
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 edition of Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide, Michael boards a steam train to celebrate Midsummer in Marielund, learns to decorate a Dala horse in Mora and takes an icy dip in one of the country’s 96,000 lakes.\n\nIn Stockholm, Michael braves a precarious tour of the city from its rooftops before boarding a heritage tram to get the lowdown on 1930s Sweden from an expert. At the capital’s Royal Institute of Technology, Michael investigates the transport of the future in a near-vacuum tube. He tours Uppsala University and takes Sweden’s 1,300km Inlandsbanan railway, which was completed in 1937, to travel north to Ostersund and Kiruna.\n\nMichael finishes deep in the Arctic Circle at a remote climate research station, where scientists are building on data recorded at the time his guidebook was published. En route, Michael learns why Sweden built the strategic inland railway on which he is travelling. He discovers how the nation created a welfare state, has lunch with traditional Sami people in Vilhelmina and checks into a chilly hotel made of ice.
Source: BBC 2
Series 9: 7. Brussels To Ghent
Michael Portillo’s Belgian rail journey continues in the Dutch speaking region of Flanders.\n\nIn Antwerp, he discovers the city's historic multibillion-pound diamond indu ...
26-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 6. St Pancras To Brussels
Michael boards the Eurostar at London’s St Pancras International, bound for the Belgian capital, Brussels.\n\nIn the city centre’s sumptuous Theatre Royal, he learns ...
25-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 5. Vivario To Corte
Michael Portillo’s Mediterranean railway adventure reaches its finale in Corsica as he boards one of Europe’s most dramatic railways, which winds through the island& ...
22-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 4. Ajaccio To Vizzavona
Michael Portillo’s railway journey through the islands of Sardinia and Corsica sees him leave Sardinia and arrive into Corsica, the most mountainous island in the Mediterr ...
21-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 3. Nuoro To Macomer
Michael Portillo continues his Sardinian railway adventure, arriving in Mamoiada to investigate the town’s extraordinary pagan traditions. In a menacing mask, black sheeps ...
20-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 2. Mandas To Laconi
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of Sardinia heads inland towards the island's dramatic mountain landscapes, which he discovers were frequented by DH Lawrence, who is rever ...
19-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 1. Cagliari To Porto Flavia
Michael Portillo embarks on a stunning railway adventure through the western Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica, beginning in Sardinia’s capital, Cagliari.\n\nM ...
18-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 8: 20. Lisieux To Giverny
In the apple orchards of the Calvados region, Michael Portillo discovers how the classic digestif has been distilled since 1865 at the Pierre Huet estate. Over a selection of vi ...
26-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 19. Bayeux To Argentan
At the medieval town of Bayeux, Michael Portillo heads for the Bayeux Tapestry Museum to admire the striking 70-metre-long work of art commissioned to record William the Conquer ...
26-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 18. Rennes To Mont Saint-michel
Michael Portillo’s railway adventure reaches Rennes, capital of Brittany. At the Lycee Emile Zola, he hears how, in 1899, the school was used as a military court for the s ...
19-09-2025
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 ...
24-06-2024
BBC 2
Series 9: 1. Cagliari To Porto Flavia
Michael Portillo embarks on a stunning railway adventure through the western Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica, beginning in Sardinia’s capital, Cagliari.\n\nM ...
18-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 2. Mandas To Laconi
Michael Portillo’s railway tour of Sardinia heads inland towards the island's dramatic mountain landscapes, which he discovers were frequented by DH Lawrence, who is rever ...
19-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 5. Vivario To Corte
Michael Portillo’s Mediterranean railway adventure reaches its finale in Corsica as he boards one of Europe’s most dramatic railways, which winds through the island& ...
22-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 4. Ajaccio To Vizzavona
Michael Portillo’s railway journey through the islands of Sardinia and Corsica sees him leave Sardinia and arrive into Corsica, the most mountainous island in the Mediterr ...
21-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 3. Nuoro To Macomer
Michael Portillo continues his Sardinian railway adventure, arriving in Mamoiada to investigate the town’s extraordinary pagan traditions. In a menacing mask, black sheeps ...
20-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 2 - Reversions: 8. Copenhagen To Oslo: Part 2
15-01-2018
BBC 2
Series 8: 19. Bayeux To Argentan
At the medieval town of Bayeux, Michael Portillo heads for the Bayeux Tapestry Museum to admire the striking 70-metre-long work of art commissioned to record William the Conquer ...
26-09-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 6. Bergen To Flåm
Michael Portillo embarks on a Scandinavian railway adventure from the Norwegian port of Bergen to the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Spectacular scenery lines his route along two ...
04-07-2025
BBC 2