Before boarding his train at Budapest’s historic Nyugati station, Michael Portillo explores its sumptuous royal waiting room, built specially for the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph I and his empress, Elizabeth.\n\nHeading south, his next destination is the country’s third city of Szeged, close to the Serbian and Romanian borders. In the city’s historic centre, he finds the magnificent Great Synagogue, built in 1902, which reflects the size and prominence of Szeged’s Jewish population at that time.\n\nJust outside the city, on the banks of the River Tisza, Michael visits a region known for producing Hungary’s favourite spice, paprika, from ground red peppers. At a fourth-generation family farm, he tries a freshly picked pepper and joins the family for a hearty paprika stew.
Source: BBC 2
Series 9: 14. Szeged
Before boarding his train at Budapest’s historic Nyugati station, Michael Portillo explores its sumptuous royal waiting room, built specially for the Austro-Hungarian empe ...
29-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 13. Huvösvölgy To Kobanya
Continuing his travels in Budapest, Michael Portillo begins in the small town of Huvösvölgy, in the hills above the city, at a surprising railway run almost entirely b ...
28-05-2026
BBC 2
Series 9: 12. Budapest
Exploring the capital city by tram, Michael Portillo travels to the extraordinary open-air museum of Memento Park in the suburbs. He discovers how a collection of imposing Sovie ...
28-05-2026
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: 11. Sopron To Keleti
Michael Portillo begins his Hungarian adventure in the far north west of the country in the town of Sopron. He learns how a picnic for European unity on the Austrian border attr ...
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 ...
21-05-2026
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 ...
20-05-2026
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: 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 ...
19-05-2026
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: 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 ...
20-05-2026
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: 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: 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: 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 ...
21-05-2026
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