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January 2011
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"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go," Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote. "The great affair is to move." There is no more romantic way to move today than by train. Ride in classic luxury on rail cars outfitted for a new generation of travelers. Whether you choose to explore the medieval hamlets of Spain's northern coast or make the breathtaking trans-Siberian journey from Beijing to Moscow, a journey by rail is unforgettable.
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Spain's Northern Coast by Private Rail
| 11 Days • 2011: April 14–24, April 28–May 8, September 8–18,
September 22–October 2 | Trace an eastward route along the rugged Cantabrian coastline aboard the luxury Transcantábrico with its refurbished vintage Pullman cars.
 The journey begins in Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia and the ending point of the historic Way of St. James pilgrimage route. You’ll spend seven nights aboard the narrow-gauge luxury train, which travels by day to take advantage of the stunning scenery. You’ll stop at medieval hamlets and seaside ports boasting a variety of architectural styles, from the pre-Romanesque gems of Oviedo to Bilbao’s ultramodern Guggenheim Museum. The journey ends in León, where you’ll sleep in a 12th-century-monastery-turned-luxury-inn.
National Geographic has reserved all 26 cabins on these departures.
Read more about the Transcantábrico (pictured at top) and see
additional photos.
 Accompanying all trips are two National Geographic experts: travel writer Fiona Dunlop, who authored the National Geographic Traveler guidebooks for Spain and Portugal, and award-winning Spanish photographer Tino Soriano (pictured left), who will help travelers improve their photography skills throughout the journey.
Note that the upcoming April 14 departure coincides with Holy Week, when we'll have an opportunity to witness special celebrations taking place throughout the region.
See detailed itinerary.
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 | The starting and ending points are two storied world capitals: Beijing and Moscow. In between lie vast expanses of Mongolian desert and Siberian taiga. You’ll pass through places with storied names: the Gobi, Ulaanbaatar, Lake Baikal, and the Volga. In Beijing, you’ll visit the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square as well as the ancient hutong neighborhoods by pedicab. In Moscow you’ll stroll through Red Square at night as well as descend into Stalin’s secret bunker, built deep under the city in the 1930s.
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Travel aboard the Tsar’s Gold (pictured below), a private train with dining cars that feature traditional Russian cuisine. Choose from several classes of sleeping compartments; the Bolshoi Platinum class features private bathrooms, flat-panel televisions, and evening turndown service. Read more about the Tsar’s Gold.
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Our expert on the September 5 departure is professor Roy Robson, author of Solovki: The Story of Russia Told Through Its Most Remarkable Islands. George Munro, a professor of history at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of The Most Intentional City: St. Petersburg in the Reign of Catherine the Great, will lead the September 12 departure.
See detailed itinerary.
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