The most scenic practice journeys via Switzerland, in accordance with our professional

Once a 12 months, the Switzerland’s federal rail operator SBB (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen) reconfigures the nation’s Switzerland’s practice schedule. And yearly, it turns into entrance web page information throughout the tiny alpine nation, in all 4 languages, in fact. With greater than 3,200 miles of tracks, Switzerland’s matrix of a rail community will not be solely the world’s densest per space, however Swiss legislation stipulates that public transport should join each single city and alpine village.

And thankfully for each residents and vacationers, no matter isn’t related by practice, is related by lake steamers, publish buses, funiculars, gondolas, and different modes of transport, typically ready for you after you exit the practice platform.  

There aren’t any high-speed trains in Switzerland, however that’s exactly what makes rail journey right here particular. Slow journey could also be in vogue as we speak, however within the Alps, it’s lengthy been a necessity with big massifs, ravines, glaciers, and waterfalls, making for some very precarious engineering and observe work. But what makes Swiss rail journey extraordinary is the breathtaking alpine panorama you traverse via.

Even a brief 30-minute journey can hurtle you previous cerulean lakes, historic glaciers, primordial forests and stylish snow-ladden ski slopes, all seen from the consolation of your seat. Switzerland’s railway system is so epic that it’s even dwelling to a UNESCO World Heritage Rail Route, the long-lasting purple Rhätische Bahn, as a lot of an engineering feat as we speak because it was when staff painstakingly constructed its 383 bridges and 84 tunnels over a century in the past in 1888.  

But with 9,000 trains working day by day on Swiss rails, how have you learnt which routes are the perfect? We requested rail professional Everett Potter, creator of National Geographic’s 100 Train Journeys of a Lifetime, scheduled to publish on October 7, 2025, to inform us his favorites. All aboard for Switzerland’s marvelous and scenic trains.  

1. Glacier Express

Best for: Food lovers
Route: Zermatt (Canton Valais) to St. Moritz (Canton Graubünden)
Journey time: Eight hours
Distance: 186 miles

While Switzerland’s common passenger practice routes are a few of the nation’s most stunning, the Glacier Express, a scenic vacationer line, will not be solely picturesque however palms down the longest. The eight-hour journey runs between Zermatt, with its postcard views of the snaggle-toothed Matterhorn and the fashion-forward ski mecca of St. Moritz. “The Glacier Express is a Swiss train set come to life,” says Everett Potter.

“Dubbed ‘the slowest express train in the world, the narrow-gauge train is an eight-hour odyssey burrowing through 91 tunnels and over 291 bridges along the way, passing lush valleys, snow-dusted peaks, remote Alpine hamlets, and towering stone viaducts. When it debuted in 1930, it was a radical concept: a train that existed solely for sightseeing on a carefully planned route showcasing the country’s very best.” 

Today, guests can splurge on the practice’s Excellence Class carriages, outfitted with plush white leather-based seats, glass-domed ceilings, and e-tablets loaded with interactive maps highlighting native cities, corresponding to Niederwald and neighboring Ritzegen, the birthplace of the well-known Swiss hotelier César Ritz (1850-1918). 

Perks, fairly ritzy themselves, embody purple carpet champagne arrivals with crystal flutes, an old-fashion rattling bar automobile full of uncommon whiskeys and native wines that complement the onboard five-course meals: suppose mint pea soup with Gruyere double cream and braised Simmental beef—what higher technique to cross the Oberalp Pass at 6,706 toes—the journey’s highest level. 

(All aboard the Glacier Express, from Zermatt to St Moritz)

2. Bernina Express

Best for: Glacier hikers 
Route: Chur (Canton Graubünden) to Tirano, Italy (Lombardy)
Journey time: Four hours
Distance: 76 miles

“For train fanatics, the Bernina Express ranks very high,” states Potter. “It’s packed with glaciers, snow-capped mountains, dense forests, and alpine meadows.” The journey, from Chur to the Italian city of Tirano, is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Rhaetian Railway, one in every of 5 trains on the earth to bear the designation.

It’s a traditional passenger practice, simply taken in segments, just like the “leg from St. Moritz to Poschiavo, an Italian-speaking Swiss village near the Italian border, with return the same day.” In the summer season, the practice operates open-air convertible train cars, permitting vacationers to really take in sights, sounds, and smells of the Alps. 

“The Bernina Express is not a cog railway but a narrow-gauge train,” provides Potter. “The peak of the journey is 7,391 feet above sea level at Ospizio Bernina, the highest crossing of any train in the Alps without the benefit of a tunnel.”

On the ascent, guests can cease on the Diavolezza Gondola, which whisks them up 10,000 toes to Piz Bernina, the place they will ski, hike its paths, or stand up near the Pers and Morteratsch Glaciers with the suitable gear. As the practice begins its descent, a quick cease means that you can exit on the tiny Alp Grüm station, which “has commanding views of the rapidly melting Roseg Glacier.”

3. The GoldenPass Express

Best for: Romantics
Route: Montreux, Lake Geneva (Canton Vaud) to Interlaken (Canton Bern)
Journey time: Three hours quarter-hour
Distance: 71 miles

Launching in 2022, this scenic vacationer practice chugs its manner from the sun-kissed shores of Lake Geneva on the French-speaking Swiss Riviera to the rugged alpine heartland of Swiss German talking Canton Bern. This route passes by century outdated vineyards, hill-perched castles, and villages like Château-d’Œx, famed for its scorching air balloons.

According to Potter, “The train is outfitted with floor-to-ceiling windows treated with anti-reflective technology, ideal for photography.” Several totally different Golden Pass Trains run on this route, together with the wood-paneled Belle Époque cars with brass trim and turquoise velvet brocade seats, recalling a bygone period of rail journey. 

“This locomotive is especially eye-catching,” he says. “Little surprise since it was created by the Italian design firm Pininfarina, best known for its work with Ferrari and Maserati.”

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4. Gornergrat

Best for: High-altitude hikers
Route:  Zermatt (Canton Valais) to the Gornergrat summit (Canton Valais)
Journey time: 44 minutes
Distance: Six miles

The Gornergrat begins its “short but memorable climb” within the coronary heart of the Swiss resort city of Zermatt earlier than winding its manner as much as the Gornergrat Station at 3,089 meters (10,170 toes). “Remarkably, this train line has been open since 1898 and climbs up 4,900 feet from Zermatt, the second-highest railway in Europe, after the Jungfraubahnen,” says Potter. “It’s also the highest open-air railway on the continent.” 

Clear days supply wonderful views of the Hornli Hut on the flanks of the Matterhorn, the lodge the place climbers spend the evening earlier than persevering with onward to the height. And on the high of the Gornegrat, you’ll typically encounter St. Bernard canine, and alpine horn gamers. The route additionally affords a panoramic view of over thirty 13,000-plus toes excessive peaks, together with the Weisshorn, Castor, Pollux, and the Dufourspitz the best level in Switzerland and a part of the Monte Rosa massif). Don’t miss the panoramic views of the Gornergletscher, the third-largest glacier within the Alps. 

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5. Gotthard Panorama Express

Best for: Boat fanatics
Route:  Lucerne (Canton Lucerne) to Lugano (Canton Ticino)
Journey time: Five hours half-hour 
Distance: 113 miles

When the 35 mile lengthy Gotthard Base Tunnel opened in 2016, it made headlines because the world’slongest and deepest railway tunnel. But it additionally left behind an infrastructure of spectacularly scenic rails via the mountains. In the alpine custom of by no means throwing away one thing helpful, the Gotthard Panorama Express operates on these disused tracks. 

“Starting in Lucerne, one of Switzerland’s most beautiful cities, this trip begins not with a train ride but with a leisurely voyage on a vintage paddlewheel steamer across Lake Lucerne, one of the country’s most beautiful lakes,” says Potter. “It then connects to the Gotthard Panorama Express train, which runs down to Lugano in the Italian-speaking Canton of Ticino, through the dramatic center of the Alps.” 

The journey not solely combines scenic landscapes with railroads and steamships however crosses a linguistic and cultural threshold linking one of the vital stunning cities in German-speaking Switzerland with its counterpart within the south, the place pines are changed by palms and Switzerland adopts a heaping of “la dolce vita.”   

6. Jungfraubahnen

Best for: Mountain Lovers
Route:  Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe (Canton Bern)
Journey time: 35 minutes
Distance: Five miles (plus a 4,593-foot ascent)

“You can’t get any higher on a railway line in Europe than the Jungfraubahnen,” says Potter. “This is a trip to the top of the Bernese Oberland in the Alps, and the lair of the peaks known as the Eiger (13,025 feet), Monch (13,465 feet), and Jungfrau (13,642 feet)—the Ogre, the Monk, and the Virgin,” he explains. 

Visitors can hop aboard a practice from Interlaken to the Eiger Glacier station or Kleine Scheidegg station, or board the brand new Eiger Express triable gondola at Grindelwald Terminal to achieve the beginning of the Jungfrabahn. The practice burrows deep inside Eiger and Monch mountains for greater than 4 miles earlier than rising on the Jungfraujoch, a excessive mountain go at 11,333 toes. 

“The vantage point offers spectacular views of Europe’s largest glacier, the UNESCO-listed Aletsch Glacier, spanning over 14 miles in length.” The iconic Sphinx Observatory sits on the high, trying like a villain’s lair in a Bond film, in accordance with Potter. 

7. Centovalli Express

Best for: Geography buffs
Route:  Locarno, Switzerland to Domodossola, Italy
Journey time: Two hours
Distance: 32 miles

Expect to be dazzled by the 100 valleys of the namesake Centovalli Express, which winds its manner from Locarno (on the glowing shores of Lake Maggiore within the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino) to the mountain city of Domodossola in Piedmont, Italy, beloved for its bustling Saturday market.

Potter says, “The easy round-trip excursion offers a scenic tour of waterfalls, gorges, lakes, and valleys, and remains a hidden gem among Swiss train rides.” The practice crosses 83 bridges and whisks via 34 tunnels all of the whereas bypassing vine-covered slopes and secluded villages the place campanile bells echo via the woods. 

But the spotlight for a lot of railway fanatics is crossing the 285-foot-high Isorno Bridge, accomplished in 1923. The metal deck arch railway viaduct with its reticulated metallic arch spans throughout the Isorno River and the deep gorge under. 

“Those deeply forested gorges with groves of wild chestnut and beech trees are more than merely scenic — this train follows the divide between the European and African continental plates,” explains Potter.

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