If I could only ever travel one way again, it would be by train.
Planes are too cramped, coaches too slow, and don’t get me started on airport security queues. But a train? That’s where the magic happens, the ever changing views, and the feeling that the journey is every bit as important as the destination.
So when I heard that, from spring 2026, the Al Ándalus will be running a seven-day trip between Seville and Madrid, I may have let out a small squeal. They call it a “palace on wheels”, and from the pictures, that doesn’t seem like marketing fluff. Velvet seats, Belle Époque décor, wood panelling… it is like someone built the Orient Express, then dropped it in the middle of Andalusia.
A train with royal roots
The Al Ándalus isn’t just about good looks. It has got history too. The carriages were built in 1929 for the British royal family head down from Calais to the Riviera. By the 1940s, Spanish Railways had snapped them up, and by the 1980s they’d been restored for luxury journeys across Spain.
Since then, this rolling beauty has trundled through Andalusia, stopping at Granada, Córdoba, Jerez and more. And, now it’s back with a new route: a week-long ride that weaves through Roman ruins, Moorish palaces, sherry vineyards and medieval towns before pulling into Madrid.
What a week on board looks like
Day one kicks off in Seville. After exploring the city’s mix of Moorish and Renaissance architecture, passengers climb aboard to clinking glasses of cava and a slap-up dinner as the train heads towards Córdoba.
The days that follow include Córdoba’s Mosque-Cathedral, Cadiz, sherry tasting in Jerez, Roman amphitheatres in Mérida, windmills in La Mancha. There is even a stop in Toledo.
This isn’t a train where you stuff your suitcase in the luggage rack and eat a lukewarm sandwich. The Al Ándalus has dining cars serving multi-course meals, a bar with live music and lounge cars open 24/7.
Cabins are proper hotel rooms on wheels: en suite bathrooms, comfy beds, even minibars. Grand Class rooms transform from cosy lounges by day to twin beds by night, while the Deluxe Suites come with a queen bed and a bit more space.
The dream versus the price tag
Of course, all this comes at a price. Tickets for 2026 start at €6,600 per person (about £5,600). That does include everything though: your meals, your drinks, the tours, the history, the sherry, the live music.
Expensive? Absolutely.
Worth it? I will never know (unless a lottery win is imminent)!
