The official Grand Train Tour is 1,280 kilometres across eight sections. You do not have to complete it all: choose sections, reserve panoramic services where required, and check each boat, bus and station handover.
Grand Train Tour
The official tour is modular; this pack favours comfortable bases over racing around the full loop.
Lucerne
A lakeside city and rail hub for Mount Pilatus, Rigi and the Lake Lucerne steamers.
Lucerne is where a lot of Swiss rail trips find their feet. The station sits right on the lake in the middle of town, with the old covered Chapel Bridge a couple of minutes away, and it doubles as the launch pad for some of the country's record-breaking mountain railways. From here or nearby jetties you can reach the Pilatus cog railway, the steepest in the world, and the Rigi line, Europe's very first mountain railway. Lake steamers leave from right outside the station, so you can mix boat and train into one loop. It is also a hub in the network proper, with fast trains to Zurich, Bern and Interlaken, which makes it an ideal base.
Our tip The classic circuit combines a lake paddle steamer one way with a cog railway the other. Doing it as a loop beats an out-and-back.
Visiting — good to know
Step-free / wheelchair access Accessible parking Accessible toilets
For blind & low-vision visitors A lakeside city with a largely level, walkable old town, famous covered bridges and a station right by the lake; some cobbles, open lake water.
Sensory A calm, scenic lakeside city of mountains and water - gently busy at the bridges, peaceful along the promenade.
Access last checked 5 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
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More Official site · Wikipedia
Also featured in Europe by rail
Interlaken
The rail gateway to the Bernese Oberland, sitting between two lakes.
Interlaken is the staging post for the whole Jungfrau region, wedged between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz with the big peaks rising behind. It has two stations, and the one you want for the mountains is Interlaken Ost, which is where the cog railways up to Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and ultimately the Jungfraujoch begin. The town itself is touristy and not the point; treat it as the place you sleep and reprovision before heading up. It also sits on the scenic GoldenPass route toward Montreux, so it works as a hinge between the Bernese Oberland and Lake Geneva. Base yourself here and the best of alpine Switzerland is a short cog-railway ride away.
Our tip Make sure you are at Interlaken Ost, not West, for the mountain trains. They are a couple of kilometres apart with frequent local connections between.
Visiting — good to know
Step-free / wheelchair access Accessible parking Accessible toilets
For blind & low-vision visitors A resort town between two lakes with a largely level, walkable centre and grand mountain views; a gateway to the high railways, some uneven ground.
Sensory A calm, scenic mountain-resort town - gently busy with tourists in season, with mountain air and lake calm.
Access last checked 5 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Worth watching
More Official site · Wikipedia
Also featured in Europe by rail
Zermatt
A car-free alpine resort beneath the Matterhorn, reached only by train.
Zermatt sits at the foot of the Matterhorn and, crucially, it is car-free. Private vehicles stop down the valley at Tasch, and you finish the journey on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, a twelve-minute ride into the village itself. That makes arriving part of the pleasure. From Zermatt you can ride the Gornergrat railway, the highest open-air cog railway in Europe, up to a ridge with a full-on view of the Matterhorn and a ring of glaciers. It is also one end of the Glacier Express, so many people start or finish that famous journey here. The catch is it is a premium resort with premium prices, and in peak season it is far from quiet.
Our tip The Gornergrat railway station is right opposite the main station, so you can arrive and head straight up for the Matterhorn view.
Access not yet checked — please confirm with the venue before you travel.
Worth watching
More Official site · Wikipedia
Also featured in Europe by rail
Montreux
A Lake Geneva gateway on the GoldenPass section.
A Lake Geneva gateway on the GoldenPass section. Treat this as a route-planning hub rather than a promise that every platform, vessel, street or attraction is step-free.
Our tip Confirm accessible boarding and any panoramic-train reservation.
Plan your visit
- Booking
- Check the operator timetable, engineering or weather notices, reservation rules and assistance arrangements before travel.
Visitor information checked 20 Jul 2026. Opening and prices can change.
Visiting — good to know
Access varies by station, vehicle or local route. Confirm the exact journey and book assistance where the operator recommends it.
Access last checked 20 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
St Moritz
An Engadin base for Bernina and Glacier route sections.
An Engadin base for Bernina and Glacier route sections. Treat this as a route-planning hub rather than a promise that every platform, vessel, street or attraction is step-free.
Our tip Panoramic trains can require reservations even when the underlying route is pass-covered.
Plan your visit
- Booking
- Check the operator timetable, engineering or weather notices, reservation rules and assistance arrangements before travel.
Visitor information checked 20 Jul 2026. Opening and prices can change.
Visiting — good to know
Access varies by station, vehicle or local route. Confirm the exact journey and book assistance where the operator recommends it.
Access last checked 20 Jul 2026 — always confirm with the venue.
Plan the whole chain
Open every stop in the pack for its current source links and known caveats. Recheck timetables, fares, reservations, weather or engineering disruption, assistance booking windows, station or terminal access and the final transfer to your accommodation. A route can be possible overall while one particular vehicle, platform, tide, street or path is not.
Keep the pace kind
Leave connection time, avoid stacking the longest travel leg with a major attraction, and keep a fallback for weather or fatigue. Where information is missing, ask the operator rather than assuming.