Hi,
Trying to plan a trip from the UK to Switzerland at the end of May. Staying for 3 nights then taking the Bernina express or Glacier express to Tirana then on to Lake Como (3 nights) -Lake Maggoire (4 nights) and flying back to UK from Milan.
Where is the best place to stay in Switzerland as a base, so we can visit the prettiest places on day trips. Also travelling with my 70yr old parents, so don’t want to be carrying luggage from train to train.
Any help would be appreciated. 😁
In Switzerland, near St- Moritz, you’ll find charming Pontresina.
So what are your options with luggage? I'm confused here. I'm also insulted as I'm over 70 years old and I handle all my luggage ( carry-on only) when hopping on and off trains. We 70-ish folks are not ancient.
You don't have much time to enjoy Switzerland, and actually be in the world- famous Alps.
Base in Lucerne, and do day trip to Mt Rigi, Mt Pilatus, etc. Or go straight to the Berner Oberland and actually sleep in the Alps, in Wengen, Murren, or Lauterbrunen.
We rode the Bernina Express route in 2021, and it is an incredibly beautiful ride. We used the regional trains, not panoramic, which offered more flexible schedule. It is a worthwhile experience.
And- you're finishing in Lake Como, one of my favorite places ever.
Have a great trip, and safe travels!
Thank you both for your comments.
Hey 70’s not old in this day and age, but throw in some mobility issues and it makes all the difference. We are only 2-3 hours from Switzerland, so hoping we could return in the future…looks stunning.
I was hoping when we arrived at either Zurich or Geneva airport we could get the train to a base, put the luggage in and then explore.
Flying into Geneva seems to be the cheaper option. I was thinking Lucerne or Lauterbrunnen. We would then have to get to Chur if taking the BE train to Tirana.
The other option would be to stay in Chur for 3 nights, and explore round that area.
Where are you staying on Lakes Como and Maggiore? That makes a difference in recommendations on train routes. Your mention of Tirano suggests you are heading to Varenna, so I will assume that in the following discussion.
It is difficult to travel around Switzerland without changing trains one or more times on the way to your destination, unless it is a major city. Just to get to Luzern you will have to change trains at the main Zurich station if you are coming from the airport. And if you want to take the Bernina Express to Tirano, you need to get to Chur, which can involve several more changes.
The Glacier Express will take you to St. Moritz, where you would have to transfer to the Bernina Express to reach Tirano. This is a very long journey and I would not recommend it for your short time in Switzerland.
You can see the various scenic train routes highlighted on this Swiss rail map:
You have several options for your 3 nights in Switzerland that will position you for travel to Varenna. One, suggested above, is to head straight to Luzern and spend your time there, daytrip ping (without luggage) to the sites you want to see. But the travel time to the Bernina Express start is long, and best not done all in the same day that you ride the BE and travel onward to Varenna. That means 2 nights in Luzern, then travel to Pontresina for your 3d overnight.
This plan would involve the following transfers with the luggage: train from Zurich airport to Luzern, 1 hour with a mandatory change at Zurich Hauptbahnhof. Then Luzern to Pontresina, the simplest journey of which takes 4.5 hours and involves 3 train changes.
You can eliminate some of these train changes by heading to Bern instead of Luzern for your first 2 nights. Bern is a lovely little city nestled in a horseshoe bend in the river, with good connections from Zurich, and to the Berner Oberland and to Pontresina.
Like this: Zurich airport to Bern is a journey of just over 1 hour by direct train (no changes). From Bern, you can reach the village of Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Oberland in 1 hour 24 minutes, with a single change on the way (but you will have no luggage here). Easy transfers there to the carfree villages above the valley. Then from Bern to Pontresina for your Bernina Express trip, you have a journey of 4.5 hours with a single change on the way, at Chur.
In total you have eliminated 3 train changes with luggage by spending your nights in Bern instead of Luzern. And this may be heresy here, but we much prefer Bern—-it has a very attractive Oldtown area with far fewer tourists, good hotels, and nice restaurants with outdoor seating lining the (mostly pedestrian) street. On a Friday evening in September the street had a nice celebratory feel, not wild or raucous, just locals enjoying a nice weekend evening together. By contrast, we have yet to find a hotel or a restaurant we really like in Luzern. Now we stay in Weggis, right on the lake, instead.
Hi,
Thank you for taking the time to provide so much detail.
I am trying to persuade my parents to stay for another two nights in Switzerland.
I looked at flying into Geneva purely because the flights are half the price then flying into Zurich. Then taking the fast train from Geneva airport to Lauterbrunnen (2 changes) That would get us there for approximately 17.30. Maybe stay there for 4 nights and then get the train to Chur stay there for 1 night and board the BE the next morning.
We would then have 3 full days to explore a couple of places. Grindelwald, Murren and maybe Bern as you suggested.I would also consider Zurich route if a lot easier.
We are staying in an apartment in centre of Como by Como Cathedral (open to suggestions on nicer areas for Lake Como.) Then for Lake Maggoire we are staying in Stresa- The Grand Bristol hotel, before flying back to UK via Milan.
And thank you for coming back to provide more detail. You clearly have done your homework. I think your Geneva plan sounds great, actually. An easy transfer from the airport to a town in a beautiful valley with lots to offer in May. I have a suggestion or two for Grindelwald, Wengen, and Mürren but will come back later with those. Save Bern for a daytrip on a rainy day if there is one. And enjoy the Alps with your 4 nights there.
And since your destination on Lake Como is the town of Como itself, I have an alternate suggestion to the Bernina Express that should provide you a lot of beautiful scenery and a very enjoyable trip—-without worrying about too many luggage transfers. That would be the scenic ride by boat and train from Luzern to Lugano on the Gotthard Panorama Express. This runs once a day (except Mondays) each direction, departing Luzern at 11:12 am and arriving in Lugano at 16:41. There are frequent local trains that will take you from Lugano to Como San Giovanni station in 33 minutes. I suggest you head to Luzern the night before so you can have the afternoon to look around, and a a more leisurely morning before boarding the boat. It takes you down the lake to Flüelen, where you walk the short distance to the train station for the train over the scenic Gotthard pass route to Lugano. You can check luggage at Luzern and it will be transferred for you; you just pick it up in Lugano. If you like, you can reserve a table for lunch on the boat.
https://www.gotthard-panorama-express.ch/en/
https://www.gotthard-panorama-express.ch/en/stories/luggage-service
My family of 8 (us, our 2 adult children and their spouses, and 2 grandchildren) took this route last September by boat to Flüelen and regular train (not the special Gotthard Panorama Express). Everyone absolutely loved it—-it was one of the highlights of our trip (one of several we have done to Switzerland together). The boat is so pleasant and relaxing, with wonderful views of the small villages along the lake. And the train over the pass offers lots of highlights—-like the switchbacks at Wassen, where you pass the same little chapel 3 times, or the spiral tunnels on the way down on the south side. You can see these on the rail map I linked above. And so many waterfalls. My husband and I have ridden this route several times because we like it so much—-indeed, we fly into Zurich when we go to Italy, just so we can ride this train.
I know the Bernina Express gets a lot of love here, but we have ridden both that and the Gotthard Pass route, and prefer the latter for scenery and for convenience.
I will note that due to the current closure of the Gotthard Basistunnel, all direct trains between Zurich/Luzern and Milan will take the Gotthard pass route, and you could do that to reach Como. But the lake boat trip to Fluelen is such a treat, I thought I would mention that. And if you want to take the boat but not the special named Panorama Express, you can ride the boat to Fluelen and board a southbound train from there, as we did.
I see it is almost midnight in the UK. Happy New Year!
I wanted to add one thing to consider re: Bernina Express. I did that trip a few months ago, going from Chur to Tirano on the regional train, which had barely any other passengers. The views were beautiful, but it was so long to be just sitting and it bounced and swayed so much that I would never do it again if possible. I had planned to get off the train at least once during the trip to explore one of the little towns and get lunch (I had plenty of snacks with me though), but I felt queasy from the motion so I didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to do that. Hopefully that won't be the case for you of course.
I was very comfortable on the Bernina Express regional train and did not experience the discomfort of the previous poster. I can't discount anyone's real experience, but loved riding this train, and hope to repeat this journey in the future, as the views change with different light and times of day, and the scenery is spectacular. Have a great trip and safe travels!
I have done the full length of most of Switzerland's scenic train routes, always on the unreserved "normal" trains, never the fancy named ones. Glacier Express Brig to Disentis, Chur to Disentis as two out-and-backs, Bernina Express Chur out and back to Tirano in a day and a further week on all the branches, among others, and I have never experienced any issues with bouncing or swaying or any discomfort. Sorry you had a bad trip. Did you try changing carriages? Was this in 2nd Class?
I was in 2nd class, which is what I normally use. Trains, planes and boats don’t normally bother me, but that particular trip did. I doubt it could have been the altitude change either since again, that’s never been a problem for me, and the train from Tirano to Varenna was fine too. Honestly, it never occurred to me to change cars since I assumed it was the tracks and just the route in general, but I suppose it could have been just a car that needed some fine tuning.
