Prices, tickets and reservations
Chocolate Train ticket prices 2024
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 2024:
- 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.
Get your Chocolate Train tickets
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Promotions
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Discounts with your rail pass
The rail passes below provide discounts on the Chocolate Train excursion.
Pass | Discount |
---|---|
Regional Pass Lake Geneva-Alps |
Discount 35%:
Surcharge required. The price depends on the class of your pass, the class of your Chocolate Train trip, and whether you travel on a free travel day or not. |
Swiss Half Fare Card |
Discount 25%:
|
Swiss Travel Pass |
Discount 35%:
|
Swiss Travel Pass Flex |
Discount 35%:
|
The Chocolate Train route 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
You’ll first enjoy a beautiful train ride from Montreux to Montbovon. This is part of the scenic GoldenPass route. You'll be seated in a nostalgic Belle Époque train.
Shortly after departure from Montreux, the train winds its way up along the shores of Lake Geneva. After a ride through the valley, including the tunnel at Les Avants, you’ll reach the town of Montbovon.
There you'll board a bus for a ride across the green hills of the Fribourg canton, until you reach Gruyères. You'll visit the cheese factory and the village. From Gruyères, it’s only a short bus ride to Broc. You'll enter the chocolate factory and get to enjoy free sample tasting at the end of the tour.
A bus will bring you back to Montreux in the late afternoon.
Map of the Chocolate Train route
Operation dates, schedules and timetable
Operation dates and hours
The Chocolate Train runs from 2 May to 29 September 2024 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 09:50, and you'll be back in Montreux at about 17:15.
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 our 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, we advise you to book the excursion well in advance.
Weather
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.
Current forecasts for Gruyères
What to expect from the Chocolate Train
The Chocolate Train, consisting of nostalgic GoldenPass Belle Époque coaches, leaves from the rail station of Montreux in the morning. 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: 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, you can have lunch, shop for cheese and chocolates or visit the medieval castle.
In the afternoon, the bus continues to nearby Broc for a visit to the chocolate factory Maison Cailler. The bus will bring you back to Montreux, where you’ll arrive in the late afternoon.
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.
The Chocolate Train versus an independent trip: how to decide
Why choose the Chocolate Train over an independent 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, waiting lines 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.
- There are 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-Fabrique, 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” versus 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 village, and the chocolate factory Maison Cailler in Broc. The “Chocolat Express” is something else. That’s just a regional train between Bern, Fribourg, and the chocolate factory Maison Cailler in Broc.
Other websites of interest
Schedules
- www.mob.ch: Chocolate Train schedules
Prices
- www.mob.ch: Chocolate Train price overview