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Season: early May to late September
Recommended season: early May to late September
Max. altitude: 810 m (2657 ft)
➤ Prices, tickets and reservations 
Chocolate Train ticket prices 2026
A Chocolate Train ticket costs CHF 89 per adult in 2nd class and CHF 99 in 1st class.
This includes all rides, coffee and chocolate bread on board the morning train, and the entrance to the cheese and chocolate factories.
The price difference between 1st and 2nd class is relatively small, as the class difference is only relevant for the train leg from Montreux to Montbovon. The rest of the trip is done by bus, in which all seats are the same.
Discounts with your rail pass
Several rail passes provide discounts. Examples for 2026:
- Swiss Travel Pass/Swiss Travel Pass Flex holders pay CHF 59 for a Chocolate Train trip in 2nd class.
- Swiss Half Fare Card holders pay CHF 69 for a 2nd-class Chocolate Train trip.
Find a complete overview of rail pass discounts here.
Where to book your Chocolate Train tickets
You have to get your tickets in advance. They also serve as seat reservations. You can get your tickets online or at railway stations along the route, for example Montreux.
➤ Discounts with your rail pass
The rail passes below provide discounts on the Chocolate Train excursion.
| Pass | Discount |
|---|---|
| Swiss Half Fare Card | Discount 25%:
|
| Swiss Travel Pass | Discount 35%:
|
| Swiss Travel Pass Flex | Discount 35%:
|
The Chocolate Train route and daily program in detail, with map
The Chocolate Train leaves from and returns to the railway station of Montreux.
How to reach Montreux by train or car
Montreux can best be reached by train from many directions.
If you arrive by car, mind that you’ll have to navigate in a busy city and need to find a parking spot. There's a paid P+Rail parking at the railway station of Montreux.
The Chocolate Train route and the day's schedule
The Chocolate Train, consisting of nostalgic GoldenPass Belle Époque coaches, leaves from the rail station of Montreux around 09:45. You’ll be served coffee and chocolate bread on board. After a beautiful 45-minute train ride along the GoldenPass route, you’ll reach the town of Montbovon, where you’ll transfer to a bus.
The bus takes you to your first culinary destination, where you'll arrive just after 11:00: the cheese factory La Maison du Gruyère. After about an hour there, you’ll have a short bus ride to the beautiful small town of Gruyères. During your free time between 12:10 and 14:15, you can have lunch, shop for cheese and chocolates, or visit the medieval castle.
In the afternoon, the bus continues to the chocolate factory Maison Cailler in nearby Broc. You can visit the factory from 14:30 to 16:15. The bus will bring you back to Montreux, where you’ll arrive around 17:00.
Operation dates and timetable info
Operation dates and hours
The Chocolate Train runs from 1 May to 29 September 2026 on the following days:
- May-June: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays
- July-August: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
- September: on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays
Departure from Montreux is around 09:45, and you'll be back in Montreux at about 17:00.
How to plan your journey with the timetable
You can best consult the separate Chocolate Train schedule here.
Not all of the trip can be found in the general Swiss timetable. The morning train from Montreux to Montbovon is visible as the GoldenPass Belle Époque train, but you won't find the rest of the route that's covered by bus.
Best season
The Chocolate Train ride can be made from early May to late September. The best months in my opinion are May, June, and September, as there are usually fewer travelers than in July and August. If you want to travel in July-August, I advise you to book the excursion well in advance.
Weather and forecasts for Gruyères
Sunny skies are preferable for the views from the Chocolate Train and bus, and for your free time in Gruyères. But most of this trip is indoors, so it's actually a perfect excursion for cloudy or rainy days.
Chocolate Train or similar DIY trip: what’s best?
Why choose the Chocolate Train over an independent trip
Instead of the Chocolate Train day trip, you can visit Gruyères, the cheese factory and the chocolate factory by yourself and at your own pace. Reasons to choose the Chocolate Train excursion are:
- It’s a fun trip for kids and families.
- It’s a fully arranged tour, so you don’t have to worry about planning, transportation, queues at the museums, and opening hours.
- You’ll be served chocolate bread and coffee during the morning train trip to Montbovon.
- It’s an efficient way to visit some Swiss culinary and cultural highlights in one day.
- You may have one of the passes that get you a discount on the normal fare.
Why choose an independent trip over the Chocolate Train
You may prefer to visit the sites on your own for these reasons:
- The Chocolate Train trip has a fixed schedule, meaning you can’t travel at your own pace.
- You may want to visit just one or two of the Chocolate Train destinations, or combine one of them with other activities.
- It can be cheaper to plan your own trip. The Chocolate Train trip is more expensive than the regular costs of return train tickets from Montreux and the entrance tickets of both museums.
- Holders of a Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Travel Pass Flex can make a similar trip entirely for free: the train rides to Gruyères and Broc, and the entrance to the cheese and chocolate factories, are all included.
- If you’re not staying close to Montreux, other culinary tours closer to your base town can be more convenient.
The Chocolate Train, the Chocolat Express, and the GoldenPass
The difference between the Chocolate Train and the Chocolat Express
The “Chocolate Train” is the day trip from Montreux as described here: you’ll travel by train and bus to Gruyères, the cheese factory near the village, and the chocolate factory Maison Cailler in Broc. The “Chocolat Express” is something else. That’s just the name of a regional train between Bern, Fribourg, and the chocolate factory Maison Cailler in Broc.
How the Chocolate Train is related to the GoldenPass
The GoldenPass line is a long train route between Lucerne and Montreux. Several trains ride this route, including the historic Belle Époque trains. This is the train that’s pulled by a Chocolate Train locomotive and in which you’ll ride a short section of the GoldenPass route: from Montreux to Montbovon. Other than that, the Chocolate Train and the GoldenPass are very different excursions.
➤ Find Chocolate Train tickets
Promotions
There are currently no promotions available.
Dates and times
- www.chocolatexpress.ch: regional train Bern-Fribourg-Maison Cailler
Schedules
- www.mob.ch: Chocolate Train schedules
Prices
- www.mob.ch: Chocolate Train price overview
Maison Cailler
La Maison du Gruyère
Gruyères
GoldenPass
Rochers-de-Naye
Montreux
