Hello,
We will be staying near Interlaken and the Berninia Express is on the top of my list for this trip to Switzerland. I have been looking for WEEKS and cannot figure out how to fit this into our trip. Please help - I must be missing something when I look at the website (Rhaetian Railway).
Interlaken area
Bernina Express
then on to Paris
Any help would be most appreciated,
thanks in advance!
Michelle
The problem is geography. The Bernina Express runs from Chur or St Moritz (which are in the far south-east of Switzerland) south over the Bernina Pass to Tirano in Italy. Interlaken is in the centre of Switzerland, and you are then going on to Paris, which is north-west from Switzerland.
Look at a map, such as the Swiss Railways map here: https://www.swisspasses.com/railpass/overviewmap_en.pdf
You could head for Chur and do the Bernina Express after Interlaken, but then you end up in Italy, totally the wrong direction. Then the only way to get to Paris (without doubling back) is to continue to Milan, and fly from there.
Where are you coming from to get to Interlaken? If the answer is Italy, maybe you could do the Bernina Express northbound on the way to Interlaken.
Vielen Dank Chris!
Wait- I need to change my rudimentary German to Swiss -- Merci vilmal!! Looks like a great resource.
I will study the map and get a better plan.
Tschüss!
Michelle
We made four separate two-weeks to Switzerland before I could fit in the Bernina Express. It is in an out-of-the-way corner and works best going between Switzerland and Italy. So last September I designed our trip some flew into Zurich to get to Italy, via the Bernina Express. I added three days to our Italy trip to do that. It was worth it.
But, since your time in Switzerland is limited and you are going next to Paris, not Italy, it may not work.
OK, I looked at your other thread, stating you are going London to Switzerland to Paris and back to London, over 13 days, and leaving in roughly a week from now. So it is too late to change your trip to incorporate my suggestion, but I am going to make it anyway in case others want to do this---with more advance planning.
With the same itinerary and order of travel, but hopefully a few more days, you could fly to Milan after your time in London and take the train straight to Varenna on Lake Como ( on hour from Milano Centrale). Next day you continue north on the train to Tirano (1.5 hours) and transfer there to a train on the Bernina Express route, going as far as Pontresina, St. Moritz, Samedan,,etc.
Note that frequent regional trains ply this route on the same tracks and the same scenery as the "real" Bernina Express. But if you want the panoramic cars and other amenities of the BE, check the schedule carefully as you may need to overnight in Tirano instead of Varenna. Nothing wrong with that other than lack of a lake.
