2027 Great Railway Journeys Of Switzerland

Itinerary

Highlights

• Hotel for 5 nights with breakfast & dinner
• Tea/coffee after dinner
• Porterage & welcome drink in Austria 
• Local drinks with dinner in Austria (selected beer, wine, soft drinks)
• Overnight hotel for 2 nights with breakfast
• Entertainment at main hotel
• Local transfers to Feldkirch
• Walking tour of Feldkirch with local guide
• Entrance to Schattenburg Castle
• 3 included rail excursions
• Bernina Express (Tiefencastel - Tirano  2nd class) and St Moritz with local guide
• Arosa Express Rail Return Journey - Chur - Arosa - Chur (2nd class)
• Along the route of the Glacier-Express by Regional Express Train Andermatt - Chur (2nd class) with local guide

Your Itinerary

Day 1 -  After joining your holiday coach, travel to Dover for the short sea crossing to France. Then coutinue via the auto-routes of France to your overnight stop just across the border in Germany at the Sunday Hotel Saaarbruecken. BB

Day 2 - Lots to see today as the journey takes you past the Rhine Falls in Switzerland en-route to your holiday base in Feldkirch, Austria for your 5-night stay with a welcome drink on arrival. Local drinks are included with dinner each evening (beer, wine, soft drinks and tea / coffee after dinner) DBB

Day 3 - 6 - At leisure in Feldkirch in Austria with three included excursions and a day in Feldkirch. DBB

During your stay you might like to take a walk through the forest to the neighbouring town of Rankweil. Here you can find the well-fortified basilica sitting quietly above the town - it offers a beautiful view of the Rhine Valley in Vorarlberg and Switzerland. A local bus transfer is included one day to the nearby medieval town of Feldkirch with its narrow alleyways, pretty squares, smart shops and the imposing Schattenburg castle (entrance included). Get to know Feldkirch, the City of the Counts of Montfort, on a walking tour with a local English speaking guide

Included Excursions
Bernina Express and St Moritz with local guide
Drive to Tiefencastel this morning where you board the Bernina Express, the highlight of the day. Capture photogenic views of the Alps and the impressive alpine valleys, lakes and waterfalls on the way. Travel through tunnels, over bridges, through wildly romantic gorges, past spectacular man-made structures, up to the eternal ice of the glaciers and back down to the palm trees in the Italian town of Tirano (3½ hours). A trip on the Bernina Express is a travel experience in a class of its own. A local guide will assist you throughout. Your coach awaits in Tirano for a journey through the Engadin, a sunny high valley in the Southern Alps to the world-famous resort of St Moritz. Then it's back to the hotel
NB this day may operate in reverse depending on availability of train tickets

Arosa Express Rail Journey
Head to the Swiss mountains on the journey to Chur, the capital of the largest Swiss canton, Grisons. Chur is also the oldest city in Switzerland, and here you will board the reserved compartments on the Rhaetian Railway. The journey gets off to a leisurely start in Chur. But the sedate trundle through the town soon changes as the red train suddenly begins to climb up into the mountains (1,000 metres in just 26 kilometres). The journey takes you round many curves and over deep ravines into the magnificent mountain scenery and onto the ski resort of Arosa (about 1800m above sea level) with an impressive range of mountain peaks all around (1 hour each way)

Along the route of the Glacier-Express Train* with local guide
Travel into Switzerland today, past Lake Walen and Lake Lucerne, where the original first cantons of the Swiss Confederation are located. Drive via Altdorf, the home of William Tell, to Andermatt where together with a local guide, you board your train carriages (2nd class) for your trip along the route of the 'Glacier Express*'. This incredible journey (approx. 2½ hours), one of the most famous in the world, takes you over spectacular bridges, through mountain tunnels and via breaktaking Alpine scenery. The route reaches 2,033m above sea level at its highest point at the Oberalp Pass and the views along the Rhine Gorge are simply stunning. Your coach and driver will be waiting to pick you up from the railway station in Chur to take you back to the hotel.

* NB Tickets will be booked on the excellent Regional Express train which follows the exact same route of the Glacier Express Train

Day 7 - Today it's farewell to Austria as you head north to the final stop in Germany at the Sunday Hotel Saarbruecken. BB

Day 8 - After breakfast, travel through France to the port for your return to England.

Accommodation

Hotel Weisses Kreuz, Feldkirch, Austria

The 4* Hotel Weisses Kreuz assures you of a warm welcome from the Herburger family who have run the hotel since 1852.

It is conveniently located about a mile outside Feldkirch and has a bar and terrace.

The restaurant serves regional dishes and local beer. All rooms are tastefully furnished and feature all mod cons including TV and hairdryer. A kettle is available on request for a small charge

There is a lift