Switzerland’s most scenic trains

Switzerland arguably offers the greatest concentration of scenic railways anywhere in the world. No other country packs so many high-altitude crossings, historic mountain lines and engineering landmarks into one place, or makes them so easy to combine. Its railways don't just skirt dramatic scenery; they climb high passes, cross open mountain summits and, in some cases, run straight through the rock of the Alps themselves. 

Many of these routes were built as ambitious engineering projects to connect remote mountain communities, and today they are also among the most celebrated railways in Europe, and even the world. Travelling by train lets you watch the landscape shift, from vineyard-covered hillsides to meadows strewn with Alpine flowers, green-hued glacial lakes and deep river gorges to bare rock and ice.

Panoramic lines, regional trains, lake ferries and mountain railways link seamlessly, allowing you to create a multi-stop overland journey that strings together Switzerland’s most dramatic landscapes without flying or driving. Here’s an overview of Switzerland’s most scenic rail lines. 

Alessandro Prato

The Bernina Express

Running between Chur and Tirano, the Bernina route is the highest Alpine railway crossing and one of the few lines to connect northern and southern Europe by going over the Alps rather than through long base tunnels. The dedicated Bernina Express train is famous for its wide windows. However, travelling the same line are regular local services, which offer identical views plus the freedom to stop at stations such as Filisur, Pontresina and Alp Grüm.

From Chur, the line climbs toward the Albula Pass and crosses the Landwasser Viaduct, a dramatic stone curve emerging straight from the cliff face. It then rises steeply above Pontresina to the highest point, Ospizio Bernina, at 2,253 metres. The landscape changes from high alpine lakes and glacier views to the chestnut forests and stone villages of Val Poschiavo, ending in the Italian town of Tirano. Pontresina is a popular stop for glacier walks, while Poschiavo offers quiet lake paths and mountain viewpoints.

Read the full guide to the Bernina Express route.

Neil Steventon

The Glacier Express

Often called the world’s slowest express train, the Glacier Express is designed to be experienced slowly. Over the course of a full day, it links St. Moritz and Zermatt. The panoramic service offers commentary and at-seat dining, but the route can also be travelled in sections using regional trains, making it one of the best lines for breaking the journey and exploring places like Andermatt, Disentis or Chur along the way.

From St. Moritz, the line runs through the high Engadine before descending into the Rhine Gorge, known as the Swiss Grand Canyon because of its sheer limestone walls.From Disentis, the railway climbs to the Oberalp Pass, the highest point of the route, before descending into the Goms, a wide valley of wooden granaries and pasture. The final stretch follows the Vispa Valley to Zermatt, arriving beneath the Matterhorn. Chur is a key interchange for continuing south on the Bernina Line, creating a continuous cross-Alpine journey.

Read the full guide to the Glacier Express route.

Sara Hobbs

The Golden Pass Line

The Golden Pass Line links Lucerne and Montreux using three connected regional railways, each with its own character. Rather than a single train, it is a carefully stitched journey that moves from central Switzerland to Lake Geneva through some of the country’s most varied scenery.

From Lucerne to Interlaken, modern Zentralbahn trains climb over the Brünig Pass with open views across Lake Brienz and the waterfalls around Meiringen. From Interlaken to Zweisimmen, BLS services cross the Simmental Valley, passing chalet villages and open pasture. The final section from Zweisimmen to Montreux descends through steep vineyard terraces with Lake Geneva spread out below.

On this last stretch, the Belle Époque service offers one of Switzerland’s most distinctive rail experiences. Restored wood-panelled carriages recall 1930s luxury travel and provide a slower, more atmospheric alternative to panoramic coaches, often at excellent value.

Read the full guide to the Golden Pass Line.

NAC/CC BY-SA 3.0

The Centovalli Railway

Beginning in Locarno on Lake Maggiore, the Centovalli Railway offers one of the most scenic and understated ways to cross from Switzerland into Italy. This narrow-gauge line threads through deep ravines, chestnut forests and hillside villages, moving at a pace that allows the landscape to unfold gradually.

The route is particularly lush in spring and early summer, when waterfalls spill beside the track and vineyards cling to the slopes. The best stops are Intragna for walking trails and high stone bridges, while Santa Maria Maggiore offers painted houses and mountain-view cafés. The line finishes in Domodossola, a historic market town with onward rail connections towards Milan or back across the Alps. From Locarno, it is easy to combine the journey with ferries across Lake Maggiore to Ascona and the Borromean Islands, or trains onward to Bellinzona and Lugano.

Read the full guide to the Centovalli Railway.

The Gornergrat Railway

From Zermatt, the Gornergrat Railway travels to 3,089 metres, delivering one of the clearest and closest views of the Matterhorn. One of Europe’s oldest electric cog railways, opened in 1898, it rises quickly above the village into open slopes where marmots and ibex are regular sights. As the train climbs, the panorama widens to include the Monte Rosa massif and a cluster of 4,000 metre peaks that form one Switzerland’s highest skylines. The Gorner Glacier appears late in the ride, a fractured mass of ice filling the valley below the summit station.

There are several intermediate stops including Riffelalp, which is a great hiking start port. The station links to a short forest trail to a historic mountain hotel, and Rotenboden, where a path leads to Riffelsee, a high-alpine lake known for near-perfect Matterhorn reflections in calm weather.

Read the full guide to the Gornergrat Railway.

Himmel S

The Jungfrau Railway

The Jungfrau Railway ascends to Europe’s highest railway station, Jungfraujoch, sitting at 3,454 metres above sea level. From Kleine Scheidegg, the line climbs rapidly from alpine meadows into a world of ice and rock. For much of the journey, the train runs inside tunnels cut into the Eiger and the Mönch, pausing at windows carved into the rock that open directly onto the glaciers below. 

At the summit, the Sphinx Observatory terrace offers sweeping views across the Aletsch Glacier, the largest in the Alps. In summer, marked snow trails lead onto the plateau, while inside the complex, quieter viewpoints such as Restaurant Crystal provide space to take in the landscape at a slower pace. The journey is easily reached from Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen, making it one of the most accessible high-altitude rail experiences in the Alps.

Read the full guide to the Jungfrau Railway.

Check out more of our slow travel adventures to Switzerland by train. 

Short on time? Explore scenic Swiss rail routes as bite-sized excursions: the Glacier Express and Bernina Pass from Milan, the Bernese Oberland and GoldenPass Express from Zürich, or the Centovalli Railway from Milan.

Find out about the art of slow travel, or why we love the local train. Alternatively, read our Zürich city guide, a popular access point to Switzerland’s scenic train journeys.

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