Indrani

Hi all,

We are a family of 6 travelling from Milan to Paris through Switzerland. We will do this in early October. We are travelling with 3 members above 70 and a child of 7.

We want to take the most scenic routes from Milan to Paris and have two nights and three days to do so.

My plan was to take the Bernina express till St Moritz and then the next day take the Glacier express to Zermatt. Then on the third day travel from Zermatt to Paris.

Is this doable at all? Any other suggestions will be most welcome. I know this is a very short duration and we will not be able to do justice to any of the towns or cities, hence we wanted to just pass through this time.

Do let me know if it is feasible or if there are any alternatives that you can suggest.

Thanks so much...

Man_in_seat_61

Perfectly - a lot to pack in, but doable.

Day 1, take the 10:20 Milan-Tirano, €11, buy at station, no reservation necessary or possible. Then afternoon Bernina Express to Chur booked at www.rhb.ch arriving Chur early evening.

Day 2, Glacier Express Chur to Zermatt, book at www.glacierexpress.ch (or overnight at St Moritz works equally well)

Day3, Zermatt-Lausanne-Paris booked at www.sbb.ch - book ahead for cheapest fares.

You could reduce the travelling by getting off the Glacer Express at Brig so avoiding the Brig-Zdrmatt-Brig double-back. Much as I love Zermatt and its views of the Matterhorn you'd only have an overnight stop there - perhaps Dave till next time.

Man_in_seat_61

Darn autocorrect!

PalenQ

for lots of great info on Swiss trains check Man in Seat 61's commercial site - www.seat61.com as well as these superb IMO sigtes: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. You may even find a Swiss Pass is cheaper than regular fares on those long trains - child of 7 gets a free Family Pass where he/she never pays a dime for any form of transport (GE does however have a supplement for pass holders of about $35 - not sure if Family Card can escape that!)

Personally I would after taking the Bernina Express, to me the most dramatically scenic train in Europe! I would forego the long long tedious for many Glacier Express - an all-day marathon that quickly bores many so they watch the unique tilting wine glasses (and imbibe from them) then the nice but after a while so-so scenery most of the way.

the best scenic part is between St Moritz and Reichenau and from there I'd tell you to head to Lucerne - a beautiful town on lake Lucerne and a town you can get to well before sunset - maybe even enjoy a night lake cruise with dinner on board and then take a Bern or Zurich train to Paris.

Getting to Zermatt at night and leaving the next morning to me is a waste - the Matterhorn may or may not be out in the morning - always a good chance of being fogged or clouded in. And you party will not blame you for putting them on a long train ride than soon becomes tedious for many!

If not going to Zermatt forget a Swiss Pass and just buy regular tickets but be sure to buy the 7-yr old a 'free' Family Pass sold (for 'free') with any regular train ticket - that pass is good for a month I believe and is valid on practically anything that moves in Switzerland, besides cows that is!

Indrani

Such lovely responses! Thanks guys! Thank you PalenQ for suggesting Lucerne. I was in fact wondering if the day long Glacier Express will be too much of a strain on my 7 year old's patience. So, I understand the Bernina Express will take me till Chur, right? Then do I take a regular train to Reichenau and again change for Lucerne? Is it possible to do all in the same day? Like, Milan to Tirano to Chur to Reichenau to Lucerne? Stop overnight at Lucerne ? Or are there any overnight trains that I can take to Paris?

swandav2000

Hi Indrani,

I strongly recommend that you stop somewhere for at least two nights. Travelling such long distances with only one night between can be exhausting -- that one night will consist of mostly unpacking and settling in once you arrive and then packing up again the next morning. You'll only have an hour or two to see the beauty of the place you're in.

I would never exchange seeing the beauty of the Alps in person for seeing it from a train seat.

If I were you, I would stop for 3 nights in Chur, then continue on to Paris (5h30 with one change in Zurich). I think that will be a much more relaxed trip.

Have fun as you plan!

s

PalenQ

I would stop for 3 nights in Chur,>

3 nights in Chur? I stayed there one night and that was enough - what is there to do for 3 days in Chur - someone who has never been to Switzerland before could do a lot better than 3 nights in Chur, a nice but not exceptional town.

If you have three days to spend head to the fabulous Jungfrau Region around Interlaken - to me and many the absolute highlight of Switzerland. The Alpine Wonderland of your dreams.

PalenQ

So, I understand the Bernina Express will take me till Chur, right? Then do I take a regular train to Reichenau and again change for Lucerne? Is it possible to do all in the same day?>

No not via Reichenau but from Chur go via Zurich or Thalwil (changing trains at one or the other) - it is only a tad over two hours from Chur to Lucerne)

and a few days in Lucerne could be great - nice boat rides on the lake - take a thrilling mountain train up Mt Pilatus and another thrilling aerial cable way back down a different side to suburban Lucerne.

Kids love the Swiss Transport Museum in Lucerne - lots of hands on things - trains, aerial gondolas on show, etc.

Lucerne even has a beach - right near the Transport Museum.

swandav2000

Welll, PalQ, my intent was to provide a nice break from the long-distance train rides, not to make them even longer!!

What to do in Chur? Take cable cars up to the mountains, walk, cycle, etc.

http://www.churtourismus.ch/en/mount...rial-cableway/

Luzern is fine, but it's a city. In my mind, Switzerland's best lies outside of its cities. Since Chur is right on the way, since Paris is only 5h30 from Chur, since Chur would provide so much relaxation and fun for a few days and a mountain hit . . . it seems the best option.

s

PalenQ

Chur is also a largish city!

No for someone never been to Switzewrland recommending a stay in Chur is well mind boggling. Zillions of places better that will fulfill the romantic picture of Switzerland etched in many folks eyes.

If you have three days the Jungfrau Region would be mine and many others top recommendation - there you have glacier-girdled peaks soaring about lush cow-dotted meadows - the Alpine wonderland of your dreams.

Again I've stayed in Chur - nice city but really not what folks expect in Switzerland. Lucerne on the other hand, yes it is a city, but a city wonderfully set on to me Switzerland's most beautiful lake - lake boat trips - going up Mt Pilatus, etc - way WAY nicer for the average traveler than mundane Chur.

Indrani

Ok... Now I am torn. Do we then forego the Bernina and glacier expresses totally? Go directly to Interlaken from Milan, do jungfraujoch the next day, then move in to Paris on the third? The reason why we wanted to do at least one panorama train was because we have 3 senior citizens with us who might not be up for a lot of walking.

swandav2000

Hi again Indrani,

If you want to see the Jungfrau region, then, yes, the best thing would be to go directly from Milan to Interlaken (or Wengen/Mürren) and see the big Alps. There's no need for a lot of walking -- your party can take trains and cable cars up to the peaks and spend a few hours at the top, soaking up the views. To my mind, that's tons better than sitting passively by a train window as the scenery slips by.

PalQ, again I ask you to please stop using denigrating and emotional language. Instead of saying, " . . . is well mind boggling. . " why not just say that you disagree. You are not making your case stronger with such emotional language.

Luzern is more than twice as big as Chur, so Chur is still smaller and nicer, I would think. Yes, I love Luzern's lakes, but because it's out of the way I would think it's a lesser option. Again, my suggestion was to try to limit the long train rides.

s

WeisserTee

IMO, I would stay in Zug. Pretty small city (more like a town). Lovely lakefront setting. Views of the alps. You can take a lake cruise, easily get to Rigi ("Queen of the Mountains") to ride a mountain train, visit the wildlife park in Arth-Goldau, admire the birds in the aviary along Zug's lakefront, enjoy wine and good food at the restaurants in the old town and easily catch a train to Zurich HB (where you'd pick up the train to Paris). It has many of the same charms as Luzern (more, IMO) without the tour buses (and yes, Pal, there WILL be plenty of tour bus groups in Luzern in October). And if you really want to see Luzern, it's a short S-bahn or regular train ride away.

Indrani

Also thinking of .... Taking the Bernina express to chur ( you can see I have my heart set on it . Move onto Zurich the same evening, spend the night in Zurich . Spend the next day in Zurich and on day 3 travel from Zurich to Paris. I am thinking thijs will involve less interchanges and also a more relaxed experience?
Any suggestions on hotels and what I can do in my one day in Zurich?

PalenQ

It is practically just as convenient to get to Lucerne from Chur, if you can tear yourself away from it, as to Zurich and nearly every normal tourist will love Lucerne much more than Zurich - a city that non-pluses many though it does have its pluses - staying in Zug as I once did as Weisser Tee suggests would be super too - on its own little lake - both more adorable than Zurich.

A day out on Lake Lucerne would be, along with the Bernina Express, a highlight of your trip - Lucerne to me is one of the most beautifully situated cities in Europe.

Zurich might be a tad easier to reach but Lucerne will fulfill you romantic notions of what Switzerland should be IME.

You can get direct trains to Zurich and its airport, I believe, from Lucerne or at least with a simple change in Zurich Hbf - the main station there.

swandav2000

Hi again,

Here's the thing.

The trip from Milan to Chur (via Tirano on the BE) takes about 7h43 (3 changes) or 8h43 (2 changes). Going from Milan to Zurich via Chur takes 9h to 9h30 (to Luzern would be about 10 hours). I just think that's too much travel in one sitting --

Also -- I would always try to stay in a smaller town or village rather than a city.

s

PalenQ

Rather than stopping for the night in Chur - a nice enough city but not at all exceptional for Switzerland then to break it up I'd stop in a place like Pontresina, near St. Moritz and a place everyone here seems to rave about - smallish town out in wonderful Alpine setting.

I agree ten hours in one day is a long long haul.

swandav2000

Yes, I agree -- Pontresina is a good choice, and nicely located about midway on the route.

s

Indrani

So, we need to get off the Bernina express in st. Moritz and take another train to pontresina? How is the connectivity from pontresina to Paris?

swandav2000

Hi Inrani,

You should be checking the train sites yourself to look at the journeys -- check the timings and the track numbers, etc.

You can get the information at the Swiss rail site

www.sbb.ch

and the German rail site is excellent just to check the schedules:

www.bahn.com

Pontresina is on the route on the way to St. Moritz; you just get off the train a little earlier.

The journey from Pontresina to Paris via Chur (to complete the Bernina Express journey) takes 7h35 with 3 changes.

Have fun!

s