Our experience with the Glacier Express from Andermatt to Zermatt
What better way to discover Switzerland, than by train? And even better, the Glacier Express where you can look out gigantic windows at the beautiful scenery rushing past you, well rushing, it wasn’t that fast. Last weekend we traveled with the Glacier Express from Andermatt to Zermatt.
Backpackers
When we still lived in Malaysia, but we already knew we would move to Switzerland, we read about the country on several blogs and watched videos on YouTube. One video in particular caught our attention. Two backpackers booked train tickets for the Glacier Express and traveled for about eight hours through Switzerland. We think eight hours in a train are a long time, so we decided to take a different route.
Andermatt
On Friday afternoon, we took the normal train from Zurich to Andermatt. This is a three-hour ride where you have to change trains in Zug and Göschenen. It was a very relaxing trip during which we feasted our eyes on the scenery with small villages on high mountains and even some snow. Luckily, we had prepared ourselves a bit for this and knew that in both villages it would be a lot colder than in Zurich. This is because Andermatt is at 1447 meter altitude. Once you arrive in Andermatt, you get off at the train station, which is perfectly equipped for skiing enthusiasts. Everything tells you that you have arrived in a winter sports village, the only difference being that at this time of year there is no snow, thankfully!
Slowest express train
On Saturday morning, we checked out and got ready for the four-hour Glacier Express train ride. You can book the ride for different parts, but the official one starts in Zermatt and goes to St. Moritz and Davos. This journey takes you over 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels and takes a total of eight hours. The Glacier Express is also called the slowest express train in the world, and that name is not a lie. The advantage of this slow train is that you can take in the scenery and enjoy the view.
Halbtax card
It was a comfortable trip where you almost feel like you are in a moving restaurant. The menu has plenty of options, where you can even order a four-course lunch. A little too much for us, but what we saw passing by looked good! In addition, the tickets are quite pricey if you don’t have a halbtax card. The first thing you are advised to do when moving to Switzerland is to buy this card, as it will save you an awful lot of money. And the same goes for the Glacier Express. Normally, a second-class ticket from Andermatt to Zermatt costs CHF 122. With the halbtax card, the same ride costs “only” CHF 85.50.
Train trip
Along the way we encountered countless waterfalls, bridges, streams, mountains, snow, and cows. This train ride was a lot of fun, partly because of the massive windows, the view, the comfortable ride and the friendly staff. You might expect to have seen the view after two hours, but you continue to be amazed by the many waterfalls and mini villages atop a hill. We were lucky with the weather, it didn’t rain, and it was a little cloudy. It can actually get very hot on this train in the summer because of the large windows. I can imagine that four hours in a sweaty train are very long.
Radisson Blue Hotel
We stayed one night in the Radisson Blue hotel, where we had a fantastic time. The ideal base for mountain lovers, but also for us. You get the feeling of having landed in a modern chalet where there is a warm, inviting atmosphere with a wonderful spa and an even better breakfast. We stayed at a Radisson Blue hotel once before, in Norway in 2018, and I remember finding that a fantastic hotel too. The hotel in Andermatt is located just outside the village, but you can walk to it in ten minutes. In addition, the hotel is surrounded by a number of stores and restaurants, so you can have a great time here too. The River House
Bar
We decided to book a restaurant in the village for dinner. In the afternoon, we read on the menu that this restaurant has plenty of vegetarian options, so we reserved a table here. We didn’t expect it to be so crowded in the evening, but when we were served the food, we understood very well why this restaurant is so popular. The River House is a boutique hotel with a bar where it is especially cozy in the winter. Although at first glance it looks like a bar where you can only drink beer, they actually have an extensive menu with local products. We ordered the vegetarian chicken burger and cholera. Rumor has it that this dish, as the name suggests, is named after the disease after an outbreak in 1830.
Walliser Cholera
It is not certain if this is true, more likely that this dish is named after the coals on which Walliser Cholera is baked. Cholera is a savory pie with potatoes, onion, leek, cheese, and apple and normally with bacon. Both dishes were delicious and there was just enough room left for, what else, dessert. We chose to share the chocolate lava cake with a scoop of ice cream, and that was a good choice. We had a really great meal here and paid CHF 80 at the end of the evening, this included two glasses of wine and a coffee.
Matterhorn
After four hours, we arrived in Zermatt, which is known for the Matterhorn. This gigantic mountain of 4478 meters high is one of the most photographed mountains in the world. It is not surprising that the village of Zermatt is fully equipped for tourism from all over the world. We were a bit surprised to see so many tourists, Dutch, Italians, Germans, but also Americans. Everyone visits this village to catch a glimpse of the Matterhorn, or for the real sportsmen and women who try to climb the Matterhorn. The latter is certainly not for us, but a beautiful picture of this mountain could not be missed.
La Ginabelle
We stayed at the Wellness Resort La Ginabelle, where we would have a view of the world-famous mountain in a heated outdoor pool. A beautiful hotel which has already been partly renovated and where you can enjoy a five-course dinner. Provided you book directly through the hotel’s website, we have noticed lately that this is often more efficient than booking through Booking.com. The pool was lovely, and I can imagine that after a day of skiing or climbing the Matterhorn, nothing is nicer than warming up in the open air. Only disadvantage of the hotels in Zermatt is that it is not really affordable (a night in La Ginabelle with dinner for two people costs CHF450) or it is very outdated.
Great experience
Despite the high prices, we had a wonderful weekend and got to see a lot more of Switzerland again. I am starting to appreciate more and more the charm of mountain villages, next step is to still believe this even in winter with -10 and snow. Andermatt we both found a small, but very cozy village where actually everything is within reach and where you can make beautiful walks. The Glacier Express provides a great experience where you are constantly surprised by the beautiful views. Zermatt is clearly much larger than Andermatt and much more focused on tourists, but therefore livelier with more choice of restaurants and stores. And the Matterhorn… we’ll have to come back for that one, unfortunately it didn’t show itself much this weekend!
Our experience with the Glacier Express from Andermatt to Zermatt
What better way to discover Switzerland, than by train? And even better, the Glacier Express where you can look out gigantic windows at the beautiful scenery rushing past you, well rushing, it wasn’t that fast. Last weekend we traveled with the Glacier Express from Andermatt to Zermatt.
Backpackers
When we still lived in Malaysia, but we already knew we would move to Switzerland, we read about the country on several blogs and watched videos on YouTube. One video in particular caught our attention. Two backpackers booked train tickets for the Glacier Express and traveled for about eight hours through Switzerland. We think eight hours in a train are a long time, so we decided to take a different route.
Andermatt
On Friday afternoon, we took the normal train from Zurich to Andermatt. This is a three-hour ride where you have to change trains in Zug and Göschenen. It was a very relaxing trip during which we feasted our eyes on the scenery with small villages on high mountains and even some snow. Luckily, we had prepared ourselves a bit for this and knew that in both villages it would be a lot colder than in Zurich. This is because Andermatt is at 1447 meter altitude. Once you arrive in Andermatt, you get off at the train station, which is perfectly equipped for skiing enthusiasts. Everything tells you that you have arrived in a winter sports village, the only difference being that at this time of year there is no snow, thankfully!
Radisson Blue Hotel
We stayed one night in the Radisson Blue hotel, where we had a fantastic time. The ideal base for mountain lovers, but also for us. You get the feeling of having landed in a modern chalet where there is a warm, inviting atmosphere with a wonderful spa and an even better breakfast. We stayed at a Radisson Blue hotel once before, in Norway in 2018, and I remember finding that a fantastic hotel too. The hotel in Andermatt is located just outside the village, but you can walk to it in ten minutes. In addition, the hotel is surrounded by a number of stores and restaurants, so you can have a great time here too. The River House
Bar
We decided to book a restaurant in the village for dinner. In the afternoon, we read on the menu that this restaurant has plenty of vegetarian options, so we reserved a table here. We didn’t expect it to be so crowded in the evening, but when we were served the food, we understood very well why this restaurant is so popular. The River House is a boutique hotel with a bar where it is especially cozy in the winter. Although at first glance it looks like a bar where you can only drink beer, they actually have an extensive menu with local products. We ordered the vegetarian chicken burger and cholera. Rumor has it that this dish, as the name suggests, is named after the disease after an outbreak in 1830.
Walliser Cholera
It is not certain if this is true, more likely that this dish is named after the coals on which Walliser Cholera is baked. Cholera is a savory pie with potatoes, onion, leek, cheese, and apple and normally with bacon. Both dishes were delicious and there was just enough room left for, what else, dessert. We chose to share the chocolate lava cake with a scoop of ice cream, and that was a good choice. We had a really great meal here and paid CHF 80 at the end of the evening, this included two glasses of wine and a coffee.
Slowest express train
On Saturday morning, we checked out and got ready for the four-hour Glacier Express train ride. You can book the ride for different parts, but the official one starts in Zermatt and goes to St. Moritz and Davos. This journey takes you over 291 bridges and through 91 tunnels and takes a total of eight hours. The Glacier Express is also called the slowest express train in the world, and that name is not a lie. The advantage of this slow train is that you can take in the scenery and enjoy the view.
Halbtax card
It was a comfortable trip where you almost feel like you are in a moving restaurant. The menu has plenty of options, where you can even order a four-course lunch. A little too much for us, but what we saw passing by looked good! In addition, the tickets are quite pricey if you don’t have a halbtax card. The first thing you are advised to do when moving to Switzerland is to buy this card, as it will save you an awful lot of money. And the same goes for the Glacier Express. Normally, a second-class ticket from Andermatt to Zermatt costs CHF 122. With the halbtax card, the same ride costs “only” CHF 85.50.
Train trip
Along the way we encountered countless waterfalls, bridges, streams, mountains, snow, and cows. This train ride was a lot of fun, partly because of the massive windows, the view, the comfortable ride and the friendly staff. You might expect to have seen the view after two hours, but you continue to be amazed by the many waterfalls and mini villages atop a hill. We were lucky with the weather, it didn’t rain, and it was a little cloudy. It can actually get very hot on this train in the summer because of the large windows. I can imagine that four hours in a sweaty train are very long.
Matterhorn
After four hours, we arrived in Zermatt, which is known for the Matterhorn. This gigantic mountain of 4478 meters high is one of the most photographed mountains in the world. It is not surprising that the village of Zermatt is fully equipped for tourism from all over the world. We were a bit surprised to see so many tourists, Dutch, Italians, Germans, but also Americans. Everyone visits this village to catch a glimpse of the Matterhorn, or for the real sportsmen and women who try to climb the Matterhorn. The latter is certainly not for us, but a beautiful picture of this mountain could not be missed.
La Ginabelle
We stayed at the Wellness Resort La Ginabelle, where we would have a view of the world-famous mountain in a heated outdoor pool. A beautiful hotel which has already been partly renovated and where you can enjoy a five-course dinner. Provided you book directly through the hotel’s website, we have noticed lately that this is often more efficient than booking through Booking.com. The pool was lovely, and I can imagine that after a day of skiing or climbing the Matterhorn, nothing is nicer than warming up in the open air. Only disadvantage of the hotels in Zermatt is that it is not really affordable (a night in La Ginabelle with dinner for two people costs CHF450) or it is very outdated.
Great experience
Despite the high prices, we had a wonderful weekend and got to see a lot more of Switzerland again. I am starting to appreciate more and more the charm of mountain villages, next step is to still believe this even in winter with -10 and snow. Andermatt we both found a small, but very cozy village where actually everything is within reach and where you can make beautiful walks. The Glacier Express provides a great experience where you are constantly surprised by the beautiful views. Zermatt is clearly much larger than Andermatt and much more focused on tourists, but therefore livelier with more choice of restaurants and stores. And the Matterhorn… we’ll have to come back for that one, unfortunately it didn’t show itself much this weekend!
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