Switzerland: the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express and the Gotthard

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Zurich

   Zurich Airport to your hotel near the old town

   • Environ 20 min de route
   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Zurich
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Zurich Airport (ZRH). A driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the twenty-minute ride to a central hotel near the old town, so the trip starts with a short walk rather than a ticket machine. Rooms are often ready by mid-afternoon; if yours is not, the hotel keeps your bags and you can head straight out. In the late afternoon your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for an unhurried walk through the Altstadt: up to the Lindenhof, the tree-shaded terrace above the Limmat where the Romans kept a customs post, across the river to the twin towers of the Grossmünster and back along the quays to the green spire of the Fraumünster. On the way the guide hands out the rail plan for the week: which trains are reserved, where we change and how your bags travel. The evening ends at a welcome dinner of Swiss dishes in an old-town restaurant.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Zurich Airport (ZRH)
   • Old-town walk with your guide: the Lindenhof, the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster
   • Rail briefing for the week
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the late-afternoon walk

   Activité : About 1.5 hours on foot on cobbles, with a short climb to the Lindenhof.

   

2. Jour 2 : By rail to car-free Zermatt

   Zurich to Visp by train through the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, then up the Matter valley to Zermatt

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Zermatt
   Détail du jour 2

   After breakfast we walk to Zurich main station and board a reserved train south. Through Bern and the Lötschberg Base Tunnel it is a little over two hours to Visp in the Rhône valley, where we change to the red trains of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn for the climb up the narrow Mattertal, about three and a quarter hours in all. Your guide moves the bags at Visp, and in Zermatt, which is closed to ordinary cars, electric taxis take them to the hotel while we walk. Lunch is not included today: your guide names a good place to buy something at Zurich station before we board, or a café in Zermatt for when we arrive around midday. The afternoon is for settling in: a stroll up the Bahnhofstrasse to the parish church and the Kirchbrücke, the bridge over the Vispa where the Matterhorn rises above the rooftops when the cloud allows, and a look at the old larch-wood barns of the Hinterdorf. Dinner tonight is together: raclette or fondue in a village restaurant.

   Compris

   • Reserved first-class train from Zurich to Zermatt, with one change at Visp
   • Luggage handled at the change and electric taxis for bags in Zermatt
   • Village walk: the Kirchbrücke Matterhorn view and the Hinterdorf
   • Raclette or fondue dinner

   Temps libre : Late afternoon free in Zermatt

   Activité : Zermatt sits at about 1,600 m; the village walk is about an hour on gentle slopes.

3. Jour 3 : Gornergrat and the Matterhorn

   Zermatt to Gornergrat by cogwheel railway, then down via the Riffelsee and Riffelberg

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Zermatt
   Détail du jour 3

   We take an early Gornergrat Railway train, when the air is most often clear and the carriages are still quiet. The cogwheel line, open since 1898, climbs for about 33 minutes from the village to 3,089 m, where the terrace faces the Matterhorn, the Monte Rosa massif and the long tongue of the Gorner Glacier below. Your guide names the peaks along the ridge, many of them over 4,000 m. Coming down, we get off at Rotenboden for the short walk to the Riffelsee, a small lake that holds the Matterhorn's reflection on still mornings, and carry on down the path to Riffelberg for a sit-down lunch with the mountain in view. Then the train back to Zermatt. The afternoon is free: the Matterhorn Museum and its story of the first ascent in 1865, a walk to the hamlet of Zum See, or a quiet hour on a terrace. If the summit is in cloud at breakfast, your guide checks the webcams and moves the ride to the afternoon.

   Compris

   • Gornergrat Railway, return, with your guide
   • The Riffelsee and the walk down to Riffelberg
   • Sit-down lunch at Riffelberg

   Activités en option

   • Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car to 3,883 m (price shown at booking)

   Option plus facile : Ride the train straight down from Gornergrat to Riffelberg and meet the walkers there for lunch.

   Option plus active : After lunch, walk down from Riffelberg to Riffelalp and on to Zermatt through larch forest, about 2.5 hours and 900 m of descent.

   Temps libre : Afternoon free in Zermatt

   Activité : The Riffelsee to Riffelberg path is about an hour downhill on a rocky trail at about 2,600 to 2,760 m; take a warm layer even in summer.

4. Jour 4 : The Glacier Express to St. Moritz

   Zermatt to St. Moritz on the Glacier Express, over the Oberalp Pass and the Albula line

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : St. Moritz
   Détail du jour 4

   Today is the headline and the longest day in a seat: about eight hours on the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz. It is longer than our usual four hours on the road because the train is the sightseeing, broken up by a three-course lunch at your seat and room to walk the carriages. We board in the morning in reserved first-class panorama seats, with your guide's bags already stowed. On the way it crosses more than 290 bridges and runs through about 90 tunnels: down the Mattertal to Brig, up the Goms valley, over the Oberalp Pass at 2,033 m, the highest point of the line, and through the white limestone of the Rhine gorge, the Ruinaulta. On the Albula line the train crosses the Landwasser Viaduct, 65 m above the river, and climbs through spiral tunnels to the Engadine. Your guide points out the landmarks on the way. We reach St. Moritz in the late afternoon, and the evening is free.

   Compris

   • The Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz, in reserved first-class panorama seats
   • Three-course lunch served at your seat
   • Luggage handled by your guide

   Temps libre : Evening free in St. Moritz

   Activité : About eight hours on the train, with toilets on board and a dining service. Bring a book and a light layer: the panorama windows warm up in the sun.

5. Jour 5 : Muottas Muragl and the Engadine lakes

   St. Moritz to Punt Muragl, then the funicular to Muottas Muragl and back

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner
   • Nuit : St. Moritz
   Détail du jour 5

   A slower day in the Upper Engadine after yesterday's long ride. After breakfast we take the local train or bus a few minutes to Punt Muragl, where a funicular, running since 1907, climbs to Muottas Muragl at about 2,450 m. From the terrace the chain of Engadine lakes runs south-west from St. Moritz towards the Maloja Pass, and the snow peaks of the Bernina range stand to the south. Walkers can follow the near-level path along the slope for half an hour and back; others stay on the terrace with a coffee. Lunch is your own choice today: the mountain restaurant on Muottas Muragl, or a café back in St. Moritz. The afternoon and evening are free: the flat path around Lake St. Moritz, about an hour, the Segantini Museum and its paintings of these valleys, or the villages of Celerina and Samedan with their decorated Engadine houses. Your guide suggests restaurants for dinner and is around for anyone who wants company.

   Compris

   • Muottas Muragl funicular, return, with your guide
   • Viewpoint walk on Muottas Muragl

   Activités en option

   • Morteratsch Glacier trail in the afternoon, a short train ride from St. Moritz: about an hour each way to the ice, with signs marking where the glacier ended in past years

   Option plus facile : Stay on the Muottas Muragl terrace, then spend the afternoon on the lake path in St. Moritz.

   Option plus active : Walk from Muottas Muragl along the mountain path to Alp Languard above Pontresina, about 2.5 to 3 hours, and ride the chairlift down.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free

   

6. Jour 6 : The Bernina Express to Tirano, then on to Lugano

   St. Moritz to Tirano on the Bernina Express, then by the Bernina Express bus past Lake Como to Lugano

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Lugano
   Détail du jour 6

   The Bernina Express leaves St. Moritz in the morning for Tirano, about two and a half hours over the Bernina Pass and down into Italy. The line climbs without a cogwheel to Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 m, its highest point, beside the milky water of Lago Bianco, then drops past Alp Grüm, where the Palü Glacier hangs across the valley, through the chestnut woods of the Val Poschiavo and round the stone spiral viaduct at Brusio. The Albula and Bernina lines have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. In Tirano we sit down to lunch near the station. Then the seasonal Bernina Express bus carries us on, about three hours along the Valtellina and the northern shore of Lake Como, through Menaggio and over to Lake Lugano. It is the only long road leg of the trip and stays under our four-hour limit. We reach Lugano in the late afternoon, and your guide walks the group to the lakefront and the Piazza della Riforma before a free evening.

   Compris

   • The Bernina Express from St. Moritz to Tirano, in reserved first-class seats
   • Sit-down lunch in Tirano
   • The Bernina Express bus from Tirano to Lugano
   • Evening orientation walk in Lugano

   Temps libre : Evening free in Lugano

   Activité : Tirano is in Italy: carry your passport. Lago Bianco and the Palü Glacier are on the right-hand side of the train leaving St. Moritz. Seats are reserved, so your guide calls out the big views in good time and those on the other side can step into the aisle for a look.

7. Jour 7 : Locarno and Lago Maggiore

   Lugano to Locarno by train and back, with the funicular to Madonna del Sasso

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Lugano
   Détail du jour 7

   A morning on Lago Maggiore, whose surface, at about 193 m, is the lowest point in Switzerland, and the afternoon free in Lugano. We take a regional train to Locarno, about an hour with one change near Bellinzona. Your guide leads a walk through the arcades of the Piazza Grande, where the film festival screens under the stars every August, then we ride the funicular up the hill and walk down to the Madonna del Sasso, the sanctuary founded in the 15th century on a rock above the town, with the lake and the mouth of the Maggia spread out below. Lunch is a sit-down meal by the water in Locarno. Early in the afternoon we are back in Lugano, and the rest of the day is yours: the lakefront gardens of Parco Ciani, the funicular up Monte Brè, the LAC arts centre, or the lakeside path to the old fishing village of Gandria.

   Compris

   • Train from Lugano to Locarno and back
   • Locarno walk with your guide: the Piazza Grande and the old town
   • Funicular to the Madonna del Sasso
   • Sit-down lunch by the lake in Locarno

   Option plus facile : Stay in Lugano for the whole day: a slow morning by the lake and the afternoon at your own pace.

   Option plus active : In the afternoon, walk the lakeside path from Castagnola to Gandria, about an hour each way, and come back by lake boat.

   Temps libre : Afternoon and evening free in Lugano

   Activité : About 1.5 hours on foot in Locarno, mostly downhill from the funicular on stepped lanes.

   

8. Jour 8 : The Gotthard Panorama Express to Lucerne

   Lugano to Flüelen on the Gotthard mountain line, then by boat across Lake Lucerne

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Lucerne
   Détail du jour 8

   The last long ride, and the only one that ends on a boat. The Gotthard Panorama Express leaves Lugano in the morning in first-class panorama cars and takes the old mountain line rather than the base tunnel: up the Leventina valley past Biasca and Airolo, through the 15 km Gotthard tunnel opened in 1882, then down the loops above Wassen, where the village church appears three times from different heights as the train winds through spiral tunnels. At Flüelen we walk from the platform to the pier and board a lake boat for the rest of the way, close to three hours across Lake Lucerne. Lunch is served on board as the steep shores of the Urnersee open into the wider lake, with Rigi and Pilatus ahead. We dock in Lucerne in the late afternoon, check in, and have time for a first walk across the Chapel Bridge before a farewell dinner together.

   Compris

   • The Gotthard Panorama Express, Lugano to Flüelen by train and Flüelen to Lucerne by boat, in reserved first-class seats
   • Lunch on the boat
   • Farewell dinner in Lucerne

   Temps libre : An hour or two free before dinner

   Activité : About five and a half hours of travel in all, split between the train and the boat, with an open deck on the boat.

9. Jour 9 : Lucerne in the morning, then home

   Lucerne old town, then by train to Zurich Airport

   • En train
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 9

   Lucerne is small enough to see well in a morning, and early is best, before the day-trip coaches arrive. After breakfast your guide walks the group across the Chapel Bridge, first built in the 14th century and rebuilt after a fire in 1993, with its painted gable panels and the stone Water Tower beside it, then along the Reuss to the Spreuer Bridge and its Dance of Death paintings, and up to the Lion Monument, carved into the rock face in 1821 for the Swiss Guards killed in Paris in 1792. In season, you can climb one of the towers of the Musegg Wall for a view over the roofs to Mount Pilatus. Late in the morning we take the train to Zurich Airport, about an hour, and your guide sees the group and its bags onto the platform. Book a flight leaving after about 2 pm; with an earlier flight, we put you on a train straight after breakfast.

   Compris

   • Lucerne walk with your guide: the Chapel Bridge, the Spreuer Bridge and the Lion Monument
   • Train from Lucerne to Zurich Airport (ZRH)

   Option plus active : Climb a Musegg Wall tower for the view across the city and lake.

   Activité : Book a flight from Zurich leaving after about 2 pm.

Faune et météo : Summer brings long days and open passes, but cloud can hide the Matterhorn for a day at a time, so the Gornergrat ride is flexible within the Zermatt stay. Ticino is warmer and sunnier than the Alps; Lugano and Locarno can be hot in July and August.

• Zurich1 nuit
• Zermatt2 nuits
• St. Moritz2 nuits
• Lugano2 nuits
• Lucerne1 nuit