Journey
Arctic to Mediterranean
The full length of Europe, 69°N to 38°N
34 days · 13 stops · 7 countries · 4,993 km in a straight line
The specification's flagship, and the longest thing on this site: the whole north-to-south axis of Europe, from the midnight sun to the Aegean. Thirteen stops, eight countries, and roughly 5,000 kilometres of ground. Almost all of it can be done by train, which is the argument for taking it slowly rather than flying the middle out. It is a month, and it is honestly a month — anyone selling you this in a fortnight is selling you airports.
The route, in order
Every hop is a straight-line distance between two coordinates. This atlas holds no road and no rail geometry, so that number is a floor on the leg and never the leg — Chamonix to Zermatt is 69 km here and about 170 on the ground, round a mountain range. It is here for the scale of the thing, not for planning a day.
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1 Days 1–3 3 nights
Tromsø Norway
Begin at 69°N, where the sun does not set in June and does not rise in December.
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2 Days 4–6 3 nights
↳ 236 km from Tromsø in a straight line
Lofoten (Svolvær) Norway
South-west into the islands: granite straight out of the sea, cod on racks.
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3 Days 7–8 2 nights
↳ 176 km from Lofoten (Svolvær) in a straight line
Abisko Sweden
Over the border into Sweden by the Iron Ore Line, through Lapland.
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4 Days 9–10 2 nights
↳ 1004 km from Abisko in a straight line
Stockholm Sweden
The night train south, to a capital on fourteen islands.
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5 Days 11–12 2 nights
↳ 522 km from Stockholm in a straight line
Copenhagen Denmark
Across the Öresund bridge into Denmark.
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6 Days 13–14 2 nights
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7 Days 15–17 3 nights
↳ 255 km from Hamburg in a straight line
Berlin Germany
East to the city that carried most of the twentieth century.
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8 Days 18–20 3 nights
↳ 523 km from Berlin in a straight line
Vienna Austria
South to the imperial capital, and the first hint of the south.
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9 Days 21–23 3 nights
↳ 398 km from Vienna in a straight line
Ortisei & the Dolomites Italy
Over the Alps into the Dolomites, and Ladin-speaking valleys.
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10 Days 24–25 2 nights
↳ 136 km from Ortisei & the Dolomites in a straight line
Venice Italy
Down out of the mountains to the lagoon.
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11 Days 26–28 3 nights
↳ 394 km from Venice in a straight line
Rome Italy
South through Italy to the city everything else was measured against.
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12 Days 29–30 2 nights
↳ 188 km from Rome in a straight line
Naples Italy
Further south, for the archaeological museum and the pizza.
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13 Days 31–33 3 nights
The record
- Length
- 34 days
- Countries
- Norway → Sweden → Denmark → Germany → Austria → Italy → Greece
- Straight-line distance
- 4,993 km, stop to stop
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Transport
- rail, ferry, bus
- Accommodation
- mixed
- Budget shape
- moderate
- Curated by
- EuropeDoor editorial
- Estimated cost
- about €5,670 per person
- Months that work
- June, July, August, September
Experiences along the way
An aurora night with a forecast, not a promise
A guide who drives to clear sky — sometimes into Finland — is worth more than one who stays put; nobody can guarantee the lights, and anyone who does is selling something.
A Sámi reindeer herding afternoon
Book with a Sámi-owned operator; the difference between a working herd and a photo backdrop is obvious within ten minutes.
A night in a working rorbu
The old cod-fishing cabins on stilts; the good ones still smell faintly of tar and are still owned by fishing families.
Cold-water surf at Unstad
Beach break inside the Arctic Circle, 6mm of neoprene, and a sauna afterwards that you will remember longer than the waves.
The first hut on the Kungsleden
One day out and one back gets you the landscape without the fortnight; the huts sell chocolate and take card.
Archipelago on a commuter boat
The Waxholmsbolaget boats are public transport that happen to cross one of the world's great island landscapes.
A proper fika circuit
Four bakeries, one afternoon, and the argument about whether the cardamom bun beats the cinnamon one.
Swim in the harbour
Free, supervised in summer, and the result of thirty years of cleaning up a working port.
Smørrebrød in the correct order
Herring first, then fish, then meat, then cheese, with aquavit between — a lunch that takes three hours and is meant to.
The 62 ferry, not the tour boat
A public transport ferry down the Elbe past the container terminals; same view, a fraction of the price.
What you will be eating
- Norway — Brown cheese (brunost) — caramelised whey, sliced thin, an acquired and worthwhile taste
- Sweden — Fika: coffee and a cardamom bun, treated as an appointment rather than a snack
- Denmark — Smørrebrød: open sandwiches taken seriously, with rules about order
- Germany — Bread: 3,000 registered varieties, and the bakery is the first thing to find
- Austria — Wiener Schnitzel, veal and beaten thin, with potato salad
- Italy — Pasta by region — trofie in Liguria, orecchiette in Puglia, carbonara only in Rome
- Greece — Whatever is in the pot that day — ask to see the kitchen, which is normal
What to pack
- Layers for both ends: it is 8°C in Tromsø and 32°C in Athens on the same trip
- A rail pass, and the patience to reserve the legs that need reserving
- Boots that will do a fell in Norway and a marble street in Rome
- An eye mask for the north and a hat for the south
What this estimate covers
About €5,670 per person: 33 nights at the moderate daily band for each country on the route, plus a distance-based transport figure between stops, plus 12%. It excludes getting to the start and home from the end, and it is planning arithmetic from published bands rather than a quote. How these numbers are made →