No train in Europe gets as much ink as the Glacier Express, running a marathon several-hour course between Zermatt and St Moritz/Chur. Great marketing makes the Glacier Express the one most tourists seem to want to take in Switzerland, in spite of it not being nearly as scenic as the likes of the Bernina Express and no more scenic than several other routes. If you take the whole Glacier Express, Zermatt-St Moritz it means sitting all day on a train that goes through nice but not much spectacular scenery. The name 'Glacier Express' is misleading as the only actual glaciers you may glimpse are the ones at Zermatt as the glaciers that it used to go by between Oberwald and Realp on the Furka Pass, the glaciers from whence it took the Glacier Express monnniker, are no longer on the route which now goes under the Furka Pass in a tunnel constructed mainly to keep the line open all year so that trains did not have to stop in winter due to snow as they once did. So for 8 hours the train traverses river valleys, which are nice but not any nicer than the scenery on many other Swiss lines. And for Eurailpass holders, a large portion of the Glacier Express is not even covered (Disentis-Brig-Zermatt; so a hefty supplement has to be paid. I'd love to hear what others think - if it's the only Swiss train you've every took you may think it was the Cat's meow - it may be but to some it may be a tedious and expensive eight hours!

We took both Glacier and Bernina express.While we enjoyed it the hype was way more than the experience delivered.What made it worthwhile were the destinations.

I have been saying that for years! Trains take the lowest feasible route except for true mountain trains like the Jungfraubahn and the Gornergrat train in Zermatt. Those are expensive lines to maintain, and you pay accordingly.

If you want to see high mountain scenery, get a car and drive the Grimsel and Furka passes. Col St. Bernard is no slouch either!

The best way to see a glacier is to go walk on one, which you can do from the Passhöhe location on the Grimsel Pass.

PS I can think of several more places for glacial viewing. From the end station on the Gornergrat there is an awesome view of the glaciers that flow from Monte Rosa.

Near Zinal at Lac de Moiry, a hike up to the Cabine de Moiry gives one a great view of the glacier.

Near Grindelwald, a walk from Pfingstegg to Stieregg leads to a great view of the glaciers that come off of the peaks that are otherwise hidden by the north wall of the Eiger.

And from Kleine Scheidegg there are good views of the glacier coming off the Mönch and the Jungfrau.

I've taken the Glacier Express several times, only once the entire length. I have to agree it's a bit overblown. Another point is the first time we couldn't get seats in the "observation" cars which have a lot of glass wrapping up onto the roof so you can see up. When we did the full trip, we did have that car -- it was horrible! First of all there isn't much to look UP at, much more straight out or even down. And even more important, in the summer the sun was beating down onto that glass and we were sweating buckets!