Cross a border by train or on foot

Crossing a border by train or on foot means leaving one country and walking or rolling into the next at ground level, instead of skipping the line at 10,000 m. You watch the change happen: the signs switch language, the money changes, the trains get a different color, and the border becomes a real place you stood in.

Where to do it

Victoria Falls Bridge, Zimbabwe and Zambia

The 1905 steel bridge over the Zambezi links the border posts of Zimbabwe and Zambia, and you can walk across in the spray of the falls, with a bungee platform in the middle. You clear both border posts on foot. Check whether the joint KAZA visa for both countries is being issued when you travel.

Rainbow Bridge, Canada and the United States

At Niagara Falls, a footpath on the Rainbow Bridge crosses between Canada and the United States, with the falls in view. You pay a small toll on foot, and carry the documents you'd need to enter either country. Lines at the border can be long on summer weekends.

The Channel Tunnel, United Kingdom and France

Eurostar trains from London to Paris pass under the sea in about twenty minutes in the tunnel. The border checks for both the United Kingdom and France happen before you board in London, so you step off in Paris like a local. Arrive early: the checks take time.

The Øresund Bridge, Denmark and Sweden

Trains from Copenhagen Airport and the city center cross a bridge and tunnel to Malmö in well under an hour. Both Denmark and Sweden are in the Schengen area, but Sweden has run ID checks on this route at times, so carry your passport.

The Bernina line, Italy and Switzerland

The red trains of the Rhaetian Railway climb from Tirano in Italy over the Bernina Pass to St. Moritz in Switzerland, a line listed by UNESCO. The famous panorama train needs a reservation; the regular trains on the same tracks don't, and their windows open.

Baarle, Belgium and the Netherlands

Baarle-Hertog in Belgium and Baarle-Nassau in the Netherlands are tangled together in a patchwork of enclaves, with the border marked on the pavement, across shops and even through houses. You can cross it dozens of times in an afternoon walk.

The Friendship Bridge, Thailand and Laos

A short train runs from Nong Khai in Thailand across the Mekong on the Friendship Bridge to Khamsavath, on the edge of Vientiane in Laos. Arrange your Laos visa ahead or on arrival, and allow time at both border posts.

Haparanda and Tornio, Sweden and Finland

Two towns at the top of the Gulf of Bothnia that have grown into one, with the border running between them. Walk across into Finland and your phone's clock jumps forward an hour.

How to make it happen

• Check papers for both sides. You need whatever entry documents each country asks of your passport, and some land crossings close at night.
• Expect few checks inside the Schengen area, but not none. Several member states have brought back temporary controls at some borders; the European Commission keeps the current list.
• Keep your stamps straight. At the edges of the Schengen area, non-EU travelers are now registered by the Entry/Exit System instead of stamped. Elsewhere, ask for an entry stamp if you want one: see how to turn them into a map in our passport stamps guide.
• Don't photograph the border post. Many countries forbid photos of border installations and officers. Take your photo at a marker or sign once you're through.
• Make it overnight. Many international sleepers cross borders while you sleep; see the night train line.