capital, Palermo, through the ancient town of Agrigento and the port of Siracusa to Europe’s largest volcano, Mou ...
02-01-2023
BBC 2
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 2
Michael continues his rail journey through Spain with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide. At the Museo Reina Sofia, Michael hears how the bombing of a small town in the Basque reg ...
14-12-2022
BBC 2
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 5
Michael embarks on a rail journey through Germany, steered by a Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide published in 1936.\n\nHis unique window on Europe between the world wa ...
27-12-2022
BBC 2
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 8
Michael continues his railway journey from Sicily’s capital, Palermo, through the ancient town of Agrigento and the port of Siracusa to Europe’s largest volcano, Mou ...
02-01-2023
BBC 2
Series 4 - Reversions: 1. Sofia To Istanbul - Part 1
24-06-2019
BBC 2
Series 2 - Madrid To Gibraltar
Michael Portillo returns to his native Spain as he follows the railway lines travelled by the intrepid tourists of the Belle Epoque.
18-08-2014
BBC 2
Series 5 - Reversions: 5. Genoa To Brenner Pass Part 1
09-06-2017
BBC 2
Series 2 - Turin To Venice
Michael Portillo takes the train from Turin to Venice. Along the way, he recreates the Italian Job, follows fashion in Milan and visits Shakespearean Verona.
19-08-2014
BBC 2
Series 7 (shortened Versions): Episode 6
Michael Portillo continues his journey through Germany, guided by his 1936 Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide.\n\nAt the birthplace of Germany’s first democracy, W ...
28-12-2022
BBC 2
Series 6: 1. Kiev To Odessa
With his Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo ventures east to a land which a century ago was part of the Russian Empire and today is the independ ...
07-12-2019
BBC 2