Chur to Montreux via Bellinzona & scenic route

We are traveling from Chur to Montreux on April 12 and would like to take a scenic route. We will already have taken the Glacier Express a few days earlier, so are thinking of going via Bellinzona-Domodossola. It looks as if Chur to Bellinzona is a bus route, then Bellinzona to Montreux is by rail. We are looking for any advice on this, and wondering if this is all covered by the Swiss Flex Pass as part of this route goes through Italy.

Hi Mgramoll!

The route you have in mind is certainly very scenic. The first leg is a bus ride from Chur to Bellinzona indeed. Note that you'll have to make seat reservations for this bus. After Bellinzona, there are several options:

• by train to Lucerne or Zurich. This leg is part of the Wilhelm Tell Express route. From Lucerne, you can either take the quicker route via Bern and Lausanne, or use the more scenic route via Zweisimmen and Gstaad (the Golden Pass route). However, the latter option will add quite some extra hours to your journey, and the quickest connection Chur-Bellinzona-Montreux already takes about 7h30;
• by train to Locarno, Domodossola and Brig, crossing the beautiful Centovalli line through Italy. This option too will take 7h30 to 8h30.

The timetable allows you to find details on all options. All connections I described are fully covered by the Swiss Travel Pass Flex, including the Italian portion. Please check the Validity section of our Swiss Travel Pass Flex page for more information.

Does this help you decide?

Thanks for all the info. I didn't think the Wilhelm Tell Express runs in April. Will probably do bus ride to Bellinzona then take the Centovalli line through Italy.

Hi Mgramoll!

Good to hear you're finalizing your plans. By the way, the Wilhelm Tell Express is available in April (a link to the timetable is provided under "More on other websites" at the Wilhelm Tell Express page I linked to). But even if it weren't, you could still use regular trains riding the exact same route.

Which would be more scenic....Centovalli line or Wilhelm Tell? Thanks for all the info.

Hi Mgramoll,

Both are definitely wonderful. The full Wilhelm Tell route also includes a boat portion so that's adds some variety. If you have two days you could spend the night in Lucerne and continue along the Golden Pass line to Montreux the next day. If you only have one day for the trip I'd recommend the Centovalli line. That's wonderful too and doable in a day.

We will already have spent a few days in Interlaken and are planning a Lake Thun cruise, then are taking the Golden Pass Line so we will take the Centovalli Line to Montreux. Thanks for the help...love your site!