Day-by-day programme of this 10-day itinerary across The grand rail tour among Alps and lakes.
Day 1 — Arrival in Zurich
Landing in Zurich, Switzerland's economic capital: an elegant, liveable city between the lake, the Limmat river and a medieval old town. A first taste of Switzerland.
- ✈️ Zurich — Aeroporto di Zurigo (ZRH)
- 📍 Zurich Old Town — Zurich's old town (Altstadt), split by the Limmat river, is a maze of medieval lanes, churches and shops: the Grossmunster with its twin towers, the Fraumunster with Chagall's stained glass, and the Bahnhofstrasse, one of the most elegant shopping streets in the world. You stroll to the shores of Lake Zurich, where the Alps reflect at sunset. You dine and sleep in the city.
- 🏨 Sorell Hotel Rütli, Zurich — Centro, Zurich
Day 2 — Lucerne and Mt Pilatus
Towards the centre of Switzerland: Lucerne, a medieval gem on Lake Lucerne with its famous Chapel Bridge, and the ascent of one of its panoramic mountains.
- ✈️ Zurich → Lucerne — Lucerna (centro)
- 📍 Chapel Bridge — Lucerne's symbol is the Kapellbrucke, the oldest covered wooden bridge in Europe (1333), crossing the Reuss river with its octagonal tower and 17th-century paintings under the roof. All around, the old town with frescoed squares, medieval walls and the moving Lion Monument carved into the rock. In the afternoon you head up the mountain.
- 🎯 Mt Pilatus — From Lucerne you climb Mt Pilatus (2,132 m) on a classic 'golden round trip': a boat across the lake, the world's steepest cogwheel railway and cable cars. From the summit, a 360-degree view over a sea of alpine peaks, the lake and the city below. Alternatively, the nearby Mt Rigi, the 'queen of the mountains'. You return to Lucerne for the night: tomorrow the Jungfrau region.
- 🏨 Ameron Hotel Flora Luzern, Lucerne — Centro, Lucerne
Day 3 — The Lauterbrunnen valley
Scenic train to Interlaken and then to Lauterbrunnen, the valley of seventy-two waterfalls at the foot of the Jungfrau: one of the most beautiful valleys in the Alps.
- ✈️ Lucerne → Lauterbrunnen — Lauterbrunnen
- 📍 Staubbach Falls — Lauterbrunnen is famous for its seventy-two waterfalls, first among them the Staubbach, which plunges 300 metres from a rock face like a veil of mist (it inspired Goethe and, it is said, the Rivendell valley of The Lord of the Rings). You stroll among the meadows with cows, the wooden chalets and the looming walls. You sleep three nights in the valley, the base for excursions.
- 🏨 Hotel Staubbach, Lauterbrunnen — Lauterbrunnen o Interlaken
Day 4 — Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe
The headline excursion: the cogwheel train climbing to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe, among eternal glaciers and snow in midsummer.
- 🎯 Jungfraujoch — From Lauterbrunnen a series of cogwheel trains (partly through a tunnel bored into the rock of the Eiger) climbs to Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 metres: the highest railway station in Europe, nicknamed the 'Top of Europe'. Up there, among panoramic terraces, the Ice Palace carved into the Aletsch glacier (the longest in the Alps) and perennial snow, the view of the peaks is unreal. An unforgettable experience. You return to the valley in the afternoon.
Day 5 — Grindelwald and the Schilthorn
A day among alpine villages and peaks: the First above Grindelwald with its walkways and the Schilthorn (Piz Gloria), the revolving viewpoint made famous by James Bond.
- 📍 Grindelwald-First — Grindelwald, a postcard village at the foot of the Eiger's north face, is the gateway to the First area: a cable car climbs to 2,168 metres, from which starts the 'First Cliff Walk', a walkway suspended over the void along the rock face, with views of the peaks. All around, trails, mountain scooters and alpine lakes. In the afternoon you head for the Schilthorn.
- 📍 Schilthorn (Piz Gloria) — The Schilthorn (2,970 m), reached by a series of cable cars from Stechelberg via the car-free village of Murren, is crowned by the revolving Piz Gloria restaurant, the set of the James Bond film 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. From the terrace, the panorama embraces over 200 peaks, with the unmistakable Eiger-Monch-Jungfrau trio opposite. Descent at sunset. You return to the valley.
Day 6 — Bern, the medieval capital
Train to Bern, the Swiss capital: a medieval old town and UNESCO site, cradled in a bend of the Aare river, with six kilometres of arcades and the clock tower.
- ✈️ Lauterbrunnen → Bern — Berna (centro)
- 📍 Zytglogge — Bern's old town is an intact medieval masterpiece: six kilometres of covered arcades (the longest in Europe) line the streets, with carved Renaissance fountains and the Zytglogge, the 13th-century astronomical clock tower that sets its carousel of figures in motion every hour. You visit the Gothic cathedral and head down to the Aare bend, where locals swim in summer. Nearby, the bear park, the city's symbol. You sleep in Bern.
- 🏨 Best Western Plus Hotel Bern — Centro storico, Bern
Day 7 — Zermatt and the Matterhorn
Train to Zermatt, the car-free village at the foot of the Matterhorn, the most photographed mountain in the world: a first view of the rock pyramid and an alpine atmosphere.
- ✈️ Bern → Zermatt — Zermatt
- 📍 Zermatt — Zermatt is the quintessential alpine village: no cars, only electric carriages and e-taxis, blackened wooden chalets (the old granaries on stilts), boutiques and restaurants, all dominated by the unmistakable shape of the Matterhorn (4,478 m). You stroll the old Hinterdorf quarter and reach the Kirchbrucke bridge for the perfect view of the mountain. You sleep two nights here.
- 🏨 Hotel Alpina, Zermatt — Centro, Zermatt
Day 8 — The Gornergrat
The royal excursion: the Gornergrat cogwheel railway climbing to 3,100 metres, facing the Matterhorn and a crown of glaciers and four-thousand-metre peaks.
- 🎯 Gornergrat — From Zermatt the Gornergrat cogwheel railway - opened in 1898, the highest open-air railway in Europe - climbs through woods and pastures to 3,089 metres, offering at every bend an ever more spectacular view of the Matterhorn. At the top, a terrace overlooks an amphitheatre of 29 peaks above four thousand metres and the great Gorner glacier. You can walk down along the panoramic trails. An unforgettable day. You return to Zermatt.
Day 9 — Montreux and Geneva
Towards Lake Geneva: the romantic Chillon Castle on the water at Montreux, among terraced vineyards, and arrival in Geneva, a cosmopolitan city with its great water jet.
- ✈️ Zermatt → Montreux — Montreux
- 📍 Chateau de Chillon — Chillon Castle, on a rocky islet at the water's edge of Lake Geneva, is the most visited historic monument in Switzerland: a medieval fortress of the Counts of Savoy with frescoed halls, dungeons and a dreamlike view of the lake and the Alps. It inspired Byron and the Romantic poets. A stroll on Montreux's lakefront, with the Freddie Mercury statue, rounds off the stop. You continue by train to Geneva.
- 📍 Jet d'Eau — Geneva, the capital of diplomacy (home to the UN and the Red Cross), sits at the tip of Lake Geneva with its symbol: the Jet d'Eau, a water jet shooting 140 metres into the air. You stroll the old town around St Peter's Cathedral, among luxury watchmakers and lakeside cafes. An international finale to the trip. You dine and sleep in Geneva.
- 🏨 Intercityhotel Geneva — Centro, Ginevra
Day 10 — Departure from Geneva
Return flight from Geneva. End of the grand tour among lakes, scenic trains and alpine peaks.
- ✈️ Geneva — Aeroporto di Milano Malpensa (MXP)
