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Great Continental Railway Journeys

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Factual: Travel

Michael Portillo retraces the journeys from George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Guide.

Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe, as he retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

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Michael Portillo

John Comerford

Alison Kreps

Boundless Productions

Great Continental Railway Journeys: Series 4 - Reversions: Episode 8: Athens to Thessaloniki - Part 2

Episode 8

Episode 8: Athens to Thessaloniki - Part 2

Series 4 - Reversions

Athens to Thessaloniki - Part 2

BBC Two - Great Continental Railway Journeys, Series 4 - Reversions, Athens to Thessaloniki - Part 2

Michael travels to Thessaloniki where, in 1913, Greece's King George I was assassinated.

Michael Portillo ends this journey in Thessaloniki where, in 1913, Greece's King George I was assassinated.

Armed with his 1913 Continental Railway Guide, Michael Portillo embarks on a Greek odyssey from Athens's port of Piraeus north to the city of Thessaloniki, captured the year before from the Ottoman Turks, who had ruled much of Greece for 400 years.

Exploring the Acropolis and delighting in the tastes of moussaka and baklava, Michael discovers the many influences at play in the creation of modern Greece - from its classical past to the oriental Ottomans and the Great European Powers of Britain, France and Russia.

Along the way, Michael discovers the parlous state of Greek finances at the time of his guidebook. He learns how an aristocratic English poet became a Greek national hero and relives Greek athletic victory at the first modern Olympic games. 

Travelling through the Corinth Canal, Michael finds out about the surprisingly ancient origins of the modern railway. In Delphi, he discovers how at the turn of the 20th century an entire village was removed in order to excavate the site of the oracle. 

Boarding one of the narrowest gauge railways in the world, the Little Train of Pelion, Michael travels to the village of Milies, where he learns about the place of the Orthodox church in Greek national life. Michael ends his journey in Thessaloniki where, in 1913, Greece's King George I was assassinated.

Great Continental Railway Journeys: Series 4 - Reversions

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Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe.

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Great Continental Railway Journeys

Series 4 - Reversions

Episode 8: Athens to Thessaloniki - Part 2

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