Jungfrau Express
Discover Europe's highest railway station
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9 Days from£2,315
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You are viewing the 2018 itinerary
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From our base in the quintessentially Swiss town of Meiringen, we enjoy journeys by mountain railway and lake steamer, crowned with an excursion on the Jungfrau Railway to the breathtaking 'Top of Europe.'
After meeting at our St Pancras Departure Office, we take the Eurostar to Paris, continuing to Strasbourg for the night.
Today we continue our journey to Meiringen, travelling by rail, via Basel. A small town dating back to the early Middle Ages, Meiringen became famous thanks to Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels in which a climactic battle was set in this region.
Enjoying a glorious location nestled along the Haslital Valley, the town of Meiringen benefits from mountain vistas in all directions. The nearby Aare Gorge is a spectacular sight, and is well worth exploring. This thin and deep chasm, splitting a limestone ridge, channels the river through this rocky terrain, with the gorge itself bored through by millions of years of relentless water crashing against the limestone.
This morning we travel by funicular mountain railway to the Reichenbach Falls and the platform where the dramatic final duel between Sherlock Holmes and archenemy Moriarty took place. From the falls, you have the option of exploring the area on a signposted walk.
Alternatively, enjoy lunch at the café above the stunning falls, before returning to Meiringen at your leisure. Your afternoon is free in this Swiss town. Historically, the town is known for its claims to have been the place where the meringue dessert was first invented. You may wish to visit the small Sherlock Holmes Museum, located in the basement of a former English church.
Your day is free, perhaps to explore with your Swiss Travel Card which gives a 50% discount on most trains, buses and lake steamers in the area. You could travel to Brienz and visit the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum, or walk along the picturesque promenade, complete with its vivid flower beds and trees. Alternatively, you could take the Giessbachbahn funicular railway, the oldest of its kind in Europe, and travel up to the impressive Giessbach Falls. The city of Thun is nearby, located at the point where the River Aare flows into the shimmering waters of Lake Thun.
We head west by train along the Brünig line to Brienz, located in the middle of charming mountains at the eastern end of the turquoise-coloured Lake Brienz. The cosy village is our starting point for excursions to the Bernese Oberland, and it is here that we begin an excursion by steam mountain railway, climbing to over 5,000 feet (1,524m), to the summit of Rothorn.* The summit offers fabulous views of the deep-blue lakes below and the snow-capped mountains in the distance, including one of the highest mountains in Europe, the Jungfrau.
On our return to Brienz, we enjoy a cruise on Lake Brienz to Interlaken. This is an excellent opportunity to simply sit back and take in the marvellous surroundings. The remarkable colour of the pure Alpine waters are the perfect contrast to the green slopes of the mountains which border this enormous lake. From the boat, we can enjoy the towns and village which dot the shores of the lake, many of which reside under the shadow of a church steeple. Later, we return to Meiringen.
*Please note: This railway does not operate in the early season. Departures before June will enjoy an excursion by rail and cable car to the summit of the Schilthorn mountain.
Today we enjoy what is undoubtedly one of the highlights of our stay in the Bernese Oberland, as we travel on the Jungfrau Railway to the Jungfraujoch - Europe's highest railway station. We begin on the Bernese Oberland Railway, trundling through the foothills of the Alps from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, through flowerfilled pastures and past pretty villages. Over the course of the route, the line climbs 1,532 feet (467 metres) above sea level, passing isolated chalets and small farming cabins. In Lauterbrunnen we join the Wengeralp Railway, continuing our ascent through ever changing scenery to Kleine Scheidegg, where we join the Jungfrau Railway for the final six miles of our journey.
Climbing further from Kleine Scheidegg, the distinctive string of red and yellow carriages of the Jungfrau Railway disappear into the tunnel through the Eiger Mountain. During the journey the train pauses at two separate observation stops; windows hewn out of solid Alpine rock between the tunnel and the infamous north face of the Eiger, with spectacular views down to the valley below. Finally, the train arrives at Jungfraujoch, the 'Top of Europe', located at 3454m above sea level.
With free time at the summit station, you will have plenty of
time to explore the Ice Palace and its many ice sculptures. You can
spend time on the Sphinx Terrace, enjoying superb views onto the
Aletsch Glacier, which, at 22km is the longest ice stream in the
Alps, and provides a sharp contrast to the lush meadows and Alpine
pastures of the lower lying hillsides near the valley floor. You
can also enjoy the walking plateau, which is eternally covered in
snow. After time to explore and to enjoy lunch, we descend via the
charming mountain resort of Grindelwald.
Our excursion today takes us by cable car up to the Alpen Tower. Located high up in the mountains surrounded by the Bernese and Central Alps, there are few better places in the world to enjoy a bite to eat or a drink from the Alpen Tower restaurant with its 360 degree panorama. This attractive building is designed to make the most of its magnificent surroundings, and from here, away from the crowds, you can enjoy a stretch of mountain peaks for which Switzerland is so famous. Breath in the crisp mountain air and enjoy the views of the valleys, towns and lakes below before we return to Meiringen where you have free time to explore before dinner.
Today we take a train to the town of Lucerne, known for its cobbled streets and ornate churches. Later on, we make our way to Interlaken, from where we ascend the Harder Kulm by cable car, granting us extraordinary views across Lakes Thun and Brienz, the villages dotted along their shores, and over the top of Interlaken. On arrival at the top, we enjoy a farewell dinner against a sensational backdrop of forest covered mountains.
We leave Meringen for Lausanne, joining the high-speed service to Paris and there continuing on to London St Pancras via the Eurostar.
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.
An escorted experience and all travel arrangements
Comfortable accommodation in your destination
Delicious meals included
Exciting excursions and free time to explore
Not Included
This was our second trip with Great Rail Journeys and it proved
another amazing experience. The fact that all tickets are handed
out by the Tour Manager, who has also sorted out timetables and
connections for the various trains, makes a huge difference. The
Tour Manager in any event is most important: ours was highly
efficient, calm, and when there were issues of any sort he
efficiently sorted them out. Highly appreciated.
To us the sleigh ride from Grindelwald through the forest was
probably the most exciting as well as an amusing experience, and
apart from feeling sorry for the horses because some of us were on
the large side, all went most smoothly.
The optional day's outing to Mürren was tremendous. It is a
village, some 2,000m high, with no traffic other than snow-moving
vehicles. The main danger is being knocked down by skiers in the
main street!
My husband and I recently returned from the Jungfrau Express
trip and write to say that it was everything we could have wished
for, and more. The entire experience was magical right from
meeting our Tour Manager, Mo, at St. Pancras International and up
until the very end upon returning to London once again.
Everything ran like clockwork, as it should when going to
Switzerland. The hotels in Luxembourg and Cologne were excellent,
as was the food in both of them.
We had trips on lakes, many train journeys up mountains and, of
course, the trip up the Jungfrau was the highlight of the
week. We were very surprised when the train went into a tunnel
and even more surprised when it did not come out again!
To find that the terminus station was actually inside the
mountain was surprising to say the least. But the views from
the snow plateau and the stroll through the ice cave were strange
and wonderful especially since we really felt the pressure of the
altitude and felt truly like mountaineers.
It was an exceptionally enjoyable journey and the Tour Manager was
efficiency itself, making every move a pleasant one. We shall
certainly travel with Great Rail Journeys again.
From the moment we booked our holiday we were impressed by the
way we were kept fully informed, and the clear and detailed manner
of the timetable for each day.
Our Tour Manager, Ian Williamson, was very helpful and friendly,
and nothing was too much trouble. Although we didn't use it, the
Baggage Man service is well worth considering for the future.
The three hotels used on this holiday were very good and the one
we were based in at Meiringen was excellent. The whole holiday was
a highlight, mainly due to our travelling companions and Tour
Manager.
Below I have detailed a few memories of my holiday in Meiringen from which I returned on 2nd July.
Leaving aside the fictional story of Sherlock Holmes and his fight wiht Count Moriarty, there are two things that I will always remember. Firstly, the meringues in Brunners. Secondly, the door in the mountain at the eastern end of Aareschlucht Gorge. You walk down through the trees, cross the bridge over the river, follow the pathway through a rock archway, and there is the door in the mountain complete with two doorbells. As the tram stopped, the door slid open and you clambered up the steps into it and were whisked either to Innerkirchen or back to Meiringen. Quite an experience!
Thank you Great Rail Journeys for a most wonderful holiday spent in Meiringen, everything about it was superb.
The two hotels - one in Luxembourg on the outward journey and the other in Cologne inward - were excellent, but the hotel in Meiringen was just magnificent. The food and the staff at them all was brilliant.
The trains and service were very good, and all the excursions we took were amazing and will stay with us forever. Jenny, our Tour Manager, was just wonderful. She was full of information and so helpful; nothing was too much trouble for her .
On our free day we took the post bus to Grindelwald. It turned out to be a special trip for which we had to pay a small amount extra to the pass, as this bus took an amazing scenic route over the mountains passing the Wetterhorn. It ought to be recommended: the scenery was marvellous.
If there is a negative thing to say we feel more time could be given to changing platforms in Interlaken. Four minutes is not really long enough between trains when the party includes some elderly who can't walk so quickly, but this is the price to pay for the extreme efficiency of the Swiss rail system.
Again, thank you for a most memorable time spent with a superb group of people.
Discover Europe's highest railway station
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