You do not have to peer too deeply into the annals of US mythology to spot a train.
The railway and the United States are closely interwoven – the former having been so pivotal to the expansion of the latter west, over the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, to the glittering California shore.
Yet the perception persists that a network which extends to 21,400 miles of track is clunky, patchy and not the equal of some of its counterparts in Europe and Asia – still somehow lodged in the dusty era of cowboys and masked bandits.
This is only partially true. It may not be the ideal conduit for rapid intercity dashes, but it is a fine fit for travellers who want to explore America at a gentler pace. For all its imperfections, the Amtrak network passes through 46 of the 50 states (Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska and Hawaii are the exceptions) – and can be a trusted companion in widescreen wanderings.
It is also proving increasingly popular. New data shows that Amtrak has seen unprecedented levels of use for two consecutive years. The system carried 34.5million passengers in 2025 – a five per cent increase on an already record-breaking 2024.
Better still, it offers all those passengers an unappreciated flexibility. Amtrak’s “multi-city” ticket option (see amtrak.com) allows passengers to break their journeys in most of the USA’s major hubs – and for a decent price. For example, a trip from Boston to New York can cost as little as $25 (£19).
There are more than 40 official Amtrak routes (the longest being the 2,728 miles covered by the “Texas Eagle” as it forges from Chicago to Los Angeles). This article picks out five of them – and explains how to slice them into hop-on-hop-off odysseys, stopping in significant places on the way.
Of course, if you would prefer the safety net of a specialist rail-holiday company, and a pre-arranged itinerary, we have details of those, too.
Each train journey here is a ‘multi-city’ booking which takes the lowest possible ticket cost, and envisages a two-night layover in each city en route.
Chicago to New Orleans
934 miles; from $121/£90
Arguably the best example of the US railway station which believes it is a cathedral (all neoclassical design and Roaring Twenties pomp), Chicago’s Union Station is Amtrak’s hub in the Midwest – the start-point for several routes which cross the country. Some of these venture west – but the daily “City of New Orleans” train sets its sights on the south.
Chicago
Like New York, Chicago is a city where you might easily linger for days. Its Art Institute (artic.edu) is one of America’s greatest galleries, home to delights by Hopper and Seurat. You can max out every card you have in the shops of the Magnificent Mile. And if the Willis Tower (willistower.com) is no longer the world’s tallest building (at 1,451ft/442m, it is now only the 26th), the views it offers of Lake Michigan are enduringly spectacular.
Stay: Loews Chicago Hotel (001 312 840 6600; loewshotels.com/chicago-downtown); double rooms from £204.
First leg: 10.5hrs; from $99/£74
Memphis
The City of New Orleans takes almost half a day to carry you down through Illinois and (briefly) Kentucky – before rolling into Mississippi for a date with the “Home of the Blues”. Memphis is forever defined by its musical heritage – Elvis’s ghost holding court at Graceland (graceland.com), the Stax Museum (staxmuseum.com) telling a soulful tale, the bars of Beale Street awake until late – but no less exciting for all this giddy nostalgia.
Stay: The Peabody (001 901 529 4000); double rooms from £269.
Second leg: 4.5hrs; from $40/£30
Jackson
There is no precise geographical definition of the “Deep South”, but you have definitely crossed into it by the time you reach the Mississippi capital. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, a relatively recent addition to the map (opened in 2017), shares its block with the Museum of Mississippi History. The state capitol is barely older. This Beaux Arts landmark – topped by its inevitable dome – only opened in 1903.
Stay: The Hilton Garden Inn Downtown (001 601 353 5464); double rooms from £70.
Third leg: 4.5hrs; from $31/£23
New Orleans
The titular city at the end of this particular railway route has a reputation as a party hotspot thanks to the annual February high jinks of Mardi Gras. But New Orleans is enthralling at any time of year – raucous and rabble-rousing in the many bars of the French Quarter, but in touch with another great strand of American music in the Jazz Museum. and the sacred space of Preservation Hall.
Stay: The Royal Sonesta (001 504 586 0300); double rooms from £109.
Boston to Washington DC
457 miles; from $61/£45
“The Acela” is Amtrak’s flagship route, linking Boston to Washington DC via New York and other key north-eastern cities. A core part of the business, it offers up to 20 trains per day – and is so important to commuters that, in some years, its fares have amounted to about a quarter of the company’s revenues. But it can also be an epic journey for tourists.
Boston
It makes sense to begin in the Massachusetts capital. After all, in many ways, America had its own beginnings here – revolutionaries kicking crates of cargo into the harbour in the “Boston Tea Party” of December 1773. This febrile era can still be explored via the Freedom Trail (thefreedomtrail.org), which links 16 locations pertinent to the US’s march to independence. And there is good food to boot – especially in the eateries of Little Italy.
Stay: The Eliot Hotel (001 617 267 1607); double rooms from £307.
First leg: 4hrs; from $25/£19
New York
The ride down to the Big Apple is one of the USA’s most picturesque, skimming the edge of Long Island Sound through Rhode Island and Connecticut. Ultimately, the train drops you into Penn Station, midway between the Garment District and Chelsea – and from there, New York is your oyster. A stroll along the High Line (thehighline.org)? Hanging from the observation deck of the 30 Hudson Yards skyscraper (edgenyc.com). Why not?
Stay: Moxy Times Square (001 212 967 6699); doubles from £162.
Second leg: 1.5hrs; from $10/£7.50
Philadelphia
It says a lot about the glut of cities in the American north-east that you can swap NYC for Philly in 90 minutes, and will have sped through Trenton (the New Jersey capital) en route. Philadelphia is a special mix of grand and gritty, the landmarks of Independence National Park (such as the Liberty Bell; nps.gov/inde) and the paintings of its Museum of Art (philamuseum.org) rubbing elbows with the many calories of the Philly Cheesesteak.
Stay: Kimpton Hotel Palomar (001 855 546 7866); double rooms from £211.
Third leg: 2hrs; from $10/£7.50
Washington DC
The US capital has enough wonders to fill a week – from the monuments of the National Mall (where the Lincoln Memorial echoes to the words of both the 16th president and Martin Luther King; nps.gov/nama) to the museums of the Smithsonian Institution (like the National Air and Space Museum, and its Apollo mission exhibits; airandspace.si.edu). And the restaurant scene is fabulous – on 14th Street NW, and on the river at The Wharf.
Stay: Hotel Washington (001 202 661 2400); double rooms from £149.
New York to Miami
1,389 miles; from $149/£111
New York can also be the beginning of a leisurely ride south in the case of the “Silver Meteor”, which offers a daily service all the way to the tip of Florida – via some of the most fascinating (and historic) cities in Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia.
New York
See above for the city’s highlights.
First leg: 6.5hrs; from $47/£35
Richmond
The Silver Meteor follows the Acela through Philly and Washington DC, then continues to the Virginia capital. Richmond is, in some ways, the start of the American South – as is made clear by its being home to several institutions of the American Civil War Museum (acwm.org). Elsewhere, the Poe Museum recalls the Gothic writer who once lived in the city (poemuseum.org). The surrounding area, Shockoe Bottom, has food options aplenty.
Stay: The Jefferson Hotel (001 888 918 1895); double rooms from £247.
Second leg: 7hrs; from $53/£39
Charleston
America’s greatest internal crisis comes fully into focus in Charleston – it was here that the Civil War began, with shots fired on Fort Sumter (nps.gov/fosu) in April 1861. This small South Carolina city is a hive of history. It was founded by English settlers as long ago as 1670, and revels in its colonial era in landmarks such as Old St Andrew’s Church and the Powder Magazine (powdermagazinemuseum.org); both relics of the early 1700s.
Stay: Charleston Place (001 800 611 5545); double rooms from £336.
Third leg: 2hrs; from $21/£16
Savannah
Georgia’s most famous port cannot quite match Charleston for age, but having held its near-coastal position since 1733, it still has quite the tale to tell. It is renowned for its Southern grandeur and antebellum mansions – some of which are called upon by Ghost City Tours (ghostcitytours.com/savannah). Bonaventure Cemetery is especially evocative, Spanish moss hanging low above elaborate tombs (bonaventurehistorical.org).
Stay: The Inn on West Liberty (001 912 238 0806); double rooms from £182.
Fourth leg: 12hrs; from $66/£49
Miami
There is a certain strangeness to the fact that, although it is further south than “The South”, Florida is not considered part of the American South. Confusing? Never mind. This won’t matter as you roll, erm, south, across it – and Miami is a glamorous end to any journey. South Beach is an Art Deco dream, the elegant hotels and lively bars of Ocean Drive facing the Atlantic – but there is culture too, not least the modern works in the Perez Art Museum (pamm.org).
Stay: The Gale South Beach (001 305 673 0199); from £135
Chicago to Los Angeles
2,728 miles; from $134/£99
If you fancy attempting one of the greatest US rail adventures, the “Texas Eagle” will carry you across most of the country. Daily departures from Chicago bisect the Midwest, cut through Missouri and Arkansas, and pierce the heart of Texas – en route to New Mexico, Arizona and journey’s end in California. A long way? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.
Chicago
See above for the city’s highlights.
First leg: 5hrs; from $27/£20
St Louis
The “Gateway to the West” makes its location literal in the Gateway Arch – the 630ft (192m) curve of stainless steel which celebrates the westward expansion of the USA (nps.gov/jeff). It is St Louis’s skyline symbol, but not the sole reason to visit. This city of three million, on the west bank of the Mississippi, is one of America’s great underrated travel hotspots, its Art Museum (slam.org) the equal of anything in New York or Boston.
Stay: The 21C Museum Hotel (001 314 940 2333; 21cmuseumhotels.com/st-louis); double rooms from £91.
Second leg: 15.5hrs; from $80/£59
Dallas
The city of the Ewings and the Cowboys is an embodiment of Texas’s image as a place where “big” is beautiful – big in size (the USA’s ninth largest city), big in its skyscrapers (the Bank of America Plaza hits 921ft/281m), big in the steaks served in the restaurants on Main and Elm Streets. It wears a scar, of course, but the Sixth Floor Museum (jfk.org), overlooking the crime scene, examines John F Kennedy’s assassination in brilliant depth.
Stay: The Joule (001 214 748 1300); double rooms from £232.
Third leg: 10hrs; from $21/£16
San Antonio
Remarkably, San Antonio is a bigger city than Dallas; America’s seventh largest by population. It does not always feel that way. Even its most fabled landmark – the Spanish mission turned battle site that is the Alamo (thealamo.org) – turns out to be a smaller structure than you might expect. But in its compactness, San Antonio is easily explored on foot – and its revitalised Riverwalk has myriad options for dinner and evening drinks.
Stay: The Hilton Palacio del Rio (001 210 222 1400). Double rooms from £149.
Fourth leg: 25hrs; from $135/£100
Palm Springs
The Texas Eagle takes its time to inch west to California’s gilded oasis. But there is rarely any air of hurry to Palm Springs. There it sits within the dust of the Colorado Desert, its finest homes a feast of “mid-century modern” architecture. A-listers have flitted through it in the last century, but its culture goes beyond the skin-deep. Its Art Museum has bright joys aplenty (psmuseum.org); Joshua Tree National Park (nps.gov/jotr) is on the doorstep.
Stay: L’Horizon Resort & Spa (001 760 3231858). Double rooms from £224.
Fifth leg: 3.5hrs; from $25/£19
Los Angeles
See below for the city’s highlights.
Seattle to Los Angeles
1,377 miles; from $110/£82
America’s west coast has long been a dream destination, inspiring visions of hazy journeys within sight of the Pacific. Amtrak’s “Coast Starlight” route doesn’t stick to the water quite as closely as California’s famous Highway 1, but in picking a daily path from Seattle all the way to LA, it covers much of said shoreline without a hint of a traffic jam.
Seattle
The major city of America’s north-west corner offers plenty of urban sophistication. Its skyline, with the Space Needle at its heart, is among the US’s most recognisable; Pike Place Market (pikeplacemarket.org) is awash with gourmet fare and splendid seafood. But one of the main reasons to visit Seattle is its proximity to the wider Washington state, and the lush wilderness of Olympic National Park (nps.gov/olym) – a short ferry hop to the west.
Stay: Inn at the Market (001 206 443 3600); double rooms from £299.
First leg: 4hrs; from $27/£20
Portland
Swapping Seattle for Oregon’s biggest city is a matter of four hours and little difference. There are marked similarities between Portland and its Washington sibling – in artiness, in coffee-shop obsession, in music scene. You can browse for hours at Powell’s City of Books (a store so big it fills a whole block; powells.com), admire works by Van Gogh at the Art Museum (portlandartmuseum.org), and party late in the bars of the Pearl District.
Stay: The Heathman (001 503 241 4100); double rooms from £96.
Second leg: 18.5hrs; from $88/£65
San Francisco
It takes almost a day to get there, across Oregon and northern California. And even then, you don’t formally “get there”; the Coast Starlight halts at Oakland rather than its more feted neighbour. But San Francisco, a 20-minute cab ride away, is the obvious place to break your journey through the Golden State – the Golden Gate Bridge crossing the Bay, Lombard Street snaking down its hill, the Mission District awash with bars and eateries.
Stay: Hotel Zephyr (001 415 617 6565); doubles from £124
Third leg: 12hrs; from $52/£39
Los Angeles
While it cuts inland at Oakland, and stays there for 230 miles, the Coast Starlight route does keep relatively close to the coast from San Luis Obispo onwards, shadowing the ocean all the way into Los Angeles. LA will happily entertain you once you arrive – whether in its classic Hollywood sights (not least the walkoffame.com), its daring slabs of modern art (see moca.org), or on the sands of Venice Beach.
Stay: The Hollywood Roosevelt (001 323 856 1970). Double rooms from £170.
This is an updated version of a previously published article. It has been fully revised with the latest prices and information.