Highlights of Switzerland in Autumn
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What's Included
- Based in the historic city of Chur throughout, you’ll stay at a charming, centrally located hotel featuring typical Swiss hospitality.
- Discover some of the most spectacular mountain railways in the world, including the famed Albula, Bernina, Gotthard and Glacier Express routes.
- Travel aboard the iconic “Little Red Trains” on both the impressive Rhaetian Railway network and in the green hills of the idyllic Appenzell region.
- Sample the very best of Swiss historic rolling stock, by travelling on classic trains hauled by the legendary brown “Crocodile” locomotives or formed of private Art Deco Pullman coaches and vintage electric railcars, creating a wonderful revival of the 1920s and 30s.
- Enjoy a private charter cruise on the breathtaking Alpine Lake Walensee, with its fjord-like features and dramatic rock cliffs jutting straight into the pristine water; then ride on a majestic paddle steamer on Lake Lucerne.
- Go ’peak-hopping’ on formidably engineered rack railways and panoramic funiculars and , taking you to wonderful vantage points with sweeping views of lakes and pinnacles.
- See such famous mountain resorts as Arosa, Davos, Andermatt and enjoy a touch of Italy amidst the palm trees of Tirano, at the southern end of the Bernina line.
Itinerary
Day 1 - London to Chur
Your tour begins on a Eurostar train from London St. Pancras International or Ebbsfleet to Paris Gare du Nord. There you transfer to Paris Gare de l’Est and journey on to Basel in Switzerland via Strasbourg. You change trains at Basel and use a Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) service to Chur via Zurich before checking in to your comfortable and charming hotel in Chur. (D)
Day 2 - Rhaetian Railway from Chur to Arosa by private Pullman coach; Ascent to the Weisshorn
Today you’ll experience the very best of the famous Rhaetian Railway in a privately chartered 1930s Pullman car. Its large windows offer outstanding views of the mountainous landscape as you travel down the impressively-engineered 25 kilometre branch line from Chur to Arosa. The route climbs 1155 metres via several tunnels and bridges, including the 284 metre long Langwieser Viaduct – a Swiss heritage site first opened in December 1914. On arrival in Arosa you take the cableway to the summit of the 2653 metre Weisshorn, for superb views from the top. You return to Arosa in the afternoon to explore the town or stroll along the picturesque lake. Later, you return by RhB train and Pullman car to Chur, where dinner is served at the hotel. (B D)