The Brenner Pass
The railway line over the Brenner Pass which links Austria and Italy takes you through some of the most dramatic Alpine scenery accessible from a main line. Heading south from Innsbruck, the train climbs rapidly towards the summit of the pass, through Alpine meadows and past foaming rivers and high waterfalls.
After crossing the border, you could be forgiven for thinking you were still in Austria - the Tyrolean chalets and German language betraying the fact that this area was part of Austria until given to Italy as part of the peace deals following the Great War. Stations have names in both Italian and German, while on the high rocks ancient Germanic castles peer down at you.
At the station known as Fortezza to the Italians and Franzensfeste to the Germans, the train actually passes through part of a fortress built by Napoleon's army to guard the pass - one of the stranger sights on the route and not to be missed.
Passing through the bilingual city of Bolzano/Bozen, you continue along the valley of the ever-broadening river Adige to Trento, before finally reaching the plains as you pull into historic Verona.
