Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 19 Transcript

Grand Train Tour of Switzerland and Premium Panoramic Trains

You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.

Announcer

Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland Travel podcast. Your host is the founder of Holidaystoswitzerland.com and the Switzerland Travel Planning Facebook group, Carolyn Schönafinger. On this podcast, Carolyn will be joined by a variety of guests who share their knowledge and love of the country to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger

This is episode 19 of the Holidays to Switzerland Travel podcast and I’m your host, Carolyn Schönafinger. You may already have listened to episodes 11 and 17 where we discussed travelling by public transport in Switzerland, but as the Swiss transport network is so extensive, I wanted to dive deeper into a couple of topics that seem to be on the radar for many visitors to Switzerland. I’m really pleased to be joined again today by Andy Nef of the Swiss Travel System. Today, Andy is going to tell us all about the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, the premium panoramic trains and some of the scenic routes and theme routes that can also be covered by train. Now, if you enjoy this episode, please subscribe on your favourite podcast app and be sure to leave a review. I’d be very grateful. Now, let’s get into it and welcome Andy to the show. Welcome back, Andy. It’s great to have you here and I’m looking forward to chatting more to you today about the wonderful Switzerland Public transport network.

Andy Nef

Thank you very much, Carolyn, for giving me the opportunity to be here again. It’s an honour to be back and, well, I’m very happy to give you some more information on the Swiss travel system today.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Great. As we’ve discussed in previous episodes, the Swiss public transport network is very extensive. But the great thing is that it’s not just a means of getting from A to B, because every Swiss journey in Switzerland is so scenic, often that travelling from one destination to the other is just as much of a highlight as getting to the destination itself here in Switzerland.

Andy Nef

That’s absolutely true. The trip itself is an experience already. I mean, in many other countries, you have to get from one place to the other somehow, and maybe the train might be the best choice. But here in Switzerland, every trip is an experience already.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, exactly. And I’m guessing that that’s one of the reasons that the idea for the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland came about. Because, as we have just said, it’s not just a journey, it’s an experience getting from one place to another.

Andy Nef

That’s right. The idea of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland is actually to make the choice easier for our guests from abroad. There is such a variety of trips and trains available here in Switzerland that sometimes you just lose the overview. And it’s very hard to choose to make a selection on which trains you want to ride on. And with the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, we have made the selection already. Meaning that we kind of propose you the best possible way to experience the most beautiful and the most scenic train rides in Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger

That’s right. And so that’s wonderful for people, particularly if they haven’t been to Switzerland before. Because looking at maps and routes and all the different places, working at where should we go, that can be so overwhelming. So to have all the options laid out there in front of you just makes it so much easier.

Andy Nef

Absolutely. So in fact, the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland is the perfect combination of the most beautiful train rides. But yeah, that’s more or less how to say, the wrap up of the Grand Train Tour.

Carolyn Schönafinger

So can you explain a little bit more about how the Grand Train Tour actually works? There’s different legs. Even though it’s called a tour, it’s actually self guided. You do it by yourself. What else can you tell us about it?

Andy Nef

Yeah, that’s a very important fact. I mean when you hear tour, you think of a pre arranged, organised group tour, right? That’s the first, first thing which pops up in your mind. But this is definitely not the case. The Grand Train Tour of Switzerland is more like a suggestion. It’s an itinerary on how you can arrange the most beautiful train trips in Switzerland in the best way. So there is no guide, there is no itinerary. You have all the flexibility you want. You can start from one end, do it clockwise, or you start on the other end, do it anticlockwise, you make the whole Grand Train tour which takes at least eight days, or you just make sections of it. And just to finish, there are also pre arranged packages around the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. Should you not want to arrange everything by yourself?

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, so you mentioned there that if you did the whole of the tour, you need to allow at least eight days. So I’m assuming that there’s eight different legs or sectors or sections, is that correct?

Andy Nef

That’s absolutely correct. So the whole Grand Train Tour consists of eight sections. Well, which you need a day for each of them. And I’d say if you want to do the whole thing, eight days is definitely the minimum, meaning that you are travelling every day. But we always have to keep in mind that distances in Switzerland are not huge. Travelling from one city to the other in Switzerland means travelling for an hour, maybe two. Or travelling on a panoramic train means travelling for four, five, maybe max, eight hours. So it’s nothing compared to the travelling times you need in Australia.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay. So if you’re travelling, as you said, just one of those shorter distances, obviously you could do that in the morning and then you’ve got all the rest of the day for sightseeing. But if you’re on one of the longer sections, you would then really need a day after you travel so that you can look around and enjoy the sights in the destination.

Andy Nef

Absolutely. And there are certain places along the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland where there are so many things to experience so that it’s really worth taking a little bit more time. And the good thing is you don’t have a kind of a special tour ticket for this Grand Train tour of Switzerland. It’s the regular Swiss Travel Passes which apply the best for this trip. And as we have discussed in previous episodes already, there is a quite a big selection of passes which are available. Remember there is a pass for three, for four, for eight or even for 15 days. So there are two options. You either take an eight day consecutive pass and you do it one day after the other, the whole Grand Train Tour giving you not much spare time in the various places. Or you, you even opt for the 15 day consecutive pass, taking a little bit more time, do side trips, experience locations. Or the last option is having a Swiss Travel Pass Flex, meaning that you really skip a day in between and do some local sightseeing.

Carolyn Schönafinger

And I think the point that you made in the episode 17 where we discussed more about the Swiss Travel Pass benefits, you mentioned that it’s a hop on, hop off ticket for the whole country. And so that just works in beautifully with the, with the Grand Train Tour because you can, you can hop on and do one section and then you’ve got your pass still ready for the next time that you travel.

Andy Nef

Absolutely, that’s, that’s really, it’s the perfect combination. The Grand Train Tour in combination with the Swiss Travel Pass. That’s a winning team.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah. Now you don’t actually have to do the whole Grand Train Tour as you mentioned, so you can just choose individual sections that suit your own itinerary. What are some of the sections that are very popular for people that aren’t doing the whole itinerary?

Andy Nef

I suggest that we quickly go through the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. Talk quickly about the various sections that I can just point the most, how to say, the most scenic parts out. I mean, that tour, as I was mentioning, there is no starting point. You can start anywhere in between. On one end or the other. But, well, we had to kind of define a starting point. And that’s Zurich in our case, as you know, in Zurich is the biggest international airport of Switzerland, Zurich Airport. That means normally that’s the gateway to our country. So the first layer would start from Zurich, then going on to Lucerne. That’s about a 45 minutes trip from Zurich airport is an hour. Then in Lucerne you change to the Luzern Interlaken Express. That’s the first of our premium panoramic trains which takes you in another two hours to Interlaken. So the first leg requires about half a day. And then obviously in Interlaken you have so many things to do. Mountaintop excursions like the Jungfraujoch or the Schilthorn. It’s definitely worth spending a little bit more time in Interlaken.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, for sure.

Andy Nef

Before the next leg takes us on the Golden Pass Panoramic, which starts from Interlaken. There are various connections a day so that you can keep your flexibility. And then go through Spiez, Zweisimmen to Montreux, obviously in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Now this trip requires about five hours and there is not that much things which are worth to stop on the way. Well, one option could be Gstaad, the world famous mountain resorts. Why not getting off there for one or two hours, feel a little bit how the celebrities living there. And then take another train two, three hours later and continue your trip down to Montreux. That’s absolutely possible. As I said, there are various connections. So Montreux, the next stop you can still, I mean, if you leave in the morning, Interlaken, you arrive in Montreux somewhen in the early afternoon. So there is still time for maybe a trip to the Rochers-de Naye, house mountain of Montreux. Or visit the Chillon Castle, which is one of the most spectacular castles in Switzerland. By the way, included in the Swiss Travel Pass as a museum. And spend the night in Montreux. That’s what we suggest.

Andy Nef

Leg number three is a pretty short one. That’s the one travelling all along the valley of the Valais. That’s a mountain valley in the southwest of Switzerland. That’s mainly intercity train from Montreux to Visp, which takes almost two hours. And then it’s the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway taking you up to the mountain resort of Zermatt. So travelling time here is about three hours.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay. Yeah.

Andy Nef

And Zermatt is another beautiful place to be. Well, I think you all know the most photographed mountain in the world and that’s the Matterhorn. The Matterhorn is, let’s say the house mountain of Zermatt. By the way, it’s shown on the Toblerone chocolates. That’s one reason why the Toblerone is shaped as a triangle. And in Zermatt there are various mountaintop excursions which can easily be done in an afternoon. But of course, beautiful place to stay a little bit longer, maybe spend two nights in Zermatt, do some more mountaintop excursions, maybe some easy hiking. That’s the place to do that. And then we have another highlight coming up and that’s the Glacier Express. The Glacier Express is the slowest express train in the world, as they say. Well, the distance on the map doesn’t look that long, but it’s the longest time you can spend on a single train in Switzerland. It’s a total of eight hours you spend on the Glacier Express travelling from Zermatt all the way to St Moritz. And well, why is the train so slow? There are just too many obstacles in the way. It’s going straight through the Alps. There are bridges, tunnels, beautiful views.

Andy Nef

And the train is not running more, let’s say 80 kilometres per hour. You wouldn’t believe eight hours. They pass very fast, very fast because there is always something to see. There is a restaurant on board, they serve you a three course meal at your seat. Well, there is nothing better than enjoying a nice meal with all these views. And of course have a glass of Swiss wine with it. And if you want to even top it off, there is the new Excellence Class on the Glacier Express. That’s really travelling in style. That’s a very special panoramic car with window seats only. It’s like travelling in business class. You have drinks, meals, everything included, as much as you like. Of course it has a certain price. But how many times do you get to Switzerland and travel on the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland? For most people it’s a once in a lifetime experience. So why not make it a once in a lifetime experience by travelling with the Excellence class?

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, absolutely.

Andy Nef

So travelling from Zermatt with the Glacier Express to St Moritz is definitely a one day trip. So there is not much time left once we arrive to St Moritz. Still, you can explore the beautiful town of St Moritz. They still have a historic part in the town and of course the views are just magnificent in St. Moritz with the lakes in the Engadine Valley surrounded by snow peaked mountains. Next leg is then towards south with the Bernina Express. The Bernina Express leaves St. Moritz and it actually starts, as I said, surrounded by snow peaked mountains, pretty high up, quite a few metres above sea level. And then you cross the Bernina Pass, which is, by the way, the railway line is UNESCO World Heritage. It’s a masterpiece of engineering how they built everything. And once you have crossed the Ospizio of Bernina, you go all the way down to Tirano. And Tirano sounds pretty Italian already and yeah, well, it is in Italy. By the way, the last bit, the last few kilometres of the Bernina Express are in Italian territory. But down there you already feel kind of the Mediterranean influence. Speaking Italian Italian and you wouldn’t believe, but you even find palm trees down there.

Andy Nef

And of course the climate is much milder already because you’re just much lower in altitude than St. Moritz.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, and how long does that journey take?

Andy Nef

That’s about half a day. We talk about three hours. And then from Tirano you have a connecting bus, the Bernina Express bus, which is part of this leg, which takes you through Italy, back into Switzerland, along Lake Como to Lugano. Lugano, still a very Italian name, but in Switzerland, as you know, the southern part of Switzerland, the Ticino, that’s the Italian speaking part of Switzerland, Lugano, definitely another place to spend a little bit more time. Take a boat ride of Lago Lugano. There are beautiful mountaintop excursions in the surrounding areas and just enjoy the Mediterranean touch there. Palm trees, lots of flowers. Yeah, for me it’s always like holiday going there.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Without leaving Switzerland.

Andy Nef

Absolutely. That’s the good thing. I mean, I always refer to Switzerland as a compact country. You have four different languages within two, three hours. You have metropolitan cities, snow peaked mountains, palm trees, lakes, everything within three hours. The only thing we don’t have is a sea. Right. We don’t have a coast, we don’t have the sea that’s missing in Switzerland. But that’s a good thing. You don’t lose too much time for travelling from one area of Switzerland to the other, from one culture to the other, from one language area to the other. That’s Switzerland. Right? And well, typically that’s for Switzerland is our next lake, the trip from Lugano back to Lucerne. And here we take the Gotthard Panorama Express. The Gotthard is, we call it a myth in Switzerland. All around the Gotthard. This is one of the oldest mountain crossings which we know of in Switzerland. It was always very important for trade, of course, between Italy, Switzerland and Germany. And it was very difficult to conquer the Alps in the old days of course, until the day they built a railway line and the first Gotthard tunnel was opened in 1882. Imagine, 140 years ago they opened the first Gotthard tunnel.

Andy Nef

Constructing the whole line was a masterpiece of engineering, with spiralling tunnels, galleries, tunnels, viaducts. And the old Gotthard tunnel is just about 16 kilometres long and it’s pretty high up in the mountains. So the train first has to climb up to make for the altitude and that uses quite a lot of time. And then going all the way down again on the other side. But this can be experienced with the Gotthard Panorama Express. Well, I have to say here that the faster intercity trains are not taking the route anymore. They are passing through the Gotthard Base tunnel.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay.

Andy Nef

It has been opened recently and it’s a 57 kilometre long tunnel passing through the base of the mountains now, meaning trains don’t have to climb anymore and they can run with up to 250 kilometres per hour through this base tunnel. Yeah, which doesn’t take that much time anymore. But the trip through the tunnel takes more than 20 minutes. And what do you see in a 20 minutes trip through a tunnel?

Carolyn Schönafinger

Darkness.

Andy Nef

Darkness. Pitch black. And so that’s why we suggest to take the Gotthard Panorama Express, which still makes you experience all the beautiful sceneries and experience this special line going through the Alps. And the good thing is also that in Flüelen, that’s where Lake Lucerne starts, you can change to the steamboat taking you across Lake Lucerne slowly, steadily to Lucerne in more than two hours. And you can enjoy a beautiful meal on board. That’s why we always recommend to travel first class, so that you can enjoy it in the salon right on the boat, in the first class salon.

Carolyn Schönafinger

What a wonderful, relaxing way to arrive in Lucerne.

Andy Nef

Absolutely. And Lucerne is then our next stop on the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. Again, a place where you could spend a little bit more time, maybe making two nights. I don’t know, it really depends on you. There is so much to experience there. And then we are almost on our last leg of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. And that’s a trip from Lucerne to Sankt Gallen. And here again we are not taking the fastest way, which is by Intercity through Zurich. No, we take the more scenic way. And that’s the Voralpen Express. You may think, what a funny name, Voralpen. What does that mean? Let me translate it to English. It means Pre Alps vor Alpen out. The Pre Alps. Now when you hear of Alps, what comes up in Your mind first.

Carolyn Schönafinger

High mountain peaks.

Andy Nef

There we go. Thanks a lot. So we always think about the high mountain peaks, the rock faces, the eternal snow, glaciers, glaciers, etc. But of course, these high mountain peaks with more than 4,000 metres are not starting from zero. Right? So there are the Pre Alps. Between the lowlands and the Alps are the Pre Alps. These are peaks of, let’s say, 2,000 metres, but a lot of rolling hills as well. So, meaning you are travelling through these valleys with meandering rivers, with lots of rolling hills, a lot of water, green. And these are the Pre Alps, the Voralpen. And I’m a Voralpen guy. I was brought up in the Pre Alps in the eastern part of Switzerland in a valley called Toggenburg. And this Voralpen Express, the pre Alpine Express is passing through this Toggenburg valley and the place I was brought up, up. So that’s why I’m pretty fond of this particular part of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. So this sums it up. You will be arriving after two hours in Sankt Gallen and. No, sorry, that’s not correct. It’s a little bit more than two hours. But Sankt Gallen is another highlight, in my opinion.

Andy Nef

Still off the beaten track. The, the city in the very east of Switzerland, but it has a lot of culture and especially a lot of history. And there is again one more UNESCO World Heritage and that’s the Abbey library of St Gallen. Have you been visiting it already?

Carolyn Schönafinger

No, I haven’t been to St Gallen.

Andy Nef

Yeah, St Gallen is famous for its abbey and the cathedral being part of this abbey. And the library is there. There you can find some of the oldest books available in Europe. And it’s UNESCO World Heritage. It’s a museum and it’s free of charge with the Swiss Travel Pass so it’s definitely worth a visit. The old mediaeval town of St Gallen with the abbey district and the abbey library. And then we come to our last leg before we finish the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. And that again is something pretty special because you will be travelling along a lot of water. And that’s the Lake Constance, one of the bigger lakes of Europe. And you are travelling all along Lake Constance for quite a while until you reach Konstanz or Kreuzlingen. That’s the German, how to say, the Swiss city on the other side of the German Swiss border. And there you could either continue by boats, by river boats. We have river cruises in Switzerland too, by the way. And it’s also river cruise on the river Rhine. But the river Rhine is much smaller at that stage. So you wouldn’t spend the night on the boat, you spend a few hours hours on the boat.

Andy Nef

You can take the boat either from Kreuzlingen and travel four hours to Schaffhausen by boat or you continue by train should that be too much time. There is a place on the way which is called Stein am Rhein. A beautiful mediaeval town nestled between hills and river Rhine. And again that’s the convenience of the Swiss public transport. There is not only one train per day or one boat by day, there are various connections so you can easily skip one boat, have lunch for example in Stein am Rhein, continue by boat or train to Schaffhausen. And in Schaffhausen you find the world, no, not the world. I’m really sorry, I am a little bit over exaggerating now. No, Europe’s highest what biggest waterfall. Not highest, but biggest in terms of volume. Right. Waterfall, that’s the Rhinefall. And the Rhinefall is just outside of Schaffhausen. Easily can easily be reached either by public bus from Schaffhausen station or there is even a local train station just above the Rhine Falls where you can walk down to the actual falls. So this is another very important stop before you finally reach Zurich where we have started the Grand Train Tour a few days before.

Carolyn Schönafinger

So just just by listening to each section there it. It’s definitely like the best way to to link up all the major highlights in Switzerland very very easily.

Andy Nef

Absolutely. And I mean first of all you have the convenience and the comfort of travelling by train. I mean you can’t compare the roads in Switzerland with the roads you get in Australia. Driving here is I’d say a little bit more tricky. The roads are pretty narrow compared to other roads and you don’t want to travel on the highways only because you miss all the sceneries.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah.

Andy Nef

So crossing across an alpine pass requires some driving skills and don’t forget and some nerves. Right. And the weather conditions. Right. I don’t know how, especially in winter. I don’t know how much experience you have with driving in snow.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Zero.

Andy Nef

And very important thing, I mean drinking and driving is a no go. Right. But drinking and riding, that’s an absolutely go. So that’s my preferred way of travelling, taking public transport. Sit back, relax, sipping a glass of Swiss white while travelling on one of these beautiful panoramic trains. Right, yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Wonderful. So all those panoramic trains that you mentioned are all included in the Swiss Travel Pass. So therefore The Grand Train Tour is the perfect opportunity to enjoy those, the panoramic trains, because you’ve got your Swiss Travel Pass and it’s all included.

Andy Nef

That’s exactly the thing. I mean, the Swiss Travel Pass, that’s the all in one ticket for Switzerland, including all those trains, buses, boats, panoramic trains, even city transportation is part of the pass. And, and I was mentioning some museums. There are more than 500 of these museums all over the country which are part of the deal. So I’d say definitely it’s the best way to get around. You can even get reductions for the mountain peak excursions. And it’s a must when travelling on the Grand Train Tour or by public transport in Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, definitely. Now, I believe there’s also a special app for the Grand Train Tour that you can download. What sort of thing, what sort of information can you find on that app?

Andy Nef

Now, first of all, the app at that moment is the best way to dream about the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, since we are not able to travel right now. So the app is actually guiding you through the highlights of the Grand Train Tour. But it’s not only that the app is when you actually travel, the app is providing you with the must sees along the Grand Train Tour. There are for example, push notifications when the sites are coming up, meaning that you don’t miss anything, you don’t miss the photo opportunities. Right. Of course there are timetables available for the various sections and what I like very much is the function of collecting stamps and the awards.

Carolyn Schönafinger

So you can like a little digital passport, you can get, get stamps.

Andy Nef

There we go.

Carolyn Schönafinger

As you go.

Andy Nef

There we go. And it’s not only that, because you can become the master of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland by achieving as many stamps and awards as possible and get some Lindt chocolates at the end of. And that’s definitely an incentive. And the other good thing are the gifts and discounts which you can get with the digital coupons being part of this Grand Train Tour of Switzerland app. And last but not least, for the ones which are very much into social media, you have the integrated been there function which you can share then in your social media network. The perfect companion when actually travelling on the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, but also a very good way to dream of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, well. And use it to start planning your trip when we can actually start travelling again.

Andy Nef

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you’re right.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Excellent. So as well as all those panoramic trains that you’ve mentioned that are part of the Grand Train Tour. I’m sure that there are plenty of other scenic train routes in Switzerland as well, so that are probably lesser known. But are there some that you, you think deserve a special mention that we should know about, that we probably don’t.

Andy Nef

How much time do we have? No kidding. You know, you probably feel that already, but I’m really public transport enthusiast and obviously I love my job and, well, I’m the best example of how to travel by public transport. And I can say I have done a lot in Switzerland on public transport. I know public transport very well. And there are so many options. That’s one reason why we came up with this Grand Train Tour of Switzerland. There’s just too big a variety of beautiful train rides here in Switzerland, and that’s why we want to ease the pain a little bit by making a selection. Right. But of course, I could point out a few other options. And one is definitely, I mean, what is Switzerland famous for? Tell me.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Cheese.

Andy Nef

Yeah, go on.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Cows. Watches.

Andy Nef

Watches. And the banks. Don’t forget the banks. Yeah, nobody important. Are the two first points you mentioned. That’s the cheese and the chocolates. And I mean, that’s. Well, depends on the people. Maybe for the ones with a lot of money, it’s the banks first. Yeah, no, for, for, for people and me, it’s probably cheese and chocolates. And don’t forget the wine. But that goes very well with the chocolate and the cheese, by the way. And we have, in Switzerland, that’s pretty unique, we have a cheese train. And you wouldn’t believe we have a chocolate train as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Tell me more.

Andy Nef

With great pleasure. Now, you remember the first when we were talking about the Grand Train Tour, I mentioned a place called Montreux, and Montreux is definitely worth a longer stay as well because that’s where the cheese train is leaving from and the chocolate train is leaving from as well. Now, there is one point which is very important to mention. The cheese train and the chocolate train are not running at the same season. Not running in the same season. So the cheese train, that’s a product available in winter, and the chocolate train, that’s the product available in summer. So you have to come to Switzerland twice if you want to experience it.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Both.

Andy Nef

Right. Or stay a little bit longer, maybe stay a little bit longer. Right, right. So let’s start with the chocolate train. I’d say most Australians probably come to Switzerland in summer. Well, in our summer, obviously. And that chocolate train is normally running from May till October, but this year everything is a little bit special. So we don’t talk about this year. Since you won’t be able to come here anyway. Let’s talk about the future. And in the future it will most probably run again from May to October. It’s running, it’s a full day excursion. So you have to really count in a day for that. And you leave in the morning by train from Montreux. You get some trip in the, in the famous GoldenPass Belle Epoque train. You enjoy some, some chocolate there, some. Some croissants there on the train trip. And then there will be a bus taking you farther from Montbovon and taking you all the way to Gruyeres. Does Gruyeres sound a bell?

Carolyn Schönafinger

It does, yeah.

Andy Nef

That’s where the world famous cheese is coming from, Gruyeres. And there you find the dairy show. The show dairy La Maison du Gruyere. Worth a visit? Absolutely. You learn more about cheese making and the origin of this very nice cheese. You have time to visit the mediaeval town of Gruyeres and the castle. And then the bus is taking you farther to Broc. And in Broc, you find the chocolate factory of Nestle Cailler Cailler, one of these famous Swiss chocolate brands. And, well, you will be entering the world of chocolate. There they show you the origin of chocolate, the history, but of course also the presence of chocolates. In the end, you know everything about chocolates and you will get quite a lot of chocolate to taste. Okay, so after this chocolate experience, the special bus is taking back to Montreux. So this is the summer excursion of the chocolate train in winter.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Sorry to interrupt, Andy. In summer, when it’s, when it’s running the normal programme, does the chocolate train run every day?

Andy Nef

It depends. In the main season, so in the real summer months. July, August. No, June, July, August, it’s running every day. On the shoulder seasons it’s running on particular days.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Right, okay.

Andy Nef

Yeah. But it’s. Anyway, it’s required to book in advance, so it will be difficult to find seats on the spot.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, okay. Definitely book.

Andy Nef

Absolutely. Like all the other panoramic trains which require seat reservations, the chocolate train also requires it. Very important. And the fare itself is included in the Swiss Travel Pass, but you have to pay for all the extras. And those extras are part of the seat reservation.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Right, okay. Yeah.

Andy Nef

So don’t forget, don’t, how to say, don’t get shocked when you see the price. It’s a little bit higher than a normal seat reservation.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah. Okay. 

Andy Nef

Because you get all the extras. Yes, but with a Swiss Travel Pass, travelling in first class, you pay like 59 Swiss francs.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay. Yeah.

Andy Nef

Which is a reasonable price for all.

Carolyn Schönafinger

You get for a great day out. Yeah, absolutely.

Andy Nef

Yeah, yeah. Without a Swiss Travel Pass, you pay 99 Swiss francs.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay.

Andy Nef

Just to give you an idea, but now let’s talk about cheese. Right, yeah. So the cheese train. Cheese train is running in winter again. Normally it’s running from, if I’m not mistaken, from December to April, something like that. This year everything is is a little bit special. So once you can travel to Switzerland, just check timetables again, all available on our website. So let’s talk about the cheese train again. You can start in Montreux, but you can also start on the other end in Zweisimmen.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay. Yeah.

Andy Nef

So there are two starting points. The trains will take you, will take you through the winter landscapes. You stop in between in, how to say, you stop in between where you can visit in Chateau d’Ouex. You can visit the cheese dairy. And you see how they produce cheese in the old traditional way. Way.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Right.

Andy Nef

And also included is some cheese fondue. And. Well, you don’t want to miss that. No, this is part of the deal. 

Carolyn Schönafinger

I was going to say is fondue is traditionally eaten in winter. Is that correct? I mean, I know you can, you can have it in restaurants all year round, but is it traditionally a winter dish? Dish?

Andy Nef

I’d say so. I’d say so. You have to imagine in Switzerland in winter it gets dark like at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. So in winter that’s a time where we spend a lot of time inside. That’s the cosy time where you want to be among friends. And cheese fondue, that’s a very special dish for having among friends, because you cannot eat it in 10 minutes. Right. It takes a while to stir the bread in the cheese and there always comes along some white wine and yeah, that’s something you do among people. So this is more of a winter thing for me, for me, myself. But there are many people who like to have it in some. I mean, why not on the terrace in summer? That’s another option. Having some cool white wine with it. Why not?

Carolyn Schönafinger

Definitely.

Andy Nef

And so this is the cheese train. It’s definitely running in winter, only let’s call it autumn, winter going into spring. And it’s all about cheese. But don’t worry, you don’t have to eat the cheese fondue on the train. You are having it in the. In the restaurant attached to this cheese dairy.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Okay, and. And how long is that excursion for? Do you need to allow a full day for that?

Andy Nef

Yeah, you should, you should. It takes about five and a half hours. Right. So better take. Yeah, better take some time.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah. Oh, well. So many wonderful train journeys to enjoy in Switzerland.

Andy Nef

I could go on and on and on. I think it’s enough for the moment.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, we’ve got to get our head around deciding how we’re going to choose just, just which ones we can do. We’d love to, I’d love to do them all, but, yeah, that’s going to take a few more visits, I think.

Andy Nef

Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger

So thank you so much for sharing all that great info with us today. I’ll include links to your website and some more information about some of the, the journeys that we’ve mentioned today in the show notes so that if any of our listeners want more in depth information and want to check timetables in the future, they’ll be able to do that. So the show notes can be found at holidaystoswitzerland.com/episode19.  Andy, I know we’re going to catch up again in the not too distant future to chat about some of Switzerland’s famous mountain excursions and some off the beaten track routes that can be reached by public transport. So I look forward to chatting to you again then.

Andy Nef

And you can’t imagine how I’m looking forward to talk about that.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Yeah, I’m sure you’re not taking too many train journeys in Switzerland at the moment, so like us, we’ll have to live them. Yeah, vicariously.

Andy Nef

Yeah, that’s how it is. But at least spring is approaching and we can spend a little bit more time outside now and well, heads up.

Carolyn Schönafinger

Exactly. All right, well, thanks again for your time, Andy, and we’ll chat soon.

Andy Nef

Great pleasure. Talk to you soon again.

Announcer

Thank you so much for listening. For more great resources on planning a trip to Switzerland, make sure you visit holidaystoswitzerland.com where you’ll find trip planning tips, destination guides, information on transport, including Swiss rail passes and much more. You’re also encouraged to join the Switzerland Travel Planning Group on Facebook where you can ask questions and chat to other past and future travellers to Switzerland. You’ll find show notes from Today’s episode at holidaystoswitzerland.com/podcast and be sure to subscribe to the Holidays to Switzerland travel podcast so you never miss an episode.

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