We’ve come up with suggestions for four classic Inter-Rail journeys. Follow them faithfully — or, better still, pick a bit of one, a chunk of another, and piece together your own rail odyssey.

LYONS TO VIENNA

Why? The Alps. Do you need another reason? However, you do need a slap-up feed to prepare you for all that hiking and yodelling, which is why we start in the gourmet heartland of Lyons. Fill up with pig’s trotter and foie gras at Jean-Paul Lacombe’s Léon de Lyon (00 33 4 72 10 11 12), then head east. Skip the obvious Geneva connection and take the prettier high train via Martigny, passing Mont Blanc on the way. There’s a small supplement for the Châtelard-Martigny section.

From Martigny, head to Montreux, where you change onto the narrow-gauge track up to Zweisimmen: it’s the same route as the Golden Panoramic Express, but by taking the local train, you get the stunning view back over Lake Geneva without paying extra. Then it’s down to Interlaken, before another glorious narrow-gauge route via Alpnachstad to Lucerne.

From here, hotfoot it to Zurich and Innsbruck, then on to Stainach-Irdning for the local train that rattles through the majestic mountains and lakes of the Salzkammergut. Then hop on the express to Vienna for a well-deserved strudel.

Pass required: two zones.

You could do it in ... 49 hours (there are 11 changes en route)

... but you’ll want to take: five days — time to appreciate the scenery at a civilised pace. Allow more for city breaks, gluhwein and yodelling.

STOCKHOLM TO ROME

Why? It’s a tale of 10 cities. From the Gamla Stan to the Campo de’Fiori, it’s a great way to see the contrasts between Europe’s restrained north and its riotous south, taking in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Munich, Innsbruck, Verona, Venice, Bologna, Florence and Rome.

When many of these cities would be worth a week’s exploration in themselves, is there any point in bundling them all together? Yes, because this trip isn’t about getting to the heart of any one town, but understanding something more fundamental about what makes Europe tick. As we’re starting in Scandinavia, view it as a smorgasbord, a meal of snacks that adds up to far more than the sum of its parts, the ultimate urbanite’s trip.

Pass required: all zones.

You could do it in ... 25 hours

... but you’ll want to take: as long as you can wangle. Three weeks is ideal; 10 days could work if you’re quick.

PARIS TO ANDALUSIA

Why? Food, culture, nightlife and beaches, all linked by some of the most civilised and technically advanced trains on the Continent. From Gare Montparnasse — a pre-train lunch is called for, at the hearty bistro L’O à la Bouche (00 33 1 56 54 01 55) — the TGV whisks you to Bordeaux in three hours. What’s the hurry, though? Surely it’s worth stepping off at Tours, taking in a Loire chateau or two, before haring down to the Atlantic.

After wine in Bordeaux and cocktails in Biarritz, cross the border to the wonderful bay of San Sebastian, gothic Burgos and Madrid. Eat, drink and dance until the small hours; in the morning, the state-of-the-art AVE train takes you south at more than 180mph in blessed, hangover-friendly hush.

You reach Cordoba in less than two hours, and should spend rather longer than that wandering around the marvellous Mezquita, Moorish Spain’s crowning glory.

Where next? East to Granada, or west to Seville and the unspoilt Costa de la Luz? You’ve got an Inter-Rail pass. Do it all.

Pass required: two zones.

You could do it in ... a day and a half to Cadiz, with a night clubbing in Madrid

... but you’ll want to take: a week to get there, and another wandering Andalusia. And another still if you fancy a proper beach break to top it off.

LONDON TO ISTANBUL — AND BACK

Why? It’s the classic: arguably the most evocative railway journey of them all. You’d need a book (or three) to properly assess all the sights, sounds and surprises of the journey: here, the bare facts of the route will have to suffice. Start by going south. From Waterloo, it’s Paris, Marseilles and a delightful scenic run along the Côte d’Azur, past Monte Carlo, into Italy. Follow the coast round to Genoa and Pisa, then cut over to Florence and across to Ancona.

From here, deck space onthe Superfast ferry to Patras, in Greece, is included in your Inter-Rail ticket. Take the narrow-gauge line that tracks the coast from Patras to Corinth — one of the prettiest in the country — then go to Athens and Thessaloniki, where one train per day heads east to the shores of the Bosphorus. The train deposits you at Sirkeci station, in the heart of Istanbul, at the gateway to the Golden Horn. It feels a long way from Waterloo.

Don’t rush the return leg: after Sofia, Belgrade and Budapest, loop round through Kosice (in Slovakia) and Zakopane (for a refreshing Polish hike) before taking in Cracow, Warsaw and Berlin.

Pass required: all zones.

You could do it in ... 38 hours, believe it or not

... but you’ll want to take: a lifetime. Failing that, three weeks will do.

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