train journey in switzerland

13 Magical Trains in Switzerland You Need to Ride ASAP

Last Updated: October 31, 2023

*FYI - this post may contain affiliate links, which means we earn a commission at no extra cost to you if you purchase from them. Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Check out our Privacy Policy and Disclosure. for more info.

Having just returned from a whirlwind binge of Switzerland’s most scenic trains, I can say without an ounce of exaggeration that the Swiss train system is a true marvel of magic.

And beyond their surplus of scenic routes, razor-sharp punctuality and Care Bear-friendly service, the crowning jewel of the Swiss rail system is, in my opinion, its glittering roster of scenic, panoramic Swiss trains – a holy grail of sorts for those traversing Europe by rail.

As I’m sure you know, train travel in Europe is an oft glamourized mode of transport, a classy and elegant contrast to the stuffy conditions of air and bus travel.

Well, I’m happy to report that in Switzerland, all your swankiest train dreams do indeed come true.

As a Canadian who grew up far removed from train travel, I admit the concept always delighted me (thanks, Hogwarts Express!!), and now even after so many years of frequent rides, I’m still like a giddy sugar-high child on her own moving candy shop.

Take it from this fangirl then, European train travel doesn’t really get better than Switzerland.

So, are you keen to try some scenic Swiss train rides for yourself? Here are some of my top picks for train rides in Switzerland you simply cannot miss.

Save this List of Amazing Swiss Train Rides for later!

You’ll be very glad you did.

The Most Magical Swiss Train Rides You Need to Try

The following are all stunning Swiss train rides that I have personally done and consider extremely bucket list worthy, whether for the landscapes, the trains themselves or just the overall experience. So, without further ado, here are some trains in Switzerland that you definitely cannot miss!

Money saving tip: If you plan on doing many of these train rides in one trip, look into huge money savers like the Swiss Travel Pass , the Half Fare Travel Card or a Eurail Pass to potentially save hundreds of dollars. More on this below!

1. The Golden Pass (Classic)

This Switzerland scenic train is, without a doubt, my favourite.

While not as famous as big Swiss names like the Glacier or Bernina Express , if it’s a touch of old world glamour and Belle Époque elegance you’re looking for, then please, book yourself on the  Golden Pass Classic  as soon as humanly possible.

The entire GoldenPass line is a tremendously scenic line running between Lucerne and Montreux in three separate segments, offering sweeping views of snow-dusted peaks and eight glimmering lakes along the way.

While the entire route is well worth drooling over, the segment from Montreux to Zweisimmen in particular is one I’d highly recommend because a few times a day, you can do the route in the “MOB Belle Époque” which is modelled after a 1930s Orient Express style luxury train.

If you’re feeling especially swanky, splurge for 1st class, where you get to sit in plush green armchairs while taking in all the stunning scenery. I have to admit, this felt even swankier than that $7000 train ride I did in India!

NOTE: The Golden Pass from Montreux to Zweisimmen ALSO has trains called the “MOB Panoramique” that do the same route, but with modern cars and not the classic ones. If you really want the experience I described above, make sure you are booking on the “MOB Belle Époque”.

BONUS TIP: I did this scenic ride in November, and I got to witness golden autumn colours mixed in with all the snowy mountains, while enjoying the benefit of fewer crowds. I’d highly recommend this time of year for it! You can also stop off at some of the most magical Christmas markets in Switzerland along the way, including the beautiful lakeside Christmas Market in Montreux.

2. The Glacier Express

This famous Swiss Alps train ride is known as one of the most luxurious and best train rides in Europe, so it’s no wonder it’s made my list (read my honest review of the Glacier Express in 1st class! ).

End to end, it brings you between the swishy ski resorts of Zermatt and Saint Moritz, stopping in a variety of stops like Andermatt and Chur along the way.

From start to finish, you’re looking at a tortoise-like slow ride of about 8 hours, ensuring that it does indeed earn its title of “the slowest express train in the world”.

And while the Glacier Express is certainly not everybody’s cup of tea (again, it’s very very slow and takes up an entire day), I loved it for the experience.  

There’s nothing quite like a long scenic train ride to give you an ample dose of dreamy “I love the world” moments.

Imagine giant panoramic glass windows, plush, comfy chairs, and my personal favourite: table service with hot three course meals served straight to your seat.

After all, if you’re taking a train through Switzerland, why shouldn’t you be inhaling a giant chocolate pudding at the same time?

It’s not just about the food of course. This wonderful train ride through the Swiss Alps will take you from snow-dusted mountains and terraced vineyards to rocky gorges and turquoise rivers.

This is definitely a bucket list trip that comes with a hefty price tag, but if you want to treat yourself to one of the best train trips in Switzerland, this is it. Just don’t expect to get anywhere in a hurry 😉

Read my full guide to the Glacier Express for more info.

3. The Bernina Express

Bar none, the Bernina Express is one of the most famous train trips in Switzerland, and I’m happy to report that it does indeed live up to all the hype and buzz!

This four hour ride between Chur and Tirano is one that brings you from the snowy mountaintops of Switzerland down to the warm, balmy Mediterranean views of Italy , passing by a constant barrage of unique landscapes along the way.

No doubt, if it’s excellent value you’re looking for, this is the train I’d recommend. read my full guide to the Bernina Express for more info.

Compared to other journeys (side-eying you, Glacier Express ), the Bernina Express is quite a short ride, but the diversity of landscapes you get to take in is breathtaking.

From ruined castles and fortresses to quaint alpine villages and famous viaducts, the Bernina Express is like a “best of” tour of Switzerland, all in a compact, time-friendly package.

Just to warn you though, your memory cards will all run out of space, and your phone will 1000% die from the sheer beauty of it all.

NOTE: If you are a keen photographer, or prefer to avoid touristy crowds, I would actually recommend doing this ride using regional trains instead. More on this below!

This Switzerland train ride has amazing views in winter too:

4. The Transalpin (from Austria to Switzerland)

It’s definitely not the most well known of all Swiss train rides, but I recently rode the Transalpin from Innsbruck to Zurich, and was blown away.

This EuroCity Express ride is one that isn’t marketed as being a scenic sightseeing experience, but is nonetheless one that brings you across some awe-inspiring landscapes in Austria, Switzerland and even the wonderful micro-nation of Liechtenstein .

The scenery you pass is gorgeous, but the starring feature for me is the panoramic 1st class car that they add to one journey a day, which allows you to soak in the views with giant windows  just like on the sightseeing trains mentioned above.

Seriously: it’s the glamour of the aforementioned express trains, but without the crowds!

The best part is, taking this panoramic train at 3:48pm from Innsbruck in March meant I was able to watch sunset from the train, and let me tell you: watching the sky turn fiery pink over Walensee as we weaved through the impossibly green rolling hills of Austria, then Liechtenstein, then Switzerland was pure magic.

This is a lesser known Swiss panoramic train, and definitely a hidden gem that you should consider adding to your Switzerland train tour.

5. The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn

Alright, listing the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn is kinda cheating because the following route is technically a segment of the Glacier Express.

But since the Glacier Express is a million years long and not everyone has the luxury of spending a full 8 hours on a scenic train, I would recommend the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn from Visp to Zermatt as an excellent taste of the Glacier Express experience.

Not only do they have panorama cars just like on the Glacier Express, the rugged scenery here (I would argue) is one of the best parts of the entire GE journey.

Leaving from Visp, you pass by rocky mountains, terraced vineyards, turquoise rivers, and of course, as you approach Zermatt, snowy Alpine towns and even the famous Matterhorn if you pay attention! I didn’t, and managed to miss it, although thankfully I got some great views of it in town!

If you want to experience a panoramic train in Switzerland without paying a reservation fee (and without the accompanying crowds of the more popular scenic trains), then this is a great option.

Other (Non-Tourist) Swiss Train Rides and Routes I Recommend

Train travel in Switzerland is next level, so naturally, the country has far more to offer than just the panoramic tourist trains mentioned above.

In fact, pick any random route in Switzerland and it’s bound to bring you somewhere pretty scenic.

That said, here are some of my top picks for train rides I’ve done that weren’t part of the panoramic express rides mentioned above, but are still pretty incredible (with the added bonus that they don’t feel at all touristy).

6. The Express routes above but on regional trains

So here’s a secret I’ll let you in on: all the “Express” trains mentioned above are so-named because they are built for sightseeing, and take you end to end with no stops… BUT regional trains travelling between those areas go past the exact same landscapes, often with fewer crowds, and the ability to open windows on certain trains.

So, while most Swiss train tours will bring you along one of the ‘Express’ trains, if you are an avid photographer, want to save money on the reservation fee, or would like to stop at different towns along the way, then I would recommend doing the Bernina Express and Glacier Express on regional trains instead.

I did this on my return leg from Tirano to Chur (AKA the Bernina Express route) and I loved the experience. I had a carriage all to myself, I could open the windows and overall, I was like a happy puppy sticking her head out a car window the entire time ! 10/10 would recommend.

NOTE: Download the SBB app to look up regional routes with ease. It’s one of the handiest Europe travel apps out there if you’re headed to Switzerland!

7. From Interlaken to Thun

The clarity and colours of Lake Thun are seriously next-level, so if you can, enjoy the views from a train going from Interlaken to Thun.

I recently got to enjoy the view below while going from Interlaken to Spiez, and I really couldn’t believe my eyes.

Is water even legally allowed to be that blue? Was I trapped in an over-saturated anime?

These are the kinds of existential questions that you’ll find yourself asking on board this ride 😉

8. From Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen

One of the biggest treats of doing Switzerland by train is being able to slowly enjoy the fairytale-esque landscapes, and as far as colourful postcards go, it’s tough to beat the short ride from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen .

Rolling green hills, towering mountains and an endless parade of lush green trees await. The best part? The view riding into Lauterbrunnen, as the iconic Staubbach waterfall comes into view.

9. From Buchs to Zurich

I love that this Switzerland train ride takes you past two stunning Swiss lakes: my personal favourite, the impossibly turquoise Walensee, and of course the beautiful Lake Zurich.

This is a ride I’ve gotten to enjoy a few times, and it’s certainly one of my favourites.

10. From Lausanne to Montreux

Alright, so this is another short ride, but it’s an unbelievably beautiful one that glides along the clear blue waters of Lake Geneva the entire time, with a foreground of lush green vineyards to boot.

If your goal is to experience one of the nicest and shortest train routes in Switzerland, I’d highly recommend this ride, especially when it starts to tilt and swerve into Lausanne (a city with an awesome Christmas marke t). Total bliss!

Amazing Swiss Train Rides Still on My Bucket List

Last but not least, there are a handful of Switzerland scenic train rides that I still haven’t had a chance to do, but it feels weird to exclude them in a roundup of Switzerland’s best train rides, so here they are below:

11. Erlebniszug Rheinschlucht

Imagine riding along the Rhine Gorge in an OPEN TRAIN, with all the fresh smells and sounds of nature hitting your senses directly.

I caught a glimpse of this yellow beauty while on the Glacier Express and I just about lost my mind and demanded that they stop the train immediately so I could transfer.

Unfortunately, the Erlebniszug Rheinschlucht is only available in the summer (which I guess makes sense) but it’s nonetheless something I would love to try someday. Click here for more details (and photos!)

Of all the scenic train rides in Switzerland, there are very few that allow you to experience it all completely open-air, so definitely put this one on your list!

12. The Cogwheel Train up Mount Pilatus

With a title like “the steepest cogwheel train in the world” you can expect the ride up to Mount Pilatus to be pretty special.

Mount Pilatus is one of my favourite mountains in Europe, and because my visit a few years back was veeery poorly timed (snow delayed the opening of the cogwheel train by a week!), I missed the opportunity to ride this steep monster up to the top.

Nonetheless, my consolation prize was sweet enough: a scenic ride up by cable car, with access to incredible views the entire way up.

The next time I’m in the area, I’ll be sure to catch the Cogwheel train to the top instead, experiencing a nerve-rackingly steep ascent that I’m sure will make me cry a little….. but in a good way!

13. Jungfraujoch

Last but not least, we have the legendary Jungfraujoch.

The train ride up to Jungfraujoch brings you to the highest train station in Europe, passing by endless snowy peaks along the way (if your views aren’t obscured by poor weather that is!).

Truthfully, I’ve resisted doing the Jungfraujoch thus far for two simple reasons: cost and uncertainty!

At an eyewatering 200CHF for a regular roundtrip ticket, this is one trip that does NOT come cheap, certainly when bad weather might mean you don’t see anything at all once you reach the top.

Nonetheless, it’s a bucket list item for sure, and one that I’d be keen to test out sometime in the future, as I have heard great things about it. I did part of this journey (which for most, starts in Interlaken) from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen which was short and slow, but very nice.

BONUS: The Gelmerbahn

No roundup of amazing Switzerland train journeys would be complete without this one, even though it’s brief and not quite a conventional train ride.

Nonetheless, the Gelmerbahn (AKA the Gelmer Funicular) is a truly epic ride that deserves a mention on this list.

This surprisingly thrilling ride is an open air funicular that whisks you up a steep mountain to a crystal clear turquoise lake.

The incline is so steep, it was once the steepest of its kind in Europe, and moves 2m per second, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but definitely feels like it when you’re racing up a mountain.

You can take the Gelmerbahn up (which is what we did), down (which I hear is much scarier) or roundtrip. Either way, the unique experience, views, and lake up top all combine to make this one of the coolest Swiss “train” rides you can do!

Read my full Gelmerbahn guide for more tips.

How to Buy Cheap Train Tickets in Switzerland?

Last but not least, I know what you’re all thinking after reading this post… how can you possibly afford all these Swiss scenic trains?

The tough truth is: enjoying Switzerland train travel is an expensive endeavour indeed, but I’ve been able to discover a variety of cost-saving hacks over the years that might be able to help you out!

TIP #1: Use a rail pass

One of the ways I’ve been able to explore Switzerland by rail SO cheaply is thanks to rail passes!

This is how I managed to scheme my way into only paying 30 euros for my 1st class tickets on the Glacier Express and Bernina Express!

Long story short, Eurail/Interrail passes allow you to waive the base ticket fee which means you only need to pay for a reservation. As such, I paid 306 euros for a Eurail global 10 day pass, (I got a free 1st class upgrade thanks to a sale they were running).

I then used 1 travel day on the Glacier Express, which evens out to only about 30 euros spent for this gorgeous ride (plus the 23 CHF reservation fee).

Still an incredible deal, and by far the cheapest way to do it. This is actually how I did all my recent train rides for a rock bottom price.

So, if you are travelling around Europe, getting a Eurail pass might be a good idea, because Switzerland is certainly where you get the best bang for your buck!

Need more info? Read my detailed Eurail pass review to see if it’s a good fit!

TIP #2: Consider a Swiss Travel Pass

A Swiss Travel Pass is similar to the Eurail / Interrail passes except it gives you unlimited transportation on trains, buses, boats and free public transport + museums).

If you are travelling only around Switzerland, this might be a good option.

It is expensive though, so make sure to do the math and see if getting one would really be worth it.

If you only plan to do one Switzerland train journey, buying a point to point ticket will most likely be cheaper.  Click here for more info on the Swiss Travel Pass.

TIP #3: Consider getting a discount card

The Half Fare Travelcard is a very popular card that you can buy which (true to its name) gets you half price tickets across Switzerland.

In 2020, this card is 120 CHF for one month.

This sounds like a lot, but it could be worth it if you are spending an extended amount of time in the country and plan to take multiple Switzerland train trips throughout your stay.

For what it’s worth, if you were to use this card for the Glacier Express alone, you’d already be breaking even so if you take more trains on top of that, then you’d definitely save a good amount of money.

I still think buying a rail pass would work out to be cheaper though in most cases. Click here to browse prices/options for the Half Fare Travelcard.

TIP #4: Travel in the off-season

This tip is mostly just for the Glacier Express , but I’ll include it anyway.

While base ticket prices do not change, reservation fees for panoramic trains can change depending on whether you travel in the off, mid or peak season.

If you want to get the cheapest ride, go in the off-season which A) means guaranteed snow!! and B) half the price on a reservation.

Any more recommendations for scenic train rides in Switzerland?

I hope you enjoyed this post all about Switzerland train travel and the best Swiss railway journeys the country has to offer, assembled meticulously after many Swiss train trips of my own!

All that said, I’m always looking to add more Swiss trains to my list – especially hidden gems 😉

Let me know in the comments!

My Go-To Travel Favourites:

🧳 Eagle Creek: My favourite packing cubes

💳 Wise: For FREE travel friendly credit cards

🍯 Airalo: My go-to eSIM

🏨 Booking.com: For searching hotels

📷 Sony A7IV: My (amazing) camera

✈️ Google Flights : For finding flight deals

🌎 WorldNomads: For travel insurance

🎉 GetYourGuide: For booking activities

11 thoughts on “13 Magical Trains in Switzerland You Need to Ride ASAP”

Wowww the Golden Pass train is SO BEAUTIFUL

Oh my goodness! I am dying to go to Switzerland and your post confirms why. How stunning!

I’ve always dreamed of riding an old-fashioned train through Switzerland, so I think the Glacier Express is for me! The photos you captured through the train windows were breathtaking.

Wow, these look amazing. Would love to do one of those one day. Nothing quite beats the snowy Swiss scenery.

First of all, I didn’t realize that Switzerland had so many trains, but this proves me wrong! Now I need to go try them all!!!

Other scenic lines: Brig – Kandersteg – Spiez (this line climbs high from Brig along a track right next to the side of the mountains before going through and around the mountains. Beautiful views. A second great ride is (Luzern)- Arth/Goldau – Erstfeld – Göschenen – Bellinzona on the old line via the spiral tunnels. At the town of Wassen, the line circles around the little village and you get to see the quaint church three times from different heights and angles. On the other side of the Gotthard tunnel, in the Italian speaking Swiss canton of Ticino, there are more of these spiral tunnels and great views as the train circles slowly down to the valley floor.

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/voralpen-express.html This is a stunning train ride on a sunny day, definitely one for the list.

What a great article really well researched. I particularly agree with your tip about travelling on the local trains over the titled ones. I would add three trips to do should you return. The Brunig railway, Interlaken to Luzern, Martigny to Chamonix, the Mnt Blanc Express. The three mountain railway lines out of Aigle, I guess that makes it five then!

Great write up! This should help a ton in the coming weeks when we visit Switzerland. Thanks for putting this together!

You’re very welcome. Enjoy Switzerland! 🙂

Thank you for the great write up! Makes it easier for me to decide which rail ride to take. My trip is a year away and I am looking forward to it

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. *

Navigate to myswitzerland.com

Destinations

Your swiss holiday time.

Holiday destinations

• Summer holiday destinations
• Winter sports & ski resorts
• Family destinations

Attractions

• Top attractions
• UNESCO World Heritage sites / biospheres
• Travel by train, bus or boat
• Top museums
• Swiss Parks
• Scenic nature

Experiences

Additional content about subnavigation experiences.

• Family excursions
• Food & Wine
• Group excursions
• Guided tours

Summer & Autumn

• Bicycle & Mountain bike
• Adventure & Sports Summer
• Zoo & animal experiences
• Ski and snowboard
• Cross-country skiing
• Snowshoe and winter hiking
• Tobogganing
• Winter excursions
• Christmas in Switzerland

Cities & culture

• Parks, Gardens and Squares
• Architecture

Experience Tour

• Car, motorcycle - Grand Tour
• Train, bus, boat – Grand Train Tour
• Mountain excursions

Accommodation

• Typically Swiss Hotels
• Wellness & Spa
• Family Hotels
• Bike Hotels
• Boutique Hotels
• Inspiring Meeting Hotels
• Swiss Historic Hotels
• Luxury hotels
• Winter sports hotels

Other types of accommodation

• On the farm
• Bed and Breakfast
• Mountains huts
• Group accommodation

Transport & Stay

• Travel to Switzerland
• Barrier-free travel
• Tickets public transport
• Service & support
• Money and shopping

About Switzerland

• General facts
• Custom and tradition
• History of Switzerland
• The Swiss Art and Culture Scene
• Health Travel
• Sustainability

Weather & Climate

• Climate in Switzerland
• Snow Report
• Water and pool temperatures
• City offers
• Touring offers
• Wellness offers
• Nature and outdoor offers
• Offers for families

Where are you from?

• België (Nederlands)
• Belgique (Français)
• Deutschland
• Netherlands
• Russia (Россия)
• Schweiz (Deutsch)
• Suisse (Français)
• Svizzera (Italiano)
• Switzerland (English)
• United Kingdom
• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• China 中文简体
• China 中文繁体
• Gulf countries العربية
• Japan 日本
• Korea 한국어
• United Arab Emirates
• New Zealand
• International

Language, region and important links

• Slovenština

Service Navigation

• Help & Contact

Grand Train Tour of Switzerland

On the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, panoramic trains take you to all the highlights and sights in Switzerland, year-round. Get in, lean back and enjoy – wherever you like.  

• 1,280 kilometer
• 11 large lakes
• 5 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• 4 official languages

Alternative section: St. Moritz – Lugano (by bus)

Switch to the bus and road

Interlaken – Zweisimmen – Montreux

A panoramic ride between two worlds.

Lugano – Flüelen – Luzern

The panoramic journey by train and boat.

Luzern – St. Gallen

Over gentle hills with a view of the Alps.

Montreux – Visp – Zermatt

Up the valley to the “mountain of mountains”.

St. Gallen – Schaffhausen – Zürich

The “maritime” side of Switzerland.

St. Moritz – Tirano – Lugano

From glaciers to palm trees.

Zermatt – St. Moritz

The slowest express train in the world.

Zürich – Luzern – Interlaken

From lake to lake, from city to city.

Explore the sections

From glaciers to lakes and from mountains to cities: each section of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland has a unique character.

Find your perfect itinerary

Discover the top travel suggestions for the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland.

Virtual Touring experience

Experience the beauty of Switzerland like never before with our immersive VR / 360-degree videos!

Everything you need for your journey

Tickets, reservations & timetables, mygrandtraintour booklet, train lines of the grand train tour, bernina express.

From St. Moritz to Lugano

Glacier Express

From Zermatt to St. Moritz

GoldenPass Express

From Interlaken to Montreux

Gotthard Panorama Express

From Lugano to Lucerne

Luzern–Interlaken Express

From Lucerne to Interlaken

Thurbo Seelinie

From St. Gallen to Schaffhausen

Treno Gottardo

From Locarno to Lucerne

Vigezzina - Centovalli Railway

Voralpen-express.

From Lucerne to St. Gallen

Destinations along the Grand Train Tour

Schaffhausen, book a grand train tour package.

All panoramic trains in one trip.

Barrier Free Grand Train Tour of Switzerland

Touring magazine, arrival by train, accommodation along the grand train tour of switzerland, your trip experiences.

#grandtraintour

Der folgende Inhalt stammt von einem Drittanbieter (Instagram) und kann Inhalt enthalten, der nicht oder teilweise zugänglich ist.

Advertisement

• ABOUT LOST IN SWITZERLAND
• GETTING AROUND
• SWISS ACTIVITIES
• ITINERARIES

The 5 most popular scenic train rides in Switzerland

80    comments

The Swiss are big on trains. I mean, Sheldon Cooper big.

Let me explain that.

Switzerland only measures 220 by 348 kilometres, which results in a very manageable landmass of roughly 41.000 square kilometres. That’s only half the size of Lake Superior in the US/Canada. Or 2.5 times the size of Beijing.

Like I said, pretty manageable. 

Yet, if you sum up all the railway tracks running across the country, you’ll end up with a total of over 5.200 kilometres . 

That’s a lot. 

That’s the distance from Vancouver to Halifax. Or from Ushuaia to São Paulo. Or from Cairns to Sydney. Return!

You get the idea. The Swiss are big on trains. 

So it comes as no surprise that, in a place that is often associated with amazing scenery, a handful of these 5.200-odd kilometres are quite appealing to the eye. 

In this post, I’ll introduce you to the five most scenic and popular train rides in Switzerland . Mountain railways excluded.

1. The Golden Pass Line

The Golden Pass Line connects the centre of Switzerland with the shores of Lake Geneva. This spectacular journey leads past eight lakes , rides through six different cantons (the Swiss version of states), crosses three mountain passes and connects two language regions with each other.

And it offers about an estimated gazillion photo opportunities.

6 hours 4 minutes

191 kilometres (119 miles)

Transfers :

Interlaken and Zweisimmen

Trains run eight times a day, all year round.

Travel passes:

Eurail , Interrail , Swiss Travel Pass (Flex) , Saver Day Pass

Reservation required:

No, you don't necessarily need a reservation to use the Golden Pass trains. However, the Golden Pass customer service recommend booking a seat for the segment between Zweisimmen and Montreux, as it can get pretty busy during high season. Costs are around 20 CHF to make a reservation. But technically, you can do the whole trip without reserving a seat. If you'd like to make a reservation, visit the Golden Pass Website .

Getting off along the way:

You can easily interrupt your journey between Lucerne and Montreux and explore what's inbetween. The best places to stop over are probably Interlaken and Spiez. If you don't have a reservation for the whole journey, get off along the way as often as you please. 

PLACES OF INTEREST ALONG THE GOLDEN PASS LINE

Lucerne is where most people start their Golden Pass journey. This beautiful city by the shores of Lake Lucerne is mostly known for the Kapellbrücke – a wooden footbridge leading across the River Reuss – spectacular views over Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus as well as the famous Lion’s Monument and the Glacier Garden.

View over Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus

The old town of Lucerne with the Kapellbrücke

Lake Lungern and Brünig Pass

On the way from Lucerne to Interlaken, you’ll pass by Lake Lungern. This picturesque lake lies in a valley and can best be seen if you grab a seat on the right side. Coming from Interlaken, the best lake views are on the left. 

After passing the lake, the train starts climbing up to Brünig Pass, which sits at 1.008 metres (3.307 feet) above sea level. After the pass and on your way down to Interlaken, you’ll be presented with stunning views over Lake Brienz and into the Bernese Alps.

Lake Lungern

Lake Brienz, coming down from Brünig Pass

Interlaken is the starting point to many an adventure and most visitors to Switzerland pass through it at some point. You’re really spoiled for choice here when it comes to things to do. 

Activities include a very expensive cruise up Jungfrau (Top of Europe), a boat ride on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun, a trip to the villages of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, an adrenaline-packed session of skydiving, paragliding, canyoning or just a good old hike in front of the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountain trio.  

Lauterbrunnen

The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau trio in the Bernese Alps

Lake Thun and Spiez

Lake Thun tends to take people’s breath away. Gazing out the window on your way to Spiez, you might understand everyone’s affections for this lake. Grab a seat on the right side for better views.

Built by the shores of Lake Thun, Spiez is a wonderful little town. A one-hour stopover gives you plenty of time to head down to the shores of Lake Thun, visit the castle, walk through the pretty town with its vineyards or even go for a quick dip in the lake.

Lake Thun in Spiez

Spiez Castle

Bernese Oberland

A big chunk of the Golden Pass Line takes you through the Bernese Oberland. This area is a dream for mountain-lovers and pretty much sums up what Switzerland is about. Lakes, mountains, lush meadows with grazing cows, glaciers, tons of hiking trails , wonderful landscapes and cute little villages.

In winter, the area turns into a haven for the snow-seeking crowd. Gstaad, the counterpart to St.Moritz in the Bernese Alps, is particularly popular.

Cruising through the beautiful Bernese Oberland

The Golden Pass Panorama Express train

Montreux marks the end, or the beginning, of the Golden Pass Line. This beautiful city by Lake Geneva is the gateway to many attractions in the area.

Whether you‘re visiting the Château de Chillon , the city of Vevey, the UNESCO World Heritage site of  Lavaux vineyards or just hanging out next to the Freddie Mercury statue in Montreux, this city will make it worth your while.

Throughout the year, several music, comedy and arts festivals take place. The Montreux Jazz Festival being the most popular one. 

The city of Montreux by Lake Geneva

Chateau de Chillon

2. Glacier Express

The Glacier Express - also known as the world’s slowest express train – is probably the best known scenic train ride in Switzerland. It connects the two highly popular mountain destinations of St.Moritz and Zermatt. 

What makes this journey so memorable are the fantastic views you get left, right and centre throughout the whole ride. The train takes you across 291 bridges, through 91 tunnels, three cantons and two language regions.

8 hours 3 minutes

291 kilometres (181 miles)

Trains run once a day during winter and three times a day during summer. But only two out of the four summer trains complete the whole journey between St. Moritz and Zermatt.

Yes. Even if you have a travel pass, reservations are mandatory. Short distances cost between 29 and 39 CHF, while long distances range between 39 and 49 CHF. Depending on the season you travel in.

To add a reservation to your travel pass, head to the Glacier Express booking site . Follow the booking process all the way through to the end, select your pass just before checking out and the ticket price will be taken off your total.

Penny-pincher version :

It’s possible to travel between St. Moritz and Zermatt without paying a reservation fee. For this, you’ll need to downgrade from the fancy Glacier Express trains and use regular trains instead. 

Get on in St. Moritz and transfer in Reichenau-Tamins, Disentis/Mustér, Andermatt and Visp. You’d be surprised, but even though you’ll be changing trains all the time, it’ll only take you around 20 minutes longer to reach your destination. To put together your schedule, head to the SBB website .

These regular trains travel the exact same route as the Glacier Express does. The only thing you’ll be missing out on are the panorama windows. 

In addition to saving you the reservation fee, this option also l ets you travel more flexibly because trains run a lot more frequently.

Getting off along the way :

I don't recommend interrupting your Glacier Express journey as you need a reservation for this trip. However, if you really want to stop over, make sure you arrange your reservations accordingly. 

If you opt for the penny-pincher version, you can get off along the way as often and as long as you please.

PLACES OF INTEREST ALONG THE GLACIER EXPRESS

The mountain village of St. Moritz is a highly popular holiday destination all year round. Surrounded by towering mountains and in close proximity to Lake St. Moritz and Lake Silvaplana , the area offers something for everyone. Whether you’re into biking, hiking , stand up paddling, swimming, windsurfing, skiing, sledding, ice skating, snowshoeing or just enjoying the views, you’ll find your heart’s desire.

The fancy mountain resort of St. Moritz

Lake St. Moritz

Albula Line (UNESCO)

Landwasser viaduct.

The Landwasser Viaduct between St. Moritz and Thusis is quite a masterpiece. This impressive construction is 142 metres (466 feet) long and 65 metres (213 feet) high. What makes it so unique is the fact that the viaduct leads straight into a tunnel.  

The impressive Landwasser Viaduct disappearing into a tunnel

The Albula Line between Preda and Bergün is going to make your head spin. Since the train loses lots of altitude in this segment, it spirals its way down across six viaducts and through three loop tunnels. If you pay attention, you’ll notice the train changing the side of the valley several times. 

Chur is the capital of the Canton of Grisons. Relatively small in size, it offers plenty of sights and a wonderful old town. It’s also the starting point to many a trip in the vicinity, like to the crystal clear Lake Gauma or the dramatic Rhine Gorge .

Chur is the capital city of the Canton of Grisons

Rhine Gorge

Also known as the „Swiss Grand Canyon“, the Rhine Gorge was formed during a massive landslide around 10.000 years ago. Carved out by the river over many centuries, the Rhine Gorge is now a popular destination for hikers, bikers and river-rafters. Coming from St. Moritz, you’ll get the best views of the canyon if you sit on the left.

The Rhine Gorge - also known as the Swiss Grand Canyon

Oberalp Pass

At 2.033 metres (6.670 feet) above sea level, the Oberalp Pass connects Disentis/Mustér in the Canton of Grisons with Andermatt in the Canton of Uri. This pass is the highest point of the Glacier Express.

The Glacier Express making its way across the Alps at Oberalp Pass

The village of Zermatt sits right in front of the Matterhorn , Switzerland’s most famous mountain. In case you don’t know what the Matterhorn looks like, have some Toblerone chocolate and study the packaging. 

The hiking, biking and photo opportunities in this area are seemingly endless. Riding up the Gornergrat with its mountain and glacier views will blow your socks off. And only 15 minutes from Zermatt lies Randa, the starting point to hiking across the world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge . 

For more insider tips about what to do in Zermatt, read the  interview I did with my local friend Gabriela. 

The village of Zermatt

The Matterhorn, Switzerland's most famous mountain

3. Bernina Express

They say the most spectacular way to cross the Alps is on board the Bernina Express . 

And they might be right. 

This train takes you from the medieval city of Chur across the Alps and all the way into sunny Italy. Between Chur and St. Moritz, the Bernina Express covers the exact same route as the Glacier Express. 

After St. Moritz, it starts climbing up to glistening glaciers before heading down to the palms of Italy. It passes through 55 tunnels and crosses 196 bridges along the way.

The train ends in the Italian city of Tirano. From there, the Bernina Express Bus takes passengers through the famous Valtellina wine region past Lake Como and back into Switzerland.

4 hours 13 minutes (train from Chur to Tirano), 3 hours 10 minutes (bus from Tirano to Lugano)

156 kilometres (97 miles) on the train, 90 kilometres ( 56 miles) on the bus

The Bernina Express runs from May through November. Unfortunately, their schedule is too complicated to put in words. Please check their current timetable to put together your itinerary.

Yes. Even if you have a travel pass, reservations are mandatory. The seat reservation costs between 20 CHF and 26 CHF, depending on the season you travel in. Head to the Bernina Express booking site to make your reservation.

The same principle that works for the Glacier Express applies to the Bernina Express. To avoid paying the reservation fee , use regular trains. Get on in Chur and transfer in St. Moritz and Poschiavo. If you add the journey from Tirano to Lugano, you’ll need to transfer in Tirano and Monza as well.

However, if you travel onwards to Lugano, your Swiss Travel Passes won’t do you any good since this part is served by the Italian Railway . For detailed ticket information, consult the Trenitalia website. 

I don't recommend interrupting your Bernina Express journey as you need a reservation for this trip. However, if you really want to stop over, make sure you arrange your reservations accordingly. 

PLACES OF INTEREST ALONG THE BERNINA EXPRESS

Between Chur and St. Moritz, the Bernina Express covers the exact same route as the Glacier Express. Please see above for a more detailed description of Chur, the Rhine Gorge, the Albula Line, the Landwasser Viaduct and St. Moritz.

Ospizio Bernina

At 2.535 metres (8.317 feet) above sea level, Ospizio Bernina is the highest point of the Bernina Line. It’s around here that you cross the language border between the Romansh-speaking Engadine and the Italian-speaking Poschiavo Valley. 

The Bernina Express at Ospizo Bernina

The Bernina Express making its way across the Alps

Valposchiavo

The Poschiavo Valley in the southern Alps is a fantastic place to go hiking or enjoy a walk along the lake. It’s where the Bernina Express crosses the Swiss-Italian border and takes you to Tirano, where you transfer to the Bernina Express Bus to Lugano.

Lago Bianco on the way to Valposchiavo

Lago di Poschiavo

Brusio Circular Viaduct

The circular viaduct in Brusio is another spectacular construction on the Bernina Line. In order to overcome the altitude in the narrow Poschiavo Valley, the train has to take a 360-degree turn.

The Bernina Express spiralling its way down to Valposchiavo in Brusio

Valtellina and Lake Como

On the way from Tirano to Lugano, you’ll ride through the stunning wine region of Valtellina. Before crossing the border back into Switzerland, you’ll be driving past Lake Como, the place where George Clooney and many other celebrities got married.

Berbenno in the Valtellina Valley

Menaggio by Lake Como

Lugano is the biggest city in the Canton of Ticino and the third biggest financial centre in Switzerland - right behind Zurich and Geneva. Its Mediterranean charm, the flowery parks and the stunning views from one of the many surrounding mountains make this city worth paying a visit. 

The nearby outdoor museum Swissminiatur in the village of Mendrisio is a replica of Switzerland in small. I used to love going there as a kid… I guess I owe most of my Swiss geography knowledge to that place.

Lake Lugano

The Swissminiatur in Mendrisio

4. Voralpen Express

The Voralpen Express, which literally translates to „pre-Alpine Express“, commutes between St.Gallen and Lucerne. In comparison to the other train rides in this post, the Voralpen Express is the least touristy one. 

It doesn’t come with fancy panorama windows and there’s no friendly voice pointing out what viaduct you just crossed. But that doesn’t make it any less worth riding.

2 hours 16 minutes

125 kilometres (78 miles)

The Voralpen Express leaves St. Gallen and Lucerne every hour, all year round.

Eurail , Interrail , Swiss Travel Pass (Flex), Saver Day Pass , Voralpen Express Ticket

Since the Voralpen Express is not a panoramic tourist train like the other ones and you therefore don't need a reservation, you can get off along the way as often and as long as you want. The place I'd recommend checking out for a while is Rapperswil.

PLACES OF INTEREST ALONG THE VORALPEN EXPRESS

The city of St. Gallen has a lot to offer. Places like the Abbey District, the recreational area of Drei Weieren and the free wildlife park of Peter & Paul make it easy to spend a few hours in this city. Head over to a more detailed guide of things to do in St. Gallen .

The cathedral in the Abbey District of St. Gallen

The recreational area of Drei Weieren

The Toggenburg area is nestled between two towering mountain ranges - the Alpstein and the Churfirsten. This part of Switzerland is incredibly pretty and might make you feel like you’ve stepped into a fairy tale. At least that’s how my Australian friend described it when I took her on the Voralpen Express.

You’ll pass by green, rolling hills and traditional farmers’ houses as the train makes its way through the Appenzell and Toggenburg area towards Lake Zurich.

The Churfirsten mountain range in the Toggenburg

This little town by Lake Zurich is one of my favourite places in Switzerland. I lived here for three years while I was studying urban planning with Gabriela , Andrea , Tobi and Yannic . 

If you have enough time, I recommend getting off the train for an hour and exploring the beautiful „City of Roses". The impressive Rapperswil Castle, the charming promenade, Switzerland’s longest wooden bridge leading halfway across Lake Zurich and plenty of great spots with great views will make it worth your while.

The beautiful town of Rapperswil by Lake Zurich

Travelling between St. Gallen and Lucerne

Rothenthurmer Moor

Once the Voralpen Express is done climbing the hills behind Lake Zurich, it soon passes through the area of the Rothenthurmer Moor. This swampy landscape stretches across 10 kilometres (6 miles) between Biberbrugg and Rothenthurm and is the first moor to be protected in Switzerland.

Walking the moorland trail between Biberbrugg and Rothenthurm takes just over two hours and is very easy to complete. Another opportunity to break up the Voralpen Express journey…

Lakes Zurich, Zug and Lucerne

Between St. Gallen and Lucerne, the Voralpen Express passes by three Swiss lakes : Lake Zurich, Lake Zug and Lake Lucerne.

On the way from Arth Goldau to Immensee

Lucerne is either the starting or finishing point for people travelling the Voralpen Express. This vibrant city by the shores of Lake Lucerne is mostly known for the Kapellbrücke – a wooden footbridge leading across the River Reuss – spectacular views over Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus, the Swiss Museum of Transport as well as the Lion’s Monument and the Glacier Garden.

The Lion's Monument in Luzern

5. Gotthard Panorama Express

If you follow the motto „the journey is the reward“, you’re going to love travelling the historic Gotthard Line from Lucerne to Lugano.

For the first leg of your trip, you travel across the lake from Lucerne to Flüelen on board a steamboat. In Flüelen, the Gotthard Panorama Express train takes you through the historic Gotthard route all the way down to the sunny south on Switzerland. 

Before the world’s longest tunnel opened in 2016, travelling this route through the Gotthard massif was the normal way to get to the Canton of Ticino by train. Today, the 57 kilometres (35 miles) long Gotthard Basistunnel saves commuters lots of time by bolting through the Alps in less than 20 minutes. 

2 hours 43 minutes (boat from Lucerne to Flüelen), 2 hours 28 minutes (train from Flüelen to Lugano) 

38 kilometres (24 miles) on the steamboat, 183 kilometres (114 miles) on the train.

From Tuesday through Sunday, the Gotthard Panorama Express leaves once a day. Their season starts in April and ends in October. Check their current schedule here as the dates change every year.

Swiss Travel Pass (Flex), Saver Day Pass  

With a Eurail and Interrail Pass, you get 50% off the boat ride from Lucerne to Flüelen. The train ride from Flüelen to Lugano is included.

For up to date information on which pass or ticket covers what, visit the SBB website . 

Yes. The reservation fee costs 24 CHF. You can book your Gotthard Panorama Express ticket including seat reservation directly through Swiss Activities.

You can travel the Gotthard Panorama Line without making a reservation by, you might have guessed it, using regular trains. Even though the historical Gotthard line is no longer the primary way to connect the Ticino with the rest of Switzerland, it’s still in use.

Trains run hourly between Erstfeld and Bellinzona all year round. To put together your personal itinerary, consult the SBB website. 

I don't recommend interrupting your Gotthard Panorama Express journey as you need a reservation for this trip and you can only complete it in one go.

However, if you really want to stop over, make sure you arrange your reservations accordingly. There's an option to book this trip with an overnight stay.

PLACES OF INTEREST ALONG THE GOTTHARD PANORAMA EXPRESS

Lucerne is either the starting or finishing point of people travelling the Gotthart Panorama Express. This beautiful city by the shores of Lake Lucerne is mostly known for the Kapellbrücke – a wooden footbridge built in 1356 – spectacular views over Lake Lucerne and Mount Pilatus as well as the Lion’s Monument and the Glacier Garden.

The famous Kappellbrücke in Lucerne

Lake Lucerne

On the ride across the stunning Lake Lucerne, you’ll pass by several places of importance in Swiss history. You’ll see the Rütliwiese, Switzerland's founding place, and you’ll also get a glimpse of the Tell’s Chapel. According to legend, our alleged national hero, William Tell, escaped the fangs of his enemy in this place by jumping off his boat. Read more about William Tell and the saga around his existence in this article .

Cruise across Lake Lucerne on a steamboat

The Tell's Chapel on the way to Flüelen

Baroque church of Wassen

This little church is iconic to the Gotthard line and every child in Switzerland knows about it. Well, if they’ve travelled to the Ticino by train before 2016, that is. 

This little church in the village of Wassen, commonly known as „Chileli vo Wasse“, sits on a hill and can be seen from three different angles on the way up to the former Gotthard tunnel. Since the train passes two turning loops in this area, it keeps riding past the Chileli from different sides, which is what makes this spot so well-known. 

There’s even a catchy song about the Chileli vo Wasse… That’s how popular it is.

You'll pass by the Chileli vo Wasse three times on your way to the Gotthard Tunnel

Bellinzona is the capital of the Ticino. It’s mainly famous for its three impressive castles Montebello, Castelgrande and Sasso Corbaro, which are part of the Swiss UNESCO World Heritage sites. They were built in the 15th century and make for an impressive, knight-like excursion. 

The Piazza Independenza in Bellinzona

One of the three castles in Bellinzona

The nearby outdoor museum of Swissminiatur in the village of Mendrisio is a replica of Switzerland in small.

View over Lugano

And here you have it.

Five amazingly scenic train rides in Switzerland summed up. Of course, there are plenty more great rides you can enjoy around here. Like for instance the mountain railways up Jungfrau , Pilatus or Gornergrat . Just to name a few.

If you’d like to share any additional train rides you've been on in Switzerland, please let me know in the comments below. 

Related posts

12 spectacular postauto rides you’re going to love, 3 sbb day passes you need to know about, 15 spectacular mountain railways in switzerland, leave a repl​​​​​y.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked

Hi Seraina,

This post on scenic train rides is very helpful. For the Golden Pass line you were able to specify which side of the train(left, right) we should sit for best views. Is it possible for you to specify which side we should sit for the best view for the remaining scenic train rides.

Thanks, Dhruw

Thanks for reaching out 🙂 Actually, if you do any of the other scenic rides (as in the full journey or a section that’s longer than an hour) it doesn’t really matter which side you pick. You will get fantastic views on both sides. I specifically mentioned the part between Lucerne and Interlaken because I love the views you get coming down from Brünig Pass. But generally speaking, you can’t go wrong. Whichever side you choose…

Enjoy your trip, Seraina

I am starting to plan my trip with my husband. We are from Sydney Australia. The 1st thing we must do is see our son’s art installation in Lens at the end of March. After, in July, we wish to go by rail to see Switzerland.’If we get rail passes is it possible to ge off at different places and board the train again to complete the route or are we to stay on the train for the full length. As I have not booked our flight yet as I do not know where we will land, as this depends on the trains. Thank you for your time.

Hello Helen

Thank you for your comment. I‘m happy to hear you‘re coming to Switzerland 🙂

As to your question, you can generally get on and off any train in Switzerland whenever, wherever and as often as you like with your travel pass.

The only exception is if you make a seat reservation on one of the scenic trains. Then you should probably stay on until the end. But if you don‘t reserve your seat, you‘re free to hop on and off throughout the journey.

Please note that some trains require you to make a reservation. But even then you could interrupt your journey along the way.

I hope this answers your question. If not, feel free to shoot me another message.

Hi, Thanks for the information. Its quite elaborate. I am travelling to Swiss in first month of July on a business visa. I have 5 days (2 weekends in first week and 3 weekends in last week) to spare time and explore the country. My friend shall join me and he comes all the way from France. So, he prefers to explore Geneva too in the first weekend as its near to the border. So, with 5 days in hand and the preferences are Geneva, Lucerne, one best ride among the above panoramic train rides and one or two peaks (among Titlis, Jungfraujoch, Stoos and Pilates), request you to please suggest some itinerary.

Hi Ravi, thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, as I mentioned on my about and contact page, I don’t offer a personalised itinerary planning service. I’m sorry but I can’t help you with your questions. However, I did write an itinerary guide with a collection of possible 2-day itineraries. You can find it here . Maybe this will be helpful to you? Especially since you’re looking for things to do on a weekend. I hope you enjoy your time in Switzerland. Seraina

I just purchased the ebook you have written for travel in Switzerland. I must complement you for the extensive information in it and the practical nature of the book. Saved me tons of hours – I can directly choose the routes of my choice and hop onto the transport! I am visiting Swiss for 4 days and entering Geneva. Just wondering which two 2-day routes to choose for a nice mini vacation with my wife.

Thank you so much for your lovely comment. This made my day 🙂 I‘m so glad you find my ebook useful and thank you for your support. I hope you‘ll enjoy your time in Switzerland and find the right itinerary for you and your wife.

Happy planning, Seraina

Where to buy the Ebook?

Hi Rahul, thank you for your question. The ebooks are available under the itinerary section.

Thank you for such a detailed description of each route. I and my wife are travelling to Switzerland from 4th – 7th October, 2019. We want to experience the Glacier Express. But as it takes more than 8hrs we don’t want to travel the full way. We are planning to stay at Interlaken as we also want to visit Mt. Schilthorn, Grindelwald first, Glacier 3000 etc. We will have a 4 day swiss rail pass.

Can you suggest that which portion(s) of the Glacier Express I should select considering my preference is to see a lot of snow around. Also how early should I reserve my seat at Glacier express considering it is fall season.

Hello Anuran

Thanks for your comment. Your question actually isn’t an easy one to answer. But I’ll give it my best shot 🙂

Since you want to spend a fair amount of time in Interlaken and visit all these mountains you mentioned, you should get to see lots of snow there. As for the Glacier Express, this will take you a lot of time whichever part you leave out. The two starting points in St. Moritz and Zermatt are both a long way from Interlaken. If you’d like to cut off certain parts, I suggest you either leave out St. Moritz – Chur or Visp – Zermatt. Maybe even both. That way, you can make your way to either Chur or Visp to start your trip.

However, like I said, getting there from Interlaken will still take a while. What you could do, if you land in Zurich, is to go straight to Chur, spend a night there, take the Glacier Express the next day to Visp and go from Visp to Interlaken. This will still be a very long day with lots of train rides, but you will have seen some of the Glacier Express route. Since it’s October, I unfortunately can’t promise you a whole lot of snow along the way. But like I said, if you go up into the mountains, you should get a good amount of snow there.

As for the reservation, I can’t tell you how busy it will be in fall. For more information on that, I suggest you contact the Glacier Express customer service directly. They have more experience with their passenger numbers.

I hope this helped. Happy planning and enjoy your trip to Switzerland.

Hi Seraina, Thank you so much for such a prompt reply. Since there won’t me much snow in the Glacier Express route, now I am considering to do a small part or may be completely removing it from my itinerary.

I will be coming from Venice & land in Geneva on 3rd Oct – 9:30PM. My return flight to India is also from Geneva on 8th @12:40PM.

This is what I have thought of for 4th-7th Oct. (I will have a Swiss travel pass)

Day 1- Early morning train from Geneva to Lauterbrunnen (6AM-9:25AM). Will visit Schilthorn mountain (on the way will visit Gimmelwald, Mürren) till lunch. Post lunch will do paragliding @Interlaken. Night stay Interlaken.

Day 2 – Early morning train to Grindelwald. Visit Grindelwald First & do 2-3 activities, visit Klein Scheidegg if I have time. At 6:00PM travel to Zermatt (6PM – 8:14PM). Night stay @Zermatt.

Day 3 – In the morning visit Matterhorn (Glacier Paradise ride). Will come down to Brig by normal train. Catch the 2:10PM Glacier Express Train & travel to Chur (2:10PM – 6:24 PM). From Chur travel to Lucerne ( 7:16PM – 9:25PM). Night stay Lucerne.

Day 4 – Early morning visit to lake Lucerne, Chapel Bridge, Lion monument. Then travel to Rhine Falls. leave Rhine Falls by 4:30PM. From Neuhausen Rheinfall travel to Geneva (5:01 – 8:45). Night stay @Geneva.

In the above itinerary I am missing Glacier 3000. Which I can visit on day 4 but in that case I have to leave the Lucerne sightseeing & Rhine Falls. But as per your previous answer I have very small chance of seeing snow @Glacier 3000 which was my main aim.

Do you think the above itinerary is possible or is it too ambitious or hectic? We both are 30-31 yrs old & moderately fit.

All the travel mentioned here is by train. Timings are taken from http://www.sbb.ch/en Thank you very much for your help.

Wow, that’s quite a plan you’ve got here 🙂 I like it… And while it is very ambitious, I think you can do it. You’ve done your research with the trains as well, which is great. So I’d say go for it. You can always leave out certain things if you feel it’s too much but generally speaking, this sounds like a very good plan. And skipping Glacier3000 is probably a good idea because getting there takes a while, wherever you start from. You’d need a full day for that. So what you have planned now should work a lot better..

Have fun here in Switzerland. You’ll be arriving in Geneva right on my birthday by the way 😉

Thank you soooo much for your help. Your blog & comments have helped me a lot to plan my Switzerland itinerary. Can’t thank you enough 🙂

You‘re very welcome!

Had a question regarding train visit vs by road visit. I am flying to Munich and from there i am starting my trip to southern germany, western austria, and then i am moving towards swiss area. Can you find the same amount of scenic views by road or it’s better to take train? Since i have a rental vehicle i need to find a place to park it for few days while i ride a train. Can i do round trip in 1 day ? where is the best scenic views that i could get? Money is not an object. I only have 3 days in Swiss.

Hi Prashant

Thanks for your comment. Actually, since you already have a car, I wouldn’t suggest just parking that somewhere for three days and catch the train instead. You can also do scenic car rides in Switzerland. Personally, if I had to choose, I would always prefer the train but that’s just me. And like I said, if you do have a vehicle, it’s very easy to visit some beautiful spots as well. To plan your route, I suggest you visit the Grand Tour of Switzerland website. It’s a fantastic resource that’ll help you plan your roadtrip through Switzerland and past some stunning places.

I hope this helped. Enjoy your time here. Seraina

Hello Saraina, I will be in Switzerland next year for holidays with friends and we will fly from Venice. We are interested in the Golden Pass line. Can we travel in the opposite direction from Montreux to Lucerne? Thanks Vijay

Dear Vijay, thank you for your question. And yes, you can absolutely travel the Golden Pass Line from Montreux to Lucerne. It goes both ways… Enjoy the ride! It‘s a great one 🙂 Seraina

Hi Seraina, Thank you for your quick reply. Do we need a Eurail pass ? Otherwise, please send me the link for booking online and please advise on early booking. Thank you

Hi Vijay, you’re welcome 🙂 Yes, I’d suggest you buy a Eurail Pass for this trip as it covers the whole Golden Pass Line along with tons of other train rides in Switzerland. To book a travel pass, you can use this link that’ll take you straight to the Eurail website. Please note that this is an affiliate link, which means that I will get a small commission from Eurail for sending you towards them. This doesn’t cost you anything extra but it will help me keep running this website 🙂 So you would be doing me a huge favour by booking your pass through my link. Thought you should know… If you have any other questions about your trip, please don’t hesitate to ask…

Hi Seraina, If I buy the ’15 Days pass within 2 months’pass at a price of $ 560, can I use it without any additional cost for the Euro tunnel served by Eurostar and can I use the same pass in Europe for the routes operated by the partners? Regards

I just checked the Eurail website for you and it seems that you will need to pay extra and make a reservation for the Eurostar. Please go to the Eurail website and enter „Eurostar“ into the search field. You‘ll be taken to all the information you need to know about this journey. Regards, Seraina

HI, thank you so much for your detailed description. It really helps with planning our trip. We are travelling to Switzerland from 3rd Oct to 7th Oct 2019. And we have bought the 4day pass. I would like to know if you have any recommendations on how to travel from Lugano to St. Moritz. I was trying to book the Palm Express via Maloja Pass but it only seems to go from St. Moritz to Lugano direction. Would love to get a suggestion. Thanks so much. Looking forward to visiting this beautiful country.

Dear Neelam Thank you for your question. Actually, the best way to travel between St. Moritz and Lugano is by Bernina Express. However, the official Bernina Express including the bus between Tirano and Lugano only travels in one direction, starting in St. Moritz. But since you’re travelling the other way round, you can catch a regular bus from Lugano to Tirano and transfer to the Bernina Express train in Tirano. Please refer to the Bernina Express timetable ( here’s the direct link ) to find your connection. The best one I found for you leaves Lugano at 10:00 and arrives in St. Moritz at 16:11 with one transfer in Tirano. I hope this helps. Happy planning and enjoy your time in Switzerland Seraina

Hello Seraina, Firstly, commend you on the utmost diligence and detail-oriented original post; yet, equally, on your responses here.

Question: we live in Tuscany. After researching several alpine routes by train, I lend my brain to digest more of the logistics “Glassier Express.” As a package 3d/2n, In July.

1. It sounds like one can start from Zermatt or St.Moritz. Very few of the Trenitalia will go that route…if any! 2. According to your post, there might be an option of catching Tirannò train to St.Morttz, to peel off Bernina express. 3. What would you recommend: -which way of the Glassier Express to start? -and getting there from Italy by train? -less busses the better 😉

Thanks again. Looking forward to your expertly suggestion. Misha

Hello Misha, thank you for your questions. I will try my best to answer them for you:

1. Yes, you can start in Zermatt or St. Moritz and only Glacier Express goes that route. No other railway company does it. And it doesn’t matter which way you go. They’re both the same. 2. Yes, you can catch the Bernina Express train in Tirano to St. Moritz. It’s another scenic train route. 3. From Italy, I recommend going to Tirano, then Bernina Express to St. Moritz, then Glacier Express to Zermatt. Or you can go to Domodossola, then with the SBB train to Brig, from there with MGB to Zermatt and then with the Glacier Express to St. Moritz.

I hope this helps. Have a wonderful time in Switzerland! Seraina

Hi Seraina, Thanks for — as usual –, the most attentive-to-details response in answering my complicated question.

Lastly, I have a few refinements/questions to plan my [surprise wedding anniversary] trip to the utmost detailing as possible to capture the beauty of the Swiss Alps. Some points, as usual: 1. From the last time I've written to you, the 'die was cast' 😉 I've decided to do Bernina Express + Glassier Express starting from Lugano;

2. That said, I have all the logistics of staying in Lugano + St. Moritz + Zermatt [In that sequence], and getting on the bus in Lugano to transfer, eventually, the the train ride in St. Moritz, and on ….and on…and on…

3. Do you see any problems with that choice?;

4. What would be your suggestions for choice of seats [left/right] sides of the train: a. Bernina Express from Tirano, IT;? b. Glassier Express St. Moritz–Zermatt? you only outlined one excerpt [Coming from St. Moritz, you’ll get the best views of the canyon if you sit on the left.] c. Any other points of booking the seats in "the missing links" ? 🙂

Grazie in anticipo, Misha

Hi Misha, wow lots of questions. I’ll try to answer them as good as I can:

1. Good choice! 2. Again, good choice 😉 3. No, I don’t see any problems with that. If you’ve booked the bus from Lugano to Tirano and have your seat reservations for the trains, you will be great. 4a) I’ve never done the Bernina Express on the bus unfortunately. So I can’t tell you which side is better. But I’m sure you will have great views from both sides. 4b) It really depends and to be honest, it doesn’t matter too much on which side you sit because you will have fantastic views from both sides. We sat on the right coming from Zermatt to St. Moritz and really enjoyed our views. But they are great on both sides and there is not one good and one bad side. So whichever side you choose, it will be good. 4c) I don’t know what you mean by “the missing links”. Sorry.

Hope this helps and enjoy your trip, Seraina

Loved the way you guided the others so here’s my question and it would be great If you could suggest me something. So I’m travelling with my parents to Switzerland between 4th Dec to 7th Dec 2019. My mother was really interested in the Bernini express but unfortunately, since we are staying in Lucerne, its a completely different route. Can you please suggest any of the other scenic train rides that you feel could be covered in one day?

Regards, Debduhita

Hello Debudhita

Lovely to hear from you. Thank you for your comment. Happy to help…

So since you are based in Lucerne, either the Voralpen Express or the Golden Pass Line will work. Both are beautiful but if you‘d like to do the whole thing in one day, the Voralpen Express will probably be less intense. You could also fit in a visit in St. Gallen or Zurich on your way back to Lucerne with that one.

Technically, you could do the Golden Pass in one day but that would be a looot of hours on the train. Especially because you have to travel back to Lucerne from Montreux. If you do fancy doing parts of the Golden Pass, I‘d suggest you only go to Spiez and travel back via Bern to Lucerne. Or even cut it short in Interlaken. You have plenty of options and are quite flexible. But if it was me, I personally wouldn‘t do the whole Golden Pass in one day.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your trip over here 🙂

This is an excellent guide for trains. Thumbs up!

Me and fiancé will be in Zurich on 18/Dec – 22/Dec. (23/Dec-27/Dec, will be spending Christmas with friends in Friedrichshafen Germany). We intend to visit Zurich and apart from that, jump onto one of these fantastic train rides from 18/Dec-22/Dec & 28/Dec-4/Jan. Ending up in Geneva will be good as we plan to head to Florence after that.

Would you have any suggestions?

Thanks a lot

Thank you for your comment. I’m glad you like my guide 🙂 Awesome to hear you’re coming to Switzerland this winter, too.

Unfortunately, I can’t give you any detailed suggestions as there are so many things you can do in Switzerland in the amount of time you have available. And putting together personalised itineraries would be very time consuming. This is why I am currently working on a series of itinerary guides . They all start in either Zurich or Geneva. I’m sure you could find some inspiration in there and the scenic train rides are also included in those chapters. I hope you can understand that I don’t have enough time to create personalised itineraries. Happy planning and have a fantastic time when you’re here.

Take care, Seraina

Are these routes roundtrip, or oneway?

Hi Tina, these routes are all oneway…

Thanks for this super helpful post. I will be going to Switzerland in mid-late April for about 7 days visiting Zurich, Lucerne, Interlaken, Lausanne, Geneva. I have some specific questions for you:-

1. I have checked weather forecasts, but based on your experience, how cold will it be? Our group includes 4 senior citizens (60-70 years old).

2. I think the Golden Pass Line works well for the places I plan to visit. I see the rates in the range of ~$200-250 per person for these days. Does that sound right? I find it very expensive. Is there any other cheaper train that connects these cities?

Hello there 🙂 Thank you for your comment. I will try to answer your questions as accurately as I can.

1. This is a hard one as temperatures may vary. Especially in April. But generally speaking, I think temperatures during the day should range between 10 and 20 degrees Celsius in the places you mentioned. Please don’t hold me to it, though. We’ve had 0 degrees in April before and there’s a saying in Switzerland that goes: April does whatever April wants. I’m sorry I can’t give you a more precise answer.

2. Definitely don’t pay 250.- for the Golden Pass Line. That definitely is a bit much. If I were you, I’d try to either get a national day pass or a saver day pass for your travel days. Or, if you’re using public transport in Switzerland for more than just the Golden Pass Line, grab a Eurail/Interrail or Swiss Travel Pass. I talk about those option in more depth in this post.

I hope this helps. Happy planning and enjoy your time in Switzerland. Seraina

Your website and suggestions are great. Thank you for your hard work. I am planning to visit Switzerland with my wife for 4-5 days. We would like to see most of the country either by regular or scenic trains. We can arrive at Geneva or Zurich or Basel. Would like to know what would be the best scenic route we can take as we don’t mind arriving at one but returning from a different airport as long as we can make most of our trip. Will be good if we can start from one end and finish at the other. What would be your suggestion about tickets and from where shall we start and end? Shall we book the hotels in advance or book when we arrive in different cities? Thanks in advance for your help.

Dear Mas Thank you for your comment and your lovely compliment. It means a lot… Your question is a tricky one to answer, actually. Unfortunately, I can’t give personal advice on itineraries as that is very, very time consuming. I’m really sorry and hope you can understand. But since this is a question I get quite frequently, I created a series of itinerary guides to help people plan their trip to Switzerland. Think of them as pre-built itinerary suggestions that will give you ideas and inspiration to plan your trip and what to expect in Switzerland. The hotel question is up to you, really. If you’d like to play it save, maybe book ahead. That way, you can research the prices as well and make sure you have a bed to sleep in. Or, if you’re adventurous and like to stay flexible, just wing it as you go. But keep in mind that this might end up being more expensive without any research. I hope this helps. Happy planning and enjoy your time in Switzerland. Seraina

These five panoramic rides can be beautifully chained together. Say Zurich is your starting point, you take a regular train to St Gallen, then Voralpen, Gothaard, Bernina, Glaciers, regular train to Montreaux (or loop around to Chamonix, Geneve, Evian, Lausanne), Golden Pass and then regular train to Berne and on to Zurich. If you don’t want such a train intensive vacation you can add side trips to Constance Lake, Luzern, Interlaken, Vaduz, Ticino area / Milano or the aforementioned Lac Leman. Is this itinerary not popular? I wonder why it never gets mentioned in travel blogs.

That‘s a very interesting itinerary! A little crazy but for someone that loves trains, it’s perfect. Thank you for the suggestion. I will include this in my itinerary ebooks 🙂

Hello Seraina, You have amazing content. Thanks so much for sharing. Now I don’t feel as overwhelmed. Im planning a trip with my mom and aunt to Switzerland would love for it to be as relaxing as possible and enjoy the ride. I’m planning to start the journey at Lucerne. Definitely will do golden pass. This is for September. We are planning to do Lucerne to Montreux (reserved); stay in Montreux for 2 nights; take golden pass (not reserved) back to Lucerne this time would love to do stopovers and explore Lake Thun, Spiez, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. Will it be possible to do these stopovers on same day journey. For these towns, do we stop at Interlaken and take other trains? Can you please suggest routes to take? Perhaps should we stay one night in interlaken? The reason why we are going back to Lucerne my aunt lives in Italy. We are Lucerne to Milan (possibly a stop over to Lugano). Any guidance will be appreciated. Would love to make it as memorable to my mom and aunt. It will be my mom’s first trip to europe.

Dear Loraine

Thank you so much for your comment. I’m happy to hear you’re feeling less overwhelmed now 🙂 That’s the whole point of my blog and hearing from you motivates me to keep going…

As for your question, I definitely recommend breaking up your journey on your way back to Lucerne. Visiting Lake Thun, Spiez, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald while doing the whole Golden Pass Line in one day isn’t possible. You’ll have to transfer in Spiez and Interlaken anyway so you could take a break in Spiez and spend the night in Interlaken.

Not to push anything on you, but I created a couple of itinerary guides that give people visiting Switzerland for the first time an idea of what’s possible in a certain amount of time and how I recommend breaking up the journey. Maybe this could be helpful for your planning process as well.

I hope you’ll have a fantastic time in Switzerland. Happy planning and enjoy your trip.

All the best, Seraina

Your website’s content are very helpful thank you for sharing :). Me and my partner are planning to take a scenic route from Paris to Switzerland and we are planning to stay in Bern or Interlaken (not sure which one were supposed to pick as we are not familiar with the places) to explore the Bernese Oberland and Jungfraujoch region in 4days (is it possible for 4days?) and we are wondering how are we gonna get to do these if we are coming from Paris? Will you be able to shed some light to our trip? Thanks heaps in advance.

Thank you for your comment. I’m happy to hear you’re coming to Switzerland and of course I’ll try and answer your questions…

First up, if you’re planning on exploring the Bernese Oberland, I suggest you stay in Interlaken as that’s smack-bang in the middle of all those popular destinations. You can definitely find enough to do in four days. (Btw, I talk about this in more depth in my itinerary guides ) Or, alternatively, you could spend a night in Bern and then move on to Interlaken for another three nights. You’re very flexible there.

Since you’re coming from Paris, I’m assuming you’ll enter Switzerland by train in Basel? With our dense train network, it’s very easy to reach Bern or Interlaken from any train station in Switzerland. So even if you arrive in another city, you’ll make it to Bern/Interlaken within one or two hours.

I hope this helps and that you’ll have a fantastic trip, Seraina

Wow… a really great and well-described article I must say especially the places we can enjoy on the way while riding in train. Can you also provide a blog on Swiss Travel Pass as it is quite popular in Switzerland?

Thank you for your comment! Actually, I haven’t written a post solely on the Swiss Travel Passes. So for more information on those passes, I recommend you head over to the SBB website , where they provide lots of details on the Swiss Travel Passes. Hope this helps 🙂

Switzerland first class country in the world in all things perfect transportystem lovely people

Great information. I have 10 days in Switzerland. I am a photographer. Can the windows of the trains be opened to be able to photograph without glare while on the train? Also, I fly in & out of Zurich and am looking for an itinerary with the most scenic train path. I don't want to go to Lake Geneva or Bern area. I plan to stay 2 nights in Zermatt, 3-4 in Bernese Oberland, 1-2 in Lucerne but am flexible. I love quaint picturesque villages. How should I plan my train trips? Thanks

Thank you for your comment. I’m happy to hear you have 10 days in Switzerland. That’s a good amount of time and I’m sure you’ll get to cover a lot of ground.

As for your questions: I’d say 99% of all Swiss trains don’t let you open their windows anymore. It’s usually just the mountain railways that either don’t have windows at all or that let you pull them down. If you’re in luck, in the Canton of Grisons, you might catch a very old train of the Rhaetian Railway that still has windows you can open. But generally, this isn’t possible.

About the second question regarding your itinerary: I actually don’t offer a custom itinerary planning service as that is incredibly time demanding. If I make suggestions to you, I want them to fit your expectations and that would require some 1:1 time with you. I hope you can understand. But since I do get this question quite a lot, I’ve to put together a selection of itinerary guides for different time periods. In there, I go into more detail about what’s possible to visit in a certain amount of time in Switzerland, covering all areas of the country. Maybe you can find some inspiration in there? You’ll find the link right here .

I hope this helps and that you’ll have a wonderful time in Switzerland.

Seraina Wow!! What a wonderful website you’ve put together here. I’m so lucky I stumbled upon it. I will be surprising my wife in early September for 5 days for her 40th birthday. We are from Montreal. She loves mountains. I had no idea where to start and how to plan this trip but your website has given me much enthusiasm to do it! I will base this trip around a mountain train ride and this will determine more or less where I should land. I know they are all fantastic but is there one ride in particular that you can suggest which would give us the greatest view of mountains? Thanks so much! mike.

Thank you so much for your friendly and warm message. I’m happy to hear you’re coming to Switzerland. September is a great time of the year to visit I think. And yes, your question is indeed a very tricky one as Switzerland has over 8000 mountains in total 😉 So it’s hard to pick just one. But the Region around Thun, Interlaken and Brienz is fantastic in terms of mountain train rides with Brienzer Rothorn, Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch, Niesen, Niederhorn, Stockhorn and so on. I don’t write much for this blog anymore since I now work over at Swiss Activities in the content team now. We put together loads of articles about anything concerning Switzerland. So if you’re interested, I recommend you head over there to check it out. One article that comes to my mind for you is this one on mountain peaks. Maybe this will help? Feel free to reach out to me again if you have any questions.

All the best and happy planning, Seraina

I love Switzerland i have been meny times if i had the money i would live there. can you please tell me a nice long train trip I can take from Geneva and get back to Geneva same day thank you. (god bless from mr chappell ).

Dear Edward, thank you for your comment. There are countless train rides you can take from Geneva in one day. If you don’t mind spending around 8 hours on the train, I would recommend you head to Zermatt. The ride along Lake Geneva is fantastic and the last stretch from Visp to Zermatt will be a part of the Glacier Express, one of the most famous scenic train rides. This journey takes around 4 hours each way and will definitely be a full day trip. Alternatively, you could just catch the train from Geneva to Montreux, hop on the passenger ship to Vevey, Lausanne or Chateau de Chillon and take the train back to Geneva in the evening. That way, you have more time along the way to explore. Hope this helps. All the best, Seraina

Personally I am fond of train journeys and when it comes to do in Switzerland, its like a heaven on the earth. Surrounded by high peak mountains, snows and white beauty of nature, the country has everything. Definitely going to experience it during my trip to Zurich.

If I arrive in Zurich how do I get to the point to take the Golden Pass line. If this is not practical which train ride can I do if I arrive in Zurich. Please advise. Thank you.

Dear Asoka, no problem. You can just catch the train to Lucerne and start the Golden Pass Line from there. Trains between Zurich and Lucerne run several times an hour and take between 50 and 75 minutes. All the best, Seraina

Thank you! What a great review of these scenic train rides. We get off a boat at 9:00am in Basel June 8th, 2023. Can you suggest the best way to complete as many of these as possible over the next four days. We will spend the evening of June 10th in Zurich.

Huge thanks for any guidance you can suggest!

Greg and Teresa Dragoo

Hi Greg and Teresa

Thank you for your questions, I’m happy to hear you’re coming to Switzerland. The best way to complete some of the scenic train rides would be to go from Basel straight to Lucerne, catch the Gotthard Panorama Express the next day (to Lugano) then the Bernina Express to St. Moritz and if you like the Glacier Express to Zermatt. This will be a crazy amount of sitting on the train. But if you want to complete several of the trains, this would be a good way to do it. Alternatively, you could also go directly to Montreux and get on the Golden Pass Line to Lucerne. Then again Gotthard Panorama to Lugano and Bernina Express to St. Moritz. I hope this helps. Enjoy your time over here! Seraina

Wow. If i go switzerland definitely i will go for a ride. I would love to do so

This is by far the best online guide to the main Swiss scenic routes and all places in between. I’m planning a Swiss rail tour and the info in this guide is making that itinerary very easy.

Thank you Danny! I’m really glad my article has been helpful for you and I hope you’ll have a wonderful time trying out those train rides. All the best!

Great information in every detail. Going to Europe in August. Just wondering what to do while there. Which of the 5 train ride would you recommend. The first sounded awesome?

Hey Anne, thank you for your comment 🙂 It’s hard to say which one I recommend because I think they’re all spectacular. But if I had to choose, it’d probably be the Glacier Express or the Gotthard Panorama Express. It really depends on your schedule and what you can fit in. You can’t go wrong with either of them, though 🙂

Thank you so much for responding so quickly. I'm visiting friends in Bern, and from there I would take a regular train to reach one of the senic trains one way. I also have friends in Black Forest that I'm going to visit so my question is, which of the two trains is closest to that area and also maybe spend a night in a little village on the way.

Ok so in this case, what you could do is go to Montreux by Lake Geneva, spend the night there and then catch the Golden Pass Line from Montreux the next morning. That one goes through Gstaad, Spiez, Interlaken to Lucerne. If you have time, you can do the whole journey in one day and finish in Lucerne. Or you can stop in Interlaken and spend some time there, Whatever your schedule looks like.

Alternativey, travel to Zermatt, spend the night there and catch the Glacier Express to St. Moritz. But then, you’ll be at the other side of the country in St. Moritz and I don’t know what your time budget is. Technically, you could then spend a night in St. Moritz and move on to the Black Forest the next day. Depending on how much time you have. But since Switzerland is quite small and public transport is good, it’s very easy to get to and from places.

Ohh..it all sounds so beautiful. I do like old villages and historic sites. Lucerne is probably most convenient if I wanna go to blk.forest. I'm actually on a month long vacation from Hawaii. I'm originally from Denmark where my trip starts from. After Blk.forest I'll be heading towards Montpelier to visit one more friend. I so appreciate your response and comments, you have definitely clarified my "what to do"❣️

Happy to help. Enjoy your trip. Sounds like an amazing one!

Hey Seraina,

This is an incredible post, so informative, and so meticulously presented. Really want to appreciate you for this. I also purchased your itineraries and that has been super helpful too. I love how you have helped others here and I was hoping you could share some suggestions for me too.

I have visited Switzerland before and have covered the cities and Jungfrau. So this trip is about visiting only the mountains. Here's what I plan to do:

-4 days in Switzerland-

Day 1: Geneva –> Chamonix, Mont Blanc –> Geneva Day 2: Geneva –> Montreux –> (Golden Pass Line) –> Interlaken Ost Day 3: Interlaken Ost –> Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, Schilthorn –> Interlaken Ost –> Lucerne Day 4: Lucerne –> Mt. Pilatus, Mt. Titlis –> Lucerne Day 5: Flight from Zurich

Do you think this is doable or too ambitious? And would you suggest any changes in this itinerary to make it more efficient?

Additionally, I am very confused with the travel passes. I will mostly be using regular trains / panoramic trains (where applicable) / cable cars (where applicable) for all these travels. Which travel pass would you suggest and would it cover all of the above points of interest?

Thank you very much.

Best, Pallabi

Hi Pallabi, wow thanks for your long comment.

I’m glad you’ve found this post helpful. As for your itinerary, I think it sounds amazing. And definitely doable the way you’re planning on doing it. Just a quick side note, though. You visit Schilthorn from Lauterbrunnen, not Grindelwald. So maybe do Lauterbrunnen, Schilthorn and then Grindelwald after. But other than that, it sounds perfect.

About the travel passes… Hm this is always a tricky one. The best pass for Switzerland is without a doubt the Swiss Travel Pass. But I don’t think in your case this is worth it. I quickly looked up the prices for all your tickets and I don’t recommend buying a travel pass at all. The cheapest version would be to buy a Swiss Half Fare Card for 120.- and get regular tickets for the trains as you go. With the mountain railways, you get the same discount with the Half Fare Card as with the Swiss Travel Pass. More or less.

You can jump on the SBB Website to find the prices and do the maths for yourself. But the result from my research is that getting the Swiss Half Fare Card and buying tickets as you go is the cheapest version.

Hope this helps and you have a wonderful time in Switzerland!

Hi , Thanks for this very useful and detailed article .planning a 6- days visit to Switzerland .is there a city or a village I can make as base camp to try all or most scenic train rides ? coming from the UK in July .Which city you recommend for me to stay ?

Hi, thank you for your question. If you’re looking for a place to do most of the scenic trains, it would be Lucerne as three out of five start there. You can technically do them in one day, but it’ll be a bit rushed. But it’s possible to start in Lucerne in the morning, do the ride and come back the same day.

Hi , What an informative piece , thank you so much . There are so many wonderful train journeys you can do . I am planning to travel in mid sec is that a good or bad time to travel ? Also can you suggest a 3/4 night round trip me and my son could do taking in as many journeys as possible ? Many thanks

Good to hear from you. Thank you for your message. I’m glad you’ve found my article helpful. As for your questions:

* Yes, September ist a good time to travel in Switzerland. Of course, I can’t tell if it’s going to be sunny all the time or if you get some rain. But generally speaking, September is a good time to travel as it’s the beginning of autumn. So not so hot anymore and not as crowded as July and August. * If you have 4 nights, you can combine a few of the scenic train rides. So you could go to Zermatt first and spend the night, do the Glacier Express to St. Moritz on day 2 and spend the second night in St. Moritz. Then take the Bernina Express to Lugano on day 3 and spend the third night there. Then take the Gotthard Panorama Express to Lucerne on your last day and spend the night in Lucerne. Like this, you’ll have covered three of the scenic train rides. Or start in St. Gallen, go to Lucerne on day 2, Golden Pass on day 3 to Montreux, head to Zermatt for the night and do Glacier Express to St. Moritz on day 4.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your time in Switzerland!

Hello, What is your recommendation for a scenic train rides from Geneva for a day trip?

Hi, from Geneva, I think your only option is to travel to Montreux and to parts of the Golden Pass Line (maybe until Spiez or Interlaken) and then catch the train via Bern back to Geneva. All the other trains aren’t really an option if you try to do them as a day trip from Geneva.

Just fyi the Eastern past of the Golden Pass (between Interlaken and Lucerne) has a separate reservation, via Central Railway (Zentralbahn) which can be booked via zentralbahn.ch

my friend and I are hiking the MONT Blanc in august and have an extra day near Geneva or Chamonix. We would like to use the railway and pick a scenic area to do that. any suggestions? please let me know. Thank You

Hi Sona, if you have a day around Geneva and are looking for a scenic train ride, I recommend you head towards Montreux. You’ll pass along Lake Geneva and the Lavaux wine terraces and you can also plan a stop over in Lausanne, which is pretty. If you like, you can also get off in Vully and take a walk through the Lavaux wine terraces.

Trending Destinations

Trending articles.

10 of the UK’s best stargazing escapes

10 of the best new wildlife trips for 2024

Where is Dune: Part Two filmed?

Destinations.

Sorry but no search results were found, please try again.

Switzerland by train: 8 of the most spectacular rail journeys

Spanning about 1,280km, linking nine destinations, passing 11 lakes and skirting innumerable mountains, the Grand Tour of Switzerland is arguably the world’s best rail adventure. Here’s how to do it…

Covering around 1,280km, linking nine destinations, passing 11 lakes and skirting innumerable mountains, the Grand Tour of Switzerland is arguably the finest rail adventure in the world. Split into eight distinct stages – pick and choose which sections to ride or link them for a continuous journey around the country – it’s a dramatic unravelling of high passes, palm trees and everything in between. Put simply, there’s no better way to see Switzerland…

1. City to summit: Zurich to Lucerne

The mountains get closer with every mile on this all-too-swift glide from Switzerland’s financial metropolis towards the Bernese Oberland. Leaving Zurich, the train traces Lake Zug and enters the gentle Swiss midlands. At elegant, water’s edge Lucerne, the premium panoramic carriages of the Luzern–Interlaken Express await, so you can better view the transition from pretty pasture to snow-capped summits. Disembarking at Interlaken, a lake on each side and mighty mountains ahead, you’re in alpine heaven.

2. Wilderness and wine: Interlaken to Montreux

Begin this fine journey feeling ein bisschen German , end feeling un petit French . The westward route from Interlaken crosses the language line, giving the sense of two destinations for the price of one. It begins with a glorious jaunt along Lake Thun, with alpine views to the south. At Zweisimmen, hop aboard the first-class GoldenPass line – it’s the best way to travel to chic Montreux, watching castles, cow pasture, neat vineyards and, finally, the shores of Lake Geneva roll by.

3. Making for the Matterhorn: Montreux to Zermatt

Montreux, with its Charlie Chaplin connections and fairytale Chillon Castle, is an eclectic delight. But the mother of mountains beckons. Ride the railway away from Lake Geneva and through the verdant Rhone Valley to Visp. From here the tracks get even more interesting: the narrow-gauge Matterhorn Gotthard Railway plunges through Switzerland’s deepest-incised valley, grinding up 900m in altitude to reach the spectacular car-free village of Zermatt, with the mighty Matterhorn looming behind. Hop off the train to explore: not only are there 400km of walking trails winding around Zermatt, you’ll also find Europe’s highest cableway, which can take you up to 3,883m for extreme close-ups with the high-alpine world.

4. Going slow: Zermatt to St Moritz

The Glacier Express is not entirely well named. The glaciers aren’t in doubt, but there’s nothing very speedy about it. And it’s all the better for it. This luxuriously leisurely rail route takes almost eight hours to run from Zermatt, in the shadow of the Matterhorn, to glamorous St Moritz. But that’s because it has to traverse some of the most challenging and majestic scenery in the world. The Glacier Express requires 91 tunnels and 291 bridges to master the mountains, cliff-sides, deep valleys and plunging ravines. Perhaps most impressive are the crossings of the 2,033m Oberalp Pass and the elegant Landwasser viaduct, though it’s tough to pick a highlight from this world-class ride.

5. Edging towards Italy: St Moritz to Lugano

One minute you’re gazing at icy glaciers, a few hours later you’re staring at swaying palms – that’s the beauty of the Bernina Express, which crosses the Alps into Italy, before delivering you into the Med-like Swiss Ticino. Starting in sophisticated St Moritz, high amid the lakes and mountains, you’ll surge south following the UNESCO-listed route of the Rhaetian Railways, built in 1910 and the highest transalpine railway of them all. It crosses country borders at the Bernina Pass before swooping through the Val Poschiavo towards Tirano. You won’t stay in Italy long though – the Bernina Express Bus will scoop you up for the ravishing road trip via Lake Como to Lugano, the main hub of Italian-influenced Switzerland.

6. Rail and sail: Lugano to Lucerne

Lugano has handsome castles, a laidback vibe and excellent ice cream. However, once you’ve had a quick taste of la vita bella , it’s time to return north, as the Grand Tour turns back to the mountains. This time, the first-class carriages of the Gotthard Panorama Express will deliver you from the Ticino to lush central Switzerland, via the engineering marvel that is the original Gotthard Tunnel, an ingenious system of spirals, loops and bridges that first opened in 1882. Popping out the other side, you’re delivered back into an alpine idyll, which continues all the way to lakeside Flüelen. Here, switch from railing to sailing, for an unhurried voyage across Lake Lucerne.

7. Green and pleasant lands: Lucerne to St Gallen

Lucerne is blessed: sitting on the lakeside, surrounded by lush pasture and formidable mountains, it’s the most picturesque of cities in the most spectacular of locations. The peaks might not be Switzerland’s highest, but they’re still impressive, and show a different side to this alpine nation. Leaving Lucerne on the Voralpen Express, you gain excellent views of the region’s most iconic peaks – such as Mount Pilatus and Rigi – before skimming northeastwards across upland moor and over Lake Zurich. There’s just the short matter of crossing the Sitter Viaduct – at 99m, Switzerland’s highest railway bridge – before historic St Gallen hones into sight.

8. A water wander: St Gallen back to Zurich

Founded by an Irish monk in the seventh century, St Gallen has been a cultural hub for centuries – it’s certainly well worth exploring its ancient Abbey and car-free old centre before jumping on the train one last time. The final leg of this epic rail ride can, at times, feel more like a cruise. For 40km the tracks skirt the shore of Lake Constance, Central Europe’s third-largest lake. Then the train picks up the River Rhine, following it downstream, via Schaffhausen’s 16th-century Munot Fortress, on its journey to Zurich. A Grand Tour indeed.

Save money on travelling around Switzerland with the   Swiss Pass . This allows you  unlimited travel through Switzerland on 3, 4, 8 or 15 consecutive days, using trains, buses and boats.

Get it here.

7 of Germany’s most charming towns

Tune into Utah’s wonders through a new podcast series

Discover the story of AlUla

Explore more.

Sign up to our newsletter for free with the Wanderlust Club, full of travel inspiration, quizzes, events and more

Home » Trip Planning » Train Travel

7 Best Panorama Train Rides in Switzerland (2024)

• Switzerland
• Last Updated: 2 Jun 2024
• By Tanya, Founder of Swiss Family Fun

If you buy something through a link here, we may earn a commission. See our disclosure policy . Note that p rices and opening times may change without notice.

Switzerland has some of the most scenic rail journeys in the world, passing by majestic mountains, serene lakes, and charming villages.

On the most beautiful routes, the Swiss rail system offers special “panorama” trains with large windows and extra services to make the journey more enjoyable.

The easiest way to include these routes in your Switzerland itinerary is to book a scenic rail package. Instead of booking elements separately, these multi-day packages include your train tickets, seat reservations, and hotels at each destination, all in one transaction.

During booking, you can customize the trip, adding mountain excursions, upgrading or downgrading hotels, or staying longer in certain destinations.

To help you decide which scenic train tour is right for you, below we’ve highlighted our favorite Switzerland rail journeys with tips for booking and suggested activities in each destination.

Why book a Scenic Rail Journey package

1. grand train tour of switzerland, 2. lucerne-interlaken express, 3. glacier express classic (zermatt to st moritz), 4. golden pass tour (montreux + interlaken + lucerne), 5. bernina express (chur/st mortiz to tirano, it), 6. gotthard panorama express (lugano to lucerne), 7. jungfraubahn mountain railway, exclusive discount offer for rail packages, activities at each stopover, rail packages for families, using travel passes with rail packages, customizing your itinerary, about switzerland travel centre, special offer get a 5% discount on your rail package with our discount code affswissfamilyfun..

For each of the rail journey I describe below, you can book all elements separately: train tickets, seat reservations, hotels and excursions.

But it can be time-consuming, with an overwhelming route options, confusing train timetables, and complicated seat reservation systems.

Many travelers, especially those planning last minute, find that rail packages make the planning and booking process easier and faster. Then you can focus on the fun things you will do at each destination.

What rail packages include

The rail packages I’ve highlighted here include:

• A suggested itinerary, which can be customized.
• Train tickets to each Swiss destination in your itinerary
• Seat reservations on the panorama trains
• Accommodation at each destination with breakfast

We like the booking tool from Switzerland Travel Centre , which has access to hotel rooms and seat reservations with their preferred partners that you don’t necessarily see on other platforms.

Customizing the suggested itinerary

Each rail package has a suggested itinerary. But you can use the planning tool to customize the following elements to better suit your needs:

• Add excursions to mountains and other attractions
• Upgrade or downgrade hotels
• Extend your stay at some destinations
• Upgrade to 1st class/Excellence Class on panorama trains
• Book luggage transfer on some hiking itineraries
• Add the FLEX OPTION so you can cancel for free up to 3 days before departure

The most comprehensive rail journey is the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. Starting and ending in Lucerne, this tour links the five best scenic rail routes described below into one big efficient loop.

The Grand Train Tour visits the most famous Swiss destinations including Lucerne, Interlaken, Montreux, Zermatt, St Mortiz and Lugano. If you want the see the most of Switzerland quickly, the Grand Train Tour is the easiest way to do it.

The classic itinerary is a minimum 7 days, with a long scenic train ride each day.

• Day 1 – Panorama train from Lucerne to Interlaken
• Day 2 – GoldenPass Line panorama train from Interlaken to Montreux
• Day 3 – Train from Montreux to Zermatt
• Day 4 – Glacier Express from Zermatt to St Mortiz
• Day 5 – Bernina Express from St Moritz to Tirano, then bus to Lugano.
• Day 6 – Train from Lugano to Flüelen, then boat cruise to Lucerne
• Day 7 – return by train to your airport or starting point

If you prefer to spend most of your time on the trains, land cruise style, the Grand Train Tour is a perfect option just as it is.

Use our promo code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN to save 5% on the Grand Train Tour Classic rail package

But if you want to spend more time exploring these destinations, simply customize the tour to add a couple nights at each destination so you can explore the area before moving on. We would suggest adding an extra day in Lucerne, Interlaken, and Zermatt. See suggested activities below.

The “Best of Switzerland” rail package includes the Lucerne-Interlaken Express scenic train journey, connecting two of our favorite destinations in Switzerland. It’s a beautiful ride, passing alpine lakes, cute villages, with many mountains in view.

The base tour is 5 days with 2 nights in Lucerne, a half-day on the Lucerne-Interlaken Express train, and 2 nights in Interlaken. It also includes a visit to Jungfraujoch glacier viewpoint. The map below shows the train route as an orange line.

Here’s the suggested itinerary, which you can customize:

• Day 1: Train to Lucerne. Activity near Lucerne. Overnight in Lucerne
• Day 2: Free day for activity near Lucerne. Overnight in Lucerne
• Day 3: Luzern-Interlaken Express scenic train to Interlaken. Half-day activity near Interlaken. Overnight in Interlaken.
• Day 4: Mountain excursion to Jungfraujoch. Overnight in Interlaken.
• Day 5: Activity near Interlaken. Train to your next destination or airport.

In this itinerary, the scenic train journey is relatively short, just two hours, but it packs in a lot of beauty into that time. It’s a great choice for those that want the scenic train experience, but prefer more time actively exploring the alps with hiking or other fun activities.

Use our promo code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN to save 5% on the “Best of Switzerland” rail package

Suggested activities

On Day 4 in Interlaken, the tour already includes an excursion to the Jungfraujoch glacier viewpoint, which takes about 4 hours. If you get an early start, you could fit in more activities into the afternoon.

For example, visit the Jungfraujoch in the early morning. Just after lunch, ride down the mountain to Wengen and Lauterbrunnen, stopping to enjoy those villages and the Staubbach waterfall before returning to your hotel.

If you have more time, we suggest adding at least 1 more night in Lucerne and 2-3 nights in Interlaken. See below for more activity ideas for these destinations.

The Glacier Express is the most famous scenic train ride in Switzerland, starting in Zermatt and passing through many beautiful landscapes before arriving in St Moritz.

It travels through many beautiful landscapes, including over the Oberalp mountain pass and through the Rhine river gorge.

The base Glacier Express Classic itinerary is 3 days, with one night in Zermatt, one day on the scenic train, and one night St Moritz. The black line on map below is the Glacier Express. 

• Day 1: Train to Zermatt. Optional half-day activity in Zermatt. Overnight in Zermatt.
• Day 2: Glacier Express scenic train journey to St Moritz, 8 hours. Overnight in St Moritz.
• Day 3: Regular train from St Moritz to another Swiss destination.

The full journey is quite long at over 8 hours. So, it’s best suited for those who like a relaxing day with a view, rather than those who prefer a more active day like hiking.

Use our promo code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN to save 5% on the Glacier Express rail package

In Zermatt, we suggest adding an excursion to the Gornergrat viewpoint, where you can visit the Riffelsee lake and optionally do a short hike. If you can, I would add one more night in Zermatt so you can do more activities (jump to ideas).

In St Moritz, you can easily fit in an easy stroll around the lakes immediately adjacent to the St Moritz train station (see walking route). If you add more nights to St Moritz, we suggest the Piz Nair mountain viewpoint, easy Morteratsch glacier path, or Corvatsch panorama trail. See more St Moritz ideas.

The GoldenPass Line is a beautiful train journey through the idyllic Swiss alps between Montreux and Interlaken. This tour also includes the Lucerne-Interlaken Express train, which adds more beautiful lakes and mountains to the experience.

The base Golden Pass Tour itinerary is 4 days, one day on the GoldenPass Express scenic train and another day on the Lucerne-Interlaken Express scenic train. This rail journey is a good choice for those wanting to spend a few days in each of these destinations: Montreux, Interlaken and Lucerne.

• Day 1: Regular train to Montreux. Half-day activity near Montreux. Overnight in Montreux.
• Day 2: GoldenPass Express scenic train from Montreux to Interlaken (3h). Possible half-day activity near Interlaken. Overnight in Interlaken.
• Day 3: Lucerne-Interlaken scenic train (2h). You can do a half-day activity either in Interlaken before the train or in Lucerne after the train.
• Day 4: Optional mountain excursion near Lucerne then regular train to another Swiss destination.

Use our promo code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN to save 5% on this GoldenPass Tour

Here are a few activities we suggest in each location. We suggest adding 1-2 nights in each of the cities so you have more time to explore and hike in each area.

• In Montreux, we suggest Chillon Castle or Rocher de Naye mountain viewpoint.
• In Interlaken, Harder Kulm viewpoint or cruise on Lake Brienz for short half-day activity. Or Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn mountain viewpoints if you have at least 5 hours.
• In Lucerne, our top pick is the Pilatus Golden Round Trip.

Jump to more activity suggestions below.

The Bernina Express is a scenic rail journey in southeast Switzerland, near St Moritz and the border of Italy. We prefer to the version that starts from Chur, which includes the famous Landwasser Viadukt, the Alp Grüm viewpoint of Palü Glacier, the Brusio Circular Viaduct and 196 bridges and 55 tunnels along the way.

The “classic” route goes from Chur or St Moritz to Tirano, Italy, then a 3h bus to Lugano. We prefer to skip the bus ride and instead take a train back to St Moritz. But if you want to continue to Lugano, book Bernina Class Route here .

Here is the base itinerary for the Bernina Express route without the bus:

• Day 1: Train to Chur. Bernina Express scenic train to Tirano (4.5h). Overnight in Tirano.
• Day 2: Regular train to St Moritz or other Swiss destination. We suggest going to St Moritz (about 2h30) and spending a couple nights there exploring the region more.

Use our promo code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN to save 5% on this Bernina Express tour

In most cases, you’ll want to overnight in Chur before the Bernina Express the next day, especially if you are on the early Bernina Express train at 8:28.

After your overnight in Tirano, you can ride a regular train to St Moritz, which is included in the package. On your way, I’d suggest stopping at Morteratsch to visit the glacier. Then continue riding the regular train the rest of the way to St Moritz.

After the rail journey, we suggest spending 1-3 nights in the St Moritz area to explore the region more. At a minimum, you can walk around the beautiful lakes right in front of the city. Jump to more activity ideas for St Moritz.

This scenic route combines a boat ride along Lake Lucerne and a scenic train ride to Lugano in southern Switzerland, near the Italy border.

This journey is a great option if you are traveling from Italy into Switzerland (or vice versa), perhaps flying in or out of Milan. Otherwise, Lugano is so far from other popular Swiss destinations that it doesn’t make sense to add it unless you really want to visit the Ticino region.

The base tour is 3 days / 2 nights, with one full day of travel between Lucerne and Lugano.

• Day 1: Regular train to Lucerne. Optional half-day activity near Lucerne. Overnight in Lucerne.
• Day 2: Boat trip Lucerne to Flüelen (2 hour). Transfer to scenic train to Lugano . total 5 hours
• Day 3: Free day in Lugano and regular train to another destination in Switzerland.

The journey is only offered once per day in each direction.

Use our promo code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN to save 5% on the  Gotthard Panorama Express rail package

If you arrive early in Lucerne on day one, you could have time for a walking tour and perhaps a mountain excursion to Stanserhorn. I would definitely recommend adding 1-2 nights in Lucerne so you have time for more activities, especially if you like hiking or have kids that would enjoy an alpine playground. Jump to Lucerne activity ideas.

In Lugano, I’d suggest a cruise on Lake Lucerne to the lakeside villages Gandria or Morcote. Or perhaps an excursion to San Salvatore, a no-hike mountain viewpoint over the lake and Lugano city. See more Lugano ideas.

The shortest ride on my list is the Jungfraubahn, a cogwheel mountain train that travels up Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3454m. 

Starting in Grindelwald, you ride the Eiger Express cable car up to the Eigergletscher station, a beautiful ride over alpine meadows with the Eiger peak in view.

Then you transfer to the red Jungfraubahn mountain train, which travels about 30 mins through a long tunnel carved through the mountain peak. 

The train drops you at an underground station, where you ride an elevator up to indoor and outdoor viewing areas. You can walk on the glacier snow, explore a tunnel carved into the glacier ice, and even sled in summer. Learn more about visiting Jungfraujoch .

Some of the above rail packages include the Jungfraubahn or offer it as an add-on activity. If you want to book it separately, we suggest booking via Get Your Guide, which has a flexible cancellation policy.

You can get a round trip ticket from Grindelwald Terminal . If you don’t want to worry about the logistics and seat reservations, book a guided tour from Interlaken:

Our readers can geta 5% discount when they book a Scenic Rail Journey through Switzerland Travel Centre. This discount can be applied to all the rail packages highlighted above, as well as others on the STC website.

Promo Code for 5% discount

Simply use the code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN in the Promo Code box when making your booking, as shown below. When you click Redeem, it will apply the discount to your total.

• Note: To qualify for the discount, you must add the code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN during the booking process. It cannot be added after the completion of the booking.

Flexible cancellation

The STC general cancellation policy includes free cancellation until 31 day before departure. Afterwards, cancellation fees apply.

If you want a more flexible cancellation policy, you can add the FLEX OPTION insurance during booking (CHF 49 per person), which allows you to cancel free of charge up to 3 days before your trip. (This does not apply to Glacier Express Excellence Class).

You can customize your Scenic Rail Journey packages to add activities like mountain excursion or city tours. You can also add more nights at each destination along the route so you can fit in more activities.

Here are our suggested activities at each destination. Some can be booked through with the package. Others can be done on your own.

Lucerne activities

The Lucerne region has many beautiful and fun activities, including mountain and lake excursions, city tours and museums.

Here are a few of our favorites that work well with rail journeys.

• For a shorter half-day activity, our first choice is a walking tour of the city, either self-guided or guided. If you have kids, perhaps the Aeschbach Chocolate factory or Swiss Museum of Transport.
• If you have about 5 hours, our top pick is the Pilatus Golden Round trip with boat ride, cogwheel train, and cable car ride. Also great with kids as it has a summer toboggan, ropes park and playground with a view.
• If you like hiking, we suggest the Rigi Round Trip, which has spectacular views and an easy panorama trail and cliff walk. Of you could add the Wellness Rigi activity, which includes time at the thermal baths with an infinity pool overlooking the lake.
• With kids, we suggest Titlis Engelberg, which visits the glacier with an ice tunnel and suspension bridge. Then families can ride down to the middle station to visit the big playground and fun activity trail around the Trübsee alpine lake.

See more Lucerne activities.

Interlaken / Jungfrau Region activities

In Interlaken, we suggest adding 1-3 nights so you can visit the beautiful mountains in the Jungfrau Region and optionally hike.

• For the most spectacular no-hike viewpoint, either Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn.
• With kids under 10, visiting Mürren alpine village and the Allmendhubel Flower Park
• With kids 10+, ride gondola to Grindelwald First with the cliff walk, zip lines, and mountain scooters
• For hikers, ride the mountain train to Schynige Platte and do spectacular ridge trail (about 2h, moderate difficulty).
• For a short activity, ride the funicular train from Interlaken to the Harder Kulm viewpoint and have a traditional Swiss meal at their restaurant.

See more activities near Interlaken.

Zermatt activities

Our top pick in Zermatt is the Gornergrat viewpoint, which is already included in some itineraries like??? As part of this outing, you can visit the Riffelsee lake and optionally do a short hike on the Riffelseeweg trail.

If you love hiking, you could visit do the Matterhorn Glacier Trail, about 2 hours walking time.

With kids, we suggest the Sunnegga mountain, which has a big playground with a Matterhorn view. You can optionally add on the Flower Trail or Marmot activity trail. Older kids can do the go-carts and kick scooters.

• See more ideas in my Zermatt articles .

St Moritz activities

If you only have one evening in St Moritz, you still fit in an easy stroll around the lakes immediately adjacent to the St Moritz train station (see walking route).

If you have more time:

• No hike viewpoint – Piz Nair reached by a funicular that leaves directly from St Moritz, then a cable car
• Easy hike – Morteratsch glacier path – 1h train from St Mortiz and easy walking path to view the glacier ice
• For hikers, Furtschellas water trail visiting 5 alpine lakes.

See more St Moritz activity ideas .

Montreux Activities

In Montreux, we suggest at least 1 night so you have time for a full day activity:

• For a short activity, visit Chillon Castle and do the walking tour of Montreux.
• With kids, you could do the chocolate train to the Cailler chocolate factory and Gruyere cheese dairy.
• For mountain viewpoints, we suggest either Rocher de Naye (3h) or Glacier 3000 (6h).
• For wine lovers, ride the boat to the Lavaux Terraces and do a vineyard tour by shuttle, eBike or foot.

See more ideas near Montreux .

Lugano Activities

For a short activity, I would choose the San Salvatore mountain viewpoint or walking tour of the city, guided or self-guided.

If you have more time, we love cruising on Lake Lucerne to visit lakeside villages like Gandria or Morcote. If you have the Swiss Travel Pass, the boats are included.

If you stay a few days in Lugano region, you could more nature excursions like the famous Verzasca river, Maggia valley with its spectacular waterfalls, or mountain viewpoints like Cardada or Generoso.

See more Lugano ideas .

If you are traveling with children, I would choose a rail package with shorter train rides (2-3 hours) and spend more days in each destination doing mountain excursions and other fun activities.

My top choices for families would be the Best of Switzerland (Lucerne + Interlaken) or Famous Mountain Peaks (Interlaken + Zermatt).

I wouldn’t choose the Glacier Express Classic, since the train ride is 8 hours. If you really want to do the Glacier Express, I would choose a shorter segment, like Zermatt to Andermatt or Chur to St Moritz and spend a few days in the destinations on each end.

Booking for children

Children age 6-15 require a train ticket, which is usually half fare, and a seat reservation.

Children under age 6 do not need a train ticket. But they do need a seat reservation if you want them to have a seat.

During the booking process, you select the age of each child, which then applies the appropriate discount.

If you plan to get the Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Half Card, these will reduce your rail package cost.

Swiss Travel Pass

If you are spending at least 5 days in Switzerland, it’s usually best to get the Swiss Travel Pass , which includes unlimited train travel all over Switzerland, including scenic rail journeys.

When booking a rail package, select the “Swiss Travel Pass” for each traveler as shown below.

Then the train ticket cost is deducted from the package fee. You only pay for the seat reservation and hotels and activities in each destination.

Purchase your Swiss Travel Pass separately and make sure it covers the days of your scenic rail journey. We suggest buying this pass on Get Your Guide , which has a flexible cancellation policy.

Buy Swiss Travel Pass here .

The Swiss Travel Pass also includes entrance to over 500 museums and discounts on some activities.

Half Fare Card

The Swiss Half Fare Card is another discount travel card that gives you a 50% discount on all public transport and most mountain railways throughout Switzerland, including scenic rail journeys.

Some travelers find that the Swiss Half Fare Card is a better fit than the Swiss Travel Pass, particularly if they are renting a car for most of the trip.

• Purchase the one month Swiss Half Fare Card

If you plan to have a Swiss Half Fare Card (or are a local and already have one), choose that option for each traveler as shown below. The discount will be applied in the last step.

During the booking process, you can customize the itinerary in several ways.

On most itineraries, you can add extra nights at each destination. When you are viewing the itinerary, simply click the + button next to the destination. The suggested hotel may change based on availability.

Add activities

Most itineraries allow you to add bookable activities like mountain excursions, paragliding or city tours. When you click the Add Activity button, it will display activities that can be booked through the tool.

Of course, there are many other activities that aren’t bookable through the tool, which you can do on your won. Note that some itineraries already include some activities, which may be fixed.

If you want to add a destination to the suggested itinerary, simply click the Edit Route button as shown here.

This opens the following trip planning screen, where you can add other stops and overnights to the trip.

Browse scenic rail journeys and save 5% with our promo code AFFSWISSFAMILYFUN

We are delighted to partner with Switzerland Travel Centre , the official and largest tour operator for holidays in Switzerland.

Their company is a subsidiary of Switzerland Tourism, Swiss Railways SBB, HotellerieSuisse, and various Swiss regional railway companies. They work with over 2,000 Swiss hotels and all the major railway and mountain railway companies to bring you the best package options.

They are headquartered in Zurich, with offices in London, Stuttgart and Hong Kong.

Note: We are an affiliate partner of Switzerland Travel Centre. If you use our promo code to book rail packages, we may receive a small commission. See our disclosure policy for more info.

• TAGS: featured , Swiss Public Transport

How to travel by train in Switzerland on a budget including how to get cheaper fares, short-term travel passes, and yearly travel cards.

Popular Tours

Before leaving a comment, please review our privacy policy to understand how we process and store data submitted through the comment form below. 

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Hi! I’m Tanya and our family has been living & hiking in Switzerland since 2005, collecting dozens of fun hikes and activities for all ages and abilities. More about us…

Need help planning?

Short on time? Get our interactive map with curated itineraries. Learn more…

Have questions? Book a video call with me to create a custom itinerary.

Need inspiration? Get our Switzerland Bucket List ebook with twenty “Top 10” checklists.

Subscribers may login below. At the moment, membership is by invite only.

12 most scenic train rides in Switzerland 

In my opinion, travelling by train through Switzerland is the best way to experience the country’s breathtaking beauty. The most scenic train rides in Switzerland take you past snow-dusted mountain peaks, over vast viaducts and through charming Swiss towns and villages. 

From short train rides between towns to lengthy expeditions across the country, I love that there are countless opportunities to soak up the stunning landscapes of Switzerland from the comfort of a train. And comfy they are – I always find Swiss trains to be clean, comfortable and efficient. 

Some of the best train journeys in Switzerland are the panoramic trains, where large glass windows provide uninterrupted views of the epic scenery.

Witness majestic mountain vistas, rolling green hills and vivid blue lakes as you journey through the country.

I’ve visited Switzerland numerous times over the years and have been lucky to experience some of the most epic train journeys in the country.

In my guide to the most scenic train rides in Switzerland, I’ll share my pick of the best panoramic train journeys and most beautiful railway routes, along with the best ticket options and key points of interest on each train ride. 

Author Bio: Jessie Moore

Jessie Moore is a luxury travel expert with years of experience travelling the world to find the best destinations, hotels and adventures.

1. Glacier Express

Route: Zermatt – St Moritz

Distance: 291km

Time: 7.5 hours

Stops: Zermatt, Brig, Andermatt, Disentis Mustér, Chur, Tiefencastel, Filisur, Samedan, St Moritz

Tickets: Book here (seat reservation also needed)

Definitely up there as one of my all-time favourites, the Glacier Express is one of the most famous scenic train rides in Switzerland.

It is known as the “slowest express train in the world” because of its leisurely pace. This allows you to enjoy the stunning views of the Swiss Alps without whizzing along at lightning speed.

The route runs from Zermatt to St. Moritz, covering a distance of 291km in just under eight hours.

On the journey, you’ll encounter breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains, deep valleys and picturesque villages.

I love that panoramic windows provide unobstructed views of the scenery. Some of the windows even open so you can get photos and videos without that annoying window glare. 

If you’re able to then I’d really recommend treating yourself to Excellence Class. This is truly a bucket list experience with a guaranteed window seat, five-course regional menu and exclusive use of the Glacier bar.

Key points of interest on the Glacier Express include:

• The Matterhorn: The train passes by the iconic Matterhorn mountain, which is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Switzerland.
• Oberalp Pass: The train reaches its highest point at Oberalp Pass, which is 2,033 metres above sea level. Here, passengers can see the Rhine River’s source and enjoy gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains.
• Landwasser Viaduct: The Glacier Express passes over the Landwasser Viaduct, which is one of the most famous landmarks on the Glacier Express route. The viaduct is 65 metres high and 136 metres long, offering stunning views of the valley below.

Insider travel tip: You need to book both a ticket and a seat reservation. If you already have the Swiss Travel Pass (which I’d highly recommend as it gives you unlimited travel on trains, buses and boats across Switzerland), then you’ll just need to pay for your seat reservation.

Remember that you don’t need to join for the entire route; personally, I travelled from Chur to Brig.

Discover my pick of the best hotels in Zermatt , my review of the Grand Hotel Kronenhof near St Moritz , or read my guide to visiting Chur .

Watch my vlog and honest experience of riding the Glacier Express:

2. Bernina Express

Route: Chur – Tirano

Distance: 122km

Time: 4 hours

Stops: Chur, Filisur, St Moritz, Poschiavo, Tirano

The Bernina Express is another world-famous scenic train ride that takes passengers through the Swiss Alps, offering breathtaking views of the landscape. The train route starts in Chur and ends in Tirano, Italy – and vice versa.

The journey takes approximately four hours and covers a distance of 122 km. It passes through 55 tunnels and crosses 196 bridges, including the famous Landwasser Viaduct.

Like the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express is known for its panoramic windows, providing uninterrupted views of the surrounding beauty.

I was pleased to discover that the Bernina Express is actually a bit cheaper than the Glacier Express (presumably as it takes half the time).

It is still breathtakingly beautiful and one of the most stunning train rides in Switzerland – if not the world. 

During the journey, you’ll pass through the Engadine Valley, which is known for its picturesque villages and sparkling lakes.

The train also climbs up to the Bernina Pass, which is the highest point on the journey at 2,253 metres above sea level.

Key points of interest on the Bernina Express journey include:

• The Landwasser Viaduct: A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most photographed landmarks in Switzerland (and I can see why!).
• The Morteratsch Glacier: See the largest glacier in the Bernina Range from the train.
• The Brusio Circular Viaduct: A spiral viaduct that allows the train to descend safely down the mountain.

Insider travel tip: As with the Glacier Express, you need to book both a ticket (unless covered by Swiss Travel Pass or Eurail Pass ) and a seat reservation.

Bear in mind that the Bernina Express doesn’t have the at-seat restaurant service that you get on the Glacier Express, but a trolley service offering refreshments is available.

I’d recommend bringing your own lunch and even a cheeky bottle of wine!

3. Golden Pass Line

Route: Montreux – Zweisimmen – Interlaken – Lucerne

Distance: 191km

Time: 5.5 hours

Stops: Montreux, Zweisimmen, Interlaken, Lucerne

Tickets: Swiss Travel Pass (seat reservations not needed, apart from on the Belle Epoque train during peak times)

Another of my favourite train rides in Switzerland, the Golden Pass connects Lucerne and Montreux .

This scenic train ride takes passengers through some of the most beautiful landscapes in Switzerland, including the Bernese Oberland, the Simmen Valley, and the Pays d’Enhaut.

The Golden Pass comprises three sections:

• Lucerne to Interlaken
• Interlaken to Zweisimmen
• Zweisimmen to Montreux

As part of the Golden Pass Line, I’d recommend taking the Chocolate Train from Montreux to Broc-Chocolat on the Belle Epoque train.

Discover how chocolate is made in Broc and visit the cheese factory in Gruyères . It’s a slight detour but absolutely worth it!

Key points of interest along the Golden Pass Line include:

• Lucerne: This picturesque city is located on the shores of Lake Lucerne and is known for its mediaeval architecture and stunning views of the Alps. Read my one-day Lucerne itinerary .
• Interlaken: This resort town is situated between two lakes and is a popular destination for outdoor activities such as hiking, skiing, and paragliding. Discover my pick of the best things to do in Interlaken and the top hotels in Interlaken .
• Gstaad: This luxury ski resort town brings high-end shops, restaurants, and hotels, as well as its stunning mountain views.
• Montreux: This charming town is located on the shores of Lake Geneva and is known for its mild climate, beautiful gardens, and historic Château de Chillon. Discover more of the best things to do in Montreux with my guide.

Insider travel tip: For the Zweisimmen to Montreux leg of the Golden Pass route, you can take the specialised Belle Epoque train.

The interiors offer similar vibes to the iconic Orient Express trains with their grand interiors. There are two Belle Epoque trains per day and I’d advise reserving a seat if travelling in peak season.

4. Gotthard Panorama Express

• Lugano / Bellinzona – Flüelen by train
• Flüelen – Lucerne by steamboat

Distance: 182km

Tickets: Swiss Travel Pass (seat reservations also needed)

The Gotthard Panorama Express is a scenic train ride that takes you through the heart of Switzerland’s Alpine region.

Along the way, you will be greeted with breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains, rolling hills, and lush green valleys. 

The train route begins (or ends) in Lucerne, where you board a steamboat that takes you across Lake Lucerne to the town of Flüelen.

From there, you board the Gotthard Panorama Express train for the rest of the journey – or vice versa.

The train ride takes you through some of the most breathtaking scenery in Switzerland, including the famous Gotthard Tunnel. The tunnel is the longest railway tunnel in the world and offers a unique and unforgettable experience.

Throughout the journey, you’ll enjoy a variety of amenities, including comfortable seating, panoramic windows, and a dining car that serves delicious Swiss cuisine.

I love that the train also features audio guides which provide you with information about the history and culture of the region.

Key points of interest along the Gotthard Panorama Express include:

• Gotthard Tunnel: The longest railway tunnel in the world at 57km. 
• Wassen Church: Passengers pass the famous church three times on the Gotthard train, as a result of the spiralling tunnels on the route. 
• Mount Rigi: Affectionately known as the ‘Queen of the Mountains’, located just south of Lake Lucerne.

Insider travel tip: You need to purchase seat reservations as well as a ticket or travel pass. Note that the Gotthard Panorama Express train only offers 1st class on the route between Flüelen and Lugano.

So if you have a 2nd class ticket (i.e. through the Swiss Travel Pass or Eurail Pass ), then you’ll need to purchase a class upgrade for this route.

5. Jungfrau Railway

Route: Kleine Scheidegg – Jungfraujoch

Distance: 9km

Time: 35 minutes

Stops: Kleine Scheidegg, Eismeer Station, Jungfraujoch

Tickets: Swiss Travel Pass ( seat reservations needed in peak season)

The Jungfrau Railway is a cogwheel train that takes passengers to the highest railway station in Europe: the Jungfraujoch. It’s located at a dizzying altitude of 3,454 metres above sea level and known as the “top of Europe”.

The journey starts from the Kleine Scheidegg station in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland and takes just 35 minutes. If travelling from Interlaken , the journey takes about two hours.

As the train winds its way up through the Swiss Alps, you’ll be immersed in stunning panoramic views of snow-capped peaks and quaint alpine villages.

One of the highlights of the journey is the Eiger North Face, which is one of the most challenging and dangerous mountain faces in the world for climbers. 

At the top, there are a variety of things to do, including: 

• Sphinx Observatory: One of the highest astronomical observatories in the world. The observation deck is open to the public and is the second-highest in the world.
• Ice Palace: I’d recommend exploring the impressive ice sculptures and learning more about the glacier’s history. 
• Snow Fun Park: Here you can go skiing, snowboarding, sledging and even ziplining. It’s open from mid-May to mid-October but can be closed due to bad weather.

Good to know: The train stops at Eismeer Station on the way up, allowing you to take in the views from the observation deck.

6. Gornergrat Railway

Route: Zermatt – Gornergrat

Time: 33 minutes

Stops: Zermatt, Findelbach, Riffelalp, Riffelboden, Riffelberg, Rotenboden, Gornergrat

Tickets: Book here

The Gornergrat Railway is a cogwheel train that takes passengers from Zermatt to the Gornergrat summit, which is at an altitude of 3,089 metres.

It is one of the highest open-air railway lines in Europe and offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains, including the Matterhorn.

The train ride takes approximately 33 minutes and covers a distance of just over 9km. It’s a real must when staying in Zermatt and it also serves as the main way for skiers and snowboarders to get to the slopes.

I loved getting this gorgeous train everyday when I stayed in Zermatt.

Key points of interest along the Gornergrat Railway include:

• The Matterhorn: The train offers some of the best views of the Matterhorn, the iconic “Toblerone” mountain.
• Riffelalp Resort: The train stops at Riffelalp, where you can find the historic luxury Riffelalp Hotel located at an altitude of 2,222 metres. Discover more of my favourite luxury hotels in Zermatt . 
• ZOOOM Matterhorn: A multi-media experience complete with periscopes, immersive 3D cinema and virtual paraglider flights. 

Good to know: The Swiss Travel Pass doesn’t cover lift systems or the Gornergrat but it does get you a 50% discount on the Gornergrat Railway. 

7. Cogwheel Railway to Mount Pilatus

Route: Alpnachstad – Pilatus Kulm

Distance: 5km

Time: 30 minutes for ascent, 40 minutes for descent

Stops: Alpnachstad, Pilatus Kulm

Another of the most scenic train rides in Switzerland is the cogwheel railway to Mount Pilatus.

The train starts its journey from Alpnachstad and takes passengers to the top of Mount Pilatus, which is over 2,000 metres above sea level.

What makes this train ride unique is that it’s the steepest cogwheel railway in the world, with a gradient of up to 48%. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes and offers epic views of the surrounding landscape.

Passing through lush green forests, mountain streams, and rocky terrain, believe me when I say that the view from the train is breathtaking. You can even see the beautiful Lake Lucerne from above.

At the top of Mount Pilatus, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and valleys. There are several hiking trails, restaurants, and souvenir shops at the top.

Good to know: The cogwheel railway is easily accessible from Lucerne by public transport. You can get the train from Lucerne or a lake steamer that takes about an hour.

If you prefer, I’d recommend getting the cable car on the descent from Mount Pilatus, which takes you back to Lucerne (or vice versa).

8. Wengernalpbahn Railway

• Kleine Scheidegg – Grindelwald
• Kleine Scheidegg – Wengen – Lauterbrunnen

Distance: 19km

Time:  

• Kleine Scheidegg – Grindelwald: 24 minutes
• Kleine Scheidegg – Lauterbrunnen: 42 minutes
• Wengen – Lauterbrunnen: 12 minutes

Stops: Grindelwald, Grindelwald-Grund, Alpiglen, Kleine Scheidegg, Wengernalp, Allmend, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen

Tickets: Swiss Travel Pass (the Wengernalpbahn railway is included)

The Wengernalpbahn is a cog railway that runs from Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen via Kleine Scheidegg, passing through the picturesque village of Wengen along the way.

The journey offers unforgettable views of the surrounding mountains, including the famous Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.

It’s also the world’s longest cogwheel railway, which I think makes it an unmissable train ride in Switzerland. 

Key points of interest along the Wengernalpbahn railway include:

• Wengen: The car-free village of Wengen can only be reached by train or foot. It offers extraordinary views of the Lauterbrunnen valley and is a popular destination for hikers and skiers.
• Grindelwald: The town of Grindelwald is known for its skiing and outdoor activities. It is also home to the famous Eiger mountain, which can be seen from the train.
• Kleine Scheidegg station: Located at the foot of the Eiger, it is also the starting point for the Jungfraujoch railway. As mentioned above, this railway takes visitors to the “Top of Europe” at 3,454 metres above sea level.

Good to know: There is no direct service between Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, as you need to change at Kleine Scheidegg.

Want up to 25% off hotels?

Subscribe to my newsletter and get immediate access to my guide on how to save money on flights and hotels. Our weekly emails are filled with adventure inspiration, insider travel tips and exclusive discounts.

9. Voralpen Express

Route: St Gallen – Lucerne

Distance: 125km

Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Stops: St Gallen, Wattwil, Rapperswil, Arth Goldau, Lucerne

Tickets: Swiss Travel Pass  

The Voralpen Express is a scenic train ride that takes you through some of the most beautiful landscapes in Switzerland. It starts in St. Gallen and ends in Lucerne via a number of mesmerising sights. 

Rather than the dramatic landscapes seen on the Glacier and Bernina Express trains, the scenery here is more subtle in its beauty. Think rolling hills, pretty meadows and quaint villages. 

Key points of interest along the Voralpen Express include:

• Abbey of St. Gallen: The train passes through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Abbey of St. Gallen, which is known for its stunning Baroque architecture.
• Sitter Viaduct: A masterpiece of engineering that was constructed over 100 years ago. The highest railway bridge in Switzerland, I’m sure its impressive height will take your breath away. 
• Lake Lucerne: As the train makes its way towards its end destination, it passes through the picturesque Lake Lucerne region, offering panoramic views of the lake and the surrounding mountains.

The Voralpen Express is an ideal way to get from Eastern Switzerland to Central Switzerland and trains run hourly.

It has comfortable seating and a dining car, where you can enjoy a meal or a drink while taking in the scenic views.

Good to know: The Voralpen Express is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and the Eurail Pass . No seat reservation is necessary. 

10. Luzern-Interlaken Express

Route: Lucerne – Interlaken

Time: 2 hours 

Stops: Lucerne, Interlaken

Tickets: Swiss Travel Pass (seat reservation recommended)

The Luzern-Interlaken Express is a panoramic train ride that connects two of the most popular destinations in Switzerland.

Bound to be yet another unforgettable travel experience, passengers are treated to spectacular scenery. 

From the greens of the pastures to the blues of the lakes, I found myself constantly gasping on this train journey. Pass by sparkling streams, towering peaks and thundering waterfalls. 

The train is equipped with panoramic windows for uninterrupted views of the surrounding mountains, lakes, and valleys.

As with all Swiss trains, the seats are comfortable and there is ample legroom. Passengers can also enjoy free Wi-Fi on board.

Key points of interest along the Luzern-Interlaken Express include:

• The Brünig Pass: The train passes through the Brünig Pass, which is located at an altitude of 1,008 metres and offers breathtaking views.
• Lake Brienz: Known for its crystal-clear waters and stunning scenery, you can see the lake from the panoramic windows of the train.
• The Bernese Alps: Some of the most beautiful and iconic mountains in Switzerland. You can see the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau peaks from the train.

Insider travel tip: For the best views, I’d advise sitting on the right hand side if you’re travelling from Lucerne to Interlaken.

11. Mont Blanc Express

Route: Martigny – Chamonix

Distance: 38km

Time: 90 minutes

Stops: Martigny, Vernayaz, Salvan, Marécottes, Le Trétien, Finhaut, Le Châtelard, Chamonix

The Mont Blanc Express takes passengers through the stunning scenery of the Swiss Alps and into the popular resort of Chamonix in France.

This scenic train ride in Switzerland is known for its breathtaking views of the Mont Blanc mountain range and the beautiful landscapes that surround it.

The Mont Blanc Express begins its journey in Martigny, Switzerland, and travels through the picturesque towns of Salvan, Les Marécottes, and Finhaut before reaching its final destination in Chamonix, France.

On the Mont Blanc Express you can expect to see some of the most gorgeous scenery in Switzerland, including snow-capped mountains, crystal-clear lakes, and lush green forests. 

Key points of interest along the Mont Blanc Express include:

• Vernayaz: For access to the picturesque Trient gorges and the Pissevache waterfall.
• Marécottes: You can find the highest zoo in Europe here! Plus, reach the La Creusaz ski area. 
• Finhaut: The village of Finhaut is perched on the hills of the Trient valley. It’s a popular spot with hikers and cyclists, with its open and unspoiled spaces.

Good to know: Travel from Martigny to Chamonix is included in the Swiss Travel Pass , but not beyond Chamonix in France. As it’s a regional train, seat reservations are not possible. 

12. Grand Train Tour of Switzerland

For the ultimate experience of the most scenic train rides in Switzerland, the Grand Train Tour covers all the best train journeys in the country.

It’s a 1,280 km train journey that takes you through some of the most scenic train rides in Switzerland, including many of those mentioned above.

This train tour covers such a vast area that you’ll encounter four official languages, five UNESCO World Heritage Sites and 11 large lakes – which I think sounds pretty spectacular!

The tour can be completed in four to eight days, depending on how much time you have and how much you want to see.

Highlights of the tour include:

• The Glacier Express: This iconic train ride takes you through the heart of the Swiss Alps, passing through 91 tunnels and over 291 bridges. The journey starts in Zermatt and ends in St. Moritz, taking around eight hours to complete.
• The Bernina Express: This breathtaking train journey takes you from Chur to Tirano, passing through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Rhaetian Railway. The journey takes around four hours and offers stunning views of the Swiss Alps, including the Morteratsch Glacier and the Bernina Pass.
• The Golden Pass Line: Travel from Montreux to Lucerne, passing through the scenic Swiss countryside. The journey takes around five hours and offers beautiful panoramas of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains.
• The Gotthard Panorama Express: This train ride takes you from Lucerne to Lugano, passing through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in the world. The journey takes around five hours.

Good to know: There is no set route or direction – you can simply hop and hop off the different routes as you please.

The best way to do so is via the Swiss Travel Pass , which gives you access to the entire Grand Tour of Switzerland. You’ll just need to book seat reservations on the trains which need it.

Do let me know in the comments if you have any questions about the most scenic train rides in Switzerland!

Planning a trip to this beautiful country? Read my guide to the most beautiful towns in Switzerland to visit , seek out the best Swiss spa hotels , or discover my guides to Grindelwald , Gruyères and Zermatt . 

For more train travel inspiration this winter, unearth the best ski resorts by train from the UK – written by two experts in skiing and train travel.

Save on Pinterest for later!

Jessie is a luxury travel expert with years of experience travelling the world to find the best destinations, hotels and adventures.

Find me on: Web | Instagram

Pocket Wanderings is a luxury travel and lifestyle brand run by London-based content creator, Jessie Moore. Here you’ll find a community of fellow wanderlusters and adventurers.

Quick Links

About Contact Privacy Policy

The Man in Seat 61

A beginner's guide to

Train travel in switzerland.

• Buy train tickets
• Buy ferry tickets
• Book a hotel
• Privacy & cookies
•   Home

Train travel UK & Ireland...

Train travel in europe..., train travel in asia..., train travel in africa..., train travel in america..., train travel in australasia, swiss tickets & passes explained.

Swiss trains run like clockwork, so they say.  And they pretty much do.  The whole of Switzerland is covered by a frequent, punctual and efficient integrated train network that's really easy to use.  In most cases you can just turn up, buy a ticket and hop on.  Swiss Federal Railways (= SBB in German, CFF in French or FFS in Italian) runs most mainline trains, but there are many smaller private operators running local & regional routes.

Train travel within Switzerland

Swiss scenic trains

International trains to/from switzerland, station guides, other train travel information, useful country information, how to check times & buy tickets, do you need to book in advance, which website to use.

The following websites all link to the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) ticketing system and can all sell regular tickets , Saver Day Passes & advance-purchase Supersaver fares .  The price is the same whichever website you use.

Booking opens 6 months in advance.  You print your ticket or can show it on your phone.

Option 1, Swiss Federal Railways, www.sbb.ch

You can check train times & fares and buy tickets for any journey in Switzerland at the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) website www.sbb.ch .

Prices are in CHF.  Be warned, the first price that www.sbb.ch shows you is usually only half the true price, because Sbb.ch assumes you have a Swiss Half Fare card as the majority of Swiss citizens do.  When you change Select discount to No discount the price doubles, so be aware of this when costing your journeys.  There's no booking fee.

Option 2 , Thetrainline.com

You may find it easier to check times & buy tickets at www.thetrainline.com , in CHF, €, £ or $.  It too can sell all tickets types, regular tickets , Saver Day Passes and advance-purchase Supersaver fares .  There's a small booking fee.  Who are Thetrainline.com?

Option 3 , Omio.com

Omio.com  is also really easy to use, in CHF, €, £ or $.  There's a small booking fee.

The SBB system not only covers SBB's own trains, it covers all Swiss public transport including private train operators and connecting ferries, buses and funicular railways.  Trains run every hour or every 30 minutes, even more frequently on core routes.  Trains, buses & ferries connect efficiently, and connections of even just a few minutes are reliable and easy to make.

Standard fares

There is one regular flexible fare between any two Swiss stations via a given route, good for any departure that day.  The price is fixed and availability is unlimited, you can buy at this price at the station on the day if you like.  You sit anywhere you like.

If you buy one of these full-price full-flex tickets at www.sbb.ch , www.thetrainline.com or www.omio.com , it is valid on any train between those stations by the route stated on the date you bought it for, even if you selected a specific train.

A round trip ticket costs the same as two one-ways.  The return journey must be made the same day if the journey is less than 116 km.  If the journey is more than 116 km the return journey may be made any day up to 10 days after the outward leg.  But you may as well stay flexible and just buy two one-ways.

With a regular Swiss ticket, you can break your journey (in other words, stop off) on the way as long as you complete the whole journey that same day.

Supersaver fares

For longer-distance journeys you may be offered a Supersaver advance-purchase ticket.

Supersaver fares are up to 70% cheaper than the regular flexible price.  You can buy Supersavers a minimum of 1 day in advance.  There is limited availability at each price point, the further ahead you book and the less popular the train you choose, the cheaper it's likely to be.

Supersaver fares are only good for the specific train you book, no refunds, no changes to travel plans.

However, if you miss your train, the Swiss Railways let you use the ticket as credit towards a full-fare ticket for a later train - just go to the ticket office and pay the difference between the Supersaver price and the regular full-price fare.

Obviously, be careful when using a train-specific Supersaver fare for an onward journey in connection with a train arriving from Paris or Milan or when arriving on a flight, unless you leave a long time buffer to absorb delay.

Using www.thetrainline.com or www.o mio.com , Supersaver or Saver Day Passes will appear in the search results if they're available.  Using www.sbb.ch , a black triangle with a % symbol will appear to the left of any departures in the search results which have a Supersaver fare available.  Select that departure and the Supersaver price will appear during the buying process when you click Options for the outward journey .  Supersaver fares can only be bought online, and only at www.sbb.ch , www.thetrainline.com or www.omio.com .  They will not appear if you look further ahead than 60 days.

Saver Day Pass

For longer-distance journeys you might also be offered a Saver Day Pass if it's cheaper than a full-fare full-flex ticket.

A Saver Day Pass gives you a whole day of unlimited travel on the entire Swiss transport system, the rail equivalent of an 'all you can eat' buffet.  It covers all SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) trains and most private railways, post-buses & ferries.  Saver Day Passes come in 1st & 2nd class versions, with or without Half Fare Card discount.  It covers the Bernina Express & Glacier Express routes, although you need a reservation for those trains.

The price of a Saver Day Pass varies, you'll see a different price on each date which increases like air fares as that date approaches.

A Saver Day Pass starts at CHF 52, cheaper than a full-price ticket from Zurich to Geneva (although a Supersaver fare might be cheaper still).  If you wait until the day before travel, it could cost CHF 119.

You can buy a Saver Day pass by running an enquiry at www.thetrainline.com or www.omio.com for a random long-distance route (for example, Zurich to Tirano), then looking for Saver Day Pass as a fare option.  You can also buy at www.sbb.ch or in person at Swiss stations.

Booking opens 6 months in advance.  Saver Day Passes cannot be bought on the day.  No refunds, no changes after buying it.

The routes covered by a Saver Day Pass are shown on the official Swiss train map as solid red, yellow or black lines.

Routes shown as dotted red, yellow or black lines are not covered, this includes a few smaller private railways and some well-known tourist mountain railways such as the Jungfrau Railway & Gornergrat Railway.  Unlike the Swiss Travel Passes , the Saver Day Pass doesn't get you any reduction on these dotted-line routes, if you want to use them you pay full-price.

One thing confuses people about the map:  Solid lines become dashed lines where the line is in a tunnel.  Dashed isn't the same as dotted !

Another way to save...

Back to top

Swiss Passes & Half Fare Card

Switzerland is one of the few remaining European countries where expensive point-to-point fares and lack of compulsory reservations makes railpasses good value and convenient.  You can buy passes online from the Switzerland Travel Centre , a Swiss Federal Railways subsidiary.  But I'm often asked if a pass makes sense, or whether to go for a Half Fare card.  Incidentally, the Swiss Transfer Ticket was discontinued in 2019.

A Saver Day Pass is a useful one-day all-Switzerland pass, easily bought online or at the station up to the day before see the section above .

Swiss Travel Pass

A Swiss Travel Pass gives unlimited travel across the Swiss travel system for a continuous period of 3 days, 4 days, 8 days or 15 days.

A Swiss Travel Pass Flex gives unlimited travel across the Swiss travel system for either 3, 4, 8 or 15 travel days with an overall period of a month.  A Swiss Travel Pass Flex is more economical than a regular non-Flex Swiss Travel Pass if you plan to stay put between journeys.  The overall one month starts on any date you like, then you can 'spend' each of your unlimited travel days on any dates you like within that period.

Check prices in CHF, USD, GBP or Euros at www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com , an international site run by a subsidiary of SBB (Swiss Railways).

Is a Swiss Travel Pass cheaper than point-to-point tickets? 

Swiss rail fares are expensive, so a Swiss pass can save money, depending what you plan to do and whether you're adult or youth.  First check the price of the pass that suits you, then divide the price by the number of days travelling you plan to do to get the pass cost per day.  Are the journeys you plan to make each day cheaper than this?  If so, don't buy a pass.  Or do they cost more than this?  Then buy a pass!  You can check fares at www.sbb.ch .  It's not rocket science!

What does the pass cover?

See this official map of the Swiss rail network .  A Swiss Travel Pass (continuous or flex) gives you unlimited free travel on all the train, bus & ferry routes shown as solid red, yellow or black lines on the map.  Swiss Travel Passes give you a 50% discount (not free travel) on the routes shown as dotted red, yellow or black lines.

One thing that confuses people: A solid line becomes a dashed line when it's in a tunnel, but it's not the same as a dotted line!  Routes on which you only get a discount, not free travel, notably include the Jungfrau Railway & Gornergrat railway.

How to buy a pass

Buy at www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com .  Anyone from any country can buy here, in CHF, £, $ or €.  This is an official Swiss Railways shop, owned by SBB Swiss Railways.

Print your own pass or show it on your phone

You get an e-ticket/print-at-home option for Swiss Travel Passes and Swiss Travel Pass Flex, so you'll get your pass immediately with no delivery charges.  You can print it out or show it on your phone via their pass activation page at www.activateyourpass.com .

Would an Interrail or Eurail pass be cheaper?

You should compare the cost of a Swiss Travel Pass with the cost of an Interrail One-Country Pass for Switzerland (if you're a European resident) or Eurail global pass (if you live outside Europe) as Interrail & Eurail passes can be significantly cheaper.

Like Swiss Travel Passes, Interrail & Eurail passes give unlimited travel on Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the major private train operators such as the Rhätische Bahn (RhB), Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon (BLS).

Before 2017 there were some significant private railway operators that a Swiss Pass covered but an Interrail or Eurail pass did not, but in 2017 Interrail/Eurail coverage was extended to include many more private operators, notably the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) which operates the line to Zermatt and half of the Glacier Express route.  From 10 December 2023, the Berner Oberland Bahn joins the scheme, so Interlaken to Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen are now covered too.

That leaves only the post-buses, lake boats and a few minor private railways which the Swiss Travel Pass covers but an Interrail or Eurail pass doesn't.  The line up the Jungfrau is not covered, but Interrail or Eurail passes give a 25% discount on normal fares.

Compare the lines covered by Interrail & Eurail on this map with the lines covered by a Swiss Travel Pass on this map .  On both maps, solid lines mean covered, dotted lines mean not covered (although there may be a discount).  Dashed lines simply means line in tunnel.

Swiss Half Fare card

Most Swiss residents have an annual half-fare card giving 50% off normal fares.  Visitors can buy one lasting a month.

The discount applies to Standard fares , Supersaver fares and Saver Day Passes .

The 1 month Half Fare Card costs CHF 120, so (obviously) only pays for itself if you plan to clock up more than CHF 240-worth of train journeys.  That's 3 full-price one-way trips between Lausanne and Zermatt, or 4 one-way trips between Basel and Interlaken, for example.

Again, it's not rocket science:  Use www.sbb.ch , www.thetrainline.com or www.o mio.com to check fares the journeys you plan to make, and halve this cost.  Does this exceed CHF 120?  Then buy the Half Fare Card.

Children 6-15 travel free with a family Half Fare card if accompanied by a parent.  This is a worthwhile benefit!

Buy online at www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com with prices in CHF, €, £ or $.

What are Swiss trains like ?

Classic intercity (ic) & interregional (ir) trains, double-deck intercity (ic) & interregional (ir) trains, icn tilting intercity (ic) trains.

These ICN Pendolino trains can tilt, enabling them to go round curves faster than normal trains.  They have cut journey times on several curvaceous Swiss InterCity routes.  Designed by Pininfarina, they feature a restaurant car and can reach 200km/h (125mph) although they don't often reach that speed in service.  You'll find these trains operating IC trains on these routes Geneva-Basel, Geneva-Zurich, Lausanne-Basel, Lausanne-Zurich, Basel-Lucerne-Lugano-Chiasso and Zurich-Lugano-Chiasso.  When using the journey planner at www.sbb.ch these trains are shown with a TT symbol in the facilities section, for Tilting Train.

Giruno Intercity (IC) & EuroCity (EC) trains

On the Basel/Zurich to Lugano route you'll find the latest Giruno trains, the international ones going through to Milan being classified EuroCity.  Giruno trains have low-floor accessible entrance doors, hence the rather strange seating arrangement inside.

Swiss private operators

Swiss local trains are run by SBB or a plethora of local private operators.  The trains come in all shapes & sizes, some old, some new.  Below left, a local train run by Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn (MGB) on the Brig-Zermatt line.  Below right, a train from St Moritz to Chur run by the Rhätische Bahn (RhB).

Seat maps : Click here

Travel tips.

Maps of the European rail network:   See the section on the Train travel in Europe page about rail maps .

Language problems

First-time visitors often think this will be a problem, but it hardly ever is.  At stations, signs are usually in English as well as German, French & Italian, or they use easy-to-understand pictograms.  On-train announcements on long-distance trains are often made in English.

First or second class?

Swiss fares are expensive, even in 2nd class.  And a 1st class ticket costs 75% more than a 2nd class one.  You don't get anything extra in 1st class on Swiss domestic trains - no free food or drink, no limo transfers, spa treatments or executive lounges.  Just wider seats, plusher seats, more elbow room as seats are usually 2+1 across the car width instead of 2+2 as in 2nd class, fewer people per car, fewer families and loud kids, more business travellers - see the photos above .  So unless it's a special occasion, or your company is paying, or you are rich, stick with 2nd class whilst within Switzerland as most travellers do.

Tip:   A yellow stripe above the windows or door indicates a 1st class car on Swiss trains.

Luggage on trains

There are no baggage fees or weight limits, and you don't check your bags in, you simply take them with you onto the train, placing them on the racks at the end of each car, or above your head.  More about luggage on European trains .

Left luggage at stations

Many larger Swiss stations have left-luggage lockers in various sizes, up to suitcase-sized.  More information on left luggage lockers & prices .

Food & drink on Swiss trains

Many Swiss long-distance trains have a waiter-service restaurant car, not cheap but a real treat!  A few regional trains now have vending machines selling hot drinks, cold drinks and snacks, operated with contactless bank cards.

Or feel free to bring your own food and drink (even a bottle of wine, if you like) onto the train, there's no rules against that on the rails!

First class lounges at stations

The lounges for first class passengers at Zurich & Geneva have been closed.  More about station lounges .

You can take a bike in the luggage van on most Swiss trains if you buy a Swiss Bike Card , for more details, see the bicycles by train page .

Dogs & pets

In Switzerland, dogs of any size can travel for half the 2nd class fare - although for longer journeys there's a Dog Day card which can be cheaper.  Small dogs up to 30cm high at the shoulder can travel free if they are in a carrier.  You'll find information on the Swiss Railways website www.sbb.ch .  You can easily buy Swiss tickets at the station when you get there.

For more about dogs & pets on trains in Europe, see the dogs & pets page .

Bernina Express:  More information

Glacier express:  more information, jungfrau bahn :  more information, golden pass line : montreux - interlaken - lucerne.

This is a mainly narrow-gauge route from Montreux to Interlaken & Lucerne via the well-known ski resort of Gstaad.  It's slower than using mainline trains, but very scenic and marketed to tourists as the Golden Pass route.   Until December 2022 it involved 3 trains, but it can now be done with just two: Montreux to Interlaken and Interlaken to Lucerne.  The first train is a new gauge-changing service, it runs from Montreux to Zweisimmen on the standard-gauge tracks of the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon (BLS) Railway then from Interlaken to Lucerne on the metre-gauge Brunig Railway operated by the Zentralbahn.  The new trains adjust their wheelsets at Zweisimmen.  They have 1st & 2nd class panorama cars and a new luxurious Prestige class.

As with other tourist trains, reservation is necessary if you want to travel in the panoramic tourists cars, but regular trains run frequently over the same route and these need no prior reservation.

The website for the joint service is www.goldenpass.ch .  But I find it easier to find Montreux-Lucerne Golden Pass times using the journey planner at www.sbb.ch - just make sure you put Zweisimmen in the via box, click advanced options and put Interlaken Ost in the second via box before running the enquiry.  Then it will find journeys with 1 or 2 changes via this slower scenic Golden Pass route, rather than the faster mainline route.

Gornergrat, Matterhorn, Mt. Pilatus, Mt. Titlis, Schilthorn

If you live in the UK, you can buy excursion tickets up these mountains here:  www.switzerlandtravelcentre.com

Invest in a good guidebook, even in the age of the internet.  For the independent traveller, I think this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  Both guidebooks provide the same excellent level of practical information and historical background. You won't regret buying one!

Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk

Or buy in the usa from amazon.com.

Alternatively, you can download just the chapters or areas you need in .PDF format from the Lonely Planet Website , from around £2.99 or US$4.95 a chapter.

Holidays, vacations & tours of Switzerland

Railbookers, railbookers.co.uk.

Railbookers are a train travel specialist who can put together a tour or short break for you as a package, including rail travel, hotels & transfers.  On their website you'll find a range of suggested tours & holidays which can be varied or customised to your own requirements.  And as you're booking a package, they'll take care of you if anything happens to one part of the itinerary such as a strike or delay.  They have offices in the UK, USA & Australia.

Check out their 8-day Switzerland's Lakes & Mountains tour (link to their UK site) or Swiss Lakes & Mountains tour (link to their US & Canada site) which includes both the famously scenic Glacier Express and Bernina Express trains.  Also see their 5-day Classic Bernina Express & Glacier Express tour (link to their UK site) or Classic Bernina Express & Glacier Express tour (link to their US & Canada site) which also combine these two classic Alpine routes.

Tailor Made Rail, tailormaderail.com

Tailor Made Rail can arrange tours of Switzerland by train including the Glacier and/or Bernina Expresses based on your own requirements, they welcome complex itineraries.  As it's a package, they'll take care of you if anything happens on one part of the trip, for example, a national strike.  They're TTA-protected - like ATOL, but not only for agencies that sell air travel.

Call their dedicated seat61 phone line 020 3778 1461 and quote seat 61 when booking.  From outside the UK call +44 20 3778 1461 .  Lines open 09:00-17:30 Monday-Friday.  Their website is www.tailormaderail.com/destinations/switzerland .

Byway, byway.travel

Byway ( byway.travel ) is a UK-based eco-holiday firm with a 5-star TrustPilot rating .  If you're nervous about booking train travel yourself, they'll book a UK-Switzerland trip for you as a package, including hotels, starting from any British station you like.

To see pre-configured packages from London to Switzerland, use the journey planner on their website .

Alternatively they can build a trip to your requirements, email them or use the contact form .  Please say you heard about them from Seat 61.

Byway includes package protection, a 100% Covid refund guarantee, free disruption & re-planning and on-demand WhatsApp support while you're away.

Hotels & accommodation in Switzerland

Personal recommendations.

In Zurich , for something special, look no further than the superb Hotel Schweizerhof , located right next to Zurich station.  One of my favourite hotels, they'll even send a uniformed commissionaire to meet you at the station and carry your bags across the road.

In the St Moritz-Pontresina area , the Romantik Hotel Muottas Muragl is an amazing place to stay perched on the top of a mountain, with clean simple and (for Switzerland) inexpensive rooms.  It's reached via the Muottas Muragl funicular railway from Punt Muragl station, between Pontresina & St Moritz.

Backpacker hostels: www.hostelworld.com

www.hostelworld.com :  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in Paris and most other European cities at rock-bottom prices.

Travel insurance & other tips

Always take out travel insurance.

You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer.  It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit.  These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself.  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here .  Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.

Get an eSIM with mobile data package

Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a European mobile data package and stay connected.  Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list .  There's no need to buy a physical SIM card!  Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data .

Get a Curve card for foreign travel

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate then add a foreign transaction fee on top.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this.  The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.  And you can get a Curve card for free.

How it works:   1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android .  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader.  The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out).  I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card , they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  Why you need a VPN

When travelling you may use free public WiFi which is often insecure.  A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi.  It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply.  See VPNs & why you need one explained .  ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using this link you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription.  I also get some commission to help support this site.

Carry an Anker powerbank

Tickets, reservations, hotel bookings and Interrail or Eurail passes are often now held on your mobile phone.  You daren't let it run out of power, and you can't always rely on the phone's internal battery or on being near a power outlet.  I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over.  Buy from Amazon.co.uk or buy from Amazon.com .

Touring cities?  Use hill walking shoes!

One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa.  They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities.  My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!

Back to home page

Swiss Holiday Newsletter

Please register your email address and we will keep you informed about interesting developments on holidays to Switzerland, along with any special offers that may become available.

By continuing, you are giving your consent to your details being stored by Swiss Holiday Co. for the sole purpose of sending you our newsletter.  Swiss Holiday Co.  will not share your information with any third party. You can always unsubscribe to our newsletter by sending an e-mail to [email protected] , at which point your data will be deleted from our mailing list.

Swiss Holiday Brochures

Lakes & Mountains 2024

Scenic Rail 2024

Scenic Switzerland Rail Holidays

The pure joy of train holidays in switzerland.

Glacier Express   -  Bernina Express   -  GoldenPass Express   - Luzern-Interlaken Express -  Gotthard Panorama Express

Train travel in Switzerland 

For many people the highlight of a Swiss holiday is travelling along one of the many scenic routes which cross this beautiful country, passing snowcapped mountains and shimmering lakes.  Switzerland's rail network is easy to use and totally reliable, enabling you to plan a two or multi centre holiday with confidence. We will be happy to offer advice on hotels, durations and what to see and do, to really get the most out of your visit. Please click here to see our current programme of suggested  multi centre scenic rail holidays   or take a look at our scenic rail day trips .

Book a scenic rail holiday. Call 0800 619 1200 for our tailor made service or click here for a quotation.

Glacier Express

Bernina Express

GoldenPass Express

Luzern-Interlaken Express

Gotthard Panorama Express

Centovalli Line

Lötschberg Regio Express

Treno Gottardo

Pre-Alpine Express

Emmental Regio Express

Jungfrau Railways

Montreux Zermatt Line

Lake Constance Line

Palm Express

Winter Scenic Rail

Best excursions.

Holiday Quotation

Order Brochures

Contact information

•  Address: 45 The Enterprise Centre, Cranborne Road, Potters Bar EN6 3DQ
•  Freephone: 0800 619 1200 Call from outside UK  +44 1707 646466
•  Email: [email protected]
•  Sitemap: Web Sitemap Independent reviews service:

ABTA & ATOL members

Read about ATOL protection

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advice

Please click here for the latest advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office on travel to Switzerland

We work closely with SBB -  Travel Switzerland - and Switzerland Tourism

Design and development

The Swiss Holiday Company, 2024. All rights reserved. Pictures and video belong to our partners and are used with permission.

Riding The Glacier Express: Routes, Ticket Prices & More

The Glacier Express is one of the most famous train journeys in Switzerland and all over the world. It is world-renowned for the views of some of the most stunning landscapes in the Swiss Alps.

The Glacier Express is the slowest express train in Europe and the world, taking around 8 hours to go just 180 miles (290 km). But, by being the world’s slowest express train, you get to take in stunning views along the way.

It runs between two of the most famous mountain resorts in Switzerland, Zermatt and St Moritz, plus it also has a link to Davos. The Glacier Express stops along the way, too, so you can board it at one of the stops.

Fitted with panoramic coaches with world-class service, a trip on the Glacier Express is mind-blowing. Join me as I run through everything you need to know about riding the Glacier Express, from all the stops to booking tickets.

Table of Contents

Glacier Express Route

Zermatt to Brig

The Glacier Express train begins its journey in Zermatt, the stunning mountain resort with views of the Matterhorn. Spending a night or two in this beautiful car-free village before boarding the Glacier Express is well worth it.

Once the Glacier Express departs Zermatt it begins its journey to the next stop, Brig. Along the way, you will see incredible mountain landscapes including huge cliffs that rise up to 4,000 meters above sea level.

It drops down into the Mattertal Valley and the Mattervispa River which provide stunning vistas from the train on both sides.

Brig to Andermatt

From Brig, the Glacier Express moves on to its next stop, Andermatt. Along the way, the train follows the beautiful Rhône Valley which provides some magical views of snow-capped peaks and rural alpine villages.

The train then heads to Oberwald, where it climbs to 1,366 meters above sea level and then rolls into the Furka Tunnel at 1,550 meters above sea level.

The Farka Tunnel is 15.4 km long as it cuts through the mountains. Before it was opened in 1982, the Glacier Express would have to go over the top of the pass and could only run in summer.

From Brig to Andermatt, the views are magical and just as good on either side of the Glacier Express train.

Andermatt to Chur

From Andermatt to Chur, you want to sit on the train’s left side. This section has some of the most stunning views from the world’s slowest express train.

After leaving Andermatt, the train climbs to its highest altitude as it goes over the Oberalp Pass, reaching 2,033 meters above sea level.

If you are traveling between November and April, you will have views of a snow-covered wonderland with stunning peaks.

The Glacier Express then drops down into the Rhine Valley and along the Rhine Gorge. You will see a massive canyon resembling a scar across the landscape with giant cliffs on either side. This section is also filled with forests and wildlife.

Before arriving in Chur (the oldest town in Switzerland), you will descend to 585 meters. This section of the Glacier Express has the biggest altitude change and is the most beautiful.

Related Reading

Swiss travel pass: exploring switzerland made easy, chur to st. moritz.

Between Chur and St Moritz, the Glacier Express route also stops at Tiefencastel, Filisur, and Samedan.

The Glacier Express follows the Albula line, known for its twists and turns, and this section is also home to many viaducts and tunnels that the Glacier Express is famous for.

The Glacier Express also passes through the beautiful Domleschg Valley which is full of old ruins and castles.

You will cross the Landwasser Viaduct, the most famous viaduct on the Glacier Express. It is 65 meters high and 142 meters long and is a marvel of engineering worth seeing.

After the viaduct comes the Albula Tunnel and at this point, the Glacier Express route climbs in altitude into the Upper Engadine Valley and then reaches St Moritz.

St Moritz is the last stop on the Glacier Express route and is a Swiss mountain resort known for its luxury.

Chur to Davos (Alternative Route)

The alternative Glacier Express route is to take the Glacier Express from Chur to Davos, changing at Filisur.

Along this route, you can expect more beautiful mountain scenery and to cross the incredible Wiesner viaduct before arriving in Davos.

Glacier Express Class Options

The Glacier Express offers numerous classes you can book for your journey, including Excellent, 1st, and 2nd class.

Excellence Class

Excellence class isn’t available on all trains, only the

• 902, 903, and 923.

It is the most expensive class, as you’d expect, but comes with many benefits.

In Excellence Class , you travel in a special deluxe car of the Glacier Express. There is one seat on each side of the car and you have a table with a seat facing you, making it perfect for couples and everyone has a window seat to see the views.

When traveling in Excellence Class, you get a seven-course meal served to your seat with wine and complimentary champagne. Your luggage is taken from you at the station and given to you on the platform when you leave the train – the service is outstanding.

The car has an exclusive cocktail bar and a host to ensure you have what you need when you want it. You also get afternoon tea, coffee, snacks, and soft drinks included in the price.

Want To Save This For Later?

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

1st Class cars have two seats on one side of the train and one on the other. This creates a booth of 4 seats on one side with a table and two seats on the other with a table.

If you are traveling as a couple, make sure your seat reservation is on the side with two seats facing each other so you both have a window seat.

The seats are larger than 2nd class and you get free earphones to plug into the info media that describes the trip along the way.

2nd Class has 2 seats on each side of the train with a table in the middle, creating a booth of 4 on each side. The seats are very comfortable and almost the same as first class. You also get free earphones to listen to the information about the trip.

The only downside to second class is that you can not sit as a couple alone with your own table which is why 1st might be better.

Swiss Travel Pass: First Class Vs Second Class

The glacier express cost.

To travel on the Glacier Express you have to first buy a ticket for your chosen class and then buy a Glacier Express seat reservation on top of that.

The cost of the Glacier Express tickets is CHF 152 for 2nd class and CHF 268 for 1st class, for the whole route one way.

If you book in advance, you can get much cheaper tickets as a Saver Day Pass is around CHF 52 for 2nd class and CHF 88 for 1st class.

Children between 6 and 16 can pay half plus the adult supplement and kids under 6 are free.

Swiss Pass and Swiss Rail Tickets are also valid on the Glacier Express, but you must still buy the extra seat reservation.

For the Excellence Class, you need

• a 1st class ticket (CHF 268)
• an Excellence seat (CHF 420)

Making the total cost CHF 688.

Other seat reservations start at CHF 29 and go up from there. The more affordable reservations are available in the low season between Dec and May.

You can also make your tickets more affordable by doing a shorter route on the Glacier Express train.

The Glacier Express Timetable

The Glacier Express train runs all year round except for between the end of October and the middle of December.

Between December and April, there is one train per day from Zermatt, leaving at 8.52 a.m. and arriving in St Moritz at 4:37 p.m. In April, a second train leaving Zermatt at 9:52 a.m. is added to the Glacier Express schedule .

During December and April, the Glacier Express also runs from St Moritz to Zermatt, leaving at 9:50 am and arriving in Zermatt at 6:10 pm.

In the summer from May to October, there are 2 trains per day in both directions. You can only travel in Excellence class on the first train leaving St Moritz or Zermatt.

Where to Buy the Glacier Express Tickets

You can buy your tickets for the Glacier Express online here . They are only available 92 days before the date of travel, so if you are looking for a cheaper ticket, be sure to book precisely 92 days in advance.

Reservations are compulsory on the Glacier Express and the train can be booked, so be sure to get your ticket and seat reservation early.

You can also book the Glacier Express at any Swiss railway station.

How to Make Seat Reservations in the Glacier Express

Making a seat reservation on the Glacier Express is very easy and is a part of the ticket booking process.

Make sure you book a window seat for the views and I would recommend traveling on the left side of the train from Zermatt and the right side of the train from St Moritz for the best views.

Also, book a coach in the middle to get more extensive views.

Essential Tips for Riding the Glacier Express

• Bring all the food and drinks you like with you if you are on a budget
• Travel in May to see the Swiss Alps in spring with snow-capped peaks
• Travel in October to see the amazing autumn colors
• The same route is available on normal trains if you can’t afford the Glacier Express
• Spend some time at the towns where you get on and off the Glacier Express; they are beautiful
• Travel on the left side of the train from Zermatt for the best views
• Travel on the right side of the train from St Moritz for the best views
• Excellence Class is worth it if you can afford it

Best Scenic Train Rides in Switzerland (Views to Die For)

Frequently asked questions about the glacier express, is the food free in the glacier express.

In general, the food is not free on the Glacier Express. However, if you are traveling in Excellence Class , a 7-course meal with wine pairings, complimentary champagne, coffee, tea, soft drinks, and snacks are included.

If you are in 1st or 2nd class, you have the choice to order food from the food service car for your journey that will be brought to your table.

You can order a 3-course meal for CHF 47, the dish of the day for CHF 34, or order from the a la carte menu too. The food comes on china plates with silver cutlery and is served on a tablecloth – a high-end service.

If paying for a meal on board is a little out of your budget, you can bring your own picnic along with wind, beer, and champagne with you.

Can you hop on & off the Glacier Express?

No, the Glacier Express is not a hop on and hop off service. You have to travel according to your seat booking with the Glacier Express. So if you have booked a seat from Zermatt to St Moritz, you must stay on that train. You can’t get off at Chur and then get on the next train.

You can, however, book a ticket to match where you would like to get on and off for example, Chur to Zermatt instead of doing the whole route.

When is the best time to ride the Glacier Express?

No matter when you travel on the Glacier Express, the views are beautiful. But the best time is either in May when you will see lush green valleys and wildflowers with snow-capped mountain peaks.

Or, in October, when the leaves all change colors and the higher altitude peaks start to have snow on them as well.

For a full winter and snow experience, I recommend traveling in January or February, as everything should be white by then.

Is the Glacier Express worth it?

Yes, in my eyes, the Glacier Express is 100% worth it and is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There is no better way of seeing the incredible mountain scenery of the Alps than on the Glacier Express.

You can do it in mega luxury in Glacier Express Excellence Class or on a budget by booking in advance and bringing a picnic.

Does the Glacier Express only go one way?

No, you can break the journey up into parts or go in different directions. So, although the Glacier Express is actually a complete route from St Moritz to Zermatt, the exact journey you take is up to you.

Can you sleep on the Glacier Express train?

No, there is no possibility to book a sleeper cabin or bed on the Glacier Express. However, you can nap on the comfy first-class seats anywhere along the way!

Which route of Glacier Express is most beautiful?

It is hard to rate the most beautiful section of the Glacier Express, but here are some of the highlights – Chur to St. Moritz includes the stunning viaduct-style bridges and tunnels, Andermatt to Chur consists of the breathtaking Rhine Gorge, Zermatt to Brig includes the whole Mattertal valley with 4000m peaks.

Plan Your Trip to Switzerland

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Our Free Swiss Tips Guide

Popular destinations, important pages, on social media, travel planning, certified swiss travel expert.

Scenic Trains

A ride through the Swiss Alps and other gorgeous regions of our country on one of Switzerland’s famous scenic trains is highly recommended for every Swiss vacation!

Switzerland began to develop in the world of railroads during the 18th century, when this method of transportation became popular in Europe. A fascinating journey of innovation, engineering and industrial progress has shaped the way of traveling for the Swiss, and all those who visit this small Alpine country. Throughout the years, many companies have emerged to build what is today, one of the most efficient railway systems in the world.

The concept of scenic trains in Switzerland evolved over time, and it was primarily driven by the country's stunning natural landscapes and a desire to attract tourists. Switzerland's picturesque mountains, lakes, and valleys provided a perfect backdrop for creating unforgettable rail journeys.

Here is an overview of the most popular scenic trains in Switzerland:

Bernina Express From Chur to Tirano, the Bernina Express passes over UNESCO-protected railways featuring several viaducts, alongside raging mountain torrents and ancient glaciers. The scenic train with panoramic windows climbs over an altitude of 2,434m before descending into Tirano, Italy. From Tirano, you continue your journey with the Bernina Express bus. During this magical journey, the contrast between the eternal snow and the picturesque palm trees is well appreciated.

Glacier Express This magnificent scenic train takes passengers on a memorable journey throughout the country from eastern to western Switzerland or vice versa. Also referred as the slowest express train in the world, the Glacier Express connects two major resorts: Zermatt and St. Moritz. The train’s slower pace allows passengers to fully immerse themselves in the surrounding natural beauty. For this and many other reasons, the Glacier Express remains as one of Switzerland’s most iconic and beloved tourist attractions.

Gotthard Panorama Express (former Wilhelm Tell Express) The perfect combination of boat and train travel. You will board a historic paddle steamer boat that cruises across Lake Lucerne until you reach the small town of Flüelen, where you transfer to the comfortable Gotthard Panorama Express train. The train ride is equally mesmerizing as it takes you through the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in the world!

GoldenPass Express The scenic GoldenPass Express train runs along 2  lakes and 2 mountain passes. The route begins in Montreux and passes through the resort of Gstaad before entering the heart of the Swiss Alps until reaching Interlaken. Travelers have the choice to travel in Prestige and First class, where local and international delicacies are served.

Luzern-Interlaken Express The Luzern-Interlaken Express links two of the most popular touristic destinations. Right in the the heart of Switzerland, the two-hour route offers impressive landscapes of the Swiss alps, turquoise lakes and vivid meadows. A short, but impressive panoramic route that you will not forget!

Chocolate Train This culinary journey is a delightful experience that allows you to explore the Swiss countryside by train and bus, while enjoying some of Switzerland’s most famous delicacies: chocolate and cheese! The Chocolate Train runs along a beautiful railway line offering romantic views of Lake Geneva, sun-kissed vineyards and the Swiss Alps, followed by a bus ride through the harmonious Swiss countryside.

Palm Express (Postal Bus) There are different routes connecting the world-class resort of St. Moritz with the sunny region down to Lugano, a lakeside city bordering Italy. However, one of the least frequented routes is with the Palm Express Bus, a spectacular journey from the glaciers to the palm trees that many are missing out on!

Voralpen Express This regional train travels from Lucerne in central Switzerland to St. Gallen in the northeast, passing through towns like Arth-Goldau and Rapperswil. The Voralpen Express offers passengers stunning views of Lake Zurich, Lake Lucerne, and the surrounding countryside. A perfect combination of culture and nature!

Centovalli Railway The Centovalli Railway connects Locarno with Domodossola in Italy. Centovalli means “A thousand valleys” and offers pristine views of valleys with gushing waterfalls, vineyards, and chestnut trees growing on the foot of the mountains. This scenic train through the Centovalli Valley is a meter-gauge train and does not require a seat reservation. In Domodossola travelers connect with trains to either Brig or Milan.

Scenic Train Map

Rail Tours incl. Scenic Trains

Greatest Rail Adventure Grand Train Tour of CH Jungfraujoch Grand Train Tour of CH Classic Scenic Rail Adventure Highlights of Switzerland Glacier & Bernina Express Best of Switzerland GoldenPass Tour Grand Train Tour

Navigate at sbb.ch

• To contents

Service links

• Search Open Search term Search

English is currently selected as the language.

Panorama trains.

Whether a romantic journey back in time on a steam train or a breathtaking Grand Train Tour through Switzerland – come aboard and enjoy the ride.

Find the experience for you here.

Popular topics..

• Adventure trips
• Rent a train
• Guided tours Link opens in new window.

Discover selected regions in Switzerland. Total 10

Discover selected regions in switzerland. part 1.

• Aargau & Solothurn

Discover selected regions in Switzerland. Part 2

• Eastern Switzerland

Discover selected regions in Switzerland. Part 3

Discover selected regions in switzerland. part 4.

• Central Switzerland

Further information.

Voralpen-Express.

Gotthard Panorama Express.

Help & contact.

Do you have questions, need help or want to get in contact with us?  We’re here to help you.

Rail traffic information

Find the latest information on the current service situation, information, disruptions as well as planned construction work on the Swiss rail network and on strikes and on important disruptions and strikes abroad.

Newsletter & Social Media

Our newsletter regularly informs you of attractive offers from SBB via e-mail.

• Display the SBB Facebook page. Link opens in new window.
• Display the SBB X account. Link opens in new window.
• Display the SBB Youtube channel. Link opens in new window.
• Display the SBB Instagram account. Link opens in new window.
• SBB Social Media
• Jobs & careers Link opens in new window.
• Business customers Link opens in new window.
• Company Link opens in new window.
• SBB News Link opens in new window.
• SBB Community Link opens in new window.

Timeless SBB design.

Would you also like to get your hands on an official Swiss station clock by Mondaine? Whether you’d like it as a watch, wall clock, pocket watch or alarm clock, order the model you want online now. Link opens in new window. Take a look and order Link opens in new window.

• Cookie settings
• Legal information
• Data protection
• Accessibility

In collaboration with

• Aargau region
• Basel region
• Bern Region
• Fribourg region
• Geneva region
• Graubünden region
• Jura & Three-Lakes Region
• Lake Geneva region
• Lucerne Region - Lake Lucerne
• Region Eastern Switzerland / Liechtenstein
• Ticino region
• Valais region
• Zurich region
• Avalanche course
• Bungee jumping
• Carriage rides
• Chocolate factory
• Competition
• Cooking course
• Creative workshop
• Cross country skiing
• Eating with locals
• Escape room and games
• Exhibitions
• Food & Drink
• Ice climbing
• Indoor amusement park
• Lift tickets
• Llama and alpaca trekking
• Monster Scooter
• Mountain bike
• Mountain tour
• Natural attractions
• Night sledding
• Paragliding
• Photo course
• Private Car Tour
• Racing simulator
• SBB Day Pass
• Scenic flight
• Scenic train
• Ski touring
• Snowboard Rental
• Snowboarding
• Snowshoeing
• Stand up paddle
• Summer tobogganing
• Swiss Rail Passes
• Trail running
• Train ticket
• Travel preparation
• Via ferrata
• Virtual Reality Games
• Virtual Travel Companion
• Wakeboarding

Scenic train Switzerland - 5 Top Deals and Prices 2024

There are several world-famous panoramic trains in Switzerland, such as the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express and the Golden Pass Line. A panoramic train runs on routes that are particularly worth seeing. Whether beautiful landscapes, remarkable natural attractions or extraordinary buildings, the view is always very special. That's why a panoramic train has particularly large windows that allow a good view and great photos. In addition to the panoramic windows, a panoramic train often also offers elevated seats from which you can get an even better view of the surroundings.

Lucerne (4)

Locarno (1).

5 Activities

Gotthard Panorama Express Ticket from Lucerne or Lugano

The Gotthard Panorama Express is a wonderful panoramic journey between Lucerne and Lugano. You travel between Lucerne and Flüelen by steamboat or motorboat. Between Flüelen and Lugano, the panoramic train runs along the historic railroad line through the old Gotthard tunnel. More details

Voralpen Express Ticket from St. Gallen or Lucerne

The Voralpen Express runs every hour between Lucerne and St. Gallen. On the way, the view of Lake Lucerne, the Rigi, Lake Zurich and the striking Säntis is fascinating. More details

Lucerne - Interlaken Express train ticket and optional seat reservation

Travel between Lucerne and Interlaken on the Zentralbahn and ride a section of the Golden Pass panoramic train. Enchanting views of four Swiss lakes and across the Alps await you. More details

Golden Pass Line ticket from Lucerne or Montreux

The Golden Pass Line is a panoramic train that travels through particularly beautiful regions of Switzerland. You travel between Lucerne on Lake Lucerne and Montreux on Lake Geneva. More details

Centovalli train ticket between Domodossola and Locarno

With this ticket you travel on the Centovalli Railway. It runs between Domodossola and Locarno and connects the Simplon line with the Gotthard Railway. More details

The Gotthard Panorama Express is a wonderful panoramic journey between Lucerne and Lugano. You travel between Lucerne and Flüelen by steamboat or motorboat. Between Flüelen and Lugano, the panoramic train runs along the historic railroad line through the old Gotthard tunnel.

Validity: All day

Use your phone or print out the voucher

No booking fees

Discount: Swiss Half Fare Card

booked 82 times

The Voralpen Express runs every hour between Lucerne and St. Gallen. On the way, the view of Lake Lucerne, the Rigi, Lake Zurich and the striking Säntis is fascinating.

Free cancellation

Travel between Lucerne and Interlaken on the Zentralbahn and ride a section of the Golden Pass panoramic train. Enchanting views of four Swiss lakes and across the Alps await you.

booked 98 times

The Golden Pass Line is a panoramic train that travels through particularly beautiful regions of Switzerland. You travel between Lucerne on Lake Lucerne and Montreux on Lake Geneva.

With this ticket you travel on the Centovalli Railway. It runs between Domodossola and Locarno and connects the Simplon line with the Gotthard Railway.

• The 5 most beautiful scenic trains in Switzerland

We've already talked about the fact that Switzerland has a high affinity for trains as a means of transport in our article about public transport in Switzerland . But did you know that those over 5300 km of railway tracks serve more than just fast transportation from one place to another?

There are several railroad lines that you would love to travel several times in a row. Because that way you could take a closer look at the beautiful scenery that inevitably speeds past your windows. Be that the journey on the intercity train from Zurich to Chur , which passes mystical Lake Walensee. Or the route from Fribourg to Lausanne , where you get an incredible view over the Lavaux vineyards and Lake Geneva after the tunnel.

Train travel and beautiful views usually go hand in hand in Switzerland. If you're looking to embark on a train journey with a focus on these very views, there are some world-famous panoramic trains that will make your heart beat faster.

Swiss Activities Tips: Get he perfect support for planning your trip in the panorama train through Switzerland with the Train Tour App. Also, the panoramic trains are all covered by the Swiss Travel Pass and other railway passes for tourists .

Glacier Express

The Glacier Express is called the "slowest express train in the world" and lives up to this title. It covers a distance of 291 km between Zermatt and St. Moritz, passes 91 tunnels and crosses 291 bridges. It takes no less than eight hours to do so. This results in an average speed of 36 km/h, which is roughly equivalent to the speed that a leatherback turtle can cover under water.

The Glacier Express is operated by the two railroad companies Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn (MGB) and Rhätische Bahn (RhB). The MGB operates the section between Zermatt and Disentis, while the part between Disentis and St. Moritz is operated by the RhB.

So if you're making your way from St. Moritz to Zermatt on the Glacier Express, you'll have more than enough time at turtle speed to get your fill of the enchanting scenery. Check out this Glacier Express review for more information on this scenic ride.

• Where does the Glacier Express route pass?

The Glacier Express commutes between St. Moritz in the Engadine and Zermatt, the mountain village at the foot of the Matterhorn. Shortly after its departure in St. Moritz, the Glacier Express travels along the winding Albula line.

On this railroad line, the train passes through six viaducts and three helical tunnels to overcome the altitude between the Albula Pass and Filisur. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage inventory in 2008. On this route, the train keeps changing the side of the valley and the direction. This does not make it easy to keep track of where you are. So keep a close look out the window.

This segment of the Glacier Express also includes the impressive Landwasser Viaduct, which leads directly from the bridge structure into a tunnel. The viaduct is 146 m long and 65 m high.

Next, the Glacier Express travels through the Rhine Gorge , also known as "Ruinaulta" or the "Swiss Grand Canyon" . If you start the journey in St. Moritz, here you have the best view of the Rhine Gorge on the left side of the train .

After a quick break in Chur, the capital of the canton of Grisons, the journey continues across the Oberalp Pass via Disentis/Mustér to Andermatt in the canton of Uri. Up here, the Glacier Express overcomes its highest point and passes Lake Oberalp, 2044 meters above sea level.

Afterwards, it's more or less all downhill and along the River Rhone to Brig in the canton of Valais . After Brig, the Glacier Express makes another change of direction and begins its final ascent to Zermatt. Here, the Matterhorn hopefully waits impatiently for you and does not hide behind the clouds.

• Things to know about the Glacier Express
• The Glacier Express runs three times daily in summer and twice daily in winter.
• A seat reservation is mandatory for a ride on the Glacier Express. The cost depends on whether you're travelling in summer or winter and whether you're travelling the entire journey or only parts of it. The price for a seat reservation varies between CHF 29 and CHF 49. With the GA or Swiss Half Fare Card, you don't receive a discount on the reservation.
• Several Rail Passes are accepted on the Glacier Express. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass , a Eurail, an Interrail or a day pass, you don't pay extra for the ticket and only need to buy a seat reservation. With the Swiss Half Fare Card you get a 50% discount on the ticket price.
• Swiss Activities Tip : If you're interested in the journey, but not in a trip on the panoramic train, there are also "normal" trains running between Zermatt and St. Moritz. However, for this trip you have to change trains in Brig, Andermatt, Disentis/Mustér and Chur. The journey is only a little longer than with the Glacier Express. But you're not bound to the departures or the reservation obligation of the Glacier Express.
• Service and gastronomy are very important on the Glacier Express. After all, the journey takes almost one full day, which won't go down well on an empty snomach. The easiest way is to order your meal when you get your seat reservation. However, the menu is also available for spontaneous requests.

Bernina Express

With its 55 tunnels and 196 bridges, which the Bernina Express panorama train crosses and traverses on the 156 km between Chur and Tirano, you could call it the little brother of the Glacier Express. In terms of speed, the two roughly balance each other out, as the Bernina Express also glides along the rails at leather turtle speed.

What's special about the Bernina Express is that it crosses the Swiss border and you have to change means of transportation in between. After about four hours, the panoramic train of the Rhaetian Railway reaches Tirano in Italy. From there, the Bernina Express bus covers the remaining 90 km to Lugano .

Due to the fact that the Bernina Express crosses the Alps, you will be able to marvel at glaciers on this trip in the beginning and be surrounded by palm trees only a few hours later. A more contrasting train ride in such a short time will be hard to find.

Learn more about the Bernina Express in our extensive review we wrote about this panoramic train.

• Where does the Bernina Express route pass?

The Bernina Express begins its journey in Chur and then shares its route with the Glacier Express until St. Moritz. Thus, this panoramic train also passes through the Rhine Gorge, over the Landwasser Viaduct and along the confusing Albula line into the Engadine.

From St. Moritz, the train climbs steeply up to Ospizio Bernina, which at 2253 meters above sea level is the highest point on the Bernina Express route. On the way there you have a wonderful view of the Morteratsch glacier as well as the ice-cold and deep blue Lago Bianco.

After this steep climb, it's all downhill. Literally.

Heading towards Italy, the Bernina Express travels over various viaducts, through the fertile Val Poschiavo, past Lago di Poschiavo and, shortly before crossing the border into Italy, across another highlight.

The circular viaduct in Brusio allows the train to overcome the required height on a small area and demonstrates for a moment the effect of centrifugal force.

In Campocologno the train crosses the border to Italy and ends in Tirano, a small town in Lombardy. From here, the Bernina Express bus takes you back to Switzerland in Lugano during summer. It takes three hours to drive through the Mediterranean Valtellina and past Lago di Como.

• Things to know about the Bernina Express
• The timetable of the Bernina Express is not easy to understand at first glance. The rail segments are divided into two different routes. One runs from Chur to Tirano, while the other starts in St. Moritz and also ends in Tirano. The train that starts in Chur does not stop in St. Moritz, but goes directly to Ospizio Bernina via Pontresina.
• The panoramic train between Chur and Tirano runs daily, while the one between St. Moritz and Tirano runs only between May and October. The bus between Tirano and Lugano also runs between May and October.
• If you travel outside the operating hours of the Bernina Express bus, your only option is to travel back to St. Moritz or Chur, or to travel individually to Lugano using public transport in Italy.
• A seat reservation is mandatory for the Bernina Express. The cost depends on the time of year you are travelling and whether you use the bus to Lugano or end your trip in Tirano. The price therefore varies quite a bit between CHF 10 and CHF 42 depending on the route and season. With the GA and the Swiss HalfFare Card you don't get a discount on the reservation.
• Several rail passes are accepted on the Bernina Express. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, a Eurail, an Interrail or a day pass, you only have to buy a seat reservation. With the Swiss Half Fare Card you get a 50% discount on the ticket price.
• Swiss Activities Tip : If you're interested in the route, but not in a ride on the panoramic train, there are also "normal" trains running between Chur, St. Moritz and Tirano. Coming from Chur you'll have to change trains in Samedan and Pontresina, while between Tirano and St. Moritz you have a direct train. The advantage is that the trains run hourly, which gives you more flexibility than waiting for the panoramic train. In addition, the obligation for a seat reservation is omitted.
• Unlike the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express doen't have a dining car. However, there is a bistro on board where cold snacks and regional delicacies can be purchased. The lunch break is spent in Poschiavo or in Tirano, where you find several catering options.
• Don't forget: You'll need a passport or identity card to cross the border into Italy.

Golden Pass Line

The Golden Pass Line is a panoramic train route consisting of three individual stages. The first stage - operated by Zentralbahn - runs between Lucerne and Interlaken . After that, the BLS regional train takes over to Zweisimmen, from where the Golden Pass Panoramic finishes the third section to Montreux. All in all, this scenic route covers 191 km in roughly six hours.

The Golden Pass Line connects the German-speaking part of Switzerland with the French-speaking part and passes some important Swiss lakes along the way. These include Lake Lucerne , Lake Brienz , Lake Thun and Lake Geneva . You can also catch a glimpse of the Giessbach Falls along the way next to Lake Brienz.

Since the Golden Pass Line cuts right through the middle of Switzerland, it's especially easy to integrate it into your Switzerland itinerary .

• Where does the Golden Pass Line route pass?

Coming from the east, the Golden Pass Line starts in Lucerne. Before its ascent to the Brünig Pass at an altitude of just over 1000 meters, the train passes three smaller lakes: Lakes Alpnach, Sarner and Lungern. After crossing the Brünig Pass, it begins its descent towards Brienz and winds its way along Lake Brienz to Interlaken.

The views on this section are breathtaking. After Brienz, you can even catch a glimpse of the Giessbach Falls and the imposing Grand Hotel on the other side of the lake.

In Interlaken Ost, you'll need to transfer onto another train. This train changes the lakeside after Interlaken and travels along Lake Thun to Spiez. The subsequent journey through the Simmental invites you to slow down and dream. The train takes its dear time here and you can enjoy the narrow valley, the dark forests and the charming river.

After a flying change in Zweisimmen onto the Golden Pass Panoramic, the train continues uphill and through the Bernese Oberland to Gstaad. This ride offers another picture-perfect panorama. Green meadows, grazing cows, traditional wooden chalets and snowy peaks of the Alps in the background show you Switzerland as you imagined it.

On its final stretch to Montreux , the Golden Pass Line passes through the Vaud and Fribourg Alps and ultimately down through the vineyards to Lake Geneva. Here, an extremely contrasting journey comes to an end.

• Things to know about the Golden Pass Line
• Since 2022, it is no longer necessary to change trains in Zweisimmen every time. Certain trains travel directly from Interlaken to Montreux, while others still require a transfer in Zweisimmen with good connections.
• Trains run once an hour all year round on all sections of the Golden Pass Line.
• Seat reservations on the Golden Pass Line aren't mandatory. Between Lucerne and Interlaken as well as between Interlaken and Zweisimmen you will always find a seat. To be on the safe side, however, the Golden Pass Panoramic customer service recommends a reservation between Zweisimmen and Montreux. This can be bought at the counters of most major train stations in the region.
• On the Zentralbahn between Lucerne and Interlaken, you can reserve a seat in the panoramic wagon if you don't want to travel on the "normal" car with "normal-sized" windows. You can either make a reservation at the ticket office in Lucerne, over the phone or online.
• Several rail passes are accepted on the Golden Pass Line. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, a Eurail, an Interrail or a day pass, the entire journey is covered. With the Swiss Half Fare Card you get 50% reduction on the ticket price.
• The service on the Golden Pass Line varies between the different train operators. On the Zentralbahn between Lucerne and Interlaken, meals and drinks can be purchased in the Bistro. On the trains between Interlaken and Montreux, there are no meal options for individual travellers. It's best to buy something for the road in Interlaken if you can't stand being without snacks for a few hours.

Gotthard Panorama Express

The Gotthard Panorama Express is, in a way, a historic remnant of Switzerland's impressive railroad history. In summer 2016, the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in the world, was inaugurated. It is 57 km long and shortens the journey to Ticino by 20%. Today, it's no longer necessary to travel via the traditional mountain route between Göschenen and Airolo. The faster route runs from Erstfeld directly to Bodio.

Until 2016, the mountain route was the only way to reach Ticino by train. Today, the traditional route is used by the Gotthard Panorama Express. This train takes its guests through the many helical tunnels and the Gotthard Tunnel, inaugurated in 1882, to the other side of the Alps. This panoramic journey between Lucerne and Lugano is combined with a steamboat-ride on Lake Lucerne and a train ride in the panoramic train through the old Gotthard tunnel.

• Where does the route of the Gotthard Panorama Express pass?

The journey from north to south starts with a trip on the boat from Lucerne . On Lake Lucerne you will travel from Lucerne to Flüelen. This trip is served either by a historic paddle steamer or the modern motor ship "Diamant" . On the way you will pass breathtaking landscapes and historical places like the Tell's Chapel or the Rütli meadow.

In Flüelen the panorama train is waiting for you and continues the journey southwards to Lugano. It climbs over various helical tunnels up to Göschenen, where the old Gotthard tunnel leads to Airolo. The special thing about this stretch is the "Chileli vo Wasse" . The train passes this small chapel in Wassen three times.

To overcome the necessary altitude, the train makes some loops here and you have the opportunity on this section to view the cute chapel from different angles and altitudes. This " Chileli " is so famous among the Swiss population that the Swiss band " Lo & Leduc " even dedicated a song to it.

After crossing the original Gotthard tunnel, the descent follows through the Mediterranean Ticino countryside. You will pass the medieval castles of Bellinzona until you reach Lugano, where a southern flair with palm trees and Italian gelaterias awaits you.

• Things to know about the Gotthard Panorama Express
• The Gotthard Panorama Express operates between May and October from Tuesday to Sunday. It departs Lucerne at 11:12 a.m. and Lugano at 9:22 a.m., arriving at its destination 5:30 hours later.
• If you travel outside this season or prefer a different departure time, you can take the "normal" train through the old Gotthard tunnel. This train runs once an hour between Locarno and Zurich, with the section between Bellinzona and Flüelen being relevant for you. The boats on Lake Lucerne also run all year round. However, in winter there is only one direct trip between Lucerne and Flüelen.
• A seat reservation is mandatory on the train route with the Gotthard Panorama Express. Regardless of whether you have a GA, a Swiss Travel Pass or any other railway pass. The reservation costs 16.- CHF and can be purchased either online or at the counter at the train station.
• On the Gotthard Panorama Express train you always travel in first class, while you have the choice between 1st or 2nd class on the boat. Several railway passes are accepted on the Gotthard Panorama Express. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass or a day pass, the whole journey is covered. With the Tellpass you also enjoy free travel between Lucerne and Flüelen. With the Swiss Half Fare Card you get a 50% reduction on the entire journey.
• If you have an Interrail or Eurail ticket, you travel free of charge on the rail route (apart from the reservation surcharge), while you receive a 50% reduction on the boat ticket.
• On the ship as well as on the trainm there's the option to buy food. It's not necessary to order your meal in advance. So you can decide spontaneously for a "cold Plättli Ticino style" or a warm lunch.

Voralpen Express

The Voralpen Express is not a panoramic train in the true sense like the other candidates in this article. It neither has oversized panorama windows, nor is it specially designed for tourists. But it's the most comfortable and attractive connection between St. Gallen and Lucerne with beautiful views.

Originally, the Voralpen Express used to serve the route between Romanshorn on Lake Constance and Lucerne. In 2019, however, it was shortened and has since ended or started in St. Gallen.

On the one hand, it is used as a commuter train, but is equally popular with day-trippers due to the varied and scenic route. The Voralpen Express takes "only" just under two and a half hours to cover the approximately 125 km. With an average speed of 55 km/h, this puts it in the same category as the kangaroo.

Goodbye leatherback turtle.

• Where does the route of the Voralpen Express pass?

In the east, the Voralpen Express begins in the beautiful city of St. Gallen. Shortly after its start, it passes over the 99-meter-high Sitter Viaduct, the highest railroad viaduct in Switzerland. This is followed by another viaduct in Herisau, which scores with its unrestricted view over the Alpstein mountains. Afterwards, the train winds through green, hilly and typically eastern Swiss landscapes that pass by outside your window.

After two long tunnels through the Wasserfluh and the Ricken, the Voralpen Express arrives in Rapperswil on Lake Zurich . This pretty little town with its striking castle is located at the eastern end of the lake dam that leads across Lake Zurich to Pfäffikon. Along this dam is a wooden footbridge that forms part of the Camino de Santiago and is very popular for walking.

If you want to break up your trip, a short stay in Rapperswil followed by a quick walk along the footbridge to Pfäffikon might be a good idea. In Pfäffikon you can continue your journey on the Voralpen Express. From Pfäffikon the train climbs up the hill to Rothenthurm, where you'll pass the largest contiguous high moor area in Switzerland.

Afterwards, you'll be accompanied by more impressive views of the Alps. Soon Lake Zug and Lake Lucerne join the panorama. After a ride along the lake and one last stop at the Museum of Transport Lucerne you will arrive in the city of Lucerne.

• Things to know about the Voralpen Express
• The Voralpen Express departs once an hour from St. Gallen and Lucerne between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm. You can breatk up your journey on the way as often as you like and always continue one hour later.
• You don't need a seat reservation for the Voralpen Express. You have free choice of where you like to sit. Unless you travel during rush hour, which you should not do in Switzerland , you are almost guaranteed a seat.
• The Voralpen Express has a bistro zone where you can stock up on snacks and drinks.
• Several railway passes are accepted on the Voralpen Express. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass, a Eurail, an Interrail or a day pass, the entire journey is covered. With the Swiss Half Fare Card you get a 50% discount.
• Swiss Activities Tip: Since you're travelling on a "normal" train here, there are also Supersaver tickets available, which you can buy either on the SBB website or with the SBB app. The earlier you know your travel date, the better your chances of scoring a good deal.

Other panoramic train rides in Switzerland

Granted, these five panoramic trains rightly enjoy a high popularity. But when you consider the several thousand kilometers of railway tracks in Switzerland, there are countless other scenic sections. These may be less well known, but some of them are also very impressive. So, should you be looking for a slightly "more ordinary" and less exclusive route, here's a small selection to finish this article:

• Regional train from Bern to Lucerne through the idyllic Emmental and the Entlebuch Biosphere
• Regional train from Lausanne to Montreux, along Lake Geneva and the Lavaux vineyards
• Regional train from Romanshorn to Schaffhausen, along Lake Constance and the River Rhine
• Intercity train from Zurich to Chur, passing Lake Zurich and Lake Walen
• Intercity train from Bern to Brig along Lake Thun and the Bernese Alps
• Regional train from Chur to Arosa or Davos through the Grisons mountains
• Regional train from St. Gallen to Wasserauen through the hilly landscape of Appenzell
• Regional train from Solothurn to Moutier through the Jura landscapes This list could also be continued at will. But you probably understand what I'm talking about.

In a country with 5300 km of railway tracks, you'll find more than enough train rides with stunning views that'll make your heart beat faster. So buy your ticket, grab a window seat and press your nose against the glass.

• Zurich to Chur: Take the express train past Lake Zurich and Lake Walen

The train first travels through the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel. Afterwards, the railroad line to Pfäffikon runs directly along the western shore of Lake Zurich . This means you can enjoy the lake on the left-hand side of the direction of travel. As soon as the train has passed the Ziegelbrücke stop, it passes a lake again. It is the Walensee , which you can also see clearly on the left as far as Walenstadt.

On the right, however, you have a direct view of the Glarus Alps. After Sargans you will see the Pizol in the foreground.

• Trai ticket Zurich-Chur
• Chur to Arosa: By regional train over the Langwieser Viaduct

The journey from Chur to Arosa takes an hour. After a leisurely ride through Chur , the train climbs high. The train climbs around 1000 meters in just 26 km. At the start, you can see the Dreibündenstein plateau with the Brambrüsch on the southern side. To the north is the Hochwang chain with the Hochwang at 2533 m above sea level as the highest point. You will see almost untouched nature all around. You quickly reach the mountain landscapes of Schanfigg. Schanfigg is the name of the elongated valley that leads directly to Arosa. The Langwieser Viaduct is a particular highlight of this ride. And it goes even higher: the train climbs up to 1739 m above sea level in Arosa and has thus covered 1155 meters in altitude since Chur. Now you have a view of the Weisshorn chain with the Weisshorn reaching 2653 m above sea level.

• Train ticket Chur - Arosa

• Chur to Davos: By regional train over the Landwasser Viaduct and the Wiesen Viaduct

The InterRegio takes one hour from Chur to Filisur. Then take the regional train for about half an hour to Davos. Near Filisur, the Rhaetian Railway crosses the world-famous Landwasser Viaduct, which is 65 m high and 142 m long and enters a tunnel in a tight curve above the Landwasser Valley. Another viaduct awaits you on the rest of the route, the Wiesen Viaduct. It may not be as famous, but it is almost 89 m high. Both viaducts are only about 3 km apart.

The mountains that you see from Chur on the left (northern) side belong to the Plessuralpen. The Lenzerhorn stands out clearly at 2906 m above sea level. Then you can see the Strelakette of the Plessuralpen on the same side. The Guggernellgrat at 2810 m above sea level is clearly visible.

The other side of the window (from Chur to the right or south) shows you the striking rock of Piz Mitgel southwest of Filisur, which reaches 3159 m above sea level. The slightly higher Piz Ela, at 3339 m above sea level, peeps out behind it. Further along the railroad line towards Davos , the Albula Alps reveal themselves in all their glory.

• Train ticket Chur - Davos via Filisur
• Chur to St. Moritz: By regional train along the world-famous Albula line

Between Chur and Filisur, the Rhaetian Railway follows the same route as the train journey to Davos. From Filisur, however, it heads south and, after the Landwasser Viaduct, also has several helical tunnels along the way. They are located between Bergün and Preda and also look very spectacular from below. In winter, a very popular toboggan run runs from Preda to Bergün.

From the right-hand side of the window, you can see the peaks of Piz Bial (3061 m above sea level) and Piz Ot (3247 m above sea level) of the Albula Alps quite clearly in the direction of St. Moritz . Later, Piz Nair (3030 m above sea level) comes into view. On its eastern slope you will find the popular St. Moritz ski area of Corviglia.

• Train ticket Chur - St. Moritz

• Between Bern and Lucerne through the Emmental valley

The Emmental lies in the hilly Bernese Plateau. The train runs from Bern via Langnau and also passes the Entlebuch, a huge biosphere that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To the west of Langnau (from Bern on the left-hand side of the journey) you can see the Blasenflue hill country, whose highest point is the Blasenflue at 1118 m above sea level. The train runs right through the middle of the 400 km² UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch Nature Park . Shortly before Lucerne, you will see the striking Pilatus on the right.

• Train ticket Bern - Lucerne

• Between Schaffhausen and Romanshorn: along the Rhine and Lake Constance

The train route between Schaffhausen and Romanshorn takes you through unique countryside and past a number of sights. Heading towards Romanshorn, you will see the Munot fortress towering high above the town right at the start of your journey in Schaffhausen. It has guarded the town of Schaffhausen since the 16th century. From the Feuerthalen train station, you have a more beautiful view on the left-hand side of the train. First you see the High Rhine, which you can see as far as the beautiful town of Stein am Rhein . After a brief look at the medieval houses on the other side of the Rhine, you will see the pilgrimage church of St. Otmar on a small island. The Lake Constance accompanies you on the left-hand side of the route for the rest of the way to Romanshorn. On the right-hand side, you will occasionally see vineyards.

• Train ticket Schaffhausen - Romanshorn
• Between St. Gallen and Wasserauen through the hilly landscape of Appenzell

This leisurely ride through the Appenzell countryside takes about an hour. As soon as you leave St. Gallen , a picture-book landscape begins on both sides of the train. Small villages with scattered buildings, interspersed with fields, meadows and forests. Heading towards Wasserauen, you will see the Hundwiler Höhi (1306 m above sea level), a popular vantage point, on the left. Later, on the other side, you can see the Alpstein massif in the distance. Its highest point is the summit of the Säntis (2502 m above sea level).

• Train ticket St. Gallen - Wasserauen

• Between Lausanne and Montreux through the UNESCO World Heritage Lavaux wine landscape

The train journey between Lausanne and Montreux is unique. You can't sit on the "wrong" side of the train. Heading towards Montreux, you have a view of the beautiful Lake Geneva with its ships and boats on the right-hand side. But it's not boring on the left-hand side either. Here you will discover the huge Lavaux wine-growing region. The growing area covers around 830 hectares and is spectacularly situated on terraces on Lake Geneva . It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007. The vines here benefit from the reflection of the sun's rays that shine on Lake Geneva. Additional heat is stored in the stone walls around the vines.

• Train ticket Lausanne - Montreux
• Between Interlaken Ost and Zermatt: along Lake Thun and through the Bernese and Valais Alps

You change trains twice on the way from Interlaken Ost to Zermatt, but the stunning scenery is your reward. The first stretch from Interlaken Ost takes you to Spiez. All along the route, you have a direct view of Lake Thun to the right and a good view of the Jungfrau region to the left. Incidentally, this route is part of the Golden Pass Express.

On the rest of the journey from Spiez to Visp and on to Zermatt, you travel right through the Bernese and Valais Alps. Between Visp and Zermatt, you cover part of the Glacier Express route. So you can look forward to wonderful views. In Zermatt , the four-thousand-metre peaks with the Matterhorn and the Dufourspitze await you.

• Train ticket Interlaken Ost - Zermatt

• Between St. Moritz and Alp Grüm: take the regional train over the Bernina Pass

Take the regional train between St. Moritz and Alp Grüm. On this route you travel through the Engadine Alps over the Bernina Pass. The alpine pass runs at 2235 m above sea level. Alp Grüm emerged from a Maiensäss and is a small settlement with a restaurant at the station. The view from its panoramic terrace is particularly spectacular.

• Train ticket St. Moritz - Alp Grüm

• The Centovalli Railway between Locarno and Domodossola

The Centovalli Railway connects Ticino with Italy and thus extends the Gotthard Railway line to the Simplon line in Domodossola.

The leisurely narrow-gauge railroad takes you through the "100 valleys" of the Centovalli and the adjoining Valle Vigezzo. You will pass through a number of tunnels and cross 83 bridges and viaducts. All around you will see a sleepy and largely untouched landscape with the River Melezza and beautiful waterfalls. Small Settlements are scattered across the landscape. It is not until you reach Italy that the villages through which the little train passes become somewhat larger. And you will notice that there are many churches along the route. The ride on the little train is a special experience.

• Train ticket Centovalli Railway

In a country with 5300 km of tracks, you will find one or two views on most train journeys that will make your heart beat faster. So buy a ticket, grab a window seat and press your nose against the window.

Table of contents

Top destinations.

• Lauterbrunnen
• Brienzwiler
• Brunnen-Ingenbohl

Top Activities

Top attractions.

• Harder Kulm
• Jungfraujoch
• First Cliff Walk
• Museum of Transport
• Mount Titlis
• Lake Lucerne
• Schynige Plate
• Eiger Glacier
• Glacier Gorge Grindelwald
• Chillon Castle
• Lake Brienz

Welcome to Switzerland Travel Centre! You are welcome to contact us by e-mail or by phone on +44 207 420 4900 .

Train holidays in Switzerland

Travelling by train is the easiest and most comfortable way to discover the beauty of Switzerland. Lean back and enjoy unique views of beautiful alpine scenery from the comfort of your seat.  Treat yourself to a holiday of a lifetime to discover not only the Swiss ingenuity of covering high alpine terrain by train but also the warm hospitality Switzerland is so famous for.

Panoramic trains in Switzerland

Glacier express.

Bernina Express

Grand Train Tour of Switzerland

GoldenPass Line

Gotthard Panorama Express

Jungfraujoch

Voralpen-Express

Switzerland Train Map: Master the Swiss Train System!

Are you ready to plan your Switzerland trip like a pro with the latest Switzerland train map? Find detailed information on train routes and stations, and plan your journey with ease. Whether you're a local or a visitor, our map is the perfect tool for planning your next train trip in Switzerland.

The official Swiss train map is also known as the Swiss network map. It is updated annually by Swiss Federal Railways and is the most comprehensive overview of the train network in Switzerland.

What’s included on the train map of Switzerland?

The Switzerland train map displays the entire train system of Switzerland, including all major and minor train routes, mountain railway lines, train stations, and connections between those stations. Despite being a rail map of Switzerland, it even includes boat lines.

Switzerland’s dense public transport system is operated by various railway companies operating in different regions. Luckily, these individual players have long synchronized their schedules, allowing trains to run efficiently across the country.

The official Swiss train map integrates the various train companies, including the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB), and the Rhaetian Railway (RhB), among others.

The rail map of Switzerland is divided into three main regions:

• The German-speaking region, which includes Zurich, Bern, and Basel.
• The French-speaking region, which includes Geneva, Lausanne, and Montreux.
• The Italian-speaking region, which includes Lugano and Locarno.

And for ease of use, the map of Switzerland has been visually isolated from neighboring countries, putting all the focus on the train lines operating within Switzerland.

The Switzerland train map is available digitally or in print.

Printed switzerland train map.

Traditionally, the official SBB network map has been printed and published in various outlets. For instance, each train wagon features this map in the entryways, allowing travelers to look up possible connections quickly.

The official Switzerland train map's printed edition is updated annually and can be ordered online . Other printed versions of the map also exist, some of which are available at the counters of major train stations.

Swiss Railway Map PDF

Nowadays, it has become more common for travel planners to look up the Swiss train map online. The digital Swiss rail map covers the same level of detail as the printed edition - and then some.

In addition to standard layers, such as for GA/Half Fare coverage, various other layers exist. In 2023, a new layer was added, showing all the night train connections to and from Switzerland.

Here is the direct link to the digital Swiss rail map . Alternatively, download a PDF version .

And finally, the free SBB Mobile app includes the same digital map. This real-time map allows you to see nearby services and stations, pick up information about delays, plan trips, or simply zoom around and get inspired by all the possibilities.

Why the legendary Switzerland train map evokes wanderlust.

As anyone who has assembled a rail itinerary in Switzerland would attest, this map is an essential planning tool. That’s because, arguably, a minor disadvantage of using digital travel planners is that distances from point A to point B are not always apparent - just the time it takes to get there.

On the other hand, this time-proven map unlocks the full potential of Switzerland’s train system by showcasing the sheer number of connections possible. And is there a more wanderlust-evoking tool than a physical map waiting to be explored? We don’t think so.

Are you looking for the Swiss Travel Pass map?

Every year, a special edition of the Swiss rail map with the exact coverage area of the Swiss Travel Pass is published. The printed version of the area of validity map is freely available in various languages at counters in Swiss railway stations.

More effectively, you can quickly look up the Swiss Travel Pass coverage area in granular detail by activating the digital Swiss railway map layer.

Here is the link to the digital Swiss Travel Pass area of validi ty map . Alternatively, download a PDF version for printing or viewing while traveling.

The rail map of Switzerland in a nutshell:

Buy a swiss travel pass at getyourguide.

Purchase the Swiss Travel Pass online at the most reputable vendor starting at CHF 244. You will receive an immediate email confirmation with a PDF ticket.

Dimitri Burkhard

As the founder, editor, and community manager of Newly Swissed, Dimitri owns the strategic vision. He is passionate about storytelling and is a member of Swiss Travel Communicators. Dimitri loves discovering new trends and covers architecture, design, start-ups and tourism.

You may also like

Top 5 Spring Activities in Zürich

Zürich is in bloom, and if you have still not thrown off your shoes and felt the grass between your toes, you are definitely missing out on something...

A Primer for the Luzerner Fasnacht Carnival

Not many people have heard of Swiss carnival, or what is locally known as Fasnacht. I was only familiar with the Mardi Gras, but Luzerner Fasnacht...

Swiss Safe Deposit Box for Luxury Cars

It is no secret that Switzerland is full of expensive cars, because many owners are not afraid to show them off any chance they get...

Newly Swissed GmbH Langrütistrasse 1A, 8635 Dürnten Switzerland +41 78 949 03 53

Copyright © 2024 - Newly Swissed GmbH. All rights reserved.

• Everyday Life
• Food & Wine
• Travel & Tourism
• Book Reading
• Concert/Dance/Musical
• Food/Gourmet
• Stand-up/Theater/Movies
• Workshop/Seminar/Tour
• Add an Event
• What We Like
• Meet the Team
• Press Coverage
• Advertising
• Contact us or book us

Download our e-book: 77 Facts about Switzerland

​Switch your health insurance by Nov 30 and save!

7 Best Scenic Train Rides In Switzerland

S tunning landscape views roll by your giant picture window as you depart on famous scenic train rides across Switzerland. From Geneva to Zurich and Basel to Zermatt, the Swiss Alps, turquoise lakes, and rolling pastures these best scenic train rides in Switzerland will fill your window with breathtaking scenery.

I have collected a few of my favorite train travel excursions across this beautiful country and presented them in no particular order. This is not an all-inclusive list of picturesque train trips through Switzerland, but it is a wonderful place to start dreaming of your next train-centric adventure.

1. Jungfraujoch – Top Of Europe

No matter what the season, a ride to Europe’s highest railway station, the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe , is a panoramic adventure. At the summit’s Sphinx Terrace, you can view the Aletsch Glacier, the Black Forest, and the Vosges.

Plan to spend several hours at this UNESCO World Heritage Site. Make your way to the outside observation deck where the air is chilly and the views are beyond breathtaking. Slip and slide during a visit to the Ice Palace — an ice sculpture art gallery carved into the glacier in the 1930s. Everything here is ice; the floors, ceiling, and frozen tableaus impart an Ice Age adventure. Complete your mountaintop visit with a stop at the highest Lindt Chocolate shop in the world.

Downhill skiers will love exploring the Jungfrau region on their next European ski holiday.

2. Golden Pass Express, Montreux To Interlaken

Travel in First or Prestige Class for an elevated, quintessentially Swiss adventure on the Golden Pass Express between Montreux and Interlaken. Enjoy caviar and champagne as your luxury car rolls from Montreux, on beautiful Lake Geneva, to the charming town of Interlaken . The 3-plus-hour journey is filled with stunning views of crystal-blue lakes, verdant pastures, and snow-capped mountains.

Once in Interlaken, you can make the transfer to the Jungfraujoch for a close up encounter with the Bernese Oberland. On the Montreux terminus, you can sail around Lac Léman, aka Lake Geneva, and enjoy the quaint shoreline towns and bustling city of Geneva.

3. Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn

Skiers, photography buffs, and pretty much everyone else should visit the iconic Matterhorn at least once. Jump on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn for a fabulous train ride. On this intrepid alpine adventure, your train encounters 33 tunnels and 126 overpasses while rising a whopping 3,300 meters (10,826 feet) in altitude.

Panoramic windows afford wide-angle views of craggy mountains, brilliantly blue waterways, and plenty of beautiful sunshine.

4. Glacier Express, Zermatt To St. Moritz

The Glacier Express route , Zermatt to St. Moritz, sets the standard that all Swiss scenic trains are measured upon. Slipping through the Swiss Alps, this route hits luxury ski resorts while imparting a slow-travel feeling. The journey takes 8 hours — a very slow express train ride — but the show-stopping scenery offers you a chance to absorb the wild beauty of this scenic route.

When you reach St. Moritz, book a stay at the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel . If you don’t want to break your budget with a stay of over $1,000 a night, simply stop by the Renaissance Bar for the St. Moritzino cocktail made with Cointreau, fresh lime, and orgeat syrup.

5. Bernina Express

The Bernina Express runs from Chur to Tirano, Italy. Four hours of glorious scenic vistas, the Bernina Express has steep runs, plentiful bridge crossings, icy glaciers, and Mediterranean palm trees. It offers such a wide variety of landscapes, guests are continually gushing over the sheer beauty and uniqueness of this train ride.

Both Switzerland and Italy are part of the Schengen Agreement , which allows passage between the countries’ borders. However, you should still carry your passport with you as you pass from country to country.

6. Cogwheel Railway To Mount Pilatus

If you love adventure, you will adore the cogwheel railway to Mount Pilatus . Billed as “the steepest cogwheel railway in the world” it reaches an alarming grade of 48 percent. The 30-minute, nail-biting ride up the mountain offers heart-pounding views.

If you decide a one-way train trip is all your nerves can take, there are a few alternatives. You can take the gondola, which offers 360-degree panoramic mountain views. Hiking down (or up) is another mode of transportation. AllTrails lists seven different options for hiking Mount Pilatus. Some are moderate and some are hard, but all of them go up, up, and up.

7. Gelmerbahn

From early June to late October, you can take the funicular ride of your life. The Gelmerbahn is a short, 12-minute ride in an open-air funicular car. The alarmingly steep grade offers spectacular views of Gelmersee — a brilliant blue lake — as you creep up the mountainside backwards.

Once at the top of the funicular, you can hike up to the Gelmerhütte for an overnight stay. The rooms are shared rustic spaces, but the mountaintop experience is unsurpassed.

Swiss Travel Pass

No matter how long your stay, the Swiss Travel Pass will save you money while you ride the rails, bus, or boat around the beautiful Swiss countryside.

For our most recent train travel content, check out these articles:

• 5 Best Train Journeys In Europe For Jaw-Dropping Scenery
• 3 (More) Best Scenic UK Train Journeys Every Traveler Should Take
• 6 Top Scenic UK Train Rides Every Traveler Should Take

This article originally appeared on TravelAwaits

Call Us: +44 (0)20 8191 0620   |  Email Us: [email protected]

8 Luxury Trains in Switzerland You Should Try in 2024

Are you dreaming of an adventure on a luxury Swiss train? Like many fellow travel enthusiasts exploring the heart of Europe, travelling on luxury trains in Switzerland sits sky high on the checklist of things to experience. Luxury train holidays in Switzerland are renowned not only for the breathtaking views of snowcapped mountains, spectacularly engineered tunnels, astonishing bridges, and rolling panoramic hills but also for the world-class luxury of the trains themselves. Let’s delve into some of the finest Swiss luxury train adventures you should unquestionably mull over for 2024 that you’ll never forget.

Bernina Express: Experience the Ultimate Luxury Train Ride in Switzerland

The Bernina Express offers passengers magical four-hour Switzerland luxury train tours between the Alpine city of Chur and Tirano in the province of Sondrio in Italy. This luxury Swiss train runs year-round and is among the most iconic railway voyages in the country. Embarking on one of these Switzerland luxury train tours will see passengers journey through spiralling alpine loops, traverse nearly 200 bridges, and wind through over tunnels. Guests onboard can relax in the beautifully appointed coaches and marvel at the architectural wonder of the Landwasser Viaduct, the serenity of Lake Bianco, UNESCO-listed landscapes, the Swiss Alps, and numerous chocolate box villages. If luxury train travel in Switzerland is your thing, this could tick all the right boxes and deliver an exceptional and unforgettable journey.

Gotthard Panorama Express: Discover Switzerland’s Scenic Beauty

The Gotthard Panorama Express is a less high-profile luxury train ride in Switzerland, but no less spectacular. Unlike most luxury Swiss train tours, this one takes you on an adventure that blends rail and boat travel as it unveils some of the country’s most stunning natural wonders during a five-and-a-half-hour journey in total luxury. Switzerland train adventures don’t come much more unique than this, as passengers can relax as the train traverses from Lucerne to Lugano, meandering through incredible scenery that takes in Lake Lucerne and the historic Gotthard Pass. All aboard this Switzerland luxury train ride can absorb the essence of the staggeringly beautiful country, where every view tells a story.

Glacier Express: The Best Luxury Train in Switzerland

Like the world-famous Orient Express, in Switzerland, the Glacier Express is the most iconic and highly spoken of luxury train. The Glacier Express is quite a legendary luxury train in Switzerland that takes passengers on a nearly eight-hour journey that connects Zermatt with St Moritz, taking in 291 bridges and 91 tunnels as those on board get treated to the most spectacular Alpine vistas. These luxury train rides in Switzerland twist their way through picturesque valleys and snow-capped mountain peaks as the breathtaking scenery appears through every window. This luxury Swiss train treats those onboard to vies of the Rhine Gorge and the Oberlap Pass as this magical journey delivers a symphony of natural wonders blended with first-class amenities and service.

Luzern–Interlaken Express: The Epitome of Luxury Train Travel in Switzerland

The Luzern-Interlaken Express is a chocolate-box journey into the heart of the country, offering the lucky passengers an enchanting experience amidst stunning Alpine landscapes. The country’s two most enchanting destinations are seamlessly linked with some remarkable scenery during this two-hour luxury train tour in Switzerland. This luxury Swiss train meanders through lush green valleys, underneath towering snowy peaks, and past tranquil clear lakes, showcasing the best of what Mother Nature has created. If you’re an enthusiast of nature and luxury rail travel, this luxury train travel in Switzerland is too good to ignore. A seat onboard this Swiss luxury train promises a unique and unforgettable adventure. 

Golden Pass Express: Premier Luxury Train Tour in Switzerland with Breathtaking Landscapes

The Golden Pass Express is a luxury Switzerland train that takes passengers on a breathtaking five-hour adventure into the heart of the country, where those lucky enough to be on board get treated to absolutely mind-blowing views. Modelled on the world’s most iconic train, this 1930s-inspired replica Orient Express in Switzerland connects the incredible towns of Montreux on Lake Geneva and Lucerne in Central of the country. From May to December, passengers travel in luxurious surroundings and can explore a cheese and chocolate factory. Whether you’re a nature lover, a history buff, or simply seeking adventure, these luxury train rides in Switzerland deliver luxury and unforgettable exploration. 

Matterhorn Gotthard Express: Explore the Swiss Alps in Style!

Located in the heart of the Alps, the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway is home to a truly stunning luxury Swiss train. The Matterhorn Gotthard Express traverses the unbelievable Alpine vistas, connecting Zermatt and St Moritz. This is luxury train travel in Switzerland in its pomp, and passengers can relax in the luxury of a carriage as the train winds through narrow valleys, crossing dizzying viaducts and numerous tunnels carved out from the rugged mountainsides. This Swiss luxury train is more than simply a means of getting from A to B. It’s an immersive experience that offers a glimpse into the country’s natural and cultural splendour. 

Voralpen-Express A Hidden Gem Among Switzerland’s Luxury Train Rides

There’s more to luxury train travel in Switzerland than towering snowy peaks and deep gorges. The Voralpen-Express offers enthusiasts a picturesque journey through undulating hills, charming villages, and delightful orchards as passengers travel from the Eastern city of St. Gallen to Luzern in the country’s centre. This breathtaking Switzerland luxury train ride meanders through the heart of the region, taking in serene lakes, lush meadows, and the Alps, immersing travellers in outstanding natural beauty. The Vorapen-Express promises to combine modern comfort with traditional charm and character, taking in panoramic views from inside the spacious carriages. Whether you’re a seasoned traveller or a first-timer, this luxury train in Switzerland promises an unforgettable adventure. 

Thurbo Lake Line: A Unique Luxury Train Holiday in Switzerland’s Picturesque Settings

Railway fanatics are in for a treat as this luxury Swiss train embarks on an unforgettable journey through the country’s centre, taking in breathtaking landscapes along the Thurbo Lake Line. Nestled amidst the beautiful Swiss countryside, this enchanting route delivers an immersive experience where passengers can soak up every last vista from the comfort of a very comfortable carriage. These luxury train rides in Switzerland traverse the idyllic shores of crystal-clear Alpine lakes and lush green valleys as the Thurbo Lake Line delivers the essence of the country’s natural beauty in its purest form. You don’t want to miss this luxury train ride in Switzerland from Schaffhausen to Rorschach or St. Gallen.

THE MOST POPULAR QUESTIONS

Luxury trains switzerland faqs, what are the top luxury train rides in switzerland i should consider for my next vacation.

Luxury trains in Switzerland are nothing new, and it’s fair to say that you have many trains and destinations to explore. As well as luxury sleeper trains in Switzerland, you’ll also find shorter journeys ranging from an hour to a full day of exploring this incredible country. The Golden Pass Express provides a step back in time with its 1930s-inspired carriages as the beautiful Swiss luxury train takes in some of the country’s most incredible views between Montreux on Lake Geneva and Lucerne. The Bernina Express, Gotthard Panorama Express, and Glacier Express should also be high on your list of Switzerland luxury train tours, as they all provide stunning natural views of snowy Alpine peaks and picturesque chocolate box villages throughout their routes. 

How can I book tickets for a luxury train ride in Switzerland, and are there any passes available?

To book tickets for a luxury train tour in Switzerland, you can visit the official website of the respective train service or book through a trustworthy travel company such as The Luxury Train Travel Company. You can also purchase a Swiss Travel Pass that will offer unlimited travel on the Swiss Travel System Network. Once purchased, your pass will even give you access to certain luxury trains. Tourists often choose this option as it provides flexibility while exploring this beautiful region.

What unique experiences do the luxury train tours in Switzerland offer compared to regular train services?

Luxury train holidays in Switzerland offer bespoke experiences for travellers, combining comfort with breathtaking scenery. In contrast to regular rail services, these luxury Swiss train tours provide opulent accommodations, gourmet dining, and highly attentive service amidst spectacular Alpine views. Switzerland, luxury train tours, often include exclusive stops at some iconic destinations, such as glamorous resorts and cultural landmarks, adding to the allure of the journey. In essence, a trip on a luxury Swiss train epitomises refined travel with a blend of opulence and unbeatable natural beauty.

Are there any luxury sleeper trains in Switzerland for overnight travel?

Yes, there are a couple of luxury sleeper trains in Switzerland, like the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express, for overnight travel. Passengers can enjoy upscale amenities, stunning panoramic views, and incredibly comfortable sleeping accommodations. The Swiss Alps are in full view during these experiences, with the Glacier Express widely regarded as the best luxury train in Switzerland.

explore the world of luxury trains

Explore the luxury train travel company.

Explore Our Range of Luxury Rail Tours Across the Globe. Learn About The Different Luxury Trains We Can Offer. View Our Tours by Region & Destinations. View our train departure Calendar.

Similar Posts

world’s most scenic railway journeys

10 of the World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys for 2024 Departing the station and embarking on scenic train journeys…

Luxury Train Travel In Australia

Discover the Real Australia from Coast to Outback with Luxury Train Travel in Australia Welcome to the eye-opening world…

Top 3 Luxury Train Journeys in the UK

Top 3 Luxury Train Journeys in the UK for 2024 When we envisage luxury train travel in England, we…

World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys

The Best Luxury Sleeper Car Train Trips in the World

The Best Luxury Sleeper Car Train Trips in the World in 2024 Indulge yourself in the world of sleeper…

Seven Lavish Trains with Dining Cars

Seven Lavish Trains with Dining Cars of Unparalleled Elegance Introduction – Uncovering The Ultimate Train Dining Experience Welcome to…

• Panorama wagon
• Group Travel
• General Information
• Excellence Class
• Glacier Express incl. accommodation
• Traffic Information
• Image gallery
• Touroperator

• DE EN FR EN

Travel Planning

The route of the glacier express, a panoramic experience.

The route takes you through the three cantons of Valais, Uri and Graubünden, and offers breathtaking and varied panoramic views. Eight hours of sheer pleasure for your eyes and your palate, too. 

Natural spectacles and other highlights along the route

• St. Moritz, the most elegant holiday resort in Switzerland
• The alpine village of Zermatt with breathtaking views of the Matterhorn
• The Albula Line with the Solis and Landwasser viaducts and spiral tunnels
• The Rhine Gorge, the "Grand Canyon of Switzerland"
• Oberalp Pass

Would you like to book directly or do you need more information? We would be pleased to advise you personally on +41 (0)81 288 65 65 or by e-mail info @ glacierexpress.ch

Our opening hours

Monday to Sunay 7 am - 7pm

BOOK ONLINE NOW

Fri 12 Jul 2024

2024 newspaper of the year

@ Contact us

Your newsletters

The cheap alternative to Switzerland’s Glacier Express you hadn’t thought to try

Far less frequented than the glacier express, with spectacular views, this railway journey is equally bucket list worthy.

The mountains went past with the speed of an old-fashioned slide projector. For the first 45 minutes, the train did little but climb. As we left the Italian town of Domodossola behind, it seemed to rise to meet the snow-dusted mountains, although we were well below the snow line.

On a plane journey , you know roughly what you’ll get – even though the leg room, quality of snacks and luggage allowance can vary wildly. This was my seventh train in half as many days. On the last (Milan to Domodossola), my view was obscured by a large spray-painting of an Angry Bird across the window. The train’s worn, blue seats were pockmarked with mysterious stains that looked like rust marks on a car bonnet. This was a significant upgrade.

Around 200,000 people ride the Glacier Express across the Swiss Alps from Zermatt to St Moritz every year, an eight-hour bucket list journey regularly namechecked as one of the finest in Europe. It costs €159 (£135) one-way for the 291km (180 miles) journey – around the same distance as London to York, though far higher.

But there’s an alternative. The century-old, narrow-gauge Vigezzina-Centovalli railway – between Domodossola and Locarno in Switzerland – costs just €20. This route offers epic views for a fraction of the price of the Glacier Express . It’s much shorter (50km and around two hours), but the flight-free travel company Byway assured me it was far less touristy. So far, they weren’t wrong. I had the whole carriage to myself.

Rather than squinting to see the outlines of Milanese tower blocks through paint strokes, my view was clear. The Italian Vigezzo Vision train’s windows were so transparent they could have been on a glass cleaning advertisement, and around twice the size of regular train windows. Swiss Centovalli Express trains also run on this route, and have been recently upgraded.

We passed over viaducts (the line crosses 83 bridges), past the spindly spires of mountain churches, and through countless little tunnels. They never lasted more than a few seconds but each time a chill wind rushed through the train and its whistle hooted feebly in response.

The Centovalli stopped in the middle of the line, and I walked over the tracks of Santa Maria Maggiore station, as the sound of cow bells and church bells mingled. The Alpine town, in the Vigezzo Valley, is home to a fine art school, the Rossetti Valentini. The historic buildings are covered in frescoes of pastoral scenes, vying for attention with the real-life landscapes behind.

All life was at the piazza – the young, the elderly, groups of friends, men smoking alone. Almost everyone had a dog, almost everyone had an Aperol spritz (served with an aperitivo platter large enough to be a meal).

You could spend months hiking the trails that radiate from Santa Maria Maggiore. To one side, the Val Grande National Park , home to chamois and golden eagles. To the other, the Alps rise higher still as they meet the Swiss border. Spoilt for choice, and with the threat of storms blowing in during the afternoon, I opted for a five-hour round trip to Lago Panelatte. According to the photos on my navigation app, the lake would be mirror-like, framed by stencil-clear rocks, reflecting the odd, puffy cloud.

I arrived at a skating rink, and the snow arrived minutes later, so there was little time to appreciate the patchwork of white ice, forest green and bare rock face before beating a hasty retreat. I could count the other hikers I crossed on one hand, and their dogs on the other, but even once back in town, it was a cacophony of Italian voices that dominated the piazza.

HS2 Manchester route not sold off yet as Labour weighs up rail options

The Centovalli celebrated its centenary last year, and although the trains have been updated, the carriages are little bigger than the rickety little original train carriage on display at Santa Maria Maggiore station. I hopped back on board the next train, and the line plateaued, running through the valley. The metal dome of the Madonna del Sangue Sanctuary was a striking contrast to the toothpick church spires elsewhere. A motorbike easily overtook our little train – speed was not of the essence.

Shortly after crossing the invisible Swiss border, the train began its descent to the banks of Lake Maggiore through the Hundred Valleys of Ticino from which the train takes its name. Each stop offers its own reason to alight – Verscio, with its Teatro Dimitri, founded more than 50 years by a clown and his wife and still going strong today. Turquoise rivers snaked through the landscape, and Belle Epoque houses and restaurants that started to appear along the railway line gave the impression that I’d arrived in a different age, not just a different country.

Locarno, on the shore of Lake Maggiore, is where the Centovalli terminates . This mild, Italian-speaking Swiss town assembles a curious mix of mediaeval convents and churches, handsome pastel-shaded townhouses, and a sprawl of grey apartment blocks.

Hotel guests in the region receive free transport within Ticino, with buses and trains included, and while the funicular was free I opted to walk up to the monastery, Madonna del Sasso, which looms over the lake. From here I could see the mountains I’d travelled through, so serene just hours earlier, in almost artificial clarity through the train windows , now shrouded with clouds the colour of bruises.

How to do it The writer was a guest of Byway Travel , which offers bespoke, flight-free trips around Europe. A seven-day trip, leaving from London and including the Centovalli Railway, starts from £1,073pp. More information myswitzerland.com italia.it

Most Read By Subscribers