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Thun to Lugano - best path via train?

Posted by (Columbus, OH, USA) on

Hi - I’m looking for some advice. There will be several of us, including 2 small children (3,5) traveling from Thun to Lugano in mid May. I’m poking around on the SBB app, and trying to figure out a best travel path. I don’t think we necessarily want to stop and see anything en route, although, I’m open to it.

What Travel path would you recommend for a combination of scenery and speed? I half have my eye on traveling Thun to Interlaken to Luzern, then Luzern to Lugano (reading that is most scenic). I do not want to insert a boat ride there. Other options are through Zurich or Bern. Should I be thinking about a different path? Just looking for scenery and efficiency.

We will have already been in Luzern and Thun for several days (daytripping), and are TBD on Swiss Pass or half fare card (currently doing the maths).

Thanks for your experiences and advice.

Posted by
8889 posts

Stephanie, The SBB App/website (like all rail companies) finds by default the quickest routing. Which is north-East to Luzern, or Zürich; then south through the long Gotthard Base Tunnel to Lugano. Fast at ~4 hours, but not (relatively, by Swiss standards) very scenic.
You can trace that route on the Swiss rail map here: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/infotexte/uebersichtskarte-sts.pdf

My suggested scenic option: via Domodossola and Locarno (see map).
This would take over 5 hours.

If you add via Locarno and Domodossola to your search it will find this route. You need to go into "advanced search" to add two "via's".
The line from Domodossola to Locarno ("Centovalli line", click here for info) is one of the Swiss scenic trains.

Posted by
117 posts

Thank you, Chris, for your advice! The route you suggest sounds fantastic.

Posted by
20016 posts

Another scenic route is via Interlaken, Luzern, to Lugano, but instead of using the Base Tunnel, opt for the older route mostly over the mountains by entering "via Goeschinen".

That way takes 4 1/2 to 5 hours.

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