Glacier Express, Swiss Alps & Lucerne Tour | From Lucerne
Description
Embark on an unforgettable adventure aboard the Glacier Express, traversing Switzerland’s stunning terrain in style. Indulge in a gourmet meal during this 8-hour journey through Chur, Andermatt, and Lucerne, capturing breathtaking views of Lake Lucerne and the Rotsee. Conclude with a charming mini-tour of Lucerne’s Old Town, Chapel Bridge, and the iconic Lion Monument’s Head.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your tour guide inside the Central Train Station in Lucerne in front of Platform 7 before heading to the Glacier Express with the other participants
Begin your memorable ride aboard the Glacier Express, an ultra-sleek train offering an end-to-end journey of 291 km (181 miles) inland. Settle into your modern seats to enjoy the train’s steady pace, allowing ample opportunities to absorb the ever-changing panoramic views of southern Switzerland on your way to Andermatt. Receive insightful commentary on rich Swiss traditions and the Express’s operational history. Anticipation builds as you approach the Oberalp section, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and fresh alpine scenery. Capture the perfect picture of architecturally pleasing bridges, reaching the highest altitude of the tour. Before your next discovery, indulge in a gourmet lunch (depending on the option booked) served at your seat so you don’t miss a moment of the incoming views. * Between October 11 and December 6, the Glacier Express does not operate. During this period, we offer the same scenic route with an additional stop in a Swiss Alpine Village.
Start your journey in true Swiss style with a scenic train ride to the country's oldest city, Chur. Embedded in the foundations of Swiss history, Chur’s settlements date back over 5,000 years. On your way to this well-preserved city, listen to tales of the scenes you spot, Chur's cultural heritage, and the traditional customs of the passing cantons and cities. After arriving in Chur, board the Glacier Express and be escorted to your comfortable first-class carriage. Gain interesting insights into the Glacier Express’ monumental past and how it became a world-recognized icon.
At your next stop, depart the Glacier Express at Andermatt, a traditional Swiss village in the heart of the Ursen Valley, and board another cozy train. Your voyage proceeds towards the world-famous city of Lucerne, where you'll make an exciting stop. Our guide will embellish the next leg of your journey with shared secrets about forming the Swiss Confederation. Gain significant insights into the admirable endurance displayed by the Swiss guards, enabling you to connect with the discoveries made later on the tour. Next, reach the lake of four cantons, commonly recognized as Lake Lucerne. The vast expanse encapsulates iconic Swiss beauty with a backdrop of pure sparkling water and deep mountain ranges. It's a sight you're sure to remember.
Arriving at the blissful city of Lucerne, the final discovery of the tour, the guide will lead you through the medieval Old Town while providing an engaging context of the region's historical and cultural heritage. Enriched with perfectly preserved gothic architecture surrounded by snow-capped mountains, the tour through Lucerne’s Old Town will instantly transport you to the Middle Ages, giving a taste of what life was like all those years ago! This segment of the tour additionally offers the chance to encounter famed heritage sites, including the Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) — the world’s oldest surviving bridge, and the Lion Monument — an intricate 19th-century rock carving commemorating the Swiss Guards that lost their lives during the French Revolution in 1792.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(22)
Our guides, Mary and Erika, were fantastic!!!! But this tour was not what we expected. We started with a walk through Lucerne which was interesting. Keep an eye on your email because start times for the tour change the night before. Then you start your LONG train ride which eventually gets you to your 2 1/2 hours on the Glacier Express and then 2 more trains back to Lucerne. So we left Lucerne at 1:15 pm after a walking tour which started at 11 am and arrived back in Lucerne at 9 pm. Oh and no food included unless you buy it.
We had a horrible experience with this tour company, beware! We booked this tour as the highlight of our vacation, but we received an email the night before, telling us the start time had changed. We had already gone to sleep, so we wake up to find that we have to rush to meet our guide, who was also flustered by the last-minute change. We barely made it to our connection and my father struggled to keep up with the pace due to a bad knee. When we called to complain, Jonas the owner was incredibly rude and blamed us for the confusion. Take some accountability for your business! We spent a lot of money for this tour and it was such a bad experience. The Glacier Express itself was crowded and the food service made the entire train smell for the whole ride. Tourists were blasting music from their phones and the train personel didn't do anything about it. Just horrible!
We’re very sorry to hear that your experience didn’t meet expectations, especially on a day that was meant to be a highlight of your trip. Regarding the schedule change, we understand how stressful last-minute adjustments can be. In this case, the departure time was adapted due to confirmed seat allocations from the Glacier Express, which can occasionally shift — especially during high season. We always do our best to communicate such changes as early as possible, and we regret that the message reached you too late in the evening. We’re also sorry to hear that the pace of the tour was difficult for your father. Had we been informed in advance about mobility concerns, our team and guide would have gladly adapted the itinerary to be more comfortable. As for the phone interaction, we’d like to clarify that Jonas is our head guide, not the owner. We’re sorry if his tone came across as unhelpful — our intention is never to place blame, but to resolve concerns fairly. We’re reviewing this internally to ensure we continue to provide the respectful, helpful support our guests deserve. Finally, while we are not the operator of the Glacier Express itself, we regret that the on-board experience — including crowding and lack of enforcement by train personnel — didn’t meet your expectations. Your feedback has been noted and will be shared with the appropriate contacts at the rail provider. We’re grateful you took the time to share your thoughts, and we would welcome the opportunity to speak further. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at info@tours-of-switzerland.com.
Michelle was a wonderful tour guide. Filled our trip with interesting historical facts and stories. She had a great personality! A very delightful person. The route we followed under her guidance, and the scenery we got to see was simply spectacular. We had just one day to explore the country and we felt she hit all the greatest highlights in such a short time with fantastic transportation. We enjoyed our special lunch she planned for us.
Paid for a ride on the Glacier Express and we’re out on a regional train. The entire trip was changed due to our tour director being late (train issues). I understand it was not her fault her train was late. We were not told of the change to our itennary. Had we been told we would have canceled and booked somewhere else. Do NOT book this trip if you are expecting a ride on the Glacier Express.
We’re truly sorry your experience didn’t meet expectations. However, we’d like to clarify that this tour does include a ride on the official Glacier Express — this is the core of the experience and is always part of the itinerary. In this particular case, there was an unforeseen delay with the guide’s inbound train on the morning of your tour. Due to very limited Glacier Express seat availability, especially during high season, we were forced to restructure the route at the last minute to avoid a full cancellation and still provide a scenic and meaningful day along the Glacier Express route. This was an exception and not reflective of our usual operation. We understand that the change was disappointing, and we sincerely apologize if the alternative wasn’t clearly communicated in a timely way. Our operational team acted quickly under pressure, but we acknowledge that better communication would have helped set the right expectations. If you would like to rebook at a discounted rate in the future, or speak to us directly, please reach out at info@tours-of-switzerland.com. We truly value your feedback and hope to welcome you again under better circumstances.
This tour is NOT on the Glacier Express as it states. We were misled by the information . We paid extra money to ride the Glacier Express. Do NOT book this tour
Thank you for your feedback, and we’re sorry to hear the experience didn’t meet your expectations. Just to clarify, this tour does include the Glacier Express and follows the official Glacier Express route. However, on rare occasions, especially during high season or due to short-notice bookings, we may need to adjust based on train availability or unforeseen operational issues (like delays, maintenance, or ticketing constraints). In such cases, we always aim to inform guests ahead of time and propose alternative arrangements, such as regional trains along the same scenic route. We completely understand that part of the appeal is the Glacier Express train itself, and we strive to deliver that whenever possible. If your tour was one of the rare exceptions where the actual Glacier Express carriage wasn’t available, we truly regret the inconvenience and disappointment caused. This is never done with the intention to mislead but rather to ensure that guests still experience the iconic route and Alpine scenery, rather than canceling the day altogether. We also encourage guests to book as early as possible, as seats on the Glacier Express are limited and can sell out weeks in advance. If there is ever uncertainty or concern, you’re welcome to contact us directly, and we’re happy to clarify what’s included or suggest the best dates for availability. Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience — we’ll use your comments to improve communication and transparency for future travelers.
It’s misleading . In October the Glacier Express is closed . This tour was sold as including the Glacier Express , not just the route on a regular train. The same high price was charged , even though the Glacier Express was not included.
Thank you for your feedback, and we’re sorry the tour didn’t meet your expectations. To clarify, the Glacier Express does not operate the last 2 weeks of October and November, which is clearly stated in the tour description, and the price is already discounted by CHF 100 to reflect that seasonal change. Instead, we travel along the same scenic route with panoramic trains or regular carriages, offering a similar visual experience, just without the branded Glacier Express service. We completely understand the importance of transparency, which is why we include this information upfront on all platforms. If Viator’s listing did not make this detail clear enough, we’ll follow up with them to ensure it’s correctly represented moving forward. Thank you again for your comments, and we hope you still enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the service provided by our team.
Leighton was a wonderful guide , friendly, helpful , very chatty and informative… couldn’t fault him at all The train tour itself was amazing. The service provider advertised the tour to leave at 0915 and it actually didn’t start until 1100… the tour advertised stated that there would be a town tour at the end of the train ride but it was in fact at the beginning , I had planned on skipping the town tour as I had already done a town tour the previous day … this meant that I wasted my entire morning waiting when I could have been doing another tour that I was interested in but I was unable to organise anything else because of such short notice in change of plans . The actual train tour didn’t start until 1:15 pm after being advertised as 915am starting and will be taking this up with Viator…. Also feel the need to mention that public transport was used for most of the trip and economy seats used not first class which I feel is important given the cost of the tour.
Thank you so much for your kind words about Leighton — we’re glad to hear he made the experience enjoyable, and that you loved the Glacier Express journey. Just to clarify, your group did travel on the official Glacier Express train, not a regular public train. The adjusted start time and itinerary were due to the train schedule allocated to us by the Glacier Express, which sometimes changes based on availability, especially in high season. Regarding seating: the tour includes standard (2nd class) by default, but we always offer the option to upgrade to 1st class in advance or on the spot when availability allows. For more flexibility and direct updates, we always recommend booking with us directly at info@tours-of-switzerland.com, where rates are also typically 30% lower than reseller platforms.
Firstly let me say that our guide Leighton was excellent. Knowledgeable, talkative, friendly and approachable. However our tickets were purchased through Viator and the experience we received was a lot different from advertised. Being led to believe we would be catching a train at 9:15am, we eventually got one at 1:15pm. Our morning was entirely ruined. Thankfully we eventually had some correspondence from the official company Tours of Switzerland but not before time.
Leighton was a great tour guide. He went into great details on how all of Switzerland operates down to the individual Cantons. The scenery was breathtaking! We would definitely recommend Glacier Express!
Anna is a responsible and friendly guide. But, this tour is all about trying out on different types of trains/ routes. All I can remember is the 1 hour stop over/ tour at Andermatt (breathtaking scenery and tranquil environment). Not worth paying so much for the Glacier Express (or maybe the view from Chur to Andermatt was not the most scenic segment) ! The scenery was quite alike to the normal trains we took.
