How the Grand Tour of Switzerland will be a highlight this winter

Gornergratbahn Zermatt Cr Schweiz Tourismus

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When the Grand Tour of Switzerland is buried in fresh snow and many mountain passes are closed for the winter, it’s a good idea to switch to the train. MySwitzerland has put together a round trip featuring the country’s most scenic and iconic railway routes – a true dream in white.

Magnificent snow-covered mountain peaks as far as the eye can see – breathtakingly beautiful, but often accompanied by snow chains, closed mountain passes or towering snow drifts. Idyllic to look at, but also in the way. The Swiss landscape is majestic in every season, but it keeps travellers on their toes, especially motorists who embark on the spectacular ‘Grand Tour of Switzerland’ during the winter months. The good news is that there’s now a wonderful alternative, developed to mark the 10th anniversary of the famous Grand Tour: simply park your car. Take the keys out. Or better still, travel by plane or train in the first place. This makes sense in Switzerland, a premium rail country famous for its punctuality and dense rail network. But it makes even more sense when it comes to the winter version of the legendary Swiss tour, called the ‘Grand Train Tour of Switzerland – Winter Magic’. It’s a train journey through a winter wonderland, offering everything you could dream of from this destination: turquoise glaciers, sparkling powder snow, frozen lakes and snow-covered mountain villages. A moving winter spectacle, viewed through the windows of the finest panoramic trains the country has to offer.

Everything according to schedule

The winter version of the famous ‘Grand Tour of Switzerland’ is often described as “the ultimate railway adventure for lovers of stunning scenery. It takes you through winter destinations such as Zermatt, Interlaken and St. Moritz and a week is the ideal time to enjoy it fully. You can always be flexible on your winter journey through Switzerland by extending stages, or adding skiing days and excursions. For many, this is a no-brainer: some of the world’s most famous ski resorts are located along the route, from Jungfraujoch and Grindelwald to Zermatt.

Iron heritage in Lucerne

The prologue from Zurich Airport to the first stop in Lucerne takes an hour. This gateway to Central Switzerland is the perfect introduction followed by a boat trip across Lake Lucerne. An impressive Alpine panorama glitters above the calm winter waters and invites you to explore the nearby mountains such as of Pilatus, Titlis and Rigi. The latter is linked to a piece of railway history: in 1871, the 30-minute cogwheel train from Vitznau became Europe’s first mountain railway. The historic fleet of carriages was recently expanded with new vehicles – a tribute to the world’s oldest cog railway, No. 6 from 1911, which still runs between Goldau and Rigi Kulm today.

Vierwaldstaettersee Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Boat tour on Lake Lucerne

Zahnradbahn auf den Rigi Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Cogwheel railway on Mount Rigi

Bernese Oberland by rail

The journey continues with the Lucerne-Interlaken Express, which also promises nice views. The journey takes two hours, passing the now quiet Lake Lungerersee and continuing towards the Bernese Oberland. In Interlaken, the starting point for the Jungfrau Region and a world leader in adventure sports, rail passengers are spoilt for choice: Take the Wengernalp Railway via Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg? Or continue straight on, taking the Jungfrau Railway up to the legendary Jungfrau and enjoy Europe’s highest railway station in the middle of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site in winter? The tunnel from Eigergletscher station is seven kilometres long and its construction began in 1896. A stop in the mountain tunnel allows spectacular views through the carriage windows from the north face of the Eiger. At the summit, visitors are treated to a high-alpine wonderland of ice, snow and rock – particularly spectacular from the Aletsch Glacier viewing platforms ‘Sphinx’ and ‘Plateau’.

Luzern Interlaken Express Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Lucerne–Interlaken Express

Time for Zermatt

Next stop: Zermatt, located in the canton of Valais, the southernmost point of the winter tour. As part of the famous Grand Tour, drivers can reach the highest point here at the 2,492-metre-high Furka Pass and later enjoy a photo stop at the Great Aletsch Glacier, where even in summer the Swiss mountains display their long, white tongue of ice – at 23 kilometres, it is the largest glacier in the entire Alpine region. However, this is only possible during the summer. From mid-October to mid-May, when the pass is closed for the winter, the Winter Magic version of the Grand Train Tour offers completely different possibilities. The car-free village of Zermatt invites you to change to the Matterhorn-Gotthard Railway, a railway company with only 144 kilometres of narrow-gauge track, just one metre wide. At the same time, the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway, which operates all year round, is considered the ultimate Alpine adventure railway. A particularly beautiful stretch is the route through the snow-covered Nikolai Valley, also known as the Vallée de Zermatt, one of the southern side valleys of the Rhone Valley and surrounded by three of the four highest mountain ranges in the Alps. However, Zermatt has even more railway adventures in store for railway enthusiasts. There is the trip on the Gornerbahn, which also operates all year round, up to the Gornergrat: after climbing 1,469 metres and crossing impressive bridges, travelling through galleries and tunnels, past larch forests, stone gorges and mountain lakes, the cog railway reaches its destination. Surrounded by 29 four-thousand-metre peaks, the Gornergrat offers a mountain panorama of breathtaking grandeur. The short trip is also ideal for winter hiking, snowshoeing or skiing with a view of the Matterhorn, and the interactive exhibition ‘Zooom the Matterhorn’ can also be visited all year round. A trip to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, where Europe’s highest mountain station is located at an altitude of 3,883 metres, is a must. Travelling there in one of the brand-new Crystal Ride cabins of the Matterhorn Glacier Ride – studded with 280,000 Swarovski crystals – makes the world’s most striking mountain sparkle in a whole new light.

Aletschgletscher Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Aletsch Glacier

Gornergrat Bahn in Zermatt Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Gornergrat Railway

Gornergrat Aussicht Cr Schweiz Tourismus — View from the Gornergrat

Gornergrat Schneeschuh Wanderung Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Snowshoe hike on the Gornergrat

St. Moritz: glamour and railway technology

Several hours away, St. Moritz is the perfect way to get in the mood for a particularly glamorous stage of the tour of Switzerland. If you take the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz, you don’t even have to change trains on the way. Champagne and winter polo on a beautiful lake framed by a stunning winter backdrop, plenty of sunshine and even more glamour – all this makes the world’s most sophisticated winter sports resort a destination that, if possible, you’ll want to travel to in a Rolls Royce or Lamborghini. If you like, you can hop on the world’s oldest bobsleigh run still in operation, the Olympia Bob Run St. Moritz-Celerina, and venture out on a brisk guest bobsleigh ride. However, you can also easily get around St. Moritz by regular train carriages, specifically those of the Rhaetian Railway, which many railway fans consider one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. In winter, the Albula/Bernina railway line presents itself as the gleaming white centrepiece of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, whose route from Thusis to Tirano has gone down in tourism history as a masterpiece of railway engineering. Names such as Landwasser Viaduct and Albula Carousel are not only familiar to engineers and railway enthusiasts: the ‘Little Red Train’ winds its way through the mountains of Graubünden over boldly curved viaducts and bridges. Gorges, rock barriers and steep gradients were overcome in a unique way when the line was built over a hundred years ago, so that the Albula line from St. Moritz to Chur now blends harmoniously into the wild natural landscape and forms a unity with the wildly romantic cultural landscape. A similarly spectacular railway attraction is the journey on the Bernina Express to Tirano: it is the highest railway line across the Alps, where the Graubünden mountains glide past like a film in front of extra-large panoramic windows. At Ospizio Bernina, the train reaches an impressive altitude of 2,253 metres.

Rhb durch Scuol Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Rhaetian Railway in Scuol

Landwasser Viaduct Rhb Cr Schweiz Tourismus — Rhaetian Railway on the Landwasser Viaduct

Chur is a must

If you take the winter version of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland in this direction, Chur is the last stop. If you take the Bernina Express from St. Moritz to Zurich Airport, the journey takes three and a half hours, while from Chur it is only ninety minutes. However, you should definitely allow a little time to stay in Switzerland’s oldest city at the end of your winter wonderland journey, for example, with a trip to the spectacular Rhine Gorge between Reichenau and Ilanz. It is rightly called the ‘Swiss Grand Canyon’ and can be reached by Rhaetian Railway via Trin station. A stroll through the recently renovated old town of Chur – one of the best preserved in Switzerland – is also well worth the effort. Narrow streets, cafés and Graubünden delicacies invite you to enjoy one last treat. A fine finish – and a lovely train journey too.