My husband and I are taking a cruise that ends in Venice Italy early on May 9, 2020. We want to spend a couple of days in Venice and then would like to extend our trip by a week primarily to take in the scenic train ride through Switzerland. I ski but am not sure if there is skiing in May in Switzerland and if it is easy to access from the train? My ancestors are from Strasburg France so I would like to visit there for a couple of days and then perhaps head over to Paris and depart for the states from there. Neither of us have ever traveled to Europe before. We are in our fifties and my husband has MS, so although he can walk and has experience riding trains in the states, he is somewhat limited in the amount of walking he can do and the speed he can walk.
Posted by
Green Bay
20991 posts
Zermatt has year-round skiing and it is on the way (more or less). That would be a train to Milan, then a train change to a train to Brig, then a train to Zermatt. The connecting time in Milan is 38 minutes (if you choose the right train) which is comfortable. The connection in Brig is quick, but if you were to miss it, you can just take the next train, there is one every hour.
The most scenic train to get to Strasbourg is the Loetchberger that goes mostly over the mountains. Take the train from Zermatt back to Brig, then change to the Loetschberger train to Bern. It is about a 1 hour change time there. At Bern, take a train to Basel. Again, in Switzerland, if you miss a connection, just wait for the next one, although the connection I'm seeing is a cross-platform change from track 3 to track 4. At Basel, there are hourly regional trains to Strasbourg.
Strasbourg to Paris is easy by direct TGV. There is one about every 2 hours and takes 1 3/4 hours to Paris.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17253 posts
Which is more important to you, the skiing in May, or a truly scenic train ride? Sam has pointed you to the spring skiing in Zermatt, but the train route from MIlan goes under the Alps in the Simplon tunnel. So no scenery until you get to Brig and take the train to Zermatt.
From Zermatt up to Bern the route via Kandersteg avoids the deep Lôtschberg Basistunnel, but still involves a tunnel in part of the route. Once you get to Kandersteg you will have scenery, but not the highest alpine peaks.
If you really have a week for this, I would suggest taking several days to reach Zermatt by way of the Bernina Pass (a route which goes over the Alps rather than under them) and the Glacier Express, which runs east-west along the south side of the range, with good views. Something like this:
Day 1: Venice to MIlan to Varenna on Lake Como; overnight there in a nice lakeside hotel like Alberto Milano.
Day 2: Varenna to Tirano on the Swiss border; change there to a Swiss train over Bernina Pass to Pontresina or St. Moritz for an overnight. You can ride either the named Bernina Express with panoramic cars, or the regular regionalmtrain which runs more frequently.
Day 3: ride the Glacier Express scenic train from St. Moritz to Zermatt. Stay in Zermatt 2-3 nights for your ski experience and to visit the Gornergrat (a train ride with an easy walk to a great viewpoint).
Then follow the route suggested by Sam to reach Basel and change to a French train to Strasbourg. This transfer from the Swiss SBB station at Basel to the "French side" for the train to Strasbourg does involve some walking ( maybe 300-400 meters?) so do allow enough time between trains to make the transfer.
Posted by
OP
Wayneboro Virginia
2 posts
Thank you both so much. Very helpful information. Much appreciated!