Switzerland’s 5 best train journeys

Train travel offers a romance you’ll find with no other mode of transportation. Pick the right route, and your journey transcends simply getting from point A to point B. Sitting back, relishing the views, sipping a drink, striking up a conversation, letting someone else deal with the practicalities: time spent in a train becomes the essence of the travel experience itself.

No place on earth does spectacular rail routes better than Switzerland, a small country with a big, efficient transportation system that’s the envy of the world. What’s more, Switzerland’s scenery takes things to the next level.

The country’s top train itineraries are concentrated in the south of the country, where the views are perhaps the most stunning. And at stops along the way, you’ll have no problem finding fantastic things to do.

These are the five best train trips in Switzerland.

1. Bernina Express

Route: Chur to Tirano
Best bit: Taking in the panoramas at the ride’s highest point, the namesake Bernina Pass
Distance: 144km
Duration: 4 hours 30 minutes

Named after the 2328m-high mountain pass it traverses, the Bernina Express is a classic ride that chugs across the linguistic melting pot of Switzerland’s southeast. The full journey runs from Chur south to the northern Italian town of Tirano; a shorter, very scenic day trip can easily be made on the section from swank, German-speaking St Moritz through Alpine peaks to the Italian-speaking town of Poschiavo. Stop for a stroll around the latter and enjoy some tasty pasta or pizza (you’re just 13km from the border with Italy, after all) at the Hotel Albrici restaurant in the town’s set-piece central square.

Just when you’ve figured out which language to speak in which area, you might hear locals speaking Romansch: Switzerland’s fourth (but least-known) official tongue, which is spoken by around 20,000 people in this area. (And there are dialects among this cohort, just to add to the fun.)

Back on the train, sit back, enjoy the scenery and listen to the onboard commentary detailing the route’s history and highlights. For something unexpected, choose a station at random and press the “Stop On Request” button to get off and do some DIY exploration: most stations have panels giving local information and hike suggestions.

2. Glacier Express

Route: St Moritz to Zermatt
Best bit: Catching your first peek of the Matterhorn as the train nears Zermatt
Distance: 290km
Duration: 8 hours

Since it opened in 1930, the Glacier Express has been the jewel in the crown of Switzerland’s train network – and one of the world’s great rail rides. Running from St Moritz (allowing you to add it on to a Bernina Express journey) to Zermatt, another of the country’s top winter sports centers, the route offers unrivaled views of the Swiss Alps – matched only by the astonishing feats of engineering that made the route possible in the first place.

Such achievements are best exemplified by the Landwasser Viaduct, a gravity-defying six-arched bridge between Tiefencastel and Filisur. Nature’s showstoppers include the Oberalp Pass (2033m), where the train usually makes a stop to allow passengers to alight and take in the spectacle; and the Mattertal, Switzerland’s deepest canyon.

Whatever class of carriage you’re in, you can expect a wonderful journey. Yet to really make it a once-in-a-lifetime experience, consider an upgrade to Excellence Class. You know you’re in for special treatment when you board via a red carpet...and things just keep getting better from there. Huge windows for maximum views, a five-course meal and a tablet giving route details and background information are just a few reasons to splurge.

3. Gornergrat Railway

Route: Zermatt to Gornergrat
Best bit: Admiring the amazing mountain vista from the upper train station
Distance: 9km
Duration: 30 minutes

St Moritz and pretty-as-a-picture Zermatt are Switzerland’s glitziest ski resorts. The latter’s advantage over its eastern counterpart is the looming, hypnotizing contortion of a mountain, the Matterhorn (4478m), which dominates the skyline. The mountain is known to many from its starring role on the Toblerone box; turning a corner in Zermatt and catching an unexpected glimpse of the magnificent tooth-shaped peak never gets old.

For an even more impressive view, jump on the Gornergrat Railway and ascend the mountain of the same name. This narrow-gauge line opened in 1898 and tackles a still-formidable 20% gradient on some sections before arriving at a terminus 3089m above sea level.

High as this is, the Gornergrat is actually a minor mountain around these parts. It sits perfectly in the middle of a 360-degree panorama that takes in 29 4000m-plus peaks (out of a national total of 49). Most notable is the Matterhorn; higher still, if less visually arresting, is the country’s tallest mountain, Monte Rossa, topping out at 4634m. You can stay the night in the hotel at the top of the Gornergrat (and enjoy stargazing under light-pollution-free skies); enjoy a meal on the terrace; or ski back down, trying not to be too distracted by the natural wonders all around you.

4. Jungfrau Railway

Route: Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch
Best bit: Traveling inside two mountains
Distance: 9.5km (6 miles)
Duration: 40 minutes

On the Jungfrau Railway, you’ll not only view mountains – you’ll actually get to travel inside them. As you’d expect from the highest railway in Europe, the journey is breathtaking – at this altitude, literally – though for a good section of the trip the views are restricted to the interior of a tunnel. Not just any tunnel, however. The Jungfrau Tunnel was carved through the Eiger and Mönch mountains as a way of protecting the rail service from the extremes of weather that are all too frequent at these heights.

You can start your journey in the charming towns of Grindelwald, the place to arrange outdoor activities, or Lauterbrunnen, at the head of a gorgeous, waterfall-filled valley of the same name. Both have easy connections to Kleine Scheidegg, the jumping-off point for the railway proper. The end of the ride is Jungfraujoch Station, sitting in a saddle between peaks and offering vistas only matched by the engineering marvel that got you up here in the first place.

5. Schilthorn

Route: Stechelberg to the Schilthorn
Best bit: Pretending to be 007 at the top
Distance: 5.6km
Duration: 30 minutes

We’re widening our definition of “railway” here because the group of cable cars that whisk visitors up the Schilthorn mountain really deserves to be on this list. We’ve even say that the up trip to, and the views from, the peak have a...“license to thrill.” Indulge us: they did for the James Bond team, who made On Her Majesty’s Secret Service here in 1968. If it’s good enough for 007, it’s good enough for us.

Many of the movie's scenes were shot in the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant at the summit, little changed today. The views from the 2970m observation deck continue to draw visitors, and take in three of the best-known Alpine summits: the infamous Eiger (though the notoriously difficult-to-climb north face of the “ogre” is hidden from this angle); the Jungfrau (young maid); and the Mönch (monk).

The cable cars that bring you up connect with seamless Swiss efficiency at the various stations en route. At one of these, Birg, it’s worth getting off to test your head for heights on the cliff-clinging Thrill Walk, complete with glass floors and a rope bridge over a dauntingly high drop. (Don’t worry: there’s a net.)

How to buy train tickets in Switzerland

As with many things in a famously expensive country, trains aren’t cheap in Switzerland. Since buying individual tickets can add up quickly, your best option is to get a Swiss Travel Pass.

There are a few different versions of the pass. The main one provides almost unlimited use of all forms of land and water transport in the country, plus entry to hundreds of museums, making it well worth the investment. Prices start from 254 Swiss francs for 3 consecutive days’ travel in second class to CHF819 for a 15-day, first-class pass. Families can benefit, too, from buying the pass – for every paying adult, a child aged 6–15 travels free.

If you just want to show up and start riding those rails with someone else taking care of the logistics, many companies offer bespoke packages.