Michael Portillo is on the last stretch of his railway adventure through the Balkan countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. He enjoys a helter-skelter journey on the historic line from Sarajevo to Mostar, descending 600 metres through the Dinaric Alps, passing through over 90 tunnels and travelling across more than 40 bridges to the capital of Herzegovina. He reflects on the ethnic and religious divisions which tore apart the old Yugoslavia and his own experiences as part of an international commission seeking the bodies of thousands of missing persons.\n\nAdmiring the iconic bridge at the heart of the city, now rebuilt after its destruction during the conflict, Michael is keen to learn how the people of the city are rebuilding their lives. At the Mostar Rock School, he meets diverse young people from the community who play music together. En route back to Croatia, Michael inspects the handsome Peljesac Bridge, opened in 2022, which provides borderless travel over the Adriatic Sea from north to south Croatia, avoiding the need to cross into Bosnia.\n\nThe magnificent walled city of Dubrovnik is Michael’s final destination. He discovers it was once the independent republic of Ragusa and enjoys its traditional music and dancing.
Source: BBC 2
Series 8: 3. Knin To Split
Michael Portillo’s railway adventure reaches the Dalmatian coastal city of Zadar, once an important Venetian trading hub and still a centre for the production of a Venetia ...
13-06-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 2. Buzet To Pag
Ably assisted by Lila, an expert labrador, Michael Portillo hunts for truffles in the Istrian countryside near the hilltop town of Buzet. His railway adventure through the Balka ...
06-06-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 1. Pula To Pazin
Michael begins a journey across the Balkan countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Armed with shield and sword and weighed down by a heavy helmet, he mounts a valiant d ...
30-05-2025
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 ...
04-04-2025
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 ...
03-04-2025
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 ...
02-04-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 17. Brest To St Brieuc
Michael Portillo’s railway journey reaches the naval port of Brest, home to France’s oceanographic fleet. Aboard the pride of the fleet, the 107-metre-long Pourquoi ...
01-04-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 16. Nantes To Lorient
Michael Portillo’s rail travels take him to the north west corner of France, where he explores the beautiful and historic regions of Brittany and Normandy and learns of th ...
31-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 15. Zweisimmen To Lausanne
Aboard the Golden Pass Express, Michael Portillo wends his way in style down steep mountainsides from Interlaken to the Swiss Riviera.\n\nIn Lausanne, he contends with a knife-w ...
28-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 14. Rotkreuz To Brienz
Michael Portillo scales the Swiss Alps on one of the steepest cog railways in the world and marvels at the Pilatus Railway’s unique track design, which defies an astonishi ...
27-03-2025
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 4 - Reversions: 4. Vienna To Trieste - Part 2
01-07-2019
BBC 2
Series 8: 8. Larvik To Holstebro
Michael Portillo’s saga through Norway and Denmark resumes in Larvik on Norway’s southern coast, where he investigates the city’s prized natural resource, a di ...
19-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 3 - Reversions: 4. Rome To Taormina - Part 2
11-03-2019
BBC 2
Series 4 - Reversions: 1. Sofia To Istanbul - Part 1
24-06-2019
BBC 2
Series 4 - Reversions: 3. Vienna To Trieste - Part 1
27-06-2019
BBC 2
Series 8: 16. Nantes To Lorient
Michael Portillo’s rail travels take him to the north west corner of France, where he explores the beautiful and historic regions of Brittany and Normandy and learns of th ...
31-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 8: 11. Maienfeld To The Rhine Gorge
Michael Portillo is transported 150 years back in time to the tiny Alpine village home of Switzerland’s most famous child, Heidi. In Davos, he follows in the footsteps of ...
24-03-2025
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 ...
17-03-2025
BBC 2
Series 4 - Reversions: 8. Athens To Thessaloniki - Part 2
09-07-2019
BBC 2