Train from Murren to Varenna on Lake Como
 

Scenic wise how does this trip rate. Are there alternative train routes with better scenery?
Thank you

Snorkle,

I would rate the scenic value as good in the beginning, fair in the middle, and then good in the end. It will depend on the route you take, so choose your departature time carefully. There are alot of changes on this route, so be prepared. You may want to consider breaking up your journey and try to include more of the Glacier Express route and then go from St Moritz to Tirano, that is a very scenic route. Have fun.

Greg

To make this really "scenic" I would suggest as has been mentioned above, routing yourself through St. Moritz and then over the Bernina Pass to Tirano..changing there for the train to Varenna.
When are you planning to travel, i.e., what time of the year...the number of daylight hours may make a difference.
As to taking the Glacier Express..during the wintertime there is usually only one direct train per day on the portion from Brig to Chur.. you can do the same route at any time of the year but you'll have to change a couple of times. In the summer there are more direct trains that run all the way from Zermatt to St. Moritz.

Other questions?

These sound interesting. Any idea how long these routes take?

You could easily spend a 12-hour day doing the Murren-Varenna trip with changes in St. Moritz, Tirano, and probably Chur, if not yet a fourth or even 5th city. Without any more specifics than we've already been given it is hard to advise further.

Well if you want to do some more precise planning go to "http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/misc/timetabl.html" and use the Swiss timetable (SBB.ch) to determine exact routes and times. As you will see there are many different ways to move through the system. We took the train from Florence to St. Moritz and found that to be more than enough train travel for one day. St. Moritz is a nice place to break your trip and there is a very comfortable hotel (Steinbeck) right up the hill from the station. The restrauant at the hotel serves an excellent dinner and has a very good wine list. Have fun deciding.

Greg

We are going next late August. Don't want to make the train trip too long for one day and would prefer to do it in one day. I will check the scheduling to see if we can go thru St. Moritz. Thanks for all of your imput- this forum is great!

Two months ago, we went from Lauterbrunnen to Varenna by train.

We left Lauterbrunnen at 8:35 AM, changed trains in Interlaken to go to Spiez, then changed again for trip to Milan, without anymore changes. This route had the fewest train changes.

It took us through Brig and Domodossola, Italy. The scenery between Spiez and Brig was breathtaking, with long passages through tunnels and emerging into surreal vistas. We felt like we were in a plane at times, looking down into the valleys. There's also beautiful scenery in Italy along the lakes.

We arrived in Milan shortly before 2 PM, and took the 2:15 to Varenna, got there at 3:20.
We had a Swiss Pass and had to buy a supplement for the Italy part of the trip - from Domodossola to Varenna. It cost 64 CHF for 2.
Hope this helps.