Scenic trains, journeys where the ride is already the destination.

In Spain there are trains you catch to get somewhere and trains you catch to ride on. This page gathers the second kind: mountain lines that climb to places with no road, wooden trains from a century ago, 1940s carriages with actors on board and hotel trains where you sleep several nights. Only those running in the 2026-2027 season are included, with their operator, their calendar and what they cost, and each one leads to a Geocalia place where it is worth staying.

From the valley to the mountain by rack railway

The Núria Rack Railway is the only way into the Vall de Núria: it leaves Ribes de Freser, a quarter of an hour from Ripoll, and climbs a thousand metres in 12.5 km and about 40 minutes. It runs all year, also in winter, when Núria is a ski resort. The return trip cost €34 per adult from Ribes in 2026, with the Coma del Clot gondola and the basilica included, and buying online is compulsory.

The Montserrat Rack Railway is shorter, fifteen minutes and almost 550 metres from Monistrol, but it connects by train with Barcelona: the R5 leaves from Plaça d'Espanya and the Trans Montserrat ticket, from €50, combines everything with the funiculars at the top. It runs daily all year; dogs travel free with a muzzle on both.

Wood, steam and narrow gauge

The Sóller train has left Palma since 1912 with its wooden carriages, crosses the Alfàbia range through thirteen tunnels and the Cinc Ponts viaduct and reaches Sóller in an hour. It costs €23 one way and does not run from 23 November 2026 to 1 February 2027: it is the only one on this list with an announced winter closure in the middle of the season.

The Tren dels Llacs climbs on Saturdays from Lleida to La Pobla de Segur, 89 km between four reservoirs, forty tunnels and seventy-five bridges, in about two hours. There is a historic version, with vintage carriages, and a panoramic one on some summer Saturdays; in 2026 it ran from 11 April to 31 October, from €25 return.

The Tren del Ciment is the shortest: 3.5 km in twenty minutes through the forest from La Pobla de Lillet, near Berga, with a stop at some Gaudí gardens and ending at the museum of a cement factory. It runs from the end of March to early November, at weekends and daily in August.

Vintage carriages from Madrid and Zaragoza

The Tren de Felipe II takes you to San Lorenzo de El Escorial in 1940s carriages, in about 50 minutes, at weekends and public holidays in spring and autumn; in autumn 2026, until 12 December. From €16.15 with admission to the monastery. The Tren de Cervantes, run by Renfe, leaves Atocha on spring and autumn Saturdays with actors on board and a guided visit of Alcalá de Henares, for €22.

El Canfranero goes up from Zaragoza to Canfranc on the Blue Train, a collection of dining cars and sleeping cars from the 1920s and 1930s, on the last Saturday of almost every month. It is three and a half hours each way and you come back the same day.

Sleeping on board in the north

Renfe has four hotel trains, and the 2027 season is already on sale on its own website. The Transcantábrico Gran Lujo runs San Sebastián to Santiago in eight days with fourteen suites and nights in Llanes; in 2026, from €9,900 per person. El Expreso de La Robla, with bunks and a private bathroom, links León and Bilbao in three days along the narrow-gauge coal line; in 2026, from €1,300. The Al Ándalus, between Madrid and Seville, and the Costa Verde Express complete the fleet.

If you want the coast without that budget, you can take the regular service of the former FEVE between Oviedo and Santander, now run by Renfe: it is the same line and stops at Llanes and other coastal towns.

Tickets: when to buy

Almost all are sold online only and with an assigned seat. The Núria Rack Railway requires online purchase; Turistren advises the same for the Tren dels Llacs and the Ciment, because Saturdays are few. The Tren de Cervantes is sold on the Renfe website up to 48 hours before and does not accept groups. Hotel trains have two departures a month or fewer: La Robla, two in each direction in all of 2026. The Sóller train and the Montserrat rack railway are the only ones where you can turn up at the ticket office without a ticket, although in high season the first Sóller trains fill up.

With children

The ones that work best are the short ones with something to do on arrival: the Ciment, with gardens and a museum; Montserrat, fifteen minutes by train; Núria, which includes a gondola and is free for under-4s. The Tren dels Llacs lasts two hours, the limit for many children, but it has tunnels and a guide. The Cervantes train has actors on board and the Felipe II train has entertainment about the king. Hotel trains are not for small children.

Getting to the station without a car

Montserrat, Núria (with the R3 to Ribes-Enllaç) and Sóller (from Palma) can be done by public transport from end to end. The Tren dels Llacs leaves from Lleida, on the high-speed line; the Cervantes from Atocha; the Canfranero from Zaragoza. The Ciment is the only one that needs a car: La Pobla de Lillet has no train.