MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial 6 days in Switzerland in July – itinerary help
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Hello! Myself, husband and a 14 year old daughter are making a trip to Europe in July. We arrive in Paris and would like to proceed to Switzerland right away . We plan to stay 5-6 days and do the Glacier Express. Is it possible to go to Jungfraujoch without going back to where we originated when we boarded the Glacier Express? Would also like to stop by in Lucerne to finish our stay in Switzerland. Any suggestions are very much appreciated.
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Hi remite2004 and welcome to MySwissAlps!
The starting points of the Glacier Express is St. Moritz and Zermatt. You could travel from Paris to St. Moritz (although a very long day) and board the train to Zermatt the next day (it is an 8 hour trip).
It might be better to go to Lucerne first (2 nights) , then Jungfraujoch (stay in a village like Wengen in the Jungfrau Region for 2 nights). Then head to Zermatt 1 night then the Glacier Express to Chur or St. Moritz?
This routing could work but it depends on your destination after Switzerland though? Back to Paris? Italy?
You’ll also want to explore the Swiss railways timetable to plan out your trips as well as our page here on how to choose the best rail pass – I’m thinking a trip like the one above would probably be best served by the Swiss Travel Pass -8 days (and free Swiss Family Pass to cover your daughter).
Thank you Lucas. This is very helpful. From what I have read we can buy 8 day travel pass on our arrival at the airport and there is no need to pre-book. But the Glacier Express have to be reserved ahead of time right? We will be heading towards Italy from Zurich. We plan on taking the train via Gotthard route towards Venice. Is this train going direct to Venice?
Yes, no need to pre-book anything except the panoramic express trains: Glacier Express, Bernina Express and Gotthard Panorama Express.
I would recommend ordering the Swiss Travel Pass online – that way you have it with you upon landing and can jump right on any train without the need to go into an office and line up. You will also have a electronic back up as well.
There are 2 panoramic trains you could take to Italy, The Bernina Express (Chur to Tirano) and the Gotthard Panorama Express (Lucerne to Lugano, almost Italy). Either way there are no direct trains to Venice. You can search schedules for trains on the Swiss railways timetable here.
So you could end your trip in Lucerne before heading to Lugano or in Chur (after the Glacier Express) and head to Tirano before moving on to Venice.
Thank you again Lucas. For the panoramic scenic trains, how well in advance should we purchase tickets? And for the month of July are there any special events/holidays where tourists flock into the areas where we will be going ?
If you have the Swiss Travel Pass you’ll need to only make reservations (no extra tickets required). I’d make the reservations as early as possible once your dates are set. Typically you can only reserve within 90 days of departure. You can make reservations on the links on my last post (click the ‘packages’ tab).
No major holidays in July that I am aware of…as for events I think the Montreux Jazz Fest in first 2 weeks of July is the biggest. July and August are peak tourist season so it will be busy in general though.
Hi again Lucas. Thank you for all the posts you have shared and I learned so much but at the same time also overwhelming. The GE train seems to be a long ride so is it possible to get off in Andermatt for us to catch the Gotthard panoramic train? We would like to proceed to Lugano on that same day. Basing from the train route I have seen it seems that the GE goes through Andermatt so I was thinking of doing a shorter ride. I appreciate all your comments.
Hi remite,
If you take the Glacier Express from Zermatt to Andermatt you can join the Gotthard Panorama Express train, which runs between Flüelen and Lugano. There is only one trip per day and it departs Göschenen at 14:46. If that timing does not suit you can follow the same route on regular trains.
From Andermatt you need to catch a train to Göschenen. Just check the timetable link that Lucas provided above.
Personally I would take the Glacier Express through to Chur and stay overnight there then take the Bernina Express to Tirano and if you still have a spare night on to Lugano on the Bernina Express bus. If you don’t have a spare night you can go from Tirano to Venice via Milan.
I enjoyed the Bernina Express better than the Glacier Express and in my opinion the part from Zermatt to Andermatt is far less interesting than from Andermatt to Chur or St Moritz. You can of course go through to St Moritz and overnight there instead of Chur and connect with the Bernina Express to Tirano the following day.
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