Christmas shopping, German-style
Every year, more people swap the traditional last-minute dash at a local shopping centre for a trip to one of Germany's famous Christmas markets, usually held between the last week in November and Christmas Eve. Christmas shopping doesn't come more traditional than this - some German towns have been holding Christmas fairs since the 14th century.
Once you've decided where to go (see christmasmarkets.com), it's easy to reach the land of glühwein and Stille Nacht by train. Cologne is a comfortable 5 hours 45 minutes from London by Eurostar and connecting high-speed train.
• From £85 rtn; 0870 518 6186, eurostar.com.
Swiss winter wonderland
The Glacier Express, a seven-hour journey between Zermatt and St Moritz, is truly world class, but it's only one of several such rides across the superb Swiss rail network. Just as impressive is the Bernina Express (rhb.ch), which ascends the spectacular Bernina Pass from Chur and St Moritz to its icy summit, then winds down the far side of the mountain to the pretty town of Poschiavo and the Italian border at Tirano. Some rate this as superior to the Glacier Express itself - I'd say it was too close to call.
Next on anyone's list should be the GoldenPass Panoramic (goldenpass.ch), which climbs a seemingly vertical rail line from a junction with the Geneva-Milan main line at Montreux, circles the resort of Gstaad and connects at Zweisimmen for Interlaken and Lucerne.
Finally, there are some standard-gauge mainline contenders, too, including the wonderful Arlberg Pass route from Zurich to Innsbruck, Salzburg and Vienna, which hugs the mountainside for much of the way, through scenery lifted straight from The Sound Of Music.
Naturally, there's no need to fly to Switzerland to ride on any of these trains. Take the Eurostar from St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord and change to Gare de Lyon for a high-speed TGV to Switzerland in just a few hours more.
• London-Zermatt by train from £159 rtn; seat61.com/Switzerland.htm.
Skiing by train
Once again Eurostar will be running the popular direct Ski Train to the French Alps. A train leaves St Pancras and Ashford every Saturday morning from late December to mid April, with connections to many French ski resorts, arriving early evening. There's an overnight Eurostar on Friday nights, too. From £179 return (0870 518 6186, eurostar.com/ski).
Alternatively, you can travel overnight while you sleep in a couchette - or even dance the night away in the on-board disco - with the Rail Europe Snow Train. This runs every Friday from mid January to early April, by Eurostar from London or Ebbsfleet (on the M25) to Paris, then overnight couchette train to the Alps.
• From £249 return; snowtrain.co.uk.
Siberian adventures
This is the ultimate winter journey, along the famous Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to east Asia in the depths of a Russian winter. Most travellers go in summer, it's true, when daylight hours are longer and stops along the way more pleasant, but the line runs all year round with its carriages well heated (over-heated, some would say) by the coal-burning stoves at the end of each corridor.
Two trains a week link Moscow with Beijing, one through Mongolia and the Gobi desert, the other directly from Russia into China.
• From £270 one-way, waytorussia.net or realrussia.co.uk. A one-way ticket from London to Moscow costs from £170.
Moroccan winter sun
For some welcome winter sunshine, intrepid travellers can reach Marrakech without flying in two and a half days. A lunchtime Eurostar to Paris connects with the overnight "trainhotel" to Madrid, with its cosy sleepers and an elegant restaurant for dinner and breakfast. There's time to explore Madrid the following day before taking the afternoon train to Algeciras, a scenic journey across the Castilian plateau and up into the hills of Andalusia to the southernmost tip of Spain. After spending the night in Algeciras, perhaps at the historic 4-star hotel Reina Cristina, take a ferry across the Straits in an hour or two, past the Rock of Gibraltar and along the mountainous coast to Tangier. From there, the real "Marrakech express" - French-built, smooth-riding and air-conditioned - will whisk you to Marrakech by evening.
• From around £315 rtn, inc sleepers but exc hotels; seat61.com/Morocco.htm.
Escape to Tunisia
Even Tunisia isn't too far away for a leisurely trip by train and ship. Take a lunchtime Eurostar to Lille and an onward high-speed TGV past the pretty villages and rolling green hills of the Rhône valley to Marseille, arriving the same evening. Next day, take a ferry out of Marseille's passenger port and across the Mediterranean to Tunis. Ships sail several times each week, and the voyage takes around 24 hours. You'll find it as much cruise ship as ferry, with comfortable en suite cabins, restaurants and bars, plus an open deck to watch the coast of Africa approach. You'll see the blue waters of the Med give way to the green of the Bay of Tunis, with the ruins of Carthage up on Byrsa hill to your right as the ship heads in. Once in Tunis, travel south by air-conditioned express train to the delightful town of Sousse.
• London-Marseille from £109 rtn (0844 848 4064, raileurope.co.uk ), Marseille-Tunis by ferry from around £280 rtn inc cabin berth, booked at sncm.fr, or through Southern Ferries (0844 815 7785, southernferries.co.uk).
