[Leah]

1 August 2025 at 9:29:25 #2781223

Hi, I’ll be traveling by train from Zurich to Geneva on 15th September 2025 – it’ll be my first time in Switzerland! I’m on a work trip but have the entire day free for the journey, so I’m hoping to take a slightly more scenic route if possible. That said, I’d like to avoid too many train changes, as I’ll be carrying large luggage. I’m also not planning to get off the train to explore in between. A couple of questions:

1. Timing – Would it be best to take a train around 3-4 PM from Zurich to arrive in Geneva around 7 PM, so I can catch the sunset along the way? Or would it likely be too dark by then to enjoy the views?

2. Route options – I checked the SBB website and found 3 slightly more direct routes with only 1 train change. Do you know if one of these is more scenic than the others (I know these are standard routes, not dedicated tourist ones)? Or would you recommend a different route?

   a) Zurich → Bern → Geneva (direct)
   b) Zurich → Biel → Renens → Geneva (change once at Renens)
   c) Zurich → Lucerne → Bern → Geneva (change once at Lucerne – I read this may use older trains?)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Leah

💡 Save time and get daily forum questions & answers by e-mail

[Roger Sexton]

Reply 1 of 6 • 1 August 2025 at 12:40:07 #2782010

Hello Leah

Welcome to MySwissAlps

I am assuming you are flying into Zurich Airport.  What time does your flight touch down?

Wait for Sunset?  I would not

Whichever of the three routes you take, I personally would want to complete the journey in full daylight.   Whichever route you take, the scenery is best at the western (Geneva) end of the trip.  There are views over Lake Geneva towards the French Alps.

Switzerland is on Central European Summer time.  Geneva is in the far west of the country. It will not get dark until about 20 00 (8 pm).

Route B I would reject.

Journey time is about three hours and twenty minutes.  The section from Biel to Yverdon is scenic with views over Lake Biel and Lake Neuchatel.

HOWEVER, you say ‘ I’ll be carrying large luggage.’

The trains (numbered IC5) from Zurich to Lausanne (Renens is a suburb of Lausanne) are single deck tilting trains with awkward steps to negotiate when you get on and off.

The change at Renens, although easier than the one in Lausanne city centre, will usually involve going through a subway.

Except IC5, all trains you might want to use on 15th are modern double decks.

Provided you are happy to travel downstairs, modern Swiss double deck trains are easy for passengers with luggage .  There is ‘level boarding’ (no steps) and the doorways are very wide.

Route C is possible.

The run from Zurich to Luzern gives you attractive views over Lake Zurich and then Lake Zug (but not Lake Lucerne).   That is the bonus you get if you use this route.

HOWEVER the journey will take four and a half hours.

You MAY have to change at Zurich Hauptbahnhof

For most of the way the IR15 train from Luzern to Geneva follows the same route as the IC1 trains which I am about to recommend.   In particular, Bern to Geneva is exactly the same railway line.

Route A is the Best.

Every hour at 08 minutes past the hour a SIXTEEN carriage double deck train numbered (appropriately) IC1 leaves Zurich Airport, and going via Zurich Hauptbahnhof, Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne and Renens gets to Geneva city centre three hours and seventeen minutes after leaving Zurich Airport.  (The IC 1 starts form St Gallen and goes on to Geneva Airport.)

The IC1 trains going WEST will be less crowded AT THE FRONT.  Sit on the left side facing the direction of travel..

The ride from Zurich to Bern is fast and not very special.  But west of Bern, the train is slower and gets more and more scenic as the train progresses.

About ten minutes before Lausanne the train will pass through a small station called Puidoux followed shortly after by a short tunnel of about 500 metres.  After this tunnel…   WOW!

On the left hand side of the train is the large expanse of Lake Geneva, with the French Alps the other side of the lake. On the ‘Swiss’ side of the lake the train then descends to Lausanne through the superb Lavaux Vineyards, a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Very best wishes

Roger

 

[Anna]

Reply 2 of 6 • 1 August 2025 at 15:41:29 #2782064

Hi Leah,

If you would like to travel lightly, you have the option to use the SBB luggage transport services. Further details here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/public-transport/luggage/

Based on your information, I would choose Route C with a change and maybe a quick stopover in Lucerne (https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lucerne/).

Regards,
Anna

[Leah]

Reply 3 of 6 • 5 August 2025 at 7:10:35 #2783106

Thanks very much Roger and Anna – appreciate the details!

Roger – Yes, I’m flying into Zurich Airport, arriving on Sunday 14th Sep 2025 at 2pm. My plan is to stay overnight near Zurich HB train station so I can explore a bit of the city that evening and the next morning, before catching a train to Geneva in the afternoon.

[Roger Sexton]

Reply 4 of 6 • 5 August 2025 at 10:38:23 #2783113

Hello again Leah.

Your plan set out in reply three is very good!

As you have now got (effectively) the whole of the 15th at you disposal, here is another suggestion.  It is a variant on your option C.  Trains from Zurich to Luzern run twice an hour and take only 41-50 minutes.  Leave Zurich at (say)10 35 and get to Luzern at 11 25.  Park your luggage in a locker at the station and have a look round this historic city (called Lucerne in English).  The wooden Chapel Bridge, Luzern’s most famous landmark, is close to the station.  The old city is reached once you have crossed the wooden bridge.  (There is also a modern bridge!)

https://www.myswissalps.com/town/lucerne/

Another possibility, whether you adopt route A or C, is to break your journey at BERN.  Both the medieval city centre (a Unesco World Heritage Site) and the impressive Bundeshaus (Federal Parliament and Government) are very close to the station.

https://www.myswissalps.com/town/bern/

For tickets on 15th consider getting a Saver Day Pass.  Details of this pass are on the MySwissAlps website in the ‘Rail Passes’ section.  But note that this pass does not just cover the trains.  It covers all forms of public transport except the lines which simply go up mountains.  So you could use this day pass on the buses, trolleybuses, and trams/streetcars in Zurich, Luzern, Bern, Geneva …..or anywhere in Switzerland.

https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/saver-day-pass/

(How long are you in Switzerland?  There may even be a case for your investing in a Swiss Travel Pass.  Details on the website.)

https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/

Kind regards

Roger

[Leah]

Reply 5 of 6 • 6 August 2025 at 0:55:55 #2784114

Thanks so much! Great ideas – I hadn’t planned to get off the train to look around but you’ve convinced me. Now I just have to decide whether to visit Luzern or Bern – both look amazing.

I will be in Switzerland till the end of that week:
– Work commitments from 16-19 Sep in Geneva
– Free day on 20 Sep (might consider a day trip form Geneva)
– Flying out in the afternoon on 21 Sep from Geneva

[Roger Sexton]

Reply 6 of 6 • 6 August 2025 at 6:12:29 #2784116

Hello again

Given ‘Work commitments from 16-19 Sep in Geneva’ the Swiss Travel Pass is not a sensible option

.Even though Geneva’s position at the extreme western end of Switzerland is not good for exploring Switzerland, consider getting a Saver Day Pass on Saturday 20th.

There are SIX FAST TRAINS PER HOUR to Lausanne, a beautifully locsted city on the slopes just above the lake, known locally as Lac Leman.  (The SDP is valid on the lake boats across to France.)

Four trains per hour continue to the lakeside resort of Montreux, and two per hour continue all the way along the Rhone valley to Viso and Brig.  From Visp there is a connecting bus to the stunning Alpine resort of Saas Fee, and a narrow gauge train to Zermatt, famous for the Matterhorn.

At Renens, just west of Lausanne, you can change trains on to trains (twice an hour) which take your ‘Route B’ through Neuchatel and Biel.  This line goes along the southern edge of the Jura mountains. If the weather is clear, there are good views across the central plain of Switzerland to the distant Alps.

Kind regards

Roger