[Removed user]

19 February 2012 at 16:34:56 #804941

Hello forum,

I would highly appreciate your help! I plan to travel from Germany into Switzerland, then to France at the end of March 2012, using EuRail Select Pass for 3 countries. In Switzerland, I’d like to visit the following locations:

Day 1. Lucerne
Day 2. Interlaken
Day 3. Zermatt
Day 4. travel through Lausanne to France

I have two questions in this regard:
1. Golden Pass panoramic train is something I’m very much looking forward to. But if I travel from Interlaken to Zermatt via Spiez and Visp to Zermatt, and next day from Zermatt to Lausanne via Martigny and Montreux, I would miss the Golden Pass route of Interlaken to Montreux via Zweisimmen. But it would be much longer trip if I travel from Interlaken to Montreux with Golden Pass line, and then change the train to Zermatt. In addition, on the next day, I would need to travel from Zermatt to Lausanne using the same route. Which would be recommended? Is the trip from Spiez to Visp as scenic as Golden Pass?

2. I’m trying to make a reservation for GoldenPass panoramic train on their website (http://www.goldenpass.ch/default.asp?Language=EN). At the “booking” page to select seats, it shows each train with several “free seats”, but I’m wondering if the carriages for 1st Class and 2nd Class shown are all “panoramic” carriages. I couldn’t figure out from any of the web sites.

Thank you for your help. I’m flying into Germany from Hong Kong.

BarbaraC

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[Annika]

21 February 2012 at 11:29:41 #834949

Hi BarbaraC, and welcome! You’re right, it would require a long detour to take the Golden Pass train when traveling from Interlaken to Zermatt. However, you don’t have to miss out on scenic trains if you:

• travel from Lucerne to Interlaken by Golden Pass (or in a regular train over the same Golden Pass route, which runs via the Brünig Pass and Meiringen). Although this is only a leg of the entire Golden Pass route, it’s definitely a beautiful one;
• travel from Interlaken to Zermatt via Spiez, Kandersteg and Goppenstein in the scenic Lötschberg RegioExpress (instead of the quick tunnel route between Spiez and Visp). The Lötschberg RegioExpress is a local train that doesn’t require seat reservations. You’ll find it if you enter ‘Goppenstein’ as your via-station in the timetable.

As for seat reservations: Golden Pass trains have panoramic windows in both 2nd and 1st class. The difference is that the windows are even larger in 1st class, there’s a bit more room in the carriages, the seats are a bit more luxurious, and so on.

[Removed user]

26 February 2012 at 9:45:18 #834950

Thank you so much Annika! This is most helpful.