Silver Travel writer Steve Aldridge takes a group rail tour of Switzerland
Remember that from the 1980s? We’d heard that an organised rail tour was an ideal way to see Switzerland. No airports to navigate, just sit back and watch all the magnificent scenery go by from the comfort of your seat. Our chosen journey would take us from London on the Eurostar, via Brussels to Cologne. From there we would journey to St Moritz, Zermatt, Tirano and Strasbourg, before making our way back to London via Paris. Five countries in nine days, it was an interesting itinerary.
Cologne
Our first overnight was in the two-thousand-year-old city of Cologne, straddling the river Rhine. Known for its Gothic architecture, the centrepiece was surely the imposing twin spired cathedral. Constructed over six centuries it is widely considered the zenith of cathedral architecture of the time and an exceptional work of human creative genius. We had time after arriving at the city to stroll along the Rhine in the sunshine, take in the cathedral and some of the other sites in the city before dining and staying overnight in the classy Hotel Maritim Koln.
St Moritz
Heading for Switzerland we travelled down the picturesque Rhine Valley, adorned with clifftop castles, stepped vineyards and quaint towns. We also travelled along the shore of the vast Lake Zurich, the largest lake in Switzerland. We stayed three nights in St Moritz at the lovely family run Hotel Schweizerhof and were blessed when we threw back the curtains the next morning. The mountain at the back of the lake looked like it had donned an ermine collar to show us how lordly it could be in this crisp alpine air.
We ventured out on the local bus to Punt Muragl and caught the funicular for the 700m climb to Muottas Muragl standing at a height of 2,456m. From here the overlook between the towns of Samedan, St Moritz and Pontresina is just fabulous. St Moritz also has its own lake, around which we enjoyed a gentle stroll in the sunshine. It’s a less than three mile loop and largely flat so a pleasant way to enjoy the scenery.
The Bernina Express
This train competes with the Glacier Express as the most scenic Alpine train ride, but it is certainly amongst one of the best scenic train rides in the world. Its panoramic sightseeing cars took about two and a half hours to do the journey between St Moritz and Tirano in northern Italy. That said, our morning journey to Tirano was on the local train, ideal on a bright and mild morning as we could have the windows down to take photographs. Of the many magnificent views on the journey, our favourite was the snow laced black mountains reflected in the still icy waters.
The return journey, this time on The Bernina Express, began with the train climbing out of the valley from Tirano using the Brusio Spiral to help it gain height. The nine arch stone viaduct built in 1908 is a magnificent piece of engineering. At Alp Grüm, 2,091m above sea level, we stopped for a glass of Prosecco to celebrate the trip. Even the rain, that had closed in by that point, could not dampen our enjoyment of the views and the moment.
The Glacier Express
Hailed as the slowest express train in the world, it took us across the Alps in a little under eight hours. During its 180 mile journey it passes through 91 tunnels and crosses 291 bridges (no I didn’t count them). At an average speed of 24mph we sat back in our comfortable seats and enjoyed slow travel at its best. At this time of year there is an enormous variety of scenery to enjoy. At lower levels there are verdant valleys, cute hamlets and villages with their sharply steepled churches. All around the landscape is strewn with wild flowers of all colours, spread like confetti on the ground, and backed by cascading waterfalls of ice melt. At higher altitudes the snow still lingers and ice partially covers pools and lakes. Cowbells clank as the herds enjoy the lush meadows of the valley and one cow just scratches its head, wondering how it can live in such beauty.
All this whilst enjoying table service and a delicious lunch.
Zermatt
Arriving at Zermatt we get our first glimpse of The Matterhorn. Probably best known for being on a bar of Toblerone (for now) it also featured with Zermatt as checkpoint four in the BBC’s brilliant Race Across The World (Celebrity Edition). This would be our base for three nights at the lovely Hotel Alpenhof, within easy walking distance of the main attractions and station.
We took the Gornergrat cog railway (Europe’s highest open air cog railway and the first in the world to be electrified) up 1,620m to the Gornergrat observation platform at 3,089m. On a clear day 29 mountains that reach above 4,000m are visible, but sadly the cloudy conditions for our visit limited the views. Nonetheless, it was a spectacular experience and well worth the trip. The following day we ventured up to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the highest cable car station in Europe at 3,883m. As well as the incredible views on the cable cars and at the top, there was an ice sculpture exhibition, 15m (by lift) down into the glacier. An amazing experience.
Hints and tips
Without doubt seeing Switzerland by rail is a great option and we were lucky to travel with a delightful group. Here are some insights from our experience:
- Pack light, sometimes the luggage racks are full and you need to heft your case into the rack above your seat.
- Take a flask, travel kettle, coffee. Coffee on the train can be between 5-7CHF and on some there is no buffet car. This will save money and mean you have coffee when the buffet car is closed due to staff shortages etc.
- For similar reasons, most places have a Coop or Migos, great value for anything you want to eat on the train.
- Don’t waste money on bottled water in Switzerland. The tap water is high quality.
- You’ll have cobbled streets to contend with if you want to get the most from the trip. Good walking shoes are advisable, plus pull on crampons, as some of the higher altitude paths still had ice and snow.
Next steps
To plan and book your rail journey through Switzerland, or elsewhere in the world, speak to Silver Travel Advisor. Our team are available on 0800 412 5678.
