adit1971

we (couple) are planning a visit to switzerland in feb'13. havent been to st mortitz, so thats on high priority. we want to spend 3 nights there. any suggestions of places nearby . we can fly into/out from zurich or milan. have been to geneva/interlaken/gstaad few times. so dont wanna repeat these... thanks

PalenQ

Well from St Moritz be sure to take what I think is Europe's most dramatically scenic rail trip - up and over the fabled Bernina Pass and down to Italy and back - a sweet sweet day trip - get on and off the train at various places, like to stroll around an Alpine lake fed by glaciers you can walk to, etc.

From St Moritz you can take the awesome Maloja Pass bus ride thru stirring Alpine scenery to Lugano, on Lake Lugano and from there the Centovalli Railway - another of Switzerland' iconic narrow-gauge mountain railways to Domodossola, Italy for rail links to Milan (on the Switzerland to Milan main rail line thru the Simplon Tunnel).

Check out the Swiss Pass that is valid on all those trains in full and also provides many other benefits, like on city trams and buses, postal buses and gives free entry to 400+ Swiss museums - anyway for some fantastic info on Swiss trains, the Bernina Pass train, Centovalli, etc I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html; www.ricksteves.com and www.swisstravelsystem.com - the latter has links to special railways like the Bernina Pass rail line and has schedules for trains, etc.

PalenQ

http://www.rhb.ch/Bernina-Express.2188.0.html?&L=4

check out the official site of the Bernina Express trains - known as the world's slowest express train as they often call it!

tipsygus

PalenQ I think you are talking about the Glacier Express, that's marketed as the World's slowest express. Either are worth taking if not all the way then certainly part of the way.

PalenQ

I think you're right tipsy - but IME the Bernina Express actually seems to go slower than the Glacier Express due to the sinuously steep grades over a much shorter overall distance than the GE, a long-haul marathon ride mainly IME thru flat river valleys much of the way.

I prefer the Bernina Express a lot more than the GE because it is short and sweet!

PalenQ

st mortitz, so thats on high priority. we want to spend 3 nights there. any suggestions of places nearby>

a place many love but which I am not that familiar with is the fabled Maloja Pass area just a short enough postal bus ride from St Moritz thru the gorgeous Maloja Pass - an area with lots of nice hikes for all abilities and I believe also aerial cable ways, etc.

Dukey1

I would be curious as to why St. Moritz. I find the village itself to be rather sterile but that's obviously an opinion.

I agree with Pal that a wonderful trip to Milan from there would involve taking the Bernina since the scenery is spectacular.

PalenQ

and to get to Milan from St Moritz using the Bernina Express is so so easy - at Tirano, Italy, terminus of the Bernina Pass Railway (regular trains as well as the official Bernina Express) you walk across the square from the Swiss station to the Italian train station for trains right to Milan - these trains go along Lake Como for a spell - lots of folks enjoy jumping off at Varenna to get boats to Bellagio, in the lake and then go onto Milan or elsewhere from there.