Are there any Swiss mountains which do not require a cable car ride?
Leya, a local from Winterthur, is planning a trip for her friends who are visiting from abroad and have never seen the mountains. She’s looking for accessible mountain views without steep heights, ideally within a two-hour drive from her home, and has considered places like Rigi and Stoos.
- Consider taking a cogwheel train to Rigi; it offers beautiful views without steep cliffs.
- Use the Swiss Travel Pass for easy access to public transportation, which makes it simpler to explore without driving.
- Check out Uetliberg near Zurich for a quick trip with stunning views from the train.
- If you drive, park at Arth-Goldau and take the cogwheel train to avoid parking in busy areas.
AI-generated summary-
Hello!
I’m Leya and from Switzerland, In two months I’ll have a group of friends visiting from abroad and they have never seen the mountains. Two of them however are deadly afraid of heights and can’t do cablecars and I don’t want them to not see the mountains from above because of this. We are travelling by car and they aren’t huge hikers as they are from the English flatlands.
I live near Winterthur and would love to not have to drive longer than 2 hours (one way) to get the most out of our day. Does anybody have any recommendations?
I’ve been thinking of, Rigi, and Stoos but there must be more.
Let me know if you have tips! All the best!
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Hi Leya,
Welcome to MySwissAlps! Are your friends ok with any (cogwheel) trains and funiculars? Or only if not exposed too much? For example, there’s a lovely cogwheel train to Schynige Platte near Interlaken, but at some point, it runs pretty close to a steep cliff. But, you’re always on the ground 🙂
You’ll find lots of mountain trips and detailed transportation information here by the way: https://www.myswissalps.com/activities/trips/mountains/
Hello Leya
Welcome to MySwissAlps
I will introduce myself first. I am an Englishman who has lived in the flatter parts of England the whole of his life. I have been visiting Switzerland regularly ever since 1971. Why?
Three factors. The superb scenery, mountains, lakes and your wonderful towns and cities.
The phenomenally good public transport system, which is way better than that in England.
The Swiss Travel Pass, which gives me the freedom of that public transport system. (The STP has a validity similar to that of a General Abommement (GA).)
This following list is not exhaustive
‘Mountain RAILWAYS within a Two Hour Drive of Winterthur’
Now as I do not drive (not even in England) I am having to think hard about this.
Three Lines Within the Zϋrich Verkehrsverbund
Uetlibergbahn from Zϋrich Hauptbahnhof
Dolderbahn up from Romerhof, which is on tram routes 3 and 8.
Seilbahn Rigiblick. The bottom station is served by tram routes 9 and 10.
Mountain Lines in North-East Switzerland
Altstätten (SG)- Gais (Strongly recommended)
Rorschach-Heiden
The following two lines many would class as ‘mountain’
Gossau-Herisau-Appenzell-Wasseraun
Appenzell-Gais-St Gallen-Trogen.
Note also the St Gallen to Heiden and Trogen to Heiden bus routes, which are almost ‘mountain’ in character. And you may see British-built Double-Decks on these routes!
Lines in the Luzern area
The very steep funicular up to Stoos (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/stoos/)
Arth-Goldau to Rigi (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/rigi/)
Vitznau to Rigi
Luzern-Stans-Engelberg/ Mt Titlis (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/titlis/)
Stans to Kälti funicular
Luzern-Sarnen-Meiringen-Interlaken Ost.
All these lines are free if you invest in SAVER DAY PASSES.
There is also the very steep cog wheel railway from Alpnachstad to Pilatus (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/pilatus/), not included within the Saver Day Pass.
Lines from Interlaken Ost
If you get to Interlaken Ost using Saver Day Passes (https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/) the following lines are free with the SDP.
Interlaken to Grindelwald
Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen to Wengen (but no further).
From Lauterbrunnen you could also use your SDPs to get to Mϋrren. However both routes to Mϋrren (via Stechelberg and via Grϋtschalp) involve using cable cars.
Other Lines in the Interlaken area not covered by the SDP.
Harder Kulm funicular (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/harder-kulm/)
The following cog-wheel lines:
Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg,
Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg
Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch
Wilderswil to Schynige Platte
Brienz to Brienzer Rothorn (https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/brienzer-rothorn/). Mostly steam trains. Remember to proudly tell your English friends that every other railway in Switzerland is electrified.)
Chur
Invest in Saver Day Passes and take your friends to Chur, and then on to the Rhätische Bahn’s fantastic network of mountain railway lines.
Kind regards
Roger
Hi Leya,
Winterthur is very close to Zurich. You could take them to up to Uetliberg (https://www.myswissalps.com/blog/hike-uetliberg-felsenegg/) in Zurich. There’s a train that goes up at regular intervals.
I would definitely recommend going to Rigi. You can park at Arth-Goldau and take the cogwheel train up and down.
Regards,
Anna
I agree that Mount Rigi is a good option. I don’t recall steep cliffs close to the tracks. You can park at Arth-Goldau as Anna says. The train stops at the A4 motorway parking so you don’t even have to drive into Goldau. But if you’re going to do the round trip by descending from the other side of the mountain and taking a boat from there, it’s probably more convenient to start at Arth-Goldau main station.
Or, don’t drive and take the train from Winterthur. That’s even handier, especially with the round trip, as you won’t have a car to get back to.
Further to Arno’s reply regarding Rigi, there is a very strong argument for leaving your car(s) behind and going there from the Winterthur area using Saver Day Passes.
If you park your car(s) at the park-and-ride Arno mentions, go up Rigi,, and then go down to Vitznau, then boat to Luzern, you have then got to get back to the park-and-ride at Goldau!
Kind Regards
Roger
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