I am traveling from Bellagio to Murren to stay there for 3 nights. There are 7 in our family. I could use some help in the best way to get there. I know there are scenic train routes but am finding the schedules a bit confusing. I can go to Varenna by ferry and get to the train station there, but what are my best options. Then after our 3 night stay we are going to Colmar. I want to rent a car for that part of the trip, but where should I do that? Train to Colmar and then rent, or rent somewhere closer to Murren and then drive. Any suggestions...especially for the trip to Murren?
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
From Bellagio (which does not have a rail line), there are two options to get on the rail network:
1) Ferry to Varenna. Then train south to Milan, then north to Switzerland.
2) Ferry or bus to Como (the town). Then train to Switzeralnd, either direct or via Milan.
You can look up train times on the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) website: https://www.sbb.ch/en/
For example look up Como S. Giovanni to Mürren (6 hours) or Varenna-Esino to Mürren (6-7 hours). Note the exact station names and spelling, entering a wrong name will cause confusion.
If you want to tour the area around Colmar, a car is best. Renting a car in one country (Switzerland) and returning it in another (France) incurs a large surcharge. Better to get a train to Colmar, perhaps spend one day in the town, then get a (French) car.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32351 posts
With a group of seven, my suggestion would be Option #1 that Chris suggested - a one hour train ride from Varenna to Milan, and then a ~five hour train ride from Milan to Mürren. There will be 4 -6 changes on the trip from Milan to Mürren. That may sound a bit onerous but it's actually quite straightforward.
A few points to note.....
- when you buy tickets for the Swiss portion of your journey, specify Mürren BLM as the route from Lauterbrunnen to Mürren. There are two routes and that's the most direct.
- you'll be changing trains at Interlaken, which has two stations. You'll need to disembark at Interlaken Ost (the second station) and then transfer to the Berner Oberlandbahn for the trip to Lauterbrunnen.
- when you board the Berner Oberlandbahn be sure to check the digital display on the side of the coach and note the destination. Some of the trains split at Zweilütschinen, with one part going to Lauterbrunnen and one part to Grindelwald.
- when you arrive at Lauterbrunnen, walk across the street from the station to the cable car station for the ride to Grütschalp. When you arrive there, transfer to the small mountain railway for the short trip to Mürren.
You can buy advance tickets for the Italian portion of the trip at www.trainline.eu (very user friendly once registered on the site). However, there's no price advantage for Varenna-Milan tickets since that's a Regionale train. You can buy tickets for the Swiss portion at www.sbb.ch. If you buy tickets locally (Kiosk or ticket office) for the Varenna-Milan train, be sure to validate them prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!
In the same situation, I might stop at the travel agency in Varenna (Tivano Tours) on the way to Bellagio, and arrange all the tickets for my ongoing journey. I believe their office is in the Varenna station now.