The joy of ‘winterrailing’: my off-season rail adventure in France, Germany and Switzerland

That was the plan, but it seems Strasbourg did not get the memo. Having downloaded our digital Interrail passes and boarded the Eurostar in London on a murky late October morning, my partner, our teenage daughter and I emerge from Strasbourg station six hours later (via a quick platform change on to the TGV at Lille Europe) into dazzling sunshine. The sky is electric blue and the suitcase of woolly jumpers and waterproofs that I’d insisted we pack for our off-season jaunt already feels like a mistake. So much for embracing winter – it’s not a hot chocolate I’m craving, but an Aperol spritz.

Within half an hour of checking into our hotel, we’re in the heart of Strasbourg’s old town, gazing up at the Notre-Dame Cathedral, its delicately carved sandstone facade glowing red in the last embers of daylight. Completed in the 1400s, it was the tallest building in the world for two centuries. Even today, its 142-metre gothic spire packs a punch, soaring high above the city centre.

The next morning we return to the cathedral to climb the 332 steps to the viewing platform. Immediately below us lies Grande Île, the tangle of cobbled streets and squares lined with half-timbered buildings that make up the medieval heart of the city. In the distance we can see the curving glass and steel structures of the European Quarter, home to the European parliament and the European Court of Human Rights, and beyond that, the hazy blue outline of the Vosges mountains.

While Strasbourg vies with Brussels for the title of “capital of Europe”, there is another role that the city takes almost as seriously – capitale de Noël. Dating back to 1570, Strasbourg’s Christmas market is the oldest in France. Every November a 30-metre high Christmas tree – the tallest in Europe – is erected in Place Kléber and the surrounding streets are transformed into a twinkling, cinnamon-scented wonderland, with 300 chalets selling everything from mulled wine to wooden toys. On our visit, falling leaves rather than fairy lights adorn the tree-lined canals, but there must be something in the air as I find myself drawn into a Tardis-like shop called La Magie de Noël, where I have to resist the urge to fill my basket with Christmas baubles and locally made gingerbread.

Not only is Strasbourg the self-styled capital of Christmas, it’s also the gastronomic heart of Alsace, the easternmost region of France. This is a land of hearty fare served in cosy wood-panelled bistros with gingham table cloths, known as Winstubs. On our second night in Strasbourg, we descend a steep staircase into the warm subterranean embrace of Le Gurtlerhoft, a 14th-century vaulted cellar where waiters deftly balance plates of steaming choucroute (sauerkraut) piled high with sausage and hunks of pork. As I do battle with a tureen of braised pork knuckle large enough to serve a family of five, I have to concede that this is a cuisine best suited to the cold winter months.

Alsatian food and architecture are both heavily influenced by the proximity of Germany, which lies just the other side of the Rhine. The next morning we catch a train across the border to pick up the Black Forest Railway, which will take us south to Lake Constance. From the top deck of the Deutsche Bahn train we watch as the orderly vineyards and gentle green pastures of the Kinzig valley give way to something wilder. As the sky darkens, we peer through rain-streaked windows at the densely forested hillsides closing in on either side. Fiery swathes of oak and beech cling to the lower slopes while the pine-clad rocky summits are covered in low cloud, lending a mysterious air to the landscape that famously inspired the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm.

At the meeting point of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Lake Constance (Bodensee in German) is the third largest lake in Europe. On its western shore, the university town of Konstanz is a likable, low-key sort of place, with one of the best preserved medieval centres in Germany. During the second world war, the residents kept their lights on during air raids to trick allied bombers into thinking they were part of neutral Switzerland. The ruse paid off, and the twisting alleys and merchant houses with their ornate wooden gables and elaborate frescoes survived. The story of the town, from the stone age to its role in the war, is told at the excellent Rosgarten Museum.

Konstanz is a major transport hub for the region, and in summer the long wooden jetty is a hive of activity with ferries crisscrossing the lake and boat trips departing for the famous “flower island” of Mainau (the gardens are open year-round). On a clear day you can see the Swiss Alps, apparently, but on our visit the lake is cloaked in a soft veil of drizzle and the jetty is quiet. No matter, it’s the perfect excuse to indulge in one of southern Germany’s best-loved traditions, Kaffee und Kuchen, at one of the town’s many cosy cafes.

One of the joys of travelling by rail is the opportunity to stop off in places that you wouldn’t necessarily make a point of visiting as a standalone destination. The suggestion to include Lake Constance and the Black Forest Railway was made by the team at Byway Travel, the rail-based holiday specialists who arranged our trip. Of course, you could buy Interrail passes and put together your own itinerary, but if you’re daunted by the prospect of studying rail timetables and making seat reservations, or would simply welcome some expert advice about how much of Europe it’s realistic to cover in a week, they can take care of all of that. They were also able to notify us, via their WhatsApp support service, when one of our scheduled rail journeys was replaced by a bus service and offer an alternative.

Another unexpected highlight of the trip was our next stop, Zurich. Switzerland’s largest city is known primarily as a major financial centre, but don’t let that put you off. Maybe it’s the late autumn sunshine sparkling off the lake and bathing everything in pearly light, but the afternoon we spend there is one of the most enjoyable I’ve spent mooching around an unknown city in a long time.

We start with a stroll along the elegant Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich’s ritziest shopping street, before diving into the narrow alleys of the old town, lined with chocolate shops, perfumiers and high-end boutiques. A quick peek inside the Fraumünster church, famous for its vivid stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall, then it’s down to the lakeside promenade which is lively with street performers and families taking a late-afternoon stroll. We follow the lakeshore until we get to the Seebad Utoquai, a 19th-century wooden public baths built on stilts over the water, with cafe, changing rooms and sundeck. We buy hot chocolate and watch as a handful of plucky locals take the plunge, swimming out to the nearby pontoon.

If I’d had the foresight to pack a swimming costume, I might have joined them, but lake swimming was not on my agenda for this trip. Perhaps it should have been. The days when Lake Zurich used to freeze over entirely in winter are long behind us (the last time was in 1963). Not only is the climate crisis redrawing the map of where we choose to travel – with many forsaking southern Europe in high summer – but it will inevitably affect when we travel, with more of us choosing to take our main holidays in the cooler months.

In what seems like the blink of an eye we’re back at Zurich’s grand station to catch a TGV to Paris, a city that knows no low season, and our final destination before heading home. As we wait for our train, we can see the wooden stalls being erected for the forthcoming Christkindlimarkt, one of the largest indoor Christmas markets in Europe, which takes over the station concourse from the end of November and greets arriving travellers with the smell of roasting chestnuts and mulled wine. Winterrailing has its advantages.

The trip was provided by Byway Travel. A similar nine-day bespoke itinerary costs from £1,405pp, including Eurostar tickets, Interrail pass and accommodation. Hotel accommodation in Zurich was provided by Zurich Tourism