Riding the Bernina Express
I was super excited when I came across the article about how to connect 6 great Swiss rail routes into one huge train trip around Switzerland. And briefly toyed with the idea of following that itinerary. But in the end, we decided not to spend that much time on the train, but I picked the one that intrigued me the most and fit well into our itinerary. The Bernina Express is a Swiss Panorama Train that travels from Chur, Switzerland to Lugano, Switzerland via Tirano, Italy and back again. The portion from Chur to Tirano is by train and then it connects to a bus for the remaining leg to Lugano. Part of the train route is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Chur is on the central southeast side of Switzerland, not far from Liechtenstein. We had to leave Luzern at 6:00am and connect in Zurich in order to catch the 8:32 train from Chur.
The train ride is approximately 4 hours and traverses 55 tunnels and 196 bridges and viaduct. It goes through the Bernina Pass at 2253 m. The panorama train requires a seat reservation, which is easy to make. Conveniently, the Swiss rail Super Saver Day Pass does work for this train as long as you have the seat reservation in addition. It is also possible take local trains instead, but that requires several different trains.
The train is well set up for pictures with the huge panorama windows, although I do have many with reflections. And everyone was there for the views. There was also a for purchase drink and snack cart that went through the aisle periodically.
From Chur, the train heads into the mountains very quickly. Passing by gorgeous views and small mountain towns. I think there would great opportunities to hop off and hike and explore in some of the areas. Or take a side trip to Davos or St. Moritz.
The Landwasser Viaduct is one of the most famous viaducts along the way, although it is difficult to get a good view.
Continuing to climb the views got snowier. We even had a 15 minutes photo break at the pass.
And then it was time to go down into Italy.
The last bit of the journey into Tirano is quite dramatic. It’s a very quick down from snow to green. One of the last major sites is the Brusio Circular Viaduct in Valposchiavo, is pretty dramatic. Unlike the Landwasser Viaduct, you can see it coming and it goes in a complete circle.
And finally, we arrived in Tirano. It’s a pretty small town, I’m guessing most of the people who visit are on their way to or from Switzerland on the train. It was lunch time and there were a several restaurants in the piazza immediately outside the train station. However, we forged ahead and found the old town across the river, where we located a fabulous restaurant.
I believe the restaurant was Vineria Tirano, it had a really pleasant patio, and it ended up being quite excellent. We ate crostini with burrata and pork and vegetable soup and pasta with duck.
