My wife and I will be arriving in Switzerland in late April-early May via train from Italy; a few days later (exact schedule not determined), we will depart Switzerland for Munich. What would be the best itinerary between Milan and Munich that weaves into the route a west-to-east ride on the Golden Pass Scenic Train? We're thinking of taking the train from Italy via Milan (leaving Milan early in the morning) to Montreux, spending the afternoon and evening and the morning the next day in Montreux, then taking the second of the three Golden Pass Scenic Trains to Luzern. We would like to pause in Luzern for dinner before resuming the train trip to Munich. With this schedule, I presume we would arrive in Luzern (or perhaps Bern) between 4-6 pm. Allowing 3 or so hours for dinner and travel from/to the train station, I assume we would arrive in Munich around midnight to 2:00 am the next day. If our schedule is incorrect such that we would arrive in Munich earlier--say around 11:00 pm-- we would keep the plan as is. However, if our schedule is about right, we'll likely spend the night in Luzern, and then depart midday the next day for Munich. If we do spend a second night in Switzerland, would our afternoon, evening, and morning of the next day be better spent in Luzern or Bern? Comments on any part of the itinerary would be appreciated. PS For the west-to-east route of the , which side of the train should we choose, and is the VIP upcharge worth it?
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Jon, you don't need much of our help here. You've done quite well. A couple of thoughts. 1) The Swiss pride thereselves on their punctual train system. If you have a certain arrival time shown for Luzern, you can really bet that that's when you will arrive. 2) The VIP seats on the Golden Pass train segment from Montreux to Zweisimmen are actually seats directly over the engine. Even though the carriage windows are large and quite nice, the VIP seats can be special. I'm not sure if these VIP seats are on the engines from Zweissimmen to Luzern.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
The VIP seats on the golden pass train are only worth it if you are traveling to Montreaux, not away from it. You'll figure out why when you are aboard the train;) There are no VIPs seat after Zweismann. At Zweismann the gauge of the track changes, and you hop onto a different train, with a more traditional engine car.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33525 posts
You don't say what's important to you in the train trip. Scenery is a given. Do you want to pay top dollar and have all the first class goodies, sealed windows, air conditioning, fellow tourists; or do you prefer to save money, have opening windows, travel with tourists and locals, have harder seats and no a/c? The reason I ask is that not only are there the fancy tourist trains but on the same tracks, run by the same folks, are normal trains which are just as fast, just as scenic, just plain.
Posted by
Los Angeles, California
1986 posts
Lucerne is definitely worth a stop. If you are planning on having dinner there, stay the night. walk around town (at least) until lunch time and then train to Munich. the center of town, Kappel Bridge and the Lion Monument/glacier garden are worth the half day. (I do not know the train schedule to Munich )
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
The only problem I see is that you will be passing through the most beautiful area in all of Switzerland, but not stopping to see it...the Lauterbrunnen Valley. When you arrive in Interlaken you will be a mere 20 minutes away from the most eye-popping dramatic natural scenery of a lifetime. But you won't see it from the Golden Pass :-(