Glacier Express in Winter
An adventurous twin-centre Swiss rail holiday
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This adventurous twin-centre rail holiday provides ample opportunity to explore the majestic Swiss Alps cloaked in their winter finery, and to enjoy our trip on the famous Glacier Express, surely the slowest, and certainly one of the most scenic 'express' trains in the world.
We meet at our dedicated Departure Office at St Pancras before boarding the Eurostar to Paris. We change for the high-speed service to Strasbourg where we stay for the night.
Please note: For Departures GYW2002, 03 & 04 you will overnight in Colmar with the morning at leisure on Day 2
We leave Strasbourg by train for Switzerland. Our journey takes us across the border and travelling via Basel, we join the superb Swiss railway network, famous for its efficiency and punctuality. We make our way to Chur, Switzerland's oldest town with over 5,000 years of settlement history for you to explore.
Your day is free to explore historic Chur and the surrounding region. Take time to stroll through the medieval cobbled alleyways and squares of the Old Town, and visit the 12th century cathedral, a blend of Gothic and Romanesque styles. Today is a superb chance for you to discover the area by mountain railway using your included Swiss Card for 50% fares. The wild, rugged and rocky landscape of the glorious Graubünden region is waiting to be discovered, with superb railway journeys available from Chur that take you over, around and across the dramatic valleys that make this one of the most attractive cantons in Switzerland. A journey on the Arosa Line to lakeside Arosa, surrounded by dramatic snowy peaks, is a popular option for today. Alternatively, visit Lucerne, an historic lakeside city of cobbled streets, squares and ornate churches. Whilst in Lucerne, see the famous Kapellbrücke covered bridge or perhaps visit the Swiss Transport Museum.
Our excursion today takes us on the Bernina Express, a journey on the superb 100 year old Bernina Line that passes mighty glaciers and sloping Alpine meadows laden with snow. We travel over the incredible Landwasser Viaduct, and cling to the mountainside, winding above deep ravines and past frozen waterfalls. We have time for lunch amongst the pastel coloured houses of quaint Poschiavo, before our return journey to Chur.
We leave Chur today, travelling from the rocky landscape of the Graubünden canton to the fantastic Valais on the iconic Glacier Express - the 'slowest express train in the world'. Our entire journey is accompanied by views of the scenery for which Switzerland is justly famous; beautiful, snow-covered pastures, and frosted forests rising up the hillsides beside the track towards towering snow-capped peaks. We travel along the beautiful Rhine Valley, climbing steadily and then steeply as we make our way up and over the snowy Oberalp Pass, the distant peaks of the Italian Alps in view to the south. At 6,670 feet, the Oberalp Pass is the highest point of the route.
From here we descend past the countless small villages that line our route, nestled in the foothills of the surrounding mountains, before travelling through the Furka Base Tunnel and into the Rhône Valley. The final part of our journey on the Glacier Express takes us through expansive vineyards that line the surrounding hillsides to the small town of Brig. Here we take the local railway for a wonderful journey over the imposing Kander Viaduct, through the old Lotschberg tunnel and past soaring mountain peaks to the town of Kandersteg. The resort of Kandersteg is one of Switzerland's truly unspoilt gems - a picturesque destination surrounded by breathtaking mountain scenery.
Today we travel to the charming, car-free resort of Zermatt. We travel to Brig to join a narrow-gauge train, heading south through dramatic valleys and alongside the River Rhône to Visp. From here we join the mountain track for the steep ascent to Zermatt. The spectacular approach to Zermatt takes us through 8 tunnels and across 42 bridges, the gradient of the ascent requiring cogwheels to be engaged. Finally we reach the grandiose scenery of Zermatt, nestled below the snowy tilted peak of the instantly recognisable Matterhorn. In Zermatt you are free to explore.
Today is free for you to explore Kandersteg, renowned for its breathtaking views and scenic trails. You could take the cable car up to the stunning Oeschinen Lake. The lake is frozen in winter, and offers incredible vistas. Or, explore the wider region using your Swiss Travel Card for 50% fares. We particularly recommend travelling along the Rhône Valley to Montreux. From here you can enjoy a cruise on Lake Geneva or join the GoldenPass Line panoramic train for the journey over the Golden Pass to Spiez. Otherwise travel to Interlaken, a charming town situated between Lakes Thun and Brienz.
We depart from Kandersteg, and travel by train via Brig and along the shores of shimmering Lake Geneva, before joining a direct TGV service to Paris. After crossing Paris by coach we connect with Eurostar to London.
Please note that while every departure of this tour will feature the same excursions, the order may differ from that shown above.
Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with our dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We write to all booked customers approximately 10 weeks prior to the start of their tour to advise the exact departure and return time for their particular group.
Exciting excursions and free time to explore
Enhancing your tour
Please note: This tour may be suitable for reduced mobility passengers, please call for further information.
I cannot recommend this Great Rail Journey too highly. Thanks to record snowfalls in January, the Alps were deep in snow. The Bernina Express climbed through the mountains by tunnels and viaducts, where seeing the train on bends enhanced the spectacular scenery.
A different, but equally memorable, trip over snowy Alps on the Glacier Express took us into new valleys in another beautiful part of Switzerland. High up in St Moritz and Zermatt we enjoyed brilliant sunshine and bright blue skies. An officers' ball in the charming historic Victoria Hotel in Kandersteg on our last night added to the fairy tale quality of the whole journey.
My wife is 39 and I am 43 which made us the youngest on the trip, and I was aware when booking that this may be the case. Although we have travelled extensively in Europe, both with and without children, we fancied a change and sitting back and letting others do the work and organisation and giving the airport a miss.
Using the train once you get to a Eurostar is a highly pleasureable and efficient way to access Europe. I can't imagine why anyone living south of Watford would consider anything else. All the trains ran like clockwork, all trains were clean and staff very friendly, welcoming us and even waving us off.
Rarely did we have to show tickets as our Tour Manager, Chris, took care of everything, such a far cry form the continual milling and hurdle-jumping required at an airport. Chris ensured that we all knew where we were sitting and what to expect. Chris had also taken the trouble to ring us before departure to introduce himself and the company so we were already getting a feeling of what it is like to be looked after.
We had a great bunch of people on our trip from all walks of life, certainly not my idea of who would be there, and we soon all hit it off and had some laughs - usually at my expense but there we are! I am under no doubt that I could not have organised the trip for us any cheaper and we wouldn't have had the great company. We would certainly consider another rail holiday, and hope to use your booking service to plan a leisurely stroll across Italy with the kids once we have parked our caravan in Lake Garda.
All in all: excellent value for money, great company, great Tour Manager and even at our younger years I would recommend it to any age group as an enjoyable, hassle free treat. Never were truer words spoken than "let the train take the strain."
Keep up the good work.
The train rumbled through the dark tunnel suddenly emerging into bright sunlight and revealing yet another valley and more jagged snow covered alpine peaks. This was the essence of the Glacier Express experience as we marveled at the majestic Swiss Alps.
Thank you Mother Nature for providing them and thank you Great Rail Journeys for taking us there in such style and comfort!
An adventurous twin-centre Swiss rail holiday
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