my husband and are planning a rail-based trip to Switzerland for this spring; we want to include some part of the Italian Lakes and end up in Milan for a few days. It looks like we'll end the Swiss part of the trip in the St. Moritz- Pontresina area (or maybe Tirano) and then go on to Italy - but is there a way to do it by rail? I've looked at the Bernina Express route, but the Italian part is by bus - and I'm not much for bus trips.
Posted by
Green Bay
21145 posts
No, it is all rail. The Bernina Express is promoting the bus to Lugano as a multi-day excursion with included hotel, called Glacier to Palms. Ignore that. You would just take the Bernina Express to Tirano (its in Italy, just over the border). Then you would walk across the piazza to the Trenord station and take a train to Varenna, smack on Lake Como, with ferry service over to Bellagio and other towns on the lake. When you want to go to Milan, the train that dropped you in Varenna continues to Milan. Those trains run about every hour with a few exceptions.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
jane,
If you end the Swiss part of your trip in St. Moritz / Pontresina, it's very easy to get from there to Tirano (IT) via train. You don't have to use the Bernina Express for that, as there are numerous other trains to choose from. Check the Bahn.de or SBB.ch websites for specific details on the trains.
In Tirano, transfer to the train to Varenna. Spend a few days there enjoying the mid-lake area of Lago di Como, and then continue on to Milan. Travel time from Varenna to Milan is 1H:03M.
Posted by
Moncton NB
1117 posts
What Sam says is exactly what we did last summer. The Bernina Express was a highlight of our trip. You can start the day in Zurich but its an early start. We stayed overnight in Chur and enjoyed the town. The Bernina Express leaves Chur around 8:30 am and gets into Tirano around 1:00. It was an easy connection to the Trenord train. We took the train straight through to Milan, but it ran along Lake Como for a while and stopped in Varenna. From Varenna you can get anywhere on Lake Como you want.
Check out the details and video on the Man in Seat 61's website: https://www.seat61.com/BerninaExpress.htm
Posted by
OP
5 posts
an additional question - is there an easy way to get to Lugano or Locarno via the Bernina Express? That's a possibility, instead of staying in one of the Italian cities on one of the Lakes.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
is there an easy way to get to Lugano or Locarno via the Bernina Express?
Jane, The Bernina Route ends at Tirano. If you are heading south on the Bernina route, there is a once-a-day bus from Tirano to Lugano. But you said you don't want the bus.
The alternative is a V-shaped route. South from Tirano on an Italian train to Milan (down the side of Lake Como). this is the route Ken described. Then, from Milan, back north to Lugano. Or continue to Belinzona where you change on to a branch line to Locarno.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
I would sleep in Pontresina or Varenna or both, but not in Tirano because there's really not much to see there.
Posted by
Washington DC
28073 posts
Since you mentioned Locarno: There's a very scenic train ride (though I assume not as spectacular as the Bernina Express) that connects Domodossala, Italy, to Locarno. It would not be the fastest way to get there, but it's a fun trip. It's called the "Centovalli"--just an ordinary train, no special carriages.
Posted by
Noblesville, Indiana, USA
1406 posts
I can vouch for Varenna as a great place to stay on Lake Como that is accessible by rail.