5 unmissable stops on the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland
Cross the famous Landwasser Viaduct. (Image: Rob Lewis)
| THIS ARTICLE WAS CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Switzerland Tourism |
Snow-dusted mountain peaks, rolling green hills, unbelievable turquoise lakes, iconic viaducts, whimsical waterfalls and charming towns and villages are just some of the breathtaking sights that make Switzerland such an incredible place to travel.
If ease and comfort are your thing (who am I kidding, of course they’re your thing), you need to get yourself a Swiss Travel Pass so you can start exploring the beautiful surroundings on the 1280-kilometre Grand Train Tour of Switzerland.
Snow or shine, the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland serves incredible sights. (Image: Stefan Schlumpf)
This experience transports you into the thick of the action, adventure and landscape without lifting a finger (except maybe to wine and dine from your comfy seat). Seriously though, why spend hours driving and concentrating on the road when you can sit back, relax and take in everything Switzerland has to offer without hassle? Not to mention Swiss trains run like clockwork, so you’ll always be where you planned to be right on time.
The eight different sections of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland include five premium panoramic trains that pass through majestic scenery and urge you to explore at your own pace, allowing you to hop on and off wherever your journey takes you.
Whether at Interlaken, Rhine Falls, Zermatt or Lucerne, explore five of our favourite highlights on the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland.
Getting around Switzerland is easy by train.
1. The Glacier Express
It doesn’t get much more luxurious than the Glacier Express. While all the premium panoramic trains offer up-close-and-personal sightseeing from the comfort of their carriages, the Glacier Express Excellence Class is setting new standards.
This is the only route to offer Excellence Class, allowing passengers to look through the oversized panoramic windows for unobstructed views of Rhine Gorge, the Oberalp Pass, the Matterhorn and the valleys beneath the 291 bridges, all while sipping Champagne and nibbling an array of amuse-bouche. Guests are also served a five-course meal with paired wines.
Whether taking the Glacier Express for the whole eight-hour route from Zermatt to St Moritz or just a bit of the journey, the guaranteed window seats, exclusive bar, onboard entertainment, concierge service and personal travel guides makes this an unmissable highlight. Seat reservations are required.
Luxuriate on the Glacier Express. (Image: Stefan Schlumpf)
2. Luzern-Interlaken Express
Water is at the core of this two-hour premium panoramic route that takes you from Lucerne in Central Switzerland down to the uber-popular Interlaken in the Jungfrau region. You’ll spend much of the train ride ready to snap pics of the awe-inspiring waterfalls, rivers and iconic lakes.
Experience the train change to cogwheel drivetrain technology as it begins its ascent to Brünig Pass, then take in the views at Brünig-Hasliberg, the peak of the pass and the highest stop on the Luzern-Interlaken Express.
Stay a while in Brienz, a village surrounded by the dramatic Bernese Oberland mountainscapes and the turquoise Lake Brienz. A trip up the oldest funicular railway in Europe to Giessbach Falls is a must; the thundering waterfall spanning to sprawling vistas of the lake is mesmerising. If you can swing it, stay the night at the Grand Hotel Giessbach to live out your fairytale for a night.
Skirt waterways and mountains on the Luzern-Interlaken Express. (Image: Simon+Kim)
3. Landwasser Viaduct
When you think of trains in Switzerland, you’re likely picturing the Bernina Express crossing the 65-metre-high Landwasser Viaduct, without knowing what or where it is. This famous structure is part of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Rhaetian Railway that brings together the Albula and Bernina train lines.
This four-hour premium panoramic train route will transport you from Chur, in Switzerland’s east, down across the Italian border into Tirano. In summer, the journey can be extended from Tirano to Lugano with the Bernina Express bus. From Lugano, continue the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland on the Gotthard Panorama Express to Lucerne. Seat reservations are required.
Cross the famous Landwasser Viaduct. (Image: Rob Lewis)
4. Castles of Bellinzona
Experience history and adventure in one package as you board the Gotthard Panorama Express to Bellinzona in the Italian-speaking Switzerland south of the Alps.
The Castles of Bellinzona – Castelgrande, Montebello, and Sasso Corbaro, together with their walls and ramparts – are the only visible examples of medieval military architecture of this scale in the Alps. UNESCO World Heritage-listed since 2000, the Castles of Bellinzona are well worth a visit and are easily accessible with the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland.
Wander through Montebello Castle.
5. St Gallen
The quaint city of St Gallen in north-east Switzerland is charming, unique and relatively untouched. Home to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed St Gallen Abbey District – which comprises the Abbey of St Gall, the Abbey Library and the monastery archives – the city oozes with Baroque architecture and begs you to wander its cobblestoned streets.
The Voralpen-Express connects St Gallen with Lucerne. This 125-kilometre route takes you across the foothills of the Alps and gifts stunning landscapes of Rapperswil and Arth Goldau. It also crosses Lake Zurich and the 99-metre-high Sitter Viaduct, the highest railway bridge in Switzerland.
While in St Gallen, a stop at Drei Weieren (Three Ponds) is a must. In summer, join the locals for a dip; in winter, the pond is a popular ice-skating spot. To top it all off, the vast views over the city reaching Lake Constance will delight you no matter the season.
Visit the Abbey District of St Gallen.
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