11 Places Where You Can Travel in a Vintage or Antique Tram - Photos Included!

Published 30 January 2018

Note: The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of RetoxMagazine.com

Discover Vintage Trams in These Places:

Belgrade, Serbia

Budapest, Hungary

Lisbon, Portugal

Funicular Tram in Kaunas, Lithuania

Soller, Majorca, Spain

Soller, Majorca, Spain

Porto, Portugal

Prague, Czech Republic

San Francisco, USA

Milan, Italy

Melbourne, Australia

Experience a Vintage Tram

Trams in Belgrade, Serbia

Pictured: A tram in Belgrade, Serbia.

Horse tram operation began in 1892, first electric tram was introduced in 1894, and in 1904 fully electric tram grid was in place.

Trams in Budapest, Hungary

Pictured: A vintage trams in Budapest, Hungary travelling on a scenic route over a bridge.

The current fleet of trams in Budapest includes vintage trams constructed in the 60’s 70’s and 80’s.

Trams in Lisbon, Portugal

Pictured: A tram decorated in graffiti going on a hill in Lisbon, Portugal.

Lisbon is a home to a gorgeous vintage gem – the yellow Remodelado tram that dates back to the 1930’s. These trams are full of traditional charm, including their vintage interior that reveals old-style hard polished wood benches.

The first horsecar tramway line in Lisbon was in service in 1873. The first electric tram commenced operations in 1901. And within a year all tramways in Lisbon were converted to electric.

Funicular Tram in Kaunas, Lithuania

Pictured: An old funicular tram still functional in Kaunas, Lithuania. The tram reached the top of the hill with the views of a river and Kaunas city.

Pictured: An old style wood interior of a vintage funicular tram in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Zaliakalnis funicular tram – this is the very first tram in Lithuania still functioning since 1931, and one of the oldest functioning funicular trams remaining in Europe. This is another true vintage gem with a gorgeous wooden interior.

The tram takes you to the top of Zaliakalnis hill where you have a special viewing area from which you can see the river and the city of Kaunas. Here’s a little list of other things you can see in Lithuania.

Trams in Soller, Majorca, Spain

Pictured: A vintage tram in Soller, Majorca, Spain on a street with cafes.

The Soller tramway line in Majorca, Spain has a fleet of trams and approximately half of them are vintage trams. The oldest acquired trams go back to 1913, followed by later vintage additions in 1950’s. The tramline takes holidaymakers from Soller town to the coast.

Trams in Porto, Portugal

Pictured: A vintage tram on the riverfront route in Porto, Portugal.

The first mule tram line in Porto was opened in 1872, followed by an introduction of some steam engines, and then the introduction of electric traction in 1895. The last mule-drawn car was taken out in 1904 and urban steam engines were eliminated in 1914 due to complete electrification.

Fast forward to today, you can still take a vintage tram ride in Porto for 2.50 Euros for a single ride. If you’re taking the historic tramcar notice the nice wood interior and little details like the inlay wood panels.

A suggested line to take for a nice scenic ride is Tram Line 1 that goes along the riverfront toward the sea.

If you’re fascinated by trams, you may also wish to visit the Porto Tram Museum (Museu do Carro Eléctrico).

If you have more time in Portugal see other amazing places to visit in Portugal.

Trams in Prague, Czech Republic

Pictured: A trolleybus in Prague used as urban public transport.

If you’re visiting Prague you can do a bit of sightseeing by riding in the historical tram line no. 41 that’s in operation from April to November on weekends and public holidays. At the terminal station there’s also a Public Transport Museum.

Today the Prague tramway network is the largest network in the Czech Republic, consisting of 142.4 km of track and 931 trams. Historically, the horsecar trams started to operate in 1875, and the first electric tram line was opened in 1891. Today’s fleet has hundreds of Tatra T3 model trolleybuses of various modification subtypes that were in production since the 1960’s and are common in many cities in the former Eastern bloc.

Trams in San Francisco, USA

Pictured: San Francisco tram on Market Street, California City, USA

The trams of San Francisco is an icon of San Francisco and are very popular with tourists. Invented in San Francisco nearly 150 years ago and named a national historic landmark in 1964, the cable cars are kept in tip-top shape and rides offer most scenic views. The cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system that started operating in 1873.

To operate the San Francisco tram it takes two people; the driver of a cable car aka the gripman, and a conductor to collect fares, manage the boarding and control the rear wheel brakes when descending hills. A ride on one of these cars is indeed a very unique experience.

To learn more about San Francisco cable cars check out Cable Car Museum. And there’s also the SF Railway Museum that has information about the cable cars as well as the historic F-line trolleys in San Francisco.

Trams in Milan, Italy

Pictured: Vintage wooden old-style interior of a tram in Milan, Italy.

The fleet of tramcars in Milan contains several models of vintage trams that are still in service and were constructed between the 1920’s and 80’s. The oldest model Milan has in service is the ATM Class 1500 constructed between 1927 and 1930. Travelling on public transport in Milan can give you a funky vintage experience.

Trams in Melbourne, Australia

Pictured: A Vintage tram in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

There are currently around 500 trams in the current fleet of trams in Melbourne. The oldest trams that are still in operation in Melbourne are the W-class trams introduced in 1923. A dozen of them are still operational on the City Circle line - this is the line where you will spot the oldest W-class trams in service.

In Melbourne you can also ride trams that were built in the 80’s, as well as modern trams of a more contemporary and slick design.

You can also check out the Melbourne Tram Museum.

Kirnitzschtal Tramway in Germany

Pictured: A vintage tram in Bad Schandau spa town used as a tourist attraction as well as public transport.

The tram line runs from Bad Schandau spa town to the Lichtenhain Waterfall in Saxony Germany and in service are a number of 50’s and 60’s tramcars painted in white and yellow on the outside.