Raj is planning a 5-night trip to Switzerland in the first week of April and wants to travel from Lucerne to Grindelwald using the Golden Pass line. He is looking for advice on ticket purchasing, seat reservations, and the best route to enjoy the scenic views.
I have to travel from Lucerne (base1) to Grindelwald (base2) during my 5N/6D trip in April 1st week. I have heard about GoldenPass Line, but not sure if my travel to Grindelwald from Lucerne can be done through this. If yes, where should I buy the tickets/do I need to prebook/make seat reservations/what should be my preferred route to enjoy the scenic ride. Please advise.
Yes, you can travel from Lucerne to Grindelwald via the Golden Pass line. It’s the most scenic way to get there. All your questions will be answered on our Golden Pass page: myswissalps.com/ goldenpass.
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Thanks Arno. Sorry, it not clear to me if I need to make seat reservations to enjoy the best views, on this golden pass. Also, do I get panoramic views on all the compartments? Is there any difference in first class compared to second, apart from seat types, extra leg room? FYI-I would be travelling with my wife and 4yr old kid.
Seat reservations are pretty uncommon in Switzerland, you can just board and pick a seat. Specifics for the Golden Pass line can be found if you click to the Tickets section of the page I gave you.
I have a feeling that not all Golden Pass line trains have ‘panoramic’ coaches. There is a symbol (I think it is a little triangle) on the timetables to tell you if they do or not. You still get good views from the standard coaches though.
Welcome back Mike! You’re right, not all of them have windows that go all the way up to the roof. Between Lucerne and Interlaken all of them have large windows as far as I know. Different train types run on the other legs. The best ones are the official “Panoramic” trains between Zweisimmen and Montreux. This flyer has pictures of a few different trains: http://www.zentralbahn.ch/sit es/default/files/Golde nPassLine%20EU_basse%2 0d%C3%A9f_0.pdf.
A quick look at timetables shows the triangular ‘panorama coach’ symbol for the route for the first two or three journeys I looked at at random. The link kept crashing so I couldn’t check any more, but it seems you are right Arno. From memory, not every coach on the trains are panoramic so you have to choose your coach but as I mentioned, you still get a good view from standard coaches. One of the main features of panoramic coaches is windows in the roof. These are nice, but I think they are more effective on other sections of the route where mountains tower more above the line!
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