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Hello,
I am planning my first trip to Europe for next month, January 2019. I am planning to travel from Paris to Zurich and on to the Glacier express from Andermatt to Chur after which I plan to head to Lucern to sleep overnight and travel onward to Milan.
I have only allocated 2 days in Switzerland to travel to Zurich/Lucerne & 1 day for the return journey on the glacier express. I am not interested in skiing and am not sure what else there is to in Switzerland so want to keep this segment of the trip short.
Is there direct connectivity from Zurich to Chur and can I also book returns on the Glacier Express?
Any help is appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
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Hi Vasavi, and welcome to MySwissAlps!
The train system is very flexible, there is no need to return on the Glacier Express as well. I am not sure if you have two nights or just one. If two, I would suggest this: travel from Paris to Basel, then on to Brig. The next morning, take the Glacier Express all the way to St. Moritz. The next day, take the scenic Bernina line to Tirano, and a train to Milan from there.
If you only have one night then you can indeed try to travel from Paris to Andermatt (no need to go via Zurich most probably), and then proceed as above. I wouldn’t go back north to Lucerne.
For more details, please see:
- http://www.myswissalps.com/gl acierexpress
- http://www.myswissalps.com/br ig
- http://www.myswissalps.com/st moritz
- http://www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress
For what else there is to do in Switzerland, please see http://www.myswissalps.com/ac tivities. Plenty to do!
Hello,
Thank you for your advise!
I am now considering taking a train from Paris to Zurich, stay overnight and do a day trip with a car to the following destinations – Lucerne, Gstaad & Zandermatt (staying overnight in Zandermatt)
Taking the Glacier Express the next day from Zandermatt to Chur and onwards to Milan.
Would you say this is a better itinerary?
Thanks again
You’re most welcome Vasavi!
To be honest, I don’t think that’s a good plan. Particularly hiring a car I would not recommended in this case. It’s a lot of driving, hardly doable in winter in one day. The weather could be nice but could also be nasty in January. I assume you mean Andermatt, right? It isn’t easy to get there by car in winter. The pass roads will be closed (they’re already closed now). Taking the trains would be much safer and more enjoyable as you can use every second to watch the scenery rather than the road and traffic signs. Even then, Gstaad is out of the way and takes a lot of time to get to, and back. Plus, days are short in January. There is no day light in the early morning and sunset is in the late afternoon.
You have very little time, so I recommend to limit the number of things you want to do/see, take the trains, and check the timetable for traveling times: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable.
Let us know if we can provide further help.
Hello Arno,
Thank you for all your suggestions!
Please see below my suggested itinerary
07 January Paris to Zurich
08 January Zurich to Andermatt
09 January Andermatt to Chur (Glacier Express)
10 January Chur to Milan
Hoping to lock this in, as this would be give me ample time to experience Switzerland as well.
Would love to get your thoughts
Your present plan is the wrong way round as Andermatt – Milan is much quicker /easier than Chur – Milan.
So, you should go Zürich – Chur (SBB federal railway inter city train), Chur – Andermatt (Rhaetian Railway (RhB) / Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB), Andermatt – Göschenen (MGB), Göschenen – Milano (SBB regional train) – note in fact that this itinerary is possible in just 1 day!
However, be aware that it is not necessary to use the expensive Glacier Express (see notes below)
Much better to take any of the hourly regional RhB trains Chur – Disentis and change there into the hourly regional MGB train over the Oberalp Pass to Andermatt. You would then take the connecting MGB train down the spectacular historic Schöllenen railway to Göschenen.
At Göschenen, pick up the hourly regional train over the old Gotthard mountain line down to Chiasso, Como and Milano
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Glacier Express:
As I have stated in response to previous forum threads it is not really logical or practical to travel on the Glacier Express from a base further north (such as Interlaken or Luzern) just to be on the Glacier Express. The Glacier Express runs roughly on an East – West axis in the southern part of Switzerland, so trying to access it from further north is falling into the trap of being lured by the hyperbolic marketing of the Glacier Express. In practice the Glacier Express is just an ‘exclusive’ train on a normal railway route with plenty of other normal – non supplement , reservation-free trains on it.
To understand the previous paragraph, above, it is worth taking a moment to understand the Glacier Express and its history:
It was created (as one train each way daily) with the notion that well-healed travellers taking long holidays in Switzerland in the ‘Belle Epoque’ era (1930s) would stay in Zermatt and then also go and stay in the other fashionable resort of the time, St Moritz. The train was named (mainly) after the Rhone Glacier which has now melted so much that you don’t see it from the train and in any case the train runs under the Rhone Glacier in a base tunnel which replaced the Furka mountain section in 1982.
Hello 1960man,
Thank you so much for your advise! This forum is proving to be very helpful.
I have now tweaked my itinerary again and am left with 3 days open on my 3 week Euro trip, do you think I can squeeze in Prague from Zurich if yes, could you suggest the best route from Paris – Zurich – Salzburg- Prague – Milan.
Regards,
1960man has a good suggestion there, and indeed you can take any train on any line, it’s not just the few panoramic trains you need to choose from. If you do as suggested in your 12:23 AM post, then I’d suggest to stay in St. Moritz instead of Chur. You’ll then be in the mountains and the snow, and also it’s a better starting point to reach Milan via the scenic Bernina line the next day. See links the links in my first post please.
I don’t know about your last plan. All I can say is: check the timetables. Traveling and changing hotels takes a lot of time you won’t be spending sightseeing.
Its very rightly said by experts that taking any regional train on Andermatt line be as great as any other panoramic train ie glacier express in your case.We too visited Andermatt this Nov 28th using SBB site and this trip was the highlight of our whole Europe journey.
As suggested by the expert , Car route in the winter not advisable as at train lady also informed us on our visit date that you lucky that you get route open, probably tomorrow onward Andermatt route may be closed also, and this a suffice statement to understand the level of snowfall all around the areas in that region…all the best….thanks and regards
Hello al, thank you for all your advice and tips! I have decided against using the Glacier express and am hoping this will help me save some time and money during my trip in Switzerland.
I am hoping travel from Paris to Milan via Switzerland(perhaps Zurich?) would you suggest I take the 3 hour express train to Milan from Zurich, thus allowing me to the entire itinerary in 1 full day of travel
OR
Break up the itinerary into 2 day, travelling from Paris – Zurich, staying overnight & then traveling up to do the Andermatt – Chur section and then travel to Milan?
Thanks a million 😀
It really depends on how much time you want to spend in Switzerland and what you may want to see.
If you take the fast train to Milan you won’t experience as much Swiss scenery (includes a long tunnel as well).
You could break up your journey in Zurich if you like, or travel to Lucerne for a night or head straight for Andermatt or Chur before continuing on to Milan the next day.
If I had a one night layover as it were in Switzerland only, I’d pick Lucerne if I want to see a nice Swiss town (but have good rail connections for the next day). One option is to travel the next day to Milan via Kandersteg which is quite scenic.
Andermatt to Chur to Milan is a bit of a roundabout route. Check the timetable for options from Chur to Milan before you decide.
The traditional direct rail route Paris – Milan (the famous ‘Simplon’ route) is via western Switzerland; ie Paris – Geneve / Lausanne – Brig – Simplon – Milano, not via Zürich.
One option would be for you to travel Paris – Zermatt and Zermatt – Milan. In this way you see the famous 4000metres summits (including the ‘iconic’ Matterhorn) surrounding Zermatt, but never be far off the direct Paris – Milan route
The route would be: day 1: TGV Paris – Geneva or Paris – Lausanne; SBB main line train Geneva or Lausanne – Visp. MGB narrow gauge train Visp – Zermatt; Day 2 – am in Zermatt to view mountains, then MGB Zermatt – Brig, SBB Eurocity Brig – Milano
Thank you 1960man, Im definitely leaning more towards doing the more scenic trip.
is it possible to do the Paris – Milan in one day?
i planned whole itinerary around doing the glacier express and the oberalp pass.
if it is not recommended to do the Paris-Milan trio in 1 day I would rather travel from Paris to Switzerland(Andermatt) stay overnight and do the Andermatt- Chur section and then carry on to Milan from there.
im assuming these train rides would be free with the Eurorail pass.
Going up to Zermatt is no less scenic than taking a train Andermatt – Chur; Around Zermatt you would see just as many Glaciers (more in fact) and more higher mountains than if you went Andermatt – Chur.
Yes, Paris – Milano is possible in 1 day. In the ‘old days’ it was a direct through train, but when the TGV was introduced the service was split at Lausanne.
However, nowadays the fastest route is the three times a day direct TGV Paris – Milano via France (route Fréjus tunnel – Torino)
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