✈️How to Travel by Train in Switzerland

Taking a train trip through Switzerland is an unforgettable experience, the country is famous for its punctuality and stunning scenery. Find out how to set up the script here.

A Switzerland is very dedicated to public transport, they created a system called “Swiss Travel System” for the visitor to enjoy as soon as he arrives in the country. Connections with neighboring countries and an internal system that is considered one of the densest and best in the world. That's because there are more than 26 thousand kilometers that connect cities, villages, mountains, lakes and resorts.

The Swiss Travel System offers visitors the opportunity to visit virtually every place in the country, whether by train, bus or boat.

The country is famous for its public transport system and its punctuality, as they have developed a system with several route options that adapt to your visit, whether short or long.

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Ticket – The Swiss Travel Pass

O Swiss Travel Pass is a ticket that will take you on a train journey through Switzerland, or even by bus or boat, in addition to providing access to public transport in more than 75 cities, that is, practically the Switzerland entire. It also gives you a 50% discount on the mountain lines and free entry to approximately 500 museums in the country.

You can opt for a ticket valid for 3, 4, 8 or 15 consecutive days and under 26s still receive a 15% discount.

Another option is the FLEX ticket, which allows you to choose the days alternately instead of the consecutive days of the normal ticket. To find out where to buy yours Swiss Travel Pass just access the link by clicking here.

Routes

The country offers different tourist routes. launched the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland last year, the most popular route, as it connects the main and most beautiful routes in the country. It was designed for you to experience the most beautiful views along with the country's main attractions, such as several museums and UNESCO heritage sites.

Among the other routes, the famous panoramic routes, such as the Golden Pass Line which I had the pleasure to meet, considered one of the most beautiful trips in the world, along with the Glacier Express, Bernina Express, Pre-Alpine Express and also the Wilhelm Tell Express, all with spectacular views that attract tourists from all over the world at all times.

1. Grand Tour of Switzerland

It covers eight different routes across the country for a total of 1280 kilometers of the best public transport system in Switzerland. The Tour can start from anywhere and does not need to be followed in an exact direction, but Zurich is the largest city in the country and where the vast majority of people start their journey.

For train travel through Switzerland 4 to 8 days is recommended. In addition, there are different suggestions to better adapt to your visit. I recommend the 8-day route, it is the most complete and attractive. It is as follows:

Duration of 8 Days

ZURICH to ST. GALLEN – duration of 2 hours and 50 minutes. (Passing by the biggest waterfall in Schaffhausen)
ST. GALLEN to LUCERNE by Voralpen-Express – duration 2 hours and 15 minutes. (Passing over the highest bridge in Switzerland in the city of light – Lucerne).

LUCERNE to MONTREUX via the GoldenPass Line – duration 5 hours and 8 minutes. (One route, two different languages).

MONTREUX to ZERMATT – duration 2 hours and 31 minutes. (From the shores of the lake to the top of the mountains).
ZERMATT to ST. MORITZ by Glacier Express – duration around 8 hours. (The slowest express train in the world).

ST. MORITZ to LUGANO via TIRANO by Bernina Express – duration 5 hours and 50 minutes.
ST. MORITZ to LUGANO by Palm Express – duration around 4 hours.

LUGANO to LUCERNE by Wilhelm Tell Express – duration 5 hours and 21 minutes. (Travel Swiss history by train and boat).

LUCERNE to ZURICH – duration 46 minutes.

The Grand Tour also encourages and promotes cultural diversity and art. This year theSwiss Museum Pass” celebrates its 20th anniversary, so if you are traveling with the Swiss Travel Pass you have free entry to virtually all museums and also UNESCO heritage.

On this 8-day trip you have the opportunity to visit the following museums:

Swiss National Museum em Zurich.
Glacier Garden em Lucerne.
Ballenberg Swiss Open Air Museum in Brienz.
The Maison du Gruyère (Museu do Queijo) in Pringy-Gruyères.
Chillon Castle em Montreux.
Matherhorn Museum – Zermatlantis em Zermatt.

And UNESCO Heritage Sites:

Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps (perto de Zurich e Lucerne).
St. Gallen Convent.
Lavaux Vineyard Terraces (near Montreux).
Albula/Bernina landscape, na Rhaetian Railway.
Monte San Giorgio, internationally important fossil remains em Meride.
Three Castles de Bellinzona.

Duration of 4 Days

DAY 1:

LUCERNE, INTERLAKEN and MONTREUX – duration of 5 hours and 8 minutes.
09:05 departure from Lucerne – 10:55 arrival at Interlaken Ost – 11:00 departure from Interlaken Ost – 12:09 arrival at Zweisimmen – 12:25 departure from Zweisimmen – 14:13 arrival at Montreux.

DAY 2:

MONTREUX, MARTIGNY and ZERMATT – duration of 2 hours and 31 minutes.
08:41 departure from Montreux – 09:53 arrival at Visp – 10:08 departure from Visp – 11:13 arrival at Zermatt.

DAY 3:

ZERMATT, CHUR and ST. MORITZ – duration of 7 hours and 58 minutes in summer, 8 hours and 3 minutes in winter.
08:52 departure from Zermatt – 16:50 arrival in St. Moritz in summer or 16:55 pm in winter.

DAY 4:

ST. MORITZ, LUGANO and LUCERNE – duration of 11 hours and 11 minutes in summer or 7 hours and 21 minutes in winter.
Summer: 09:30 departure from St. Moritz – 12:00 arrival in Tirano – 14:20 departure from Tirano by bus – 17:30 arrival in Lugano – 18:11 departure from Lugano – 20:09 arrival at Arth-Goldau – 20:14 departure from Arth-Goldau – 20:41 arrival in Lucerne.
Winter: 12:20 departure from St.Moritz – 16:30 arrival in Lugano – 17:11 departure from Lugano – 19:41 arrival in Lucerne.

At the end of your Tour, you still get a personalized certificate from Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. It doesn't matter which route you took, you just need to go to the website to get yours.

2. GoldenPass Rail

A GoldenPass Rail is among the most popular train journeys around Switzerland . Starting in Lucerne you cross the Brünig Pass to Interlaken (the starting point for those visiting the Jungfrau), there you change trains and the journey continues along the shores of Lake Thun and through Simmental to Zweisimmen, where you take the Golden Pass panoramic train. to Montreux, enjoying the view of the Lavaux vineyards, a UNESCO heritage site.

Lottery:

Lucerne – Interlaken – Zweisimmen – Montreux: It is 191 kilometers long and takes 5 hours and 8 minutes.

Some highlights of this train trip through Switzerland are:

Discover Lucerne and its surroundings on one of the boat trips.
Go up to Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe and enjoy the view of the Sphinx.
Visit Schilthorn, 007's favorite mountain, Bond World and also the restaurant Piz Gloria.
Chillon Castle in Montreux.

For more information on GoldenPass, or reservations, visit the link.

3. Glacier Express

It's the slowest express train in the world, there's a lot to see and enjoy on this trip, so it has to be very slow! It's an 8-hour trip on a panoramic train that takes you to the Swiss Alps, crossing 91 tunnels and 291 bridges!

It starts in Zermatt and you travel 2033 meters through the Oberalp Pass before entering the Rhine Gorge and the Landwasser Viaduct, which is part of the Albula Line and also UNESCO heritage. Then travel to Domleschg Valley where you will find Ortenstein Castle. The train also has panoramic windows which makes the trip a must for lovers of landscapes.

Lottery:

Zermatt – St. Moritz: It is 291 kilometers long and takes 8 hours and 3 minutes.

Some highlights of this train trip through Switzerland are:

Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, views of peaks reaching nearly 4 meters.
Gornergrat, seen from 3.131 meters from the Matterhorn and 28 other peaks.
Rhine Gorge, the Swiss Grand Canyon.
Lake Sils, the highest boat tour in Europe at 1800 meters altitude.
Corvatsch, the ski resort at 3.303 meters above sea level, a paradise for skiers!

For more information on Express Glacier, or reservations, visit the link.

4. Bernina Express

This route connects the cold of the north with the heat of the south, is smooth and offers an incredible journey from start to finish. In it, you cross 55 tunnels and 196 bridges in addition to the view from Montebello to the Bernina, the Morteratsch Glacier and the trio of lakes, Lej Pitschen, Lej Nair and Lago Bianco. In summer you can even extend your route from Tirano to Lugano by bus B.

Lottery:

Chur – Tirano (Italy): It is 148 kilometers long and takes 4 hours and 13 minutes. Tirano to Lugano, it's 90 kilometers and takes 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Some highlights of this train trip through Switzerland are:

Arosa Bahn, it's 26 kilometers and the train climbs over a thousand meters.
Albula Railway Museum, more than 600 exhibits from over a hundred years of railway history.
Gandria, a cinematic small town at the foot of Monte Brè.
Monte San Salvatore, one of the most beautiful views of Lake Lugano.

For more information on B access the website by clicking here.

5. Pre-Alpine Express

This train was certainly not created to take you fast from one point to another. on this trip St. Gallen to Lucerne, one thing you'll need a lot is time, because there's a lot to see!

Starting with the famous Abbey Library in St. Gallen, one of the oldest and most impressive bookstores in the world. The route also crosses the Canton of Appenzell, with its incredible views of the Alpstein Massif. Another highlight is the small villages and hills as the train passes through Toggenburg and the peaks of Churfirsten.

In Rapperswil, the city of roses, you pass through the landscapes of Seedamm, then Rothenthurm and Mythen Cliffs before reaching Arth-Goldau and Lake Zug just before arriving in Lucerne where the trip ends.

Lottery:

St. Gallen – Lucerne: It lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Some highlights of this train trip through Switzerland are:

Abbey Precinct and Library
Mount Säntis, one of the most beautiful panoramic landscapes in the country at 2502 meters.
Appenzell, from Lake Constance to Säntis. Easy to explore on foot or by public transport.
Rapperswil Castle.
Boat trip on Lake Zurich.
Boat trip on Lake Lucerne.
The Lion Monument, which commemorates the death in 1972 of Swiss mercenary soldiers during the French Revolution.
Goldau Wildlife Park.

For more information on Pre-Alpine Express access the website by clicking here.

6. Wilhelm Tell Express

It's hard to say which part of the Wilhelm Tell Express is the most beautiful. In it, the train crosses the world famous Gotthard Line, which crosses many tunnels from 200 to 1100 meters until reaching the Gothard Tunnel, this 15 kilometer long, opened in 1882.

Lottery:

Lugano – Bellinzona – Flüelen – Lucerne: It is 182 kilometers long and takes 5 hours and 21 minutes.

Some highlights of this train trip through Switzerland are:

Swissminiatur: Switzerland on a small scale, enjoy the model houses, landscapes, trains and boats (a giant model where you can walk and explore Switzerland in miniature).
Monte Brè, the sunniest mountain in Switzerland with incredible views of Monte Rosa and the Bernese and Valais Alps.
Brissago Islands.
The three medieval castles of Bellinzona.
Titlis, the world's first revolving cable car.

Conclusion

Traveling by train in Switzerland it is a very pleasant experience, the quality of service is so impressive that it makes travel and connections as good as visiting the places. The trains are extremely punctual and organized, with breathtaking landscapes and basically take you to all corners of the country.

A Switzerland is so dedicated to providing a quality service that traveling by train has become another attraction in the country!

Is that you? got excited to make a train journey through Switzerland? Rest assured you won't regret it!

Diego Imai traveled at the invitation of Tourism Switzerland.

Switzerland travel insurance

Having travel insurance for Switzerland is a requirement to enter the country, which is part of the Schengen Treaty and requires medical and hospital coverage of at least €30 for travelers. In addition to being mandatory, insurance is a great way to ensure a smoother trip. Also enjoy our Insurance Promo discount coupon. - SEE PRICES