Milan to Chur

[redwakatuna]

I need to make this journey soon, and I have a bit of extra time, so what way would be most interesting?
Options look to be
Milan - Colico - (Bus) - Tirano - St Moritz - Chur
Milan - Bellinzona - Goeschenen - Andermatt - Disentis - Chur

Or any other options people could recommend?

 

[duesselmartin]

personally I think the Bernin Bahn is the most beautiful route in the world, so I would go for Tirano.

 

[Alfonso]

I'd imagine most of us have invented excuses to travel on the Bernina and Albula railways so you're in the enviable position of having a legitimate excuse. You can cut the corner from Pontresina to Samedan if you don't want to go into St Moritz. If you've never been this way or via andermatt you won't be disappointed either way.

 

[signed]

I would take the Bernina

Note that if you want to skip St. Moritz and go direct to Chur without paying the 30CHF reservation fee on the Bernina Express, there are unreserved seats in the traction unit where you only need a ticket

 

[Porty]

I would take the Bernina

Note that if you want to skip St. Moritz and go direct to Chur without paying the 30CHF reservation fee on the Bernina Express, there are unreserved seats in the traction unit where you only need a ticket

...or just get the regular trains which run without the bother of reservations or packed carriages. Keep away from Bernina Express, as it's much better on the ordinary trains.

 

[nwales58]

From 09/09/24 trains run all the way to Tirano again.

Another option for the Bernina route is the daily Rhätische Bahn bus from Lugano to Tirano (frequency drops November-spring). If using a pass it needs a reservation which the Lugano or Tirano ticket offices can issue.

Hotels in Lugano are cheaper than Milan in general!

BTW to see the full Bernina service you may have to switch off buses in some journey planners if you see a change to bus in Poschiavo. The RE9s are overtaken by the bus.

 

[30907]

Bernina and Albula wins by a fair bit - I would call hardly any of it uninteresting from Lecce onwards whereas by Swiss standards the Andermatt route has some relatively ordinary bits. It does, though, have some rack sections if that is a novelty.

 

[redwakatuna]

Thanks for the advice - looks like the Bernina route (I'll be on the normal trains, not fussed by the fancy one!) wins - sadly its this week, so the bus is needed!

 

[Alfonso]

The normal trains are just as good if not better than the fancy ones in many ways, and as stated upthread sometimes the fancy trains are also the normal ones

 

[HST43257]

Bernina for certain. The bus from Colico to Tirano is easy, and the Bernina route up to Chur is simply stunning. You can save an hour by changing at Pontresina and Samedan rather than St Moritz. Don’t bother with the Bernina Express, because the local services are more frequent, much cheaper, and also you’re not stuck in a reserved seat so you can take scenic pics on both sides of the train

 

[Snapper37]

One more for not worrying about the Express. If you have 1st class tickets you can sit behind the driver in the traction unit and get the view forward.

 

[wellhouse]

I second the advice about sitting behind the driver in 1st class.

If you're not in a hurry, I also suggested stopping at Alp Grum for a beer or a coffee. Great view of your next train approaching from the valley below.

 

[HST43257]

If you're not in a hurry, I also suggested stopping at Alp Grim for a beer or a coffee. Great view of your next train approaching from the valley below.

Another (very random) option for stopping off is the very scenic Minigolf course at Le Prese, a 2 min walk from the shore of Lake Poschiavo. Alternatively a picnic lunch at the summit at Ospizio Bernina could be nice(?)

 

[Gordon]

Via the Bernina is the 'no brainer' answer here

The Bernina Railway is widely recognised as the most scenic railway in Europe. It is also the highest altitude through line railway in Europe and the only trans-alpine railway to traverse the high Alps without a summit tunnel.

In addition to the stopover places mentioned already (btw I fear autocorrect has struck with 'Alp Grim' in #12...) , if you have time get off at Le Prese to watch other trains running right through the town centre on the main street. An alternative probably not available to you (baggage) is to get off at Brusio, walk down to the spiral viaduct, then walk down to the next station south and get back on there.

 

[boiledbeans2]

See here for more Bernina Express advice:

Bernina Express - advice desired!

Afternoon, I've used the forum search and have seen a few posts on the above, but hoping for some specific, easy access advice I can wave at people, so please indulge me. I'll be on Lake Como in a couple of weeks; sadly not rail connected but we are with chariot! My partner was hunting for...

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