A Wintery Round-Trip Ride on the Bernina Express

Costs and Reservations:

Book tickets here: https://shop.rhb.ch/en/bernina-express

I had the GA pass (unlimited travel on public transit in Switzerland) for the month.

Even though the train is technically ‘free’ with the GA pass, you still have to pay a 48CHF ‘reservation fee’ for the round trip.

Cost with only half fare discount: 111 CHF Cost with no discounts: 174 CHF

The trip takes about four and a half hours each way, and if you make it a same-day round trip you spend a little less than two hours in Tirano before loading back up.

The cars are the same in first and second class; the only difference is first class offers some extra personal space. I could see ahead of time my train was not going to be close to full so second class seemed just as good.

I should note, to my shock, there are no electrical outlets on this train. You cannot charge your devices. WiFi was also extremely spotty for much of the ride. Plan accordingly.

From February to November the Bernina Express offers a bus that goes from Tirano to the Swiss city of Lugano.

This is still a very long day of train riding (9 hours) but offers a more varied landscape. Keep an eye out for that option if you book in the summer, spring, or fall.

The Way There:

The train from Chur leaves a little before 8:30am and the platform the train leaves from is very clearly marked and easy for tourists to find.

The train from Zurich to Chur is an hour and a half long. I took a train that left around 6:30 and arrived at 8am so I had plenty of time to buy snacks at the train station and find the right platform.

The Ride South:

The weather for all 9 hours I was on the train was absolutely perfect: clear skies with a long range of visibility.

The views were breathtaking; this train ride really showcases the natural beauty Switzerland is famous for.

There are several interesting features along the way which are explained on the nicely-designed Bernina Express infoT(r)ainment digital companion you can access via the train’s wifi.

A Quick Stop:

Riders can leave the car about half way through at Alp Glum, which has a little restaurant/snack station and a lot of great picture taking opportunities.

This stop was only available on the way to Tirano and not in the afternoon ride back to Chur.

It looked amazing in winter but I think might be even better in summer when you can see more variety in vegetation along the mountain than just snow.

Right after our stop we got some free treats, an iced tea and a tin train filled with chocolate. They were super cute, and it’s always exciting when you get anything free in Switzerland!

To Tirano:

It’s amazing how on one side of the alps it was snowy and glacial and on the other side you had a temperate weather and palm trees.

On the southern side of the alps you can see the extremely cool train tracks that spiraled downwards in a circle. One of my big takeaways from the trip is the genius of Swiss engineering!

In Tirano:

I arrived at Tirano, Italy at 12:50 and I had to get back on the train around 2:30—really not a lot of time!

Here’s what I did in my hour and a half in Tirano:

* Walk around old town * Get lunch * Visit the ruins of the Castellaccio

Old Town:

Luckily the pretty old town is in easy walking distance of the train station with lots of signs pointing the way.

The buildings look a bit run down and decrepit but still exude charm and romance. I just wandered around some streets and alleys for 20 or so minutes admiring the architecture and rustic vibe.

Lunch:

I was really hungry and also desperate to charge my phone. I went to Bar Trattoria, which was highly rated and in the middle of the main old town square.

The restaurant was absolutely packed, and tragically for me there were no outlets available at this restaurant. I did get a pretty good bolognese and beer though for about 12 Euro.

Overall it was not the greatest lunch of my life but it was cheap, in a nice location, and most importantly fast—about 20 minutes in and out.

Castellaccio:

I saw there was a castle about a 10 minute walk from the restaurant and decided I’d give up the chance to charge my phone at a cafe in order to see it.

The walk there and back is very pretty with rustic buildings, alleys, and paintings.

The ‘castle’ is pretty much just ruins with a tower and the main part was closed off when I went, but I enjoyed looking at it and I opened a fence to access a little courtyard which had a very nice view of the town and surrounding alps.

The castle was built at the end of the 15th century and formed a defense against the Grisons, a people located in the present-day Graubuden canton (called Grisons in French) of Switzerland.

I wonder what they would have thought of the Bernina Express dropping people right off at their door 600 years later.

Tirano Recap:

Tirano was super cool and it would’ve been great to spend more time there. I can see how this would be a good starting off point for more Italian site-seeing.

Unfortunately my round trip excursion didn’t allow for much more exploration, so I missed high points like the beautiful church, Santuario della Beata Vergine di Tirano, which was a bit too out of the way.

But I can say I packed as much in as I could and I had a good time!

The Trip Back:

The way to Chur in the afternoon is about 20 minutes shorter than the way to Tirano in the morning because you don’t stop at Alp Glum.

The mountain sights were of course still amazing even though I was markedly more tired.

I got another iced tea and train chocolate tin for free along the way.

It started getting dark around 5:30pm though so there wasn’t much to see at all after that. The train got into Chur around 6:30, and then it was another one and a half hour back to Zurich.

Conclusion:

PHEW. As you can see this was a super long day—I started at 6am from Zurich and ended around 8pm! My phone even made it with about 10% battery to spare.

The views are one of a kind and this is one of my fondest experiences in Switzerland so far.

I’m super happy I had the time to do it and definitely recommend it to my readers, although if you are a tourist with limited time it’s best to go in spring, summer, or fall where you can take the bus on to Lugano, or stay in Italy for a bit longer and site-see from there before going back.

I still love my little train tins though even after I ate all the chocolates and keep them as decoration next to my TV.

Five snacks and happy travels!