Switzerland Grand Rail Tour

Welcome to Switzerland. Your driver meets you at Zürich Airport (ZRH) and transfers you to your hotel in the Old Town (Altstadt). Check in and walk the Bahnhofstrasse (the famous shopping boulevard), the Limmat riverfront, and the Lindenhof viewpoint.

Afternoon: guided walking tour of Zurich’s Old Town — the Grossmünster (twin-towered Romanesque church), Fraumünster (Chagall stained-glass windows), and the medieval guild houses along the Limmat. Welcome dinner at a specialist-selected restaurant — Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (Zurich-style veal) and a glass of Swiss wine.

Morning: Kunsthaus Zürich (one of the finest art museums in Europe — Giacometti, Monet, Chagall, Munch) or the Swiss National Museum (the history of Switzerland from prehistoric to present, housed in a castle-like building next to the main station).

Afternoon: tram to Uetliberg (Zurich’s local mountain, 30 minutes from the city center, panoramic views over the city, the lake, and the Alps on a clear day). Or a boat cruise on Lake Zurich. Evening at leisure in the Niederdorf quarter.

Morning: train from Zurich to Lucerne (approximately 45 minutes — your first Swiss rail experience, efficient and scenic). Lucerne is many travelers’ favorite Swiss city — a medieval Old Town on a lake surrounded by mountains.

Afternoon: the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke — Europe’s oldest covered wooden bridge, built in 1333, with 17th-century paintings in the gable triangles), the Lion Monument (Bertel Thorvaldsen’s dying lion carved into the cliff face, which Mark Twain called ‘the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world’), and the Old Town’s painted façades. Check in. Evening: lakeside dinner.

Morning: the ‘Golden Round Trip’ to Mt Pilatus — boat across Lake Lucerne to Alpnachstad, the world’s steepest cogwheel railway to the summit (2,132m), panoramic views of 73 Alpine peaks, then cable car and gondola back down to Kriens and bus to Lucerne. The round-trip circuit is one of the great Swiss day excursions.

Afternoon: Lake Lucerne steamer cruise — the historic paddle steamers from Lucerne to Vitznau or Flüelen (the William Tell route). The lake is surrounded by mountains and the steamers are included in the Swiss Travel Pass. Evening at leisure.

Morning: the GoldenPass or Brünig line from Lucerne to Interlaken (approximately 2 hours through the Brünig Pass — lakes, forests, and the Bernese Oberland appearing ahead). Interlaken sits between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, the gateway to the Jungfrau region.

Afternoon: explore Interlaken and the Lauterbrunnen valley — the valley of 72 waterfalls, hemmed by vertical cliffs, that inspired Tolkien’s Rivendell and Conan Doyle’s Reichenbach Falls. Check in. Evening: dinner with Alpine views.

Full day: Jungfraujoch — the highest railway station in Europe at 11,332 feet. The cogwheel train climbs from Lauterbrunnen through the Eiger and Mönch mountains (windows carved into the rock face at stations inside the mountain) to the summit. The Sphinx observation terrace has 360-degree views of the Aletsch Glacier (the longest in the Alps, UNESCO) and, on clear days, the Vosges in France and the Black Forest in Germany.

Return to Interlaken by late afternoon. Optional: paragliding over Interlaken (tandem flights from Beatenberg, landing in the Interlaken meadow — the most famous paragliding site in Europe). Evening at leisure.

The signature rail day. Morning: train from Interlaken to Andermatt (via the Brünig and Furka routes), then board the Glacier Express panoramic carriage from Andermatt to Zermatt (approximately 4 hours for this segment). The route crosses the Oberalp Pass (2,033m), passes through 91 tunnels and over 291 bridges, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the Rhine Gorge, the Landwasser Viaduct views, and the descent into the Zermatt valley.

Arrive Zermatt late afternoon. Zermatt is car-free — electric taxis and horse-drawn carriages only. Your first view of the Matterhorn from the village is the moment the trip crystallises. Check in. Evening: fondue dinner with Matterhorn views.

Morning: Gornergrat railway — the open-air cogwheel train from Zermatt to the Gornergrat summit (3,089m) in 33 minutes. The summit platform has the iconic Matterhorn view reflected in the Riffelsee lake (morning light is best). Views of 29 four-thousand-meter peaks and the Gorner Glacier.

Afternoon: at leisure in Zermatt — the car-free village, the Matterhorn Museum (the story of the first ascent in 1865), or hiking on the Five Lakes Trail (Stellisee, Grindjisee, Grünsee, Moosjisee, Leisee — each reflecting the Matterhorn differently). Evening: dinner in the village.

A second Zermatt day — the village and mountains reward unhurried time. Morning: Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car (Klein Matterhorn, 3,883m — the highest cable car station in Europe, with an ice palace carved into the glacier and views into Italy). Or hiking on the Matterhorn Trail from Schwarzsee.

Afternoon: at leisure — shopping in the village (Swiss watches, chocolate, mountain gear), a spa afternoon, or simply sitting on a terrace watching the Matterhorn change color in the afternoon light. Final Zermatt evening.

Morning: train from Zermatt to Zweisimmen (via Visp and Spiez, approximately 3 hours). Then board the GoldenPass Belle Époque or Panoramic carriage from Zweisimmen to Montreux (approximately 2 hours — the route descends through the Bernese Oberland’s green pastures, past Gstaad, and down through the Lavaux vineyards to Lake Geneva).

Arrive Montreux late afternoon. Montreux is the Swiss Riviera — palm trees, lakeside promenade, and the snow-capped Alps reflected in Lake Geneva. Check in. Evening: lakeside dinner.

Morning: Château de Chillon — the medieval castle on the shores of Lake Geneva (the most visited historic monument in Switzerland, immortalised by Byron). Walk the ramparts, the underground vaults, and the lakeside courtyard. Then the Lavaux vineyards (UNESCO) — terraced wine slopes above Lake Geneva producing Chasselas white wine since the 12th century.

Afternoon: train from Montreux to Geneva (approximately 70 minutes along the lakeshore). Geneva — the Jet d’Eau (the 459-foot fountain in the lake), the Old Town (St. Pierre Cathedral, the Reformation Wall), and the Bains des Pâquis (the public baths on the lake). Check in. Farewell dinner.

A final Swiss morning. Optional: the Paläces des Nations (UN European headquarters, guided tour) or the CERN visitor center (where the World Wide Web was invented and the Higgs boson discovered). Transfer to Geneva Airport (GVA) for your departure flight.

Twelve days across Switzerland by rail — Zurich’s Old Town to Lucerne’s lake, the Jungfraujoch at 11,332 feet, the Glacier Express through 91 tunnels, the Matterhorn at golden hour, and the GoldenPass descent to Lake Geneva. Your specialist remains reachable throughout. Safe travels home.