Laxey is the starting point for the Snaefell Mountain Railway, a metre-gauge electric tramway built in 1894 that climbs 621 metres to the island's only proper mountain. The journey takes about 30 minutes and the views open up progressively as the tram rises above the treeline into open moorland.
The top station has a café and, on days when cloud doesn't wrap the summit, views that extend to the English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh coasts simultaneously. The Snaefell line connects with the Manx Electric Railway at Laxey, so you can travel directly from Douglas without changing at the village — though breaking the journey for the Laxey Wheel is the obvious move.