All aboard the Glacier Express! One of the world’s most famous train journeys
Travelling on the Glacier Express in Switzerland… talk about top bucket list moments.
On a dreary afternoon in England, we pulled the metaphorical trigger and splashed out, buying the most expensive train journey tickets of my life.
As a massive fan of winter and all things that remind me of real life Narnia or Hogwarts, it should come as no surprise that booking what is easily described as a magical wonderland journey through the Swiss mountains.
Well, seats in the Excellence Class on the Glacier Express is right up there in my top “must-do” things in my lifetime.
Located in Switzerland, The Glacier Express is an eight hour train journey that begins in St. Mortiz and travels winding up and through the mountains eventually concluding the journey into the station at Zermatt.
Alternatively, you can get the train in the opposite direction from Zermatt to St. Moritz. I’m not sure if one direction is more preferable to the other though. The views are beautiful either way.
Excellence Class seats on the train guarantee a window seat and stunning panoramic views.
You will be travelling over 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels between St. Moritz and Zermatt and having a window seat to witness it all is imperative.
Of course, a seven course meal including wine with each course doesn’t hurt either.
However, we realised with our limited time in Switzerland that it was going to take us quite a ways to get to St Moritz for the start of the journey.
Which is why I’m excited to tell you about the tickets we ended up purchasing instead: the Excellence Class Special Chur to Brig route of the Glacier Express.
Five and a half hours, three course meal including wine with each course. As well as access to the Glacier Bar on board. Soft drinks, juices and beer (weirdly beer did not cost anything extra) are included.
But I did happen to get an extra white wine which we paid for. No big deal. At that point it was a very treat myself kind of day.
What can you expect in Excellent Class?
Does Excellence Class live up to its expectations?
All I can say is that it does and then some.
When the train pulled into Chur, we were greeted by the Concierge/Host of the Excellence Class. Our tickets were checked and then we boarded the train.
The Layout on Glacier Express
There is a luggage storage room on board for your section (handy because I packed WAY too much). There is also a wardrobe where you can hang any coats and jackets.
We cleverly picked seats that were at the end of the carriage.
I would recommend doing this in terms of adding a bit of additional privacy to your journey as you won’t be sandwiched between any other chairs. The seat behind me was the wall and then someone was sat behind Joe.
It sounds silly but this is the small thing. You can easily choose these seats on either end of the compartment when you are booking.
And the seats are incredibly comfortable. The chairs are very large and extremely comfortable for the journey. The seats also face in sets of twos.
The Excellence Class is not an incredibly large carriage, of course, it has a premium look and feel.
You’ll also have a small table in between your seats and in the middle of the table is a drinks section to use which prevents any glasses tumbling off the table.
You will notice how incredibly helpful it is having this.
The Views
Wow. This is what it’s all about, right?
The views along the Glacier Express train journey will in fact, blow you away.
By the end of the journey, you’re ready to hop off and move into one of the snowy beautiful towns that you pass along the way.
I’ve heard that the views from St. Mortiz to Chur are stunning. There is the Landwasser Viaduct which is absolutely picturesque and is possibly the only thing I regret not being able to see as we had our shorter destination tickets.
But what we did see was absolutely amazing.
The highest points of the journey occur between Chur and Brig.
During our visit in late February/ the start of March the weather was uncharacteristically warm. So there wasn’t as much snow in the lower valleys and towns.
But once the train starts climbing along, you will undoubtedly be greeted to snowy white sprawling landscapes and mountain peaks. It’s breathtaking.
The Food
The food will blow you away.
I wasn’t totally sure what to expect. It’s not every day that I’m living a first class kind of lifestyle.
But the food is genuinely incredible. As were were on the Special Class tickets, we would only be indulging in the three course menu. I say only, but it’s quite spectacular.
- Starter: Pea Mint soup with dried alpine flower blossoms.
- Main Course: Swiss Beef Tenderloin with mashed potatoes and truffle oil, carrots, spring onions and gravy with mountain herbs. This was exceptional. We ate every single bite.
- Dessert: Warm Chocolate Cake with vanilla sauce and roasted almonds
I will say, looking at the menu, I think it is quite good value to try out the shorter Excellent Class journey.
We saved a bit of money, time travelling and we were absolutely treated to the best courses on the menu. What can I say? I have no regrets about it!
Ticket Costs for Glacier Express
The price per ticket is CHF 442.00 or just about £360 at the current exchange rate.
Also don’t forget you are paying for both the first class train journey ticket AND the Excellence Class.
So it’s like having two tickets, one for the train and one for your fancy seat.
It sounds complicated, but when you go to buy the tickets online this is all included within the same purchase.
So our grand total for two tickets from Chur to Brig in Excellence Class was CHF 884.00 or £720.
I won’t pretend this isn’t an expensive experience.
But that’s why they call it bucket list travel, after all? It’s an entire experience and it’s a treat.
Something you wouldn’t do every time you go somewhere, but something very special that I will always remember.
PS. For those boarding in Chur, I would very much recommend booking into a hotel the night before.
I was nervous about connecting trains in a timely manner the morning of our journey. So we stayed at the Hotel Stern in Chur.
PPS. It’s also possible to very easily swap trains when you get to Brig.
We actually hopped onto a cheaper train to Zermatt from Brig as our tickets on the Glacier Express only took us from Chur to Brig.
Train travel through Europe is always super easy! I’d recommend using The Train Line app for purchasing tickets to download onto your phone.
I’m so glad to finally share all about our journey on the Glacier Express!
It was something I’ve always wanted to do and I genuinely can’t recommend it enough. It’s an experience that you truly will remember for the rest of your life.
And don’t forget, Excellence Class is not the only option.
There are several difference carriages along the Glacier Express, so you can still journey along for slightly cheaper ticket prices.
It is still an expensive journey either way, so we decided to splurge with our tickets on this occasion.
Have you been on the Glacier Express before? Would you add this to your bucket list?
Thanks for stopping by and happy travels!
Kelly xoxo
Hotels Stays that will work for the Glacier Express train travel:
Hotels in Zermatt
Hotels in St. Moritz
Hotels in Chur
More ways to book the Glacier Express:
