Great Continental Railway Journeys - Michael Portillo spin off series

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

A new Michael Portillo rail travelogue series starts this evening (8th November 2012) 9pm-10pm on BBC2. Michael will be travelling around Europe using Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

Episode 1 features a journey from London to Monte Carlo. It's all right for some isn't it?!

From the Radio Times:

The jovial Michael Portillo and his equally jolly wardrobe set off on a grand rail tour of Europe. As the template for his journey Portillo is drawing upon the 1913 edition of Bradshaw^s Continental Railway Guide. In doing so he hopes to paint a picture of a prosperous Europe brimming with hope, unaware of the events about to engulf it.

From London he heads to Monte Carlo, the most popular route for the Edwardian traveller through France. As well as revelling in the delights of Paris he visits the small theatre where the Lumi^re brothers showed their first films, before losing his bright shirt in a casino.

It^s a winning mix of lightly worn social history and a romanticism of trains, stirred with consummate ease by the charmingly enthusiastic Portillo.

About this programme

1/5. Michael Portillo ventures onto the European rail network to retrace journeys featured in Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide of 1913, beginning with London to Monte Carlo. His first stop is Paris, where he absorbs the atmosphere, before heading south to the Cote d'Azur and ending his journey at Monaco's gaming tables.

Episode 2 on 15th November 2012 will feature a journey from Hungary to Austria via Slovakia.

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Episode 2 of 5
Steered by his 1913 railway guide, on this journey Michael Portillo explores the once-great empire of Austria-Hungary, domain of the famous Habsburg monarchs. Starting in Budapest, the capital of Hungary he travels via Bratislava in Slovakia, to the beautiful and elegant city of Vienna where he immerses himself in pre-war decadence. From there he travels to Salzburg, before heading to the magnificent scenery of the Salzkammergut region to visit the emperor's Austrian summer house at Bad Ischl, where in 1914 European history changed course forever.

These programmes will also be available on BBC HD.

[chuffed]

Superb programme .....the elegance of la belle epoque in Paris and the South of France was matched only by the latest acquisitions of his unique style of sartorial elegance....bravo Michel !

[JayMac]

One thing that has struck me with this series thus far is the amount of rail staff Michael encounters that speak fluent or near fluent English.

I can't imagine a presenter of a similar programme from a central European country being able to converse in his native language with UK^▸ (United Kingdom) on-train staff.

I know there are a few FGW^▸ (First Great Western) on-train staff who speak fluent Spanish. But then, they are from Spain originally. 

[bobm]

Series 2 of this begins on Sunday 27th October on BBC2 (or is it BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) TWO).

Six programmes.

The first is Madrid to Gibraltar.

[ChrisB]

8pm tonight BBC2