2027 Switzerland in Motion: A Grand Rail Journey – Zurich to Bern with Wendy Fracchia

Depart your home city on Monday traveling to Zurich!  Flying overnight night, you will arrive and a private car with English speaking driver will be waiting for you at the airport and bring you to downtown Zürich to the hotel. After registration, you will have free time to acclimatize, rest from travel or start exploring the administrative and most touristic Swiss city. Take a walk through the Bahnhofstrasse (Train station Street) and get marveled with the magnificent Swiss watches and luxury shops.  After a short rest we will enjoy our first true Swiss experience, the Lindt Chocolate Factory!  Tonight we will meet for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant and get to know each other before we return to our hotel for the overnight

Meals : Dinner, In-flight

Today we will enjoy our included breakfast at the hotel before we meet our guide who will help us experience all the outstanding things Zurich has to offer in this singular sightseeing tour. Experience the town of this unique city tour with detailed commentaries of a local. Our route leads across the famous Bahnhofstrasse (the shopping street of Zurich) and the Banking Center to the lake with a view of the snowcapped mountains, part of the old town with its magnificent guild houses and the churches St. Peter, Grossmünster, and Fraumünster. After a picture stop at Lake Zürich, we’ll pass by the Opera House and experience a ride uphill by cogwheel train to one of the great viewpoints of the city to take in breath-taking vistas of the city, the lake, and the snow-capped Alps before cruising the University quarter with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH).  We will see also the theatre and the art museum before reaching the charming Old Town and admire the town hall, Zürich’s emblematic churches, and the medieval guild houses.  If all that isn’t enough, we will then enjoy an entertaining stroll while heading back along the picturesque Limmatquai.  We will have a short break for lunch and take a scenic coach journey along the route of the “Grand Tour of Switzerland” northwards.  We travel via charming farming villages and beautiful vineyards before we reach the mighty Rhine Falls – Europe’s biggest waterfall. We will enjoy spectacular views from the panoramic trail and feel the spindrift of the rumbling waters on an included boat ride taking us close to the falls. We continue to the medieval town of Stein am Rhein and learn about the well-preserved Old Town on a guided stroll. The half-timbered houses and distinctive historic buildings stun visitors with their exceptional frescoes.  After some time at leisure, we’ll drive back this evening to Zürich. There will be time to do dinner on your own tonight.  

This morning we travel light as our luggage is sent ahead to Bern. Boarding the train from Zurich, we journey to Arth-Goldau and ride the cogwheel railway up to Mount Rigi, known as the Queen of the Mountains. From the summit, the sweeping panoramas of Lake Lucerne and the snowcapped Alps are unforgettable.  After time to stroll the scenic trails, we descend to Vitznau and enjoy a peaceful cruise across Lake Lucerne. Upon arrival, we explore the charming lakeside city on a guided walking tour, including the opportunity to see the breathtaking “Lion Monument” before traveling by train to Bern, our home for the next two nights.  We will enjoy a night tour of Bern to see the famous Zytglogge that was built in the 13th Century.

Strasbourg offers flavors of both France and Germany because of its borderline location. Enjoy a panoramic tour past the stunning Parc de l’Orangerie, the European Parliament and the Place de la République before walking through its iconic “La Petite France” district, lifted straight from the pages of a fairytale. Wander through charming streets past the Cathédrale de Nôtre Dame with its famous astronomical clock. During the tour you will receive free time to visit the Christmas Markets. In the afternoon, venture to alluring Baden-Baden, located at the border of Germany’s Black Forest. Learn about the area’s natural hot springs and Germany’s oldest casino, which some argue is the most beautiful casino in the world. Following your walking tour, indulge your holiday wanderlust with a stroll through Baden-Baden’s romantic Christmas Market.

After breakfast, we’ll take the train from Bern to Zermatt. The train covers this beautiful zone in around 3 hours.  After we arrive you’ll have a little free time for lunch and then we’ll have a half-day excursion to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise!  The highest sightseeing point in Europe which is accessible only by cableway. The Matterhorn Express gondola will bring us to Furi where we change to the large cableway which takes us via the Trockener Steg to the Klein Matterhorn.  Finally, up here we take a lift to get to the highest sightseeing platform offering a panoramic view of the Alps including the 38 4,000-meter peaks (13,120+ ft) surrounding Zermatt.   At the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, we’ll visit the Glacier Palace – 15 meters under the glacier’s surface. Sparkling ice crystals and glittering ice sculptures enchant visitors to the glacier palace. A lift carries guests 15 meters below the surface of the glacier to a fairy-tale palace deep under the perennial snow. An ice tunnel leads through the glacier to sites such as a glacier crevasse and an ice toboggan run. Cozy furs adorn ice benches; ice sculptures evoke the world of the ice fairy tales. Ice sculptors regularly create new artworks. After this visit, we’ll come back to Zermatt with free time for shopping and for an included typical Swiss cheese-fondue restaurant before you come back to the hotel. Overnight Zermatt.  

We travel west today to the elegant lakeside resort of Montreux on Lake Geneva. After checking into our hotel, we visit the medieval Château de Chillon, one of Switzerland’s most famous landmarks. Later, we stroll the flower-lined promenades of Montreux, soaking in the peaceful ambiance and Alpine beauty.

Our day begins aboard the nostalgic GoldenPass Belle Époque train, a first-class journey that feels like stepping back in time. We travel to Gruyères, home of Switzerland’s most beloved cheese, where we tour La Maison du Gruyère and learn the art of traditional cheesemaking. After lunch and time to explore the fairytale medieval town, we continue to Basel for our farewell dinner together — celebrating the friendships and memories forged along the rails of this unforgettable journey.

Today will have a group transfer back to the airport at our set time for the flight home, with memories to last a lifetime. 

Meals: In-flight