Glacier Express

The Glacier Express runs about two hundred and ninety kilometres between Zermatt and St Moritz in roughly eight hours, crossing two hundred and ninety-one bridges and passing through ninety-one tunnels, over the Oberalp pass at 2,033 metres. It markets itself as the slowest express train in the world, which is a joke it makes about itself and also an accurate description of what the journey is for. Part of the route, the Albula and Bernina lines, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The carriages are panoramic with glazed roof sections and reservations are compulsory. The name is now historic: the Rhone glacier the original route was built to reach has retreated well out of sight of the line.

What you actually see

• Eight hours for 290 kilometres - the slowest express, by its own description.
• 291 bridges and 91 tunnels - the engineering across two cantons.
• The Oberalp pass at 2,033 metres - the high point of the route.
• A name outrun by the glacier - the ice no longer visible from the train.

When to go

All year; autumn and winter for clear air. A full day.

Honest expectations

Reservations are compulsory and expensive, and sell out in season. Eight hours is a long time seated; some passengers do half the route. The on-board meal costs extra. In poor weather the panoramic windows show cloud.

Nearby

Zermatt and the Matterhorn are at one end; the Engadin at the other.