9 Gourmet Train Trips

When it comes to traveling, access to good food is a must. Today, the food options aboard airplanes are miserable for most (unless, you're lucky enough to travel in business or first class). Airports understand this, and are catering to people's need for food, as evident with the wide array of delicious dining options  popping up at airports around the country. And the days of the barely edible cruise ship food are gone, too. 

So, it is no surprise that there are a couple of railways around the world that are catching on — and not just those offering wine tasting tours by train. Think multi-course meals set at tables with crisp white linens, fine china, and crystal glasses that never seem to empty of good wine; evenings spent in the bar car, sipping on cognac and enjoying a trio of musicians playing live; mornings where you need only walk down to the neighboring car for a piping hot cappuccino, made just like they do in Italy. Welcome to the new way of traveling by train.

From journeys through Switzerland, where you will stop in various villages to take different courses of your meal at the local gastronomic secret, to multi-day journeys through South Africa on meticulously restored vintage train cars, there are a variety of trains that allow you to see new countries, while dining like a king or queen at night. Have a tuxedo (or kilt) and ball gown to wear? Some trains even host formal dinners on alternating evenings, all while the train speeds on to its next destination. 

Click here to see the 9 Gourmet Train Trips slideshow.