The World's Great Train Journeys, Seen From the Window

There is a particular pleasure in watching a country slide past while someone else does the driving. No security queue, no seatbelt sign, just a window and time. The great train journeys of the world are not the fastest way anywhere, and that is the point. These are the routes I would ride again, described the way they feel from the seat.

Glacier Express, Switzerland

The Glacier Express calls itself the slowest express train in the world, and it takes about eight hours to cross the Alps between Zermatt and St. Moritz. It climbs to its highest point at the Oberalp Pass, a little over 2,000 metres, and crosses hundreds of bridges along the way, including the Landwasser Viaduct, whose tall stone arches run straight into a tunnel in the cliff face.

The panoramic carriages have windows that curve up into the roof, so you see the peaks, not just the valleys. Lunch is served at your seat. Sit on the side the sun is not on, and bring patience for the first hour, which is the quietest stretch.

Bernina Express, Switzerland to Italy

If you only have a day, this may be the better ride. The Bernina line runs from the Engadine over the Bernina Pass, past glaciers and the milky blue Lago Bianco, and down to Tirano in Italy, dropping through palm trees and vineyards by the end. Together with the Albula line, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Look out for the circular viaduct at Brusio, where the train loops right round on itself to lose height.

Rocky Mountaineer, Canada

The Rocky Mountaineer runs only in daylight. You stop each night in a hotel and carry on in the morning, so you never miss the scenery in the dark. The classic route runs between Vancouver and Banff or Lake Louise, through the Fraser Canyon and the Rockies, with a night in Kamloops. Others go to Jasper, and one route in the United States links Denver with Moab.

The upper deck of the dome carriages gives a nearly full glass view. Expect bald eagles, rivers the colour of jade, and a lot of people quietly putting down their phones.

The Trans-Siberian, Russia

The longest railway line in the world runs about 9,300 kilometres from Moscow to Vladivostok, crossing seven time zones. Done without stopping it takes about a week. Its legend is the long rhythm of it: birch forest for days, samovars in the carriage, and then the shore of Lake Baikal, the deepest lake on earth.

A frank note: many governments currently advise against all travel to Russia. Check your own government's official advice before you even start to plan this one. For now, it may be a journey for later.

A good train ride is the only kind of travel where doing nothing feels like an achievement.

The Ghan and the Indian Pacific, Australia

The Ghan crosses Australia from south to north, Adelaide to Darwin, through the red centre via Alice Springs. The Indian Pacific crosses from Sydney to Perth, and on the Nullarbor Plain it runs along the longest stretch of dead straight railway in the world, a little under 480 kilometres. Both are multi-day trips with off-train excursions, and both give you a sense of the size of the country that a plane never could. Sunrise over the desert, from bed, is the reason to go.

Bergen Line and Flåm Railway, Norway

The line from Oslo to Bergen climbs over the Hardangervidda plateau, and at Finse, its highest station, you can be in snow in June. Change at Myrdal for the Flåm Railway, about 20 kilometres long and one of the steepest standard gauge lines in the world, which drops down to the end of a fjord. It pauses at the Kjosfossen waterfall so you can step out into the spray.

West Highland Line, Scotland

From Glasgow to Mallaig, the West Highland Line passes lochs, the bleak beauty of Rannoch Moor and the curve of the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which film fans will know. In summer the Jacobite steam train runs the stretch from Fort William to Mallaig, but the regular service covers the same track all year and is a joy on its own.

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Good to know

• Book early for peak season. The famous routes fill months ahead in summer.
• Ask about the window side. On many routes one side has the better view; staff will usually say which.
• Shoulder seasons often bring the best light and fewer passengers. Winter has its own magic on alpine lines.
• Timetables and routes change, especially for seasonal trains. Check the operator's official site before you go.
• Pack for the carriage: a layer, a book, snacks if there is no dining car, and a charged phone or camera.

Choose one, give it a whole day, and do not plan anything for the evening. A great train ride deserves to be the main event, not the bit between the main events.