The contemporary equivalent of that initiatory journey would probably begin at a train station. One of the most suggestive routes starts in London and passes through Paris before stopping in Strasbourg, Zurich, Milan, Bologna, Florence, and Rome. It allows you to traverse a large part of European history with hardly any need to board a plane.
Another option draws a diagonal across Central Europe: Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. It is a route that traverses different architectural traditions, former empires, and some of the continent’s most dynamic cultural scenes.
Those who prefer the Mediterranean can build an itinerary between Barcelona, Marseille, Nice, Genoa, Bologna and Venice. Further east, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik offer a different way to understand the Adriatic, while Portugal invites another kind of journey linking Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto and the Douro Valley.
There are even more ambitious proposals. Some travelers traverse Europe from north to south starting in Copenhagen, descending to Hamburg, Munich, Innsbruck, Verona and ending in Sicily. Others connect Scotland with Andalusia for more than a month using exclusively trains and ferries.
But remember: for it to be a Grand Tour, none of these routes is meant to be rushed.
