Revised train routing recommendation

That’s a 35 MINUTE walk, not 35 feet! Haha - it’s walking between 2 train stations.

There is construction on the Milan-Domodossola route, so you have to take a replacement bus if you go the way you’re talking.

The 11:20, not the 11:10 avoids the 35 minute walk…
11:20 Firenze > Bologna > Milan > Bus to Domodossola > Spiez > Interlaken > Lauterbrunnen > Grutschalp > Mürren arriving 19:24

Alternatively, leave in the morning and you’ll have less connections if you go via Zurich and it only adds about 50 min. I’d much rather have 2 less connections, no bus and get to Mürren by dinner time…
8:55 Firenze > Milan > Zurich > Interlaken Ost > Lauterbrunnen > Grutschalp > Mürren arriving 17:54 (or same route leaving 7:55 arriving 16:54)

Thanks so much wanderweg for the recommendations and clarifying it was a 35 walk! I was wondering why it showed two train stations and thought they were close :)!!

I would take a train from Florence SMN to Milano Centrale. There is a train at 10:55 am direct to Milano Centrale, avoiding the transfer from Garibaldi to Centrale.

I would indeed go via the Gotthard in this case. But go via Luzern, not via Zurich. The time is the same, but the route via Luzern is more scenic. You could take the RE to Lugano, board a train for Luzern there, then Interlaken, then Murren...

It's the same amount of time, but it requires an additional transfer going via Lugano/Luzern instead of Zurich. When you're doing a 9 hour train day the less transfers with luggage the better, in my opinion. The scenery is a nice bonus, but you'll have to weigh the additional logistics to decide if it's worthwhile for your trip. You already get so many scenic views/trains rides/cable cars staying in Murren, that I personally wouldn't choose the extra hassle. But to each their own.

Thank you so much for everyone's input! It is so helpful to get suggestions from this forum. I would love to see a more scenic route but I think I'm going to book the 8:55 a.m. route through Zurich with fewer stops as it will be a long day. We are going to and staying in Luzern on the way back to Zurich to fly home so we will see that scenic route later in our trip.

I see the 7:55 route changed to go through Luzern (instead of Zurich) with only 5 transfers and the same 9 hours so I'm considering that earlier one since that is more scenic. Either way all the suggestions are helpful in my decision making!

One other quick question. We opted for a Eurrail Pass instead of the Swiss Travel Pass because of what we plan to do on our trip. On the Luzern- Interlaken Ost section of the train, the Eurrail Pass applies and it says "seats are optional" but recommended. In previous posts here, people have advised that we wouldn't be denied boarding if we didn't have a seat but may have to wait for a seat, which is fine with us. Does anyone advise purchasing a seat because it's the busy season on June 26th?

Are you traveling 1st or 2nd class?

2nd class

If you are traveling on an Eurail Pass you should not have to worry about routing now. The point of an Eurail Pass is to just buy it, and then postpone the detailed planning of your trip till the time you are here.,

Jun 26 is still some time away. You can just book your Florence - Milano reservation when you are in Italy, and for the trains you take beyond that you only need to find them, and get on.
And that applies for the Luzern - Interlaken train too. That is a normal service train, used by locals to go about their daily business. But because it is a nice route with nice trains the company operating the train has discovered it can get some extra bucks from the tourists...

Most of the seats on those trains aren't even reservable. In Luzern just go to the head of the train. There should be spaces.

In Luzern just go to the head of the train. There should be spaces.

Yes, that’s what I was going to recommend as well. Most people will pile onto the train at the first opportunity, but if you walk the length of the platform to the furthest coach of your class you will have a much better chance of finding seats.

This is almost always the case for any train, but Luzern is an in-and-out station and very few people bother to take the few minutes needed to get to the less busy area. It’s a shame because it can provide you with a far more pleasant journey!

Just be sure to keep an eye on the departure time and be on the train before it is scheduled to leave. :)

Thank you so much for all of your helpful advice and recommendations!