The Most Beautiful Train Journeys in Switzerland for an Unforgettable Trip
Switzerland is one of Europe’s great rail destinations. Snow-capped mountains, deep valleys, turquoise lakes and traditional Alpine villages create a landscape that feels almost designed to be admired from a train window.
The Swiss rail network makes it remarkably easy to explore the country without a car, connecting major cities with remote mountain communities and some of the highest railway stations in Europe. Better still, many routes are experiences in themselves, with panoramic trains, dramatic viaducts and mountain passes turning an ordinary journey into one of the highlights of a Swiss rail holiday.
If you are planning a trip through Switzerland, these are some of the scenic journeys worth including.
The Glacier Express
The Glacier Express is perhaps Switzerland’s most famous train journey, travelling between Zermatt and St Moritz through the heart of the Swiss Alps.
Despite its name, this is not an express service in the traditional sense. The journey takes around eight hours, giving passengers plenty of time to appreciate the changing scenery along the route.
Leaving Zermatt, with the Matterhorn nearby, the train travels through mountain valleys, forests and traditional villages before climbing towards the Oberalp Pass. At more than 2,000 metres above sea level, it is the highest point of the journey.
Another highlight is the Landwasser Viaduct, an impressive stone railway bridge that curves across a deep valley before disappearing directly into a mountainside tunnel.
The Bernina Express
Running between Switzerland and northern Italy, the Bernina Express offers one of the most varied railway journeys in the Alps.
The train travels through the spectacular landscapes of Graubünden before crossing the Bernina Pass and gradually descending towards Tirano in Italy. In the space of a few hours, passengers experience high mountains, glaciers, lakes, forests and eventually a warmer, more Mediterranean environment.
One of the most memorable sections passes alongside Lago Bianco, a pale Alpine lake surrounded by rugged mountain scenery. The train also travels close to the Morteratsch Glacier before beginning its descent towards the Italian border.
The Bernina Express is particularly impressive because of the engineering involved. Rather than relying heavily on tunnels through the mountains, much of the railway winds around them, creating sweeping bends, viaducts and constantly changing views.
For travellers wanting to experience the route as part of a wider itinerary, a Bernina Express tour can be an excellent way to combine the railway with time in Switzerland’s picturesque mountain towns and lakeside destinations.
Lucerne to Interlaken
Not every scenic Swiss train journey needs to be aboard a famous panoramic service.
The route between Lucerne and Interlaken is one of the country’s most beautiful regular railway journeys, passing through central Switzerland’s lakes and mountains.
The journey begins beside Lake Lucerne before heading towards the dramatic scenery around the Brünig Pass. Along the way, passengers can see Lake Lungern and Lake Brienz, where brilliantly coloured water sits beneath steep mountain slopes.
Arriving in Interlaken places you between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, with the peaks of the Bernese Oberland rising beyond the town.
For travellers creating a longer Swiss rail itinerary, this route is particularly useful because it links two popular destinations while still delivering outstanding scenery along the way.
Interlaken to Jungfraujoch
The journey into the Jungfrau region is one of Switzerland’s classic mountain railway experiences.
From Interlaken, travellers can head towards villages such as Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen before continuing higher into the mountains. The landscape becomes progressively more dramatic as the railway climbs towards the Jungfraujoch.
Lauterbrunnen Valley is particularly memorable, with towering cliffs, waterfalls and Alpine meadows surrounding the railway. Grindelwald offers equally impressive views, dominated by the huge north face of the Eiger.
The final ascent towards Jungfraujoch takes passengers deep into the high Alps, eventually reaching a station more than 3,400 metres above sea level. From here, visitors are rewarded with vast mountain and glacier views.
It is as much a mountain excursion as a train journey, but the changing scenery throughout the climb is a major part of the experience.
The GoldenPass Route
For travellers wanting to see several different sides of Switzerland in a single journey, the GoldenPass route is another excellent option.
Connecting central Switzerland with the shores of Lake Geneva, the route travels through landscapes that gradually shift from dramatic mountains to rolling countryside, vineyards and elegant lakeside towns.
One of its most picturesque sections travels through the area around Gstaad, known for its traditional wooden chalets and Alpine scenery. As the train approaches Montreux, the mountains open out to reveal views across Lake Geneva.
The contrast makes this route particularly memorable. Within one journey, you can experience classic Alpine villages before arriving among vineyards and palm-lined lakeside promenades.
Zermatt and the Matterhorn
The railway journey to Zermatt is itself an introduction to one of Switzerland’s most recognisable landscapes.
Zermatt is a car-free mountain resort, so arriving by train is the natural way to reach it. The railway climbs through the narrow Matter Valley, following rivers and passing small mountain communities before reaching the town.
Once in Zermatt, further mountain railways and cable cars provide extraordinary views of the Matterhorn.
One of the best-known excursions is the Gornergrat Railway, which climbs from Zermatt to more than 3,000 metres above sea level. On a clear day, passengers are surrounded by some of the highest peaks in the Alps, with the Matterhorn dominating the skyline.
Discover Switzerland at a Slower Pace
Switzerland’s scenery is spectacular wherever you travel, but experiencing it by rail allows you to appreciate landscapes that are easy to miss when simply travelling from one destination to another.
From the glaciers and mountain passes of the Bernina Express to the lakes around Lucerne and the towering peaks of the Jungfrau region, each railway offers a different perspective on the country.
Rather than treating train travel as a way of getting between hotels, build your journey around the railway itself. In Switzerland, the view from the window is often just as memorable as the destination waiting at the end.
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