Synopsis
Glacier Express to Zermatt: The Glacier Express is another well-known, must-do, can’t-miss Switzerland train trips, traveling from Chur or St. Moritz to Zermatt at the foot of the Matterhorn. We’ll have our luggage with us since we’re staying in Zermatt for three nights, Europe’s slowest express will allow plenty of opportunity to enjoy the scenic views of the Alps and everything else.
The trip is approximately six hours from Chur, arriving in Zermatt at sunset, followed by a quick cab to our hotel, the Beau-Rivage.
Commentary
Our final day in Chur began with a gorgeous view from our hotel room and a pre-trip visit to Chur’s City West mall: Zermatt’s forecast showed temperatures decently colder than pre-trip forecasts and colder than appropriate for the coat brought by my wife, requiring emergency winter coat shopping. The mall opened at 9am, our train is at 12:14, so enough time to purchase a long, white, puffy, warm coat.
[Spoiler alert: the coat was absolutely necessary for our ascents to the Matterhorn, especially our first ascent. First ascent? you ask? Yes, read the upcoming days.]
Shopping complete, coat packed in her now-tightly packed suitcase, we made our way to the train station via Uber.
The Glacier Express touts itself as the world’s slowest express train. I can’t substantiate the claim, but the train definitely does not break any speed records. It’s purpose is similar to that of the Bernina Railway – transport tourists slowly through the gorgeous Swiss countryside, going over, through, and around mountains along the way – but there are differences:
- Glacier is a longer trip, 6+ hours from Chur or 8+ hour from St. Moritz, whereas Bernina is just over 4 hours;
- higher quality carriages, including full-length tables between the facing seats, power outlets for charging devices, and wired earbuds for listening to information about the trip or different local music;
- 0food and drinks for purchase, including multi-course lunches served with the accoutrement appropriate for a luxury train;
- openable windows on both sides of the train for optimal picture-taking, Bernina windows only on one side of the train;
- transforming into a cog railway for the steepest ascents/descents, Bernina is strictly election traction.
Andermatt
The stain stopped just prior to Andermatt at a picturesque location where passengers could leave the train and take pictures. Aside from those asleep or bored, everyone else appeared to use this opportunity to stretch legs though most took pictures. Afterwards, the train slowly, almost cautiously, proceeded through Andermatt.
Hanging Bridge
As someone who enjoys heights, the Hängebrücke at Fürgangen-Mühlebach, also known as the Goms Suspension Bridge, immediately caught my attention. On a trip through Austria we unintentionally drove under the Highline 179 and changed our agenda to allow us to loop back the next day and absolutely loved it. No doubt this bridge just as exciting; unfortunately, train schedules are fairly rigid and did not provide us with the same opportunity; a future Swiss driving tour is definitely on our futures list.
Continuing On
More damn beautiful landscapes to photograph. Same damn problem with window reflections. I took extensive liberties of the open windows: for whatever reasons, most passengers either were unaware or didn’t understand the benefits. My of my open-window photos were taken with my Nikon DSLR which allowed me to use my zoom lenses. Pretty sure I’ll be posting some of those later.
Zermatt Arrival
Our traIn journey completed, next up is to get ourselves to our hotel, the Beau-Rivage. Google Maps estimates a ten minute walk, so we head off on foot rather than grab a taxi or Uber. What we didn’t know until later is that Zermatt banned personal vehicles decades ago, leaving only small electric taxis and delivery vehicles. Visitors with autos must park in Täschen and take train or taxi to Zermatt.
Surprisingly – because I no research on location – our hotel is well-located next to the Kirchbrücke which spans the Vispa River and across the street from the Mountaineers’ Cemetery.
Now it’s time for dinner and took a recommendation from a group of Americans. Regrettably, we took their advice and had a dismal meal, probably the worst of the entire trip, after which we returned to the hotel and called it a day. A long, train-riding day.
Image Credits
- map courtesy of travel switzerland
- photos © 2025 Scott C Sosna, all rights reserved
