Great Continental Railway Journeys Season 5

Steered by his 1913 Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo heads for the Netherlands, where he roots around the world's largest flower auction in Haarlem, operates a crane in Europe's largestcontainer port, Rotterdam, and investigates Amsterdam's famous red-light district.

Michael Portillo ventures to the northernmost reaches of Europe, where he braves the freezing temperatures of the Baltic Sea and finds peace paddling a canoe on the lakes of Finland. 

Michael Portillo embarks on an action-packed adventure from the Italian Riviera to the Austrian Alps with his Bradshaw's 1913 Guidebook in hand. Along the way, our man of the match discovers how an Edwardian Briton brought 'the beautiful game' to the historic port of Genoa. 

Michael Portillo leaves Europe behind to take in the sights, smells and tastes of north Africa as he travels from the Mediterranean port of Tangier to the Berber city of Marrakech.

Michael Portillo travels from the Swiss Alps to the shores of Lake Geneva. Along the way, he is caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross and rescued from an avalanche by a St Bernard puppy. 

Michael Portillo ventures east through Romania. He encounters a bloodsucking vampire in Transylvania and brown bears in the Carpathian forest before visiting a fairy tale castle with modern conveniences in Sinaia.

In this very first episode Michael's latest adventures take him to Romania, where he explores the Gothic legend of Count Dracula before a wild encounter with brown bears, thriving in a habitat that's changed little since 1913