Hi. We are traveling from Lucerne (really from Basel, as we are exiting a Rhine tour) to Lake Como in one day and are looking for your suggestions on the best route to take. Is the Gotthard Route very scenic with much of the time inside the mountain? Are there trains available that take the original Gotthard Route and don't go inside the tunnel? This is an early April adventure.
Thank you in advance for your thoughts!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16379 posts
You could avoid the Gotthard tunnels altogether by taking the Bernina Express route----you can end up at Varenna. It takes a bit longer---8 hours rather than 5 1/2---- but it is very scenic.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16379 posts
To answer the original question, yes you can take the old Gotthard route on local trains. Find the route by specifying a stop on the old line under the "via" line on sbb.ch. Airolo is one with a short name. You will have to change trains in Erstfeld, and the entire route from Basel to Varenna (for comparison purposes) takes 7 minutes 19 minutes. So almost as long as the Bernina Express route.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you! I appreciate your comments. We are going ahead with the Gotthard "scenic" route! Will give us a good bite of the Alps without being on a train for 10+ hours. Cheers!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
16379 posts
I do like that "old" Gotthard route. If you follow it on this Rail map, you will see there are some spiral tunnels, used to gain or lose elevation.
