Home / Zermatt by Train: Rail Routes and Escorted Tours
Swiss rail holidays
How every train reaches the car-free village under the Matterhorn, and the escorted holiday that takes you there.
Zermatt by train is the only way in, because no private cars are allowed in the village at the foot of the Matterhorn. Every route ends on the red narrow gauge trains of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, climbing up the Mattertal from Visp. The escorted holiday below turns it into an included day out from Lake Maggiore, with the tour manager handling the border, the shuttle train and the timings.
Below the tour cards you'll find how each rail route works from Geneva, Zurich, Milan and St Moritz, where the Glacier Express fits in, and what's worth booking before you go.
Escorted tours with flights and hotels included. Facts from each operator's own site.
Newmarket Holidays
Lake Maggiore with days out to Zermatt and over the hundred valleys on the Centovalli Railway.
From £2,182about £273 a day · per person
See datesPrices are per person sharing, from the operators' own sites when we checked in October 2026. They change with dates and offers, so check the live price before you book.
You change at Visp. Whichever way you come, the last leg up to Zermatt station is on the red metre gauge trains of the MGB, which leave the Rhône and climb south through Stalden, St. Niklaus, Randa and Täsch. Some start further back at Brig. There are no seat reservations on these regular services, so you just buy a ticket and climb aboard.
The airport has its own station, so you can be on a train within minutes of landing. The line runs along the shore of Lake Geneva past Lausanne and Montreux, with vineyards climbing the slopes and the water on your right, so grab a window on that side if you can! Then it follows the Rhône upstream into Valais. If you fly from the UK to Geneva, the train from Geneva to Zermatt makes a lovely first day in the Swiss Alps.
Trains from Zurich run via Bern and then dive under the mountains through the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. You lose the scenery for a while, but that tunnel is why the train from Zurich to Zermatt is so quick.
From Italy, EuroCity trains run north past Lake Maggiore and Domodossola, then through the Simplon Tunnel to Brig. You still need that change in Valais, and you'll want your passport handy for the border. It's a good way to tie Zermatt into a trip to the Italian lakes. Our guide to the train between Switzerland and Italy covers the crossings in both directions.
Getting to Zermatt from the UK without flying means Eurostar to Paris and a TGV Lyria on to Geneva or Basel. Our page on the train to Switzerland from London walks you through those connections.
| Starting from | Which way the train goes | Where you change | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geneva | Lake Geneva shore, then up the Rhône | Visp | Most scenic of the main routes |
| Zurich or Bern | Lötschberg Base Tunnel into Valais | Visp | The fastest way in from the north |
| Milan | Past Domodossola and through the Simplon Tunnel | Brig or Visp | Border crossing, carry your passport |
| St Moritz or Andermatt | Glacier Express over the Oberalp Pass | None, it runs right through | Seat reservation is compulsory |
| Täsch (by car) | Shuttle train up the last stretch | None | Cars stop here, Zermatt is car-free |
This is a proper mountain railway, climbing hard all the way from the floor of the Rhône to the resort. The Mattertal narrows fast. On the steepest sections the train engages a cogwheel and hauls itself up past waterfalls, larch woods and alpine hamlets hanging off the slopes, and you'll want to look out for the high bridges around Stalden and the glacier above Randa.
The Matterhorn plays hard to get. It hides behind the mountainsides almost the whole way and only shows itself near the end, on the final run from Täsch into town.
Then you step out onto the Bahnhofplatz. There are no car engines, just electric taxis, small electric vans and the free e-bus for getting around Zermatt, and much of the village is an easy walk from the station. The Zermatt tourist office arrival page has the current details on the shuttle and getting about.
Travelling light? You can check your cases in at a Swiss station with the SBB luggage service and collect them in Zermatt, so you ride up with just a day bag.
Newmarket's Lake Maggiore, Zermatt and the Centovalli Railway holiday is based all week at a four-star lakeside base in Baveno, on the Italian shore, with flights to Milan. Zermatt is the big Swiss day out, and it's included.
Here's how the day runs:
What it takes off your hands:
It suits you if you'd like Zermatt as one highlight in a relaxed summer week of lakes and little railways, rather than a base for walking. The tour cards above show the current from price and dates, and you can see the dates on Newmarket's website.
The cogwheel railway up to the Gornergrat leaves from directly opposite Zermatt station, so it's the easiest summit to fit into an afternoon. Opened in 1898 as the first electric cogwheel railway in Switzerland, the Gornergrat Bahn climbs past Riffelalp and Riffelberg to a ridge facing the Matterhorn, with Monte Rosa and the Gorner Glacier spread out on the other side.
Sit on the right going up for the best views of the Matterhorn, which grow with every bend. At the top you're at one of the highest railway stations in the Alps. With a Swiss Travel Pass the fare is half price, and our page on Swiss mountain railways compares it with the Jungfrau, Pilatus and Rigi lines.
Zermatt is one end of the Glacier Express, the panoramic train that crosses the Alps all the way to St Moritz. Departures are early in the morning, and you run back down the Mattertal before heading east past Brig, up the Goms and over the Oberalp Pass, with lunch cooked on board and served at your seat.
Book ahead, because a seat reservation is compulsory on top of your ticket or pass. The train also takes a break every autumn, so check the official Glacier Express timetable before you plan around it. The Glacier Express route guide goes through what you see stop by stop, and the far end is covered on our St Moritz by train page.
Travelsphere's The Best of Switzerland rides the Glacier Express with lunch on board as far as Brig, at the foot of the Zermatt line, though it doesn't go up to Zermatt itself. If the train matters more to you than the village, compare it on our Glacier Express holidays page or check the dates with Travelsphere.
Regular trains to Zermatt don't need reserving. SBB sells the through fare, with cheaper saver fares if you book early, and the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn runs the line itself. A Swiss Travel Pass covers the whole journey from the airport. If you're touring several regions, our guide to Swiss trains explains how the network and passes fit together.
On your own, the trains are easy and frequent. You can stay the night and watch the Matterhorn turn gold at sunset, once the day visitors have gone back down to Täsch. The catch is luggage and a long day of changes from the airport.
With the escorted tour you trade the overnight for a week where everything is arranged, with Zermatt and the Centovalli as the rail days. If you'd like more scenic trains in one trip, our Swiss rail holidays page compares every escorted tour that puts the big panoramic lines together, and the home page shows the best of Switzerland by train by route and by season.
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