The Best Cable Cars & Mountain Railways in Europe

Western Alps

In Switzerland the Jungfrau Railway climbs by cogwheel to Jungfraujoch and the Gornergrat Railway runs from Zermatt to a viewpoint at 3,089 metres facing the Matterhorn. Titlis Rotair ends in a rotating cabin above Engelberg. From Chamonix the Aiguille du Midi cable car rises in two stages to 3,842 metres, and Skyway Monte Bianco climbs the Italian side of Mont Blanc from Courmayeur to Punta Helbronner.

Eastern Alps and Dolomites

The Bayerische Zugspitzbahn reaches the Zugspitze by cogwheel train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen or by cable car from Eibsee. The Nordkettenbahnen start in the centre of Innsbruck. In the Dolomites, cable cars run from Passo Pordoi to Sass Pordoi, from Passo Falzarego to Lagazuoi and from Malga Ciapela to Punta Rocca on the Marmolada.

Coasts and islands

Kotor Cable Car climbs from the Bay of Kotor up Mount Lovćen. The Teleférico del Teide runs up the volcano on Tenerife, and on Madeira the Achadas da Cruz cable car drops from the clifftop to a village on the shore. Loen Skylift starts at the Nordfjord.

Railways

The Flåm Railway links the fjord at Flåm with Myrdal. The Petit train d’Artouste in the Pyrenees is a narrow-gauge line of about 10 kilometres to the Artouste reservoir. The Odontotos rack railway runs from Diakopto through the Vouraikos Gorge to Kalavryta, and the Snowdon Mountain Railway climbs from Llanberis in about an hour.