The Glacier Express takes about eight hours to cross Switzerland from Zermatt to St. Moritz, stops at seven stations where you can board, runs every day except for a break from mid-October to early December, and for 2027 dates costs CHF 220 per person in second class, CHF 338 in first and about CHF 874 in Excellence Class, reservation included. Every carriage has the same panoramic windows. That is the short version, and it answers most of what people ask me. The long version is below: the route station by station, the real difference between the classes, how the booking calendar works and where it catches people, and what fourteen journeys in every season have taught me about getting it right.
I am Pau Gallardo Campos, I run Alpina Travels from Zurich, and the Glacier Express is the sixth day of my Swiss Wellness Grand Tour, St. Moritz to Zermatt in first class with a reserved panoramic seat, between the Kulm and the Omnia. If you are deciding between this and the other Swiss trains, my ranking of the best luxury train journeys in Switzerland puts them side by side.
The route, station by station
The train runs between Zermatt and St. Moritz in both directions. The stations where you can board or leave are Zermatt, Brig, Andermatt, Chur, Filisur, Samedan and St. Moritz; shorter sections such as Chur to St. Moritz are only sold on some summer trains. These are the times of the first train in the winter timetable that runs from 5 December 2026 to 7 May 2027, with what to look for on each stretch.
| Station | Train 920, winter 2026/27 | What you pass on the way to the next stop |
|---|---|---|
| Zermatt, 1,600 m | dep 07.50 | The Matterhorn, 4,478 m, behind you as you leave; the Bis glacier on the left after ten minutes; the Kipfen gorge, where the line and the river Vispa run side by side; Stalden, the village of bridges; Visperterminen, Europe's highest vineyard at 1,150 m |
| Brig | 09.04 / 09.14 | The main town of German-speaking Valais and the gateway to the Aletsch glacier; then the Goms, the high valley of the upper Rhône, and the Furka base tunnel |
| Andermatt, 1,444 m | 10.46 / 11.00 | The climb to the Oberalp Pass, 2,033 m, the highest point of the journey and snowbound from November to April |
| Disentis | 11.58 / 12.14 | The monastery town and the largest Romansh-speaking community in Switzerland; then the Rhine Gorge between Ilanz and Reichenau, the Swiss Grand Canyon |
| Chur | 13.25 / 13.34 | The Solis viaduct, eleven limestone arches 85 m above the Schin gorge, and the start of the Albula line, which gains about 1,000 m of altitude |
| Tiefencastel or Filisur | 14.28 / 15.41 | The Landwasser viaduct, 65 m high and 142 m long, which appears and vanishes in seconds; then the Preda to Bergün spirals, six viaducts, three spiral tunnels and two helical ones, the finest piece of railway engineering in the Alps |
| Samedan | 15.29 | The Upper Engadine lake plateau |
| St. Moritz, 1,800 m | arr 15.37 |
The second winter train leaves Zermatt at 08.50 and arrives at 16.37, calling at Filisur rather than Tiefencastel; the 07.50 train runs from 12 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 and from 30 January to 7 May 2027. In the summer timetable there are more departures and the short sections open up. The operator counts 291 bridges and 91 tunnels on the full route, which is why it calls itself the slowest express train in the world, and after fourteen rides I can confirm that nobody on board wants it to go faster.
Which direction, and which side
I almost always recommend east to west, St. Moritz towards Zermatt, because the afternoon light falls better on the Matterhorn approach and you arrive in a car-free village rather than a railway junction. That is how it sits in the Swiss Wellness Grand Tour. The question of which side to sit on gets more attention than it deserves: the train reverses direction partway through the journey, so the operator will not guarantee which way you face, and the line curves constantly. My rule, travelling Zermatt to St. Moritz, is right for the Matterhorn and the Vispa gorge, left for the Landwasser viaduct, and the reverse going the other way. A window seat matters far more than the side, and in Excellence Class every seat is a window seat.
First class, second class or Excellence Class
The windows are identical in all three. What changes is space, service and price. Second class is four-seater compartments, two facing two. First class has two- and four-seater compartments, so a couple can have a table to themselves, and the carriage is quieter. In neither class is food included; you order it to the seat. Excellence Class is one twenty-seat carriage with reclining seats, a guaranteed window seat, a concierge, champagne and a five-course lunch with wine, sold only for the full route and only with a first class ticket. For 2027 dates the published prices are:
| Per person, Zermatt to St. Moritz, from December 2026 | Ticket | Reservation | Day in total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second class | CHF 166 | CHF 54 | CHF 220 |
| First class | CHF 284 | CHF 54 | CHF 338 |
| Excellence Class, lunch and drinks included | CHF 284 | CHF 590 | ≈ CHF 874 |
My honest advice, after riding all three. For a couple, first class is worth the CHF 118 difference: eight hours is a long time to share a four-seat bay with strangers, and the two-seater compartments are the point. For a solo traveller on a budget, second class gives you exactly the same view and I would not talk you out of it. Excellence Class is for a milestone, an anniversary or a retirement, when the day itself is the gift; it is the closest thing in Europe to GoldLeaf on the Rocky Mountaineer and I go through who should and should not book it in Is Glacier Express Excellence Class worth it? With a first class Swiss Travel Pass or Eurail pass the ticket is covered and you pay only the reservation; second class passes do not qualify for first class or Excellence.
How to book, and the two calendars
The seat reservation is mandatory for every passenger, CHF 54 in first and second class, and this is where the Glacier Express differs from almost every other Swiss train. Book on the operator's own shop at shop.glacierexpress.ch, not through SBB. There are two calendars, and most people only know about one:
- First and second class reservations open 93 days before travel. Not earlier. If your date is four months away the seats are not on sale yet, which is not the same as sold out; first class inventory is deep, and I reserve the day each date crosses 93 days.
- Excellence Class can be booked for the entire timetable period, in practice about a year ahead, and summer dates sell out close to a year out. For July and August 2027, book now.
- Tickets, as opposed to reservations, are sold up to six months ahead; with a pass you do not need one.
The Half Fare card is accepted, children under six travel free but need a reservation if you want a seat, six to sixteen pay half fare, and the Saver Day Pass is valid but non-refundable. Reservations for the December trains go on sale in mid-October. For summer and the Christmas weeks, reserve the first day you can; for May or late September, a few weeks ahead is enough.
Seasons, and when it does not run
The train runs daily through the winter and summer timetables and stops entirely from 11 October to 4 December 2026, the annual autumn break, which repeats every year from mid-October to early December. For spring 2027 there is one more thing to plan around: from 17 April to 2 May a replacement bus runs between Chur and Disentis while the Rhine Gorge section is closed, and the Excellence carriages do not run on those dates. If the gorge matters to you, go before mid-April or after the first week of May.
The shoulder months are underrated. May and the first half of October are quiet, and there is something moving about crossing the Oberalp with a handful of other passengers. June brings wildflowers on the lower slopes; late September turns the larches gold above Bergün and the light amber in the afternoons. Avoid the last two weeks of July and the first two of August unless you have booked six months out and do not mind sharing the panorama. My month-by-month view of the whole country is in when to visit Switzerland.
Food and drink on board
In first and second class the meal is optional, served at the seat, and best pre-ordered up to 48 hours before departure; you can order on board but the choice narrows. The menus and prices are published as PDFs on the operator's gastronomy page, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. The wines are from Graubünden and Valais, and the digestif is poured from sixty centimetres above the glass while the train is moving, which is the one piece of theatre the ordinary classes get. Payment is cashless only. The food is reliably good rather than remarkable, and I often pack something instead: a decent cheese, bread from the Zermatt cooperative bakery and a half bottle of Fendant make the journey feel personal rather than touristic. In Excellence Class the five-course lunch is included and there is nothing to order.
Practical details nobody tells you
- Headphones at every seat give an audio guide in six languages, and the on-board app shows the train's position; reception comes and goes in the mountains.
- Luggage goes in racks at the end of each carriage. The operator recommends one piece beyond hand luggage, and does not carry skis, golf bags, bicycles or oversized cases. If you are travelling with more, have the hotel forward it.
- Dogs are not allowed, apart from documented assistance dogs, and the train is smoke-free.
- The train reverses during the journey, so do not pay for a forward-facing seat expecting it to stay that way.
What to put either side of it
The Glacier Express pairs naturally with the Bernina Express from St. Moritz south over the Bernina Pass into Italy, the other UNESCO-listed Rhaetian line, and with a night in Zermatt to take the Gornergrat railway to 3,089 metres at first light. If you can only do one of the two Rhaetian classics, Glacier Express or Bernina Express settles it. A four-day circuit I often build runs Zurich to St. Moritz by InterCity, the Bernina Express to Tirano and back, then the Glacier Express west to Zermatt and the Gornergrat before the train back to Zurich. Stretched to ten days with the nights in the right hotels, that is the Swiss Wellness Grand Tour, CHF 16,000 for two, with the Glacier Express, the GoldenPass Express in Prestige and the mountain railways in the price.
If you would like me to check whether your dates can still get Excellence Class, or first class on the train you want, write to me at hello@alpinatravels.com with the dates and who is travelling. For the Glacier Express that is the question that decides everything else.