One Of The Best Things To Do In Switzerland: Bernina Express Train

When Colton and I found ourselves in Switzerland in December, but didn’t have ski gear, we needed another activity. We wanted to enjoy the snow and cozy Winter feeling of the Swiss Alps. So, I started searching for ‘the best things to do in Switzerland in Winter’.

After a little research, I found pictures of this bright red train chugging along through sparkling snow covered mountains and knew we had to get on that train!

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I found the name of the train, the Bernina Express, and booked us some tickets.

And I’m so glad that I did! Riding the Bernina Express through the Swiss Alps ended up being such a fantastic experience for us!

We began our journey in Chur, which is where the train line begins. From May to October, there are two departures per day from Chur. In Winter, there is only the 8:30am departure from Chur, which is the one we took.

Find the Bernina Express timetables and tickets here.

The Bernina Express is part of the Rhaetian Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage railway. It’s truly some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen in my life.

The ride from Chur to Tirano is about 4 hours. But, we didn’t actually end up all the way in Tirano. We got off the Bernina at Alp Grüm, which is the summit point with amazing views from the top.

One of the coolest parts of the entire train ride is going over the Landwasser Viaduct, built in 1902.

These types of bridges are all over this region because of the train lines and the mountains, but this one is huge.

The best part is seeing the train go over it and into the tunnel ahead as the track turns. It feels like a fairytale!

Landwasser Viaduct, Switzerland Bernina Express — The Landwasser Viaduct from the Bernina Express window.

Once we got off at Alp Grüm, we took a regional train back the direction we had come to the town of Bergün. Colton had found a really fun looking sledding track (or as they call it in Switzerland, sledging) that we decided to try out.

Plus, neither of us had been sledding for real before so it was quite an interesting experience to say the least 🙂

The regional trains here are super nice, and they have windows that open so you can stick your head out and feel the cold mountain air.

You can watch our YouTube video about the Bernina and our sledding experience to see what I’m talking about.

If you’re riding all the way from Chur to Tirano, or vice versa, you have two options. You can take the train like a commuter and get off at the end of the line and continue on. Or you can buy a round trip ticket and treat it like a day long activity.

Purchase tickets for the Bernina Express.