This is the question I get asked more than any other: Glacier Express or Bernina Express? The honest answer is both, and both feature across my signature itineraries, the Glacier Express in the Swiss Wellness Grand Tour and the Bernina Express in the Grand Culinary Rail Journey, because I cannot bring myself to leave either one out.
But if you are planning independently, or you have one day to spare and need to choose, here is how they actually compare.
The short version
| Glacier Express | Bernina Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Zermatt to St. Moritz | Chur or St. Moritz to Tirano |
| Duration | 8 hours | 4 hours |
| Distance | 291 km | 122 km |
| Highest point | Oberalp Pass, 2,033 m | Ospizio Bernina, 2,253 m |
| UNESCO listed | Eastern half only | Entire route |
| Dining | Kitchen car, full service | Trolley |
| Top class | Excellence Class | First class |
| First class, with reservation | ≈ CHF 305 | ≈ CHF 90 from St. Moritz |
| Best season | Winter | Summer |
The routes
The Glacier Express runs from Zermatt to St. Moritz: 291 kilometres, eight hours, 291 bridges, 91 tunnels. It is the longer, slower, more theatrical journey. The highest point is the Oberalp Pass at 2,033 metres.
The Bernina Express runs from Chur, or from St. Moritz, to Tirano in Italy: 122 kilometres, about four hours. It climbs higher than the Glacier Express, reaching 2,253 metres at Ospizio Bernina, and it does so without cogwheel assistance, which is the detail railway engineers care about most. The descent into the Italian-speaking Poschiavo Valley, where the landscape shifts from Alpine snow to vineyards and chestnut groves within the same journey, is one of the most dramatic transitions in European rail travel.
Scenery: what each does differently
The Glacier Express is a journey through the deep interior of Switzerland. The Rhine Gorge, the Swiss Grand Canyon, opens up between Reichenau and Ilanz with cliffs of white limestone and a turquoise river far below. The Oberalp Pass, snowy from November through April, feels like crossing the roof of the country. And the Landwasser Viaduct near Filisur, a 65-metre curved stone arch that the train crosses before disappearing into a tunnel cut directly into the cliff face, is the single most photographed railway moment in Switzerland.
The Bernina Express trades depth for contrast. You begin in the Engadin valley, climb past the Morteratsch Glacier, close enough that the air through the door changes temperature, pass the frozen Lago Bianco at the summit, then descend through a series of spiral tunnels and open loops into a valley that looks and smells like northern Italy. By the time you reach Tirano you are eating gelato. Four hours earlier you were looking at glaciers. No other train journey in Europe covers that range in a single afternoon.
UNESCO status
This matters more than people think. The Bernina Express runs the entire UNESCO World Heritage route, because both the Albula line and the Bernina line are inscribed. The Glacier Express shares the Albula section between Chur and St. Moritz, but its western half, Zermatt through Brig to Andermatt, is not listed. If heritage and engineering history are what draw you, the Bernina Express has the stronger claim.
Dining
The Glacier Express wins this decisively, and it is not close. A kitchen car prepares fresh meals on board: three-course regional menus with Valais wines, served at your seat with proper tableware, for CHF 49. The tilted soup plates, engineered to stay level on mountain gradients, have become a symbol of the journey.
The Bernina Express has a trolley. Snacks, coffee, dried meats and beer at captive-audience prices, plus a tin of chocolates in first class. It is not the point of the journey and four hours is short enough that it does not matter much, but if lunch is part of the experience you are paying for, only one of these trains delivers it.
Excellence Class, and why it has no equivalent
Glacier Express Excellence Class deserves its own mention. Twenty passengers per carriage, a champagne welcome with an aperitif platter, a seasonal five-course menu with matched wines, floor-to-ceiling windows, a personal concierge, and access to the Glacier Bar at the rear. Staff who know your name by the second bridge. The nearest comparison is not European at all; I have set it against the Rocky Mountaineer's GoldLeaf day by day.
It costs CHF 540 as a reservation supplement on top of your first class ticket, so roughly CHF 810 all in. For a milestone, an anniversary, a retirement, it is worth every franc, and the guests I have sent on it always say the same sentence when they get back. My full Glacier Express guide covers how to book it.
Two warnings. It runs on one train per day in each direction, it sells out around a year ahead, and it does not run through most of the winter. In 2026 it is suspended between 9 and 27 March.
The Bernina Express has no equivalent. First class is the top tier: wider seats, marginally better window alignment, and the chocolates. Comfortable, but not luxurious, and nobody should book it expecting otherwise.
Prices
The Glacier Express is the more expensive journey, though neither is expensive by the standards of European luxury rail.
| Fare | Per person |
|---|---|
| Glacier Express, first class ticket | ≈ CHF 250 to 270 |
| Glacier Express, mandatory reservation | CHF 54 |
| Glacier Express Excellence Class supplement | CHF 540 |
| Glacier Express dining car, three courses | ≈ CHF 49 |
| Bernina Express, first class, St. Moritz to Tirano | ≈ CHF 60 |
| Bernina Express, mandatory reservation | CHF 32 |
So the Glacier Express in first class costs about CHF 305 with the reservation, and the Bernina Express about CHF 90 from St. Moritz. From Chur, the longer Bernina run, budget nearer CHF 130. For scale, Zurich all the way through to Tirano in first class is CHF 164 plus the reservation.
Swiss Travel Pass holders ride both as ordinary travel and pay only the reservation supplement, which is CHF 54 and CHF 32 respectively. Given that a fifteen-day first class pass is CHF 787 and also halves most mountain railway fares, it usually pays for itself well before the end of a trip. I have set out the whole arithmetic in my guide to what a luxury Swiss rail trip actually costs.
Best season
The Glacier Express is at its most dramatic in winter. Snow on the Oberalp Pass transforms the landscape, the dining car feels warmer by contrast, and the crowds thin to almost nothing. Note the annual closure in late October and November for maintenance.
The Bernina Express is better in summer. The contrast between glacier and Mediterranean warmth is at its sharpest, Lago Bianco is turquoise rather than frozen white, and the Poschiavo Valley is in leaf. It runs year-round with one daily service, adding a second from May to October.
If you are combining both, and you should, June to September gives you the best of each. October is my own preference: the light is better than August and the trains are half empty.
Which side to sit on
This question gets more attention than it deserves, because both trains curve constantly and you will see everything eventually. But the general rules:
- Glacier Express, Zermatt to St. Moritz. Right side for the Matterhorn departure and the Rhine Gorge. The train reverses at Chur, so move to the left afterwards for the Landwasser Viaduct.
- Bernina Express, St. Moritz to Tirano. Right side for Lago Bianco and the glacier views. The booking system will not let you choose, so arrive early and move if the carriage is not full.
In both cases a window seat is non-negotiable, and in Excellence Class it is guaranteed.
How to combine them
The natural connection is St. Moritz, where both routes meet. The circuit I build most often:
- Day 1. Arrive Zermatt. Evening in the car-free village with the Matterhorn above.
- Day 2. Glacier Express, Zermatt to St. Moritz. Eight hours, Excellence Class if you booked far enough ahead, lunch on board. Evening in St. Moritz.
- Day 3. Bernina Express, St. Moritz to Tirano. Lunch in Italy. Return north on an ordinary Rhaetian Railway service through the same scenery with windows that open, which is a completely different and in some ways better experience.
- Day 4. Continue south to Lugano, or back north to Zurich via the Gotthard.
Four days, two UNESCO railways, three languages, glaciers and Italian vineyards. It costs less than most people expect, and the returning-on-the-local-train trick on day three is the single best piece of advice in this article.
Questions I get asked
Which is better, the Glacier Express or the Bernina Express? The Glacier Express for dining, duration and sheer theatre. The Bernina Express for scenic contrast, engineering and UNESCO heritage. If you can only do one and lunch matters, take the Glacier Express. If you want the most surprising four hours in European rail, take the Bernina.
Can you do both in one day? Technically yes, arriving Zermatt to St. Moritz and continuing to Tirano, but it makes for a punishing thirteen hours and you would arrive in Italy after dark. Do not. Split them with a night in St. Moritz.
Do I need to book in advance? Yes, seat reservations are mandatory on both. Standard first class opens 93 days ahead. Excellence Class needs roughly a year for peak dates.
Is the Bernina Express worth first class? Marginally. The difference is about CHF 30 and buys you a wider seat and a quieter carriage. On a four-hour journey I would spend it, but nobody should feel short-changed in second.
Are they covered by the Swiss Travel Pass? Both, as ordinary travel. You pay only the seat reservation, CHF 54 on the Glacier Express and CHF 32 on the Bernina Express.
The answer
If you have one day, take the Glacier Express for the dining and the drama. If you have two, add the Bernina Express and see the thing no photograph prepares you for, the moment the train drops out of the snow and into Italy.
Both run through my signature journeys, sequenced so each leads naturally into the next rather than sitting in the itinerary as separate excursions. If you would like to talk through building something around either or both, write to me with your dates.