Traveling from Milan to Interlaken

You can see the routes and schedules on the Swiss rail site, www.rail.ch (for English). Unfortunately the shorter route mentioned by Ken, taking 3 to 3.5 hours, goes through the Alps via two long tunnels, the Simplon tunnel and then the Lotschberg Basistunnel. You won't see much until you come out of the tunnel. From there to Interlaken you'll see some nice scenery, including the large lake Thunersee. There are several trains departing Milan after 5:00 pm if you wanted to travel onward, but do you really want to take a 3-hour train ride right after your overseas flight? You will have to change trains several times to get to Lauterbrunnen, so you don't want to fall asleep and miss the changes! If you would like a more scenic trip, but one that takes longer (5.5 hours) you could go via Lugano, Arth-Goldau, Luzern and the scenic Golden Pass route to Interlaken. there are some tunnels on the way from Lugano to Arth-Goldau, but they are short ones, and in between you have some nice glimpses of peaks and glaciers. You can buy reduced-fare tickets for this trip on the SBB website (62 CHF per person fromMilan to Interlaken) but you'll have to add 45 CHF (total for hall the tickets) to have the tickets mailed to you since your journey starts in Italy.

Mark, Is your final destination Interlaken, or will you be going from there to the Lauterbrunnen Valley? That trip is relatively easy, but that will vary according to what time your flight arrives, and how long it takes you to get to Milano Centrale. You can get to Milano Centrale from MXP via the Malpensa Express (~0H:43M, €11 PP). The shortest trip I could find to Interlaken Ost was 3H:00M, with one change in Spiez (most of the others on that route have longer travel times and more changes). Regarding the tickets, some here have been successful buying tickets using U.S. credit cards, but most report problems. I'd be reluctant to pre-purchase tickets, as that route will probably have compulsory reservations, which will "lock you" into a particular departure time. If your flight is late and you miss the train, it will be a huge annoyance to deal with while jet lagged, as there are usually LONG queues at the ticket office at Milano Centrale. In the same situation, I'd probably "take a chance" and buy the ticket when arriving in Milan (you should be able to buy the ticket at the airport station that will take you to Interlaken). Another option to look at would be a very limited Italy/Swiss Railpass. You'd only have to pay for the reservations when you arrive, and it may save you money on the mountain lifts in Switzerland (you'll have to do some "number crunching" to determine if that will work for you). Happy travels!

Thanks Ken! We are planning on going up to Lauterbrunnen from Interlaken. Our flight gets in around 5 pm and we were thinking about staying the night in Milan and taking the train during the day to take in the sights of the Swiss Alps. Is that a scenic train ride from Milan or should we just find a night train? What websites did you find the train schedule/price info?

Mark, Thanks for the additional information on your travel plans. With arrival at MXP at 17:00, that puts a different "light" on the ongoing trip to Interlaken and Lauterbrunnen. In the same situation, and keeping in mind that you'll be suffering from jet lag, my preference would be to buy tickets at Milano Centrale for a trip the following day, and then head for a Hotel close to the station (there are several listed in the Guidebook). That will allow you to "pick & choose" which trains you use on the following day, and Lola has provided some excellent suggestions on that point. You'll have to decide on whether you want to take the "scenic route" or get to Lauterbrunnen relatively fast (I normally like to keep travel times to a minimum, unless I'm specifically using a scenic train like the Bernina Express). I normally check schedules on the German Rail Website. It's one of the best. One point to note is that schedules that far in the future likely won't be posted for awhile, but you get some idea by checking a trip which leaves on the same day of the week. If your end destination is Lauterbrunnen, that's an easy trip from Interlaken Ost on the small Berner Oberland train. If you're going from there to Gimmelwald or Mürren, there will be a few additional steps. Cheers!

This is just a Milan hotel suggestion, since it was suggested you stay near the Central Station. We just returned from the Hotel Berna, which is one block away from the station. (You can avoid the traffic circle by taking the Via (Napo) Torriani signs in the underground.) It is family run, clean, elevator, A/C, and an outstanding breakfast especially for Italy. Specials rates online if no conventions, several types of rooms, & the professional yet friendly staff made it one of the best hotels ever. We had a small ( almost NYC size) room on the lower price level yet it was perfect.

Another option is to stay at a hotel near Malpensa. I've stayed at the Holiday Inn Express - it's almost brand new and they have a shuttle to/from Malpensa Airport. This would probably be less hassle than going into Milan solely for the reason of catching the train at Milano Centrale. From your Malpensa hotel you'd take a 20 minute/Euro taxi ride to the Gallarate train station. At the Gallarate station you would catch the same train to Switzerland that originated at Milano Centrale, however, with a departure time that is 30~45 minutes later than the Milano Centrale departure time.

Ken, is an Italy/Switzerland railpass an option? Those are the two countries I plan on going to, but I couldn't find a railpass for just those two countries.