We have had the pleasure of arriving into Switzerland by train and by plane. Both were perfectly nice, but taking the Bernina Express from Italy to St Moritz was an experience! If you are planning to take the same journey then read on for our full Bernina Express First Class review.

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The Bernina Express

The Bernina Express travels from Tirano in Italy, on a steady 7% gradient up to the Swiss Alps. We caught the train up to St Moritz which takes around 2.5 hours but you can travel to Chur which will take around 4. (Thats “Cor” like door rather than “Chur” like her). This route was electrified in the 1920s and have been carrying happy travellers ever since.

If you would rather watch our YouTube video about the experience, it is below (or you can do both).

A Milan Stopover

The night before our Bernina adventure, we flew into Milan. This was a late night flight so we did a quick self check in to our hostel and got a decent seven hours kip.

It was just a 15 minute walk in the morning to catch our Trenord train from Milano Centrale up into the valley that lies between Italy, Switzerland Austria.

Route: Milano Centrale – Tirano

Train No: 2818

Train Time: 09:20 (actually 09:24) – 12:05

Even this train ride was lovely. Sure it passed some grey factories and uninspired suburbs, but then we left north Milan and hit the lakes. I don’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me sooner, but the train line runs up past Lake Lecco and Lake Como. The train was quite busy but nearly everyone bundled off at
Varenna Esino, trying to trundle their wheeled suitcases across the tracks.

TOP TIP: For the best views of the water, sit on the left side of the train, as you are facing forward.

An Unexpected Stop

We pulled into Tresenda, the second to last stop before Tirano, everyone disembarked. We weren’t paying an awful lot of attention to be honest, until the train guard came down and gave us a quizzical look. This is where the train terminated, not Tirano. She gave a heavy sigh, enquiring as to where we purchased our tickets. When we said The Trainline, she gave a knowing nod and informed us that this has been a common problem. The train hadn’t been going all the way to Tirano for a while.

We dashed along the platform, following the last couple of stragglers as they turned the corner and made their way to a small waiting bus. I was in slight panic mode. Google told us that this bus was going all around the houses and would give us just a minute or two between its arrival and the Bernina Express departing. Thankfully, Google had no idea that this was in fact a rail replacement bus and it got us there, in just over 10 minutes.

Tirano Station

We made it to the station with time to run to the nearest supermarket. Switzerland has much higher food prices in Italy so we wanted to stock up on food and snacks for the next few days. We picked up crisps, biscuits, prosciutto, a couple of Aperol Spritz bottles, some Prosecco cans (or so we thought), a red pepper, smoked cheese, bread, and breakfast bars. Stocked up and feeling full of adrenaline, we hot-foot it back to the station with another ten minutes to spare. Less wound-up passengers thronged the square outside and I envied their relaxed demeanour, many having just emerged from the nearby restaurants full and happy.

Route: Bernina Express, Tirano – St Moritz

Train No: 974

Train Time: 13:17 – 15:45

After all the drama, we arrived back at Tirano station before our train arrived into the platform. Everyone bundled onboard as soon as the train doors opened. Luggage stowed, seats located and excitement high, the train pulled away.

The Carriage

At first glance, the seats look a little like normal train seats, rather than the fancy ones you may be expecting. I think it is the dark grey that makes them feel a tiny bit commuterish. They are very comfortable, however, so don’t let the colour put you off. In second class, there are two sets of four seats so you will be sat next to or opposite people you don’t know if you are in a couple. In first class, you will find sets of two opposite tables of four. If you both want a window seat then book early.

Mind you, everyone still has a good view as the Bernina Express has the most glorious panoramic windows. They stretch up and over the carriage in one large pane of glass, rather than the separate roof windows you will find on many other routes. These give an incredible view and we loved them.

On the small tables, everyone had a map (actually, it was printed ON the tables) and a small leaflet about the journey. I wish we had looked at this sooner as we found a link to an audioguide and we didn’t see it until it was almost time to get off. I love an audio commentary so this was silly of us.

The Food and Drink

Each table is provided with a menu of snacks, and drinks available to purchase. The prices were a little steep for Italy but rather good for Switzerland so I guess you just have to even it out mentally.

However, you are allowed to bring your food and so most people were having picnics. After our rather rushed food shop, we accidentally picked up the sparkling red wine rather than the Prosecco we were aiming for, but we still poured the cans into our plastic champagne flutes and toasted the journey whilst munching on peanut crisps, bread cheese and ham.

After our stop, everyone was presented with a small tin, made up to look like the Bernina Express’ iconic red trains. A quick flip over and I saw the Lindt logo. The tin contained Swiss chocolate hearts and they fueled us through the rest of our Swiss adventure (one a day for dessert). We also had a small carton of iced tea. It seemed to be camomile, alpines herbs and mint. It tasted just like my step-mum’s ice tea and I loved it!

The Viaduct

The Brusio Spiral Viaduct was my highlight. As a girl that spend many an hour creating similar structures with a wooden Brio set, it was astonishing. Built in 1908, the 110m long viaduct takes the train round 360 degrees and raises it up a whopping 70m! Originally, a spiral tunnel was planned but I am so glad that they went with the open structure. It is strangely alluring and the curve suits the meandering valley.

The Views

The full journey covers 144 kilometres (around 90 miles), goes through 55 tunnels and across 191 bridges. The Bernina Pass is a UNESCO World Hertiage Site so you know its going to be gorgeous. We passed through villages, and soared above them on viaducts. Bright blue lakes, green meadows and dark pine trees slipped by as we gazed through the windows.

THREE TOP TIPS:

• They do say that from Tirano the best views are on the right, and from Switzerland they are are on the left. However, you can’t see the direction of travel when you are booking so this is a bit tricky to sort out ahead of time. Maybe pop across if you find some free seats on your favourite side. We were on the left and I can confirm that we spent a fair amount of time gazing through the other side. Either way, try to nab seats towards the centre of carriage as this will give you the broadest view.
• The excellent curved panorama windows in first class dont open, obviously, but head backwards and at the end of the train you will find a little vestibule. Here you can open the windows and catch unobstructed view as well as seeing backwards along the tracks.
• On the older trains, you miss out on the panoramic windows but the smaller windows do open halfway. If you are doing a return journey then travel one way on the older trains and capture all your photos. Then you can relax and just enjoy the views on the newer one on the way back.

Alp Grüm

Just before we head up into the Bernina Pass, there was a stop called Alp Grüm. Here, everyone could get out and take in the views whilst stretching our legs. It was a bit cold and windy so it was a bit of a struggle to stay out for the full fifteen minutes without a coat (I really should have popped back on b oard and grabbed it but I was over-excited). To the south we could see a gorgeous valley and the beautiful glaciers beyond.

St Moritz

Knowing that we were now up in the mountains, we bundled up enthusiastically before disembarking. Everybody else seemed to dive off the train and were long gone by the time we stepped onto the platform. I revealed to unenthusiastic Mr Fluskey that we were half an hour’s walk from the hostel on the other side of the lake. However, he reminded me that the Swiss travel pass doesn’t just cover trains, but buses too! There was a bus that would take us right to the front door of the hostel and so we gratefully hopped on.

After checking in, I thought it would be nice to take a walk around the lake and see what Saint Moritz had to offer. It was a beautiful walk if a little grey. When we reached town, we took several escalators up to the main area above the lake, but it was, like a ghost town. We were quite tired from our day of travel so we decided to bail that same bus once again back to the hostel.

We made some dinner and watched Celebrity Race Across the World as we munched our way through it. Budget travel mode was activated. Leftover Wagamama noodles, one packet of cheap ramen, overpriced hummus from the co-op in St Moritz and a single red pepper from Italy made up our first backpacker dinner. Ah Switzerland, you humble us all.

The Swiss Travel Pass

The Swiss Travel Pass is the ultimate travel companion in Switzerland. It allows you hop on and off buses, trains, boats and trams throughout the country. There are two main kinds of passes, The Swiss Travel Pass and the Swiss Travel Pass Flex. The Swiss Travel Pass means using it on consecutive days (3, 4, 6, 8 or 15). The Flex pass allows you the same number of days but at any time within one month. The flex costs a little more but means you can relax along your journey.

The Swiss Travel Pass covers the length of the Bernina Express, despite the fact it starts or ends in Italy. You just need to book a reservation for your selected class. When we travelled (September 2024) this was around 28 CHF in first class and 26 CHF in second class. This is totally worth it!

Final Thoughts on Our Bernina Express First Class Review

The thing about Swiss trains is that they are just too beautiful. Despite having done it once, I want to do it again. The September travel date allowed us to see the change of summer into autumn but now we need to see it all covered in snow! Whenever you go, you are going to have a wonderful day. Enjoy travelling through the most gorgeous places, relaxing, and letting the train driver do all the hard work. Cheers!

Rosie xx