Glacier Express

In September 2012 we took a ride on the Glacier Express through southern Switzerland. The route goes through Zermatt, Visp, Brig, Andermatt and Disentis. From there you have options: either continue toward Davos or toward St. Moritz. Of course, you can also go in the opposite direction. The whole route takes about 8 hours, but you can shorten it by boarding the express at any of the points listed above. It is impossible to ride it both ways in one day because these expresses depart only in the morning, but you can return in the opposite direction using ordinary regional trains, and that will actually be faster because they are not mountain expresses.

If you want to combine the Glacier Express with a visit to Zermatt and Gornergrat, that most likely will not work, because the first express arrives in Zermatt only at 17:00.

There are no transfers anywhere along the route. You travel in a comfortable train like this one, on the photo it is the one on the right:

The train cars have panoramic windows:

Tickets can be booked on the website. There you can also look at the express route map and the elevation profile along the line. Here you can check the timetable. The site also lets you order full meals on board. If you do not do that in advance, you can probably order something on the spot, but if I remember correctly it is mostly tea, coffee and pastries.

Throughout the route you will see the beauty of the Swiss Alps, mountain lakes and lovely alpine villages.

The only downside is that it is impossible to photograph through the window without reflections.

If you have a SwissPass, you do not need to buy a separate ticket for this train. But you still need to pay for seat reservation, which in summer costs 27.5 euros, and in winter 10 euros.