The Glacier Express is one of the
world's greatest train journeys, taking its passengers on an unforgettable
adventure through some of the most incredible scenery Switzerland has to offer. Join us as
we share our experience travelling first class from Zermatt to St Moritz highlighting the
best scenic moments along with helpful tips and ways to save money on the full-price
ticket. It really was a day to remember. Zermatt, the gorgeous Alpine village at the
foot of the Matterhorn and our starting point for the 7 and a half hour journey to St Moritz.
If you missed our last video you can watch that next one covering our 3 days exploring some of
the many attractions in Europe's highest ski resort. From the Matterhorn viewing platform 3,883
m above sea level to the impressive 125 year old rack railway that climbs to Gornergrat station
or maybe you want to explore the quieter parts of the village. It certainly will whet your
appetite to visit. The famous train departs from Zermatt station and in May when we booked
there were two services running a day. Leaving an hour apart, we were on the later service at
9:52 scheduled to arrive in St Moritz at 5:37. There were two travel classes on our service.
This is first class where we were seated. It has a two-person configuration on one side and
a four-person on the other side of the carriage. Second class is four-person on either side
and carries more passengers. Excellence Class that's even higher than first class was not
available on this train. The modern carriages were specially built for this service and are
comfortable and a real pleasure to travel on, they're even air-conditioned. Their most
welcome feature is the huge side windows and glass skylights that open up the carriage
for wonderful panoramic views from every angle, and don't worry about your luggage, there is
plenty of space at each end of both classes. Announcement: "Hello and a warm welcome
to the Glacier Express" At 9:52, on time we slowly depart and begin our
epic journey that will take us across the country stopping briefly
several times whilst onboard. We begin by winding our way along the Matta
Vispa River descending the scenic Mattertal Valley from Zermatt dropping from 1600
m above sea level to just 650 m at Visp. The narrow gauge trains on this route
require a special cog wheel under the locomotive to maintain grip. On the rails, you may notice the toothed rack placed between
them which engages with the cog wheel. A bar coach is available on board for
drinks and small snacks, you can also order at your seat with an extensive menu, this
is charged in addition to your ticket price, more on that later! I indulged in a Swiss
hot chocolate fitting for our location. One hour into our journey and at the end
of the valley we head east passing Visp an interchange mainline station, quickly
followed by Brig at the bottom of the Simplon Pass close to the Italian
border with connections to Milan. We start to glide through the Rhône Valley
following the course of the Rhône River for the next hour. The Glacier Express first started its
luxury rail service back in June 1930. Switzerland had gained popularity as a holiday destination,
for those that could afford it and St Moritz and Zermatt were two of the most desirable
destinations. It made sense to join these two resorts, initially in summer only due to poor
winter conditions and not all year round until 1982 following the construction of the Furka
base tunnel that we're fast approaching. Well, not that fast actually this is the slowest
Express train in the world after all. The Furka Pass is a high mountain pass close to
2,500 metres high and it's blocking our way to continue the journey. The location of the Rhône
Glacier and covered in impassible snow in winter, it stops cars and trains from crossing
over it into the next valley. You may recognize this location from the James Bond
movie "Goldfinger" The spectacular winding road is one of the highest in Europe and
is featured in one of Bond's car chases. We won't see the pass from the train as we're
going through the tunnel which as you can see also takes cars. A quick route to
gain access to the other side and especially important in Winter. A preserved
cogwheel railway now runs steam trains in summer over the old line bypassed by the
tunnel. The Furka base tunnel is 15.4 KM, 9 1/2 miles long and it took 9 years
to complete. As we disappear into the darkness it will be over 10 minutes before we
see daylight again, but we'll spare you that! Back in the sunlight, more mountain scenery
unfolds before us as lunch is served. When you book your train tickets and cover
that complicated process at the end, you have the option to pre-book a dining
package, a two, three or four-course meat or vegetarian meal. If you don't fancy that then
you can pick directly from the menu on board as the train travels. We chose a four-course meat
meal which was 54 Swiss Francs per person and didn't include drinks. Surprisingly you are
allowed to bring your own food and drink on board even in first class so we provided
our own champagne. A great feature for the budget conscious and a way to create your own
banquet as you enjoy the incredible scenery. Our meal consisted of an egg salad and bread
followed by a beef stroganoff served at the table and all meals are freshly prepared on
board from local and regional ingredients. A nice slice of apple pie is followed by a cheese
course to end our meal served over a 1hour period. We are now passing Andermatt and the train begins
a series of turns to gain height. Winding up the mountain heading for the Oberalp Pass, the highest
point on our route at 2012 m above sea level. The town of Andermatt is seen numerous times, getting smaller and more distant highlighting
the sharp climb the train is required to make. Much of the line is single track so
the trains pass at the station's, perfectly timed on most occasions. Still climbing the centre rack rail appears
again to aid in grip on this section and as we reach the top you can see why, even
in May the Oberalpsee is semi-frozen. A 3-hour hike from Oberalp station hikers
can view the crystal clear lake that creates the starting point for the famous Rhine
river that flows north through Germany, the Netherlands and out to the North
Sea. One of Europe's longest rivers. Our descent signals the end of
the Oberalp pass and we continue on towards Disentis roughly the
halfway point of the journey. The stations continue to fly
by and almost 5 hours into our adventure we have reached one of the most
spectacular natural landscapes of the Alps! Often referred to as the Swiss Grand Canyon,
10,000 years ago the Ruinaulta was carved out by the Rhine River and provides
us with 13 km's of amazing scenery. The train follows the Rhine along the
Rheinschlucht and many visitors come to this area to experience pure adrenaline whilst river rafting
or hiking along the rugged rock formations. We reach one of the oldest towns in Switzerland,
Chur which was a settlement for the Romans. We will stop here so that the locomotive can be
changed the Glacier Express is run jointly by two private Swiss railways and our 10-minute wait here
allows the switchover. Whilst we wait you can jump out and stretch your legs or head to the onboard
shop where you can find souvenirs to take home, sign the visitor book or read the information
board covering the history of the line. From Chur, the train backtracks
slightly before connecting to the southern part of the line heading ever
closer to the famous Landwasser Viaduct synonymous with the Glacier
Express, as we continue to St Mortiz. The Landwasser Viaduct is an incredible Bridge,
spanning 142 metres and reaching 65 metres high. A tight curve guides the train straight
into the Landwasser tunnel carved into a sheer cliff. Technically very challenging,
it was built to such a high standard that very little repair has been needed since its
construction. Built in 1901 and 2 this remarkable and picturesque bridge has been recognised
by UNESCO for its cultural importance and along with the entire Glacier Express line
has been added to the world heritage list. Shortly after the viaduct, we pass
the village of Filisur which sits on a hillside. A branch line operates
services to Davos from here and I believe the Glacier Express does have
services to the town in the summer. Passing the traditional village of Bergün,
we begin another set of winding tight turns, tunnels and an abundance of viaducts that allow
us to gain height. We need to climb 416 metres in just 6 km and the only way the train can
cope with this is to zigzag across the valley. We are approaching our destination which will be
our home for one very short night but before our incredible train journey comes to an end in St
Moritz and we show you a few of the sights in this popular resort, let's go over the booking
process and costs for this epic rail journey. It was far from straightforward to book our
tickets so we hope our explanation will make it clear for you and help you possibly save some
money on the full-price ticket too. You will need two different ticket types to ride the train.
A seat reservation ticket and a train ticket, they are separate tickets. To book your seat
reservation go to the Glacier Express website this secures your place and chosen seat on
the train in the class you pick along with any dining options you choose. You can only
do this 93 days in advance. When you select your route and date of travel the train ticket
will automatically be added at full price cost along with the seat reservation. Remove the train
ticket from the booking cart after you enter your personal details and select "reservation only".
You can get a better price by booking the train ticket on the Swiss rail website as it offers you
discount options on tickets. We saved over 100 Swiss Francs each doing this. The train ticket can
only be booked 60 days ahead of your travel date, just to add to the headache of this entire booking
process. You need to search for the exact date, time and train number that you booked your seat
reservation on, then buy a "Saver Day Pass" on that service. It is the cheapest ticket.
Also, make sure you select the same class of travel as your seat reservation. You may
also note an option for "Half Fare Card". As we were travelling around Switzerland for 5 days and
visiting a number of attractions we took advantage of a tourist offer allowing 50% off train, bus and
boat travel along with attraction discounts of up to 50% off. It is valid for 1 month and costs
120 Swiss Francs per person. It's called the "Swiss Half Fare Card" and we purchased it on the
SBB website. You need to price up your travel and attraction costs before you go to make sure the
half-fare card is going to save you money over the course of your trip. The GlacierExpress sells out
quickly, particularly in summer, so be ready to get on the website at midnight 93 days before your
desired travel day! This is no joke, we did this and others were clearly doing the same and the
seats were disappearing very quickly at this time. In summary, the way we booked was as follows.
We purchased our Swiss Half Fare Card first. We booked our seat reservation in
first class, 93 days before travel, "seat reservation only" then we booked
our Save Day Pass train ticket, Half Fare, First Class, ticket 60 days before travel.
Our cost per person was the seat reservation 49 Swiss Francs the four-course meal
54 Francs, the day saver 54 Francs, so a total of 157 Swiss Francs per person.
Prices will vary depending on the date and time of travel. We have been travelling on
this extraordinary journey for 7 and 1/2 hours passing over 291 Bridges and through 91 tunnels
covering a mere 291 km 180 miles in that time. Just a few minutes late we arrive at the line
terminus and the famous ski resort of St Moritz. We had just one night in St Moritz
and it was out of season so many places were closed up. We ate in
our hotel and only had time for a short walk the following morning
around the lovely St Moritz Lake. We were blessed with another day of good
weather for the hour we had spare before it was time to return to the station
catch another train to Zurich and our flight home to London. We decided to
put the camera down for that journey. The Glacier Express was a fantastic journey,
filled with incredible scenery and fond memories of our short trip to Switzerland. For more
amazing rail journeys check out our playlist where you'll find the West Highlands
Railway in Scotland, the Flam Railway, Bergen and Oslo's incredible train ride and many
more. Please join our adventures and subscribe now so you don't miss our future videos. Happy
travels and thanks for watching the MemorySeekers.
