Bernina Express

Very, very cool.

Well, the next one we want to talk about is the Bernina Express.

This is Switzerland to Italy.

So it's a stunning alpine route that connects true Switzerland to Toronto, Italy via the UNESCO listed Bernina Pass.

I recently spent a few days exploring the region myself, and it reminded me just how much this beautiful part of Switzerland has to offer.

You might know the Engadine as the home of St. Moritz, or perhaps you've heard of it because the Glacier Express or the Bernina Express pass through the region.

But rather than simply passing through, I think the Engadine is a region that really deserves a few days of your itinerary.

In this episode, I'm joined by Laura Benz from Engadine Tourism to find out why.

And many visitors who just come here for a few days, they realize that they could easily stay the week or more.

Plus the region is also a perfect starting point for further travel to Italy or also to Austria.

So for example, to Italy with the Bernina Express that you mentioned earlier, you can travel to Tirano and you're actually in Italy.

Or if you want to further explore Switzerland, you can take the Glacier Express and go directly to Zermatt.

So Julie wrote, "Hi, Katie.

Could you tell us about the Bernina Express? Is there any difference taking the red train? Is it best to go through the website or a provider like GetYourGuide, and do you recommend this as a day trip?" Hi, Julie.

Well, this is a popular day trip from Milan, and it is of course into Switzerland, so it's an international day trip.

You must take your passport.

This is [laughs] speaking from someone who did do a day trip into Switzerland and did not take their passport and realized when I was in Switzerland.

Anyway, uh, it is a popular day trip, and the Bernina Express is one of the world's most popular alpine train rides, and it goes through some absolutely spectacular scenery.

It is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it winds through the pristine alpine landscapes.

So it goes from, usually most people start, well, many people start in Switzerland from the city of Chur, and which is the oldest town in Switzerland, and it takes you over 196 bridges and through 55 tunnels, over wild gorges and the famous Landwasser Viaduct, up to the Bernina Pass, to the glaciers, and down to the palm trees in Tirano in Italy.

So there's plenty to do, plenty to see.

So it's kind of close to these Glacier and Bernina Express as well.

So visiting these areas is really nice.

Okay.

Okay, and we probably should mention also that the Glacier Express, it has a six-week period where it doesn't work from, I think it's end of October to early December, but the rest of the year, December, January, February, it's operating.

Yes.

But concerning this Glacier Express or Bernina Express, these are the famous trains, but they are operating on the normal train tracks like any other local train.

So if you want to explore the area, for example, in Graubinden from Chur to St. Moritz or even further to Alpgrim, you can still take the normal train of the Rittische Bahn.