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Holiday in Chur by train
why Chur is such a great location for a holiday based around taking fabulously scenic Swiss rail journeys
Simon HarperShare
Chur may lack the chocolate box appeal of a Swiss Alpine village, but it's a city surrounded by mountains, so a very good reason for a holiday in the Chur is the easy access into those mountains which the railways provide.
It's the only city from which both the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express trains depart from.
The station in Chur is an interchange between the Swiss national rail network and the network of routes operated by the Rhaetian Railway.
The scenic railways which lead off from Chur
A day return journey to Tirano by the Bernina Express in both directions is possible from Chur.
Also the routes taken by trains between Chur and...
...St Moritz, along the Albula route
...and Zurich
are among the most spectacular Swiss rail journeys.
Plus when taking the regular Rhaetian Railway trains, easy connections are available to two of what ShowMeTheJourney ranks in its Top 5 Swiss journeys.
- Make transfers at Samedan at Pontresina to take the amazing route to Tirano through the Bernina Pass.
- And/or take the route through the gorge to Disentis/Mustér
where minutes later a Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train will head off on the incredible journey to Andermatt, and on towards Brig - on the route of The Glacier Express heading west from Chur.
So Chur is a second to none location for those who want the focus of their Swiss holiday to be easy access to long scenic journeys by train.
The Rhaetian Railways routes are also included in multiple Swiss rail holiday packages on which ShowMeTheJourney users can obtain a 5% discount, including all of the Alpine Tours.
To Switzerland's longest mountain coaster ride
Riding the trains isn't the only incredible experience in the Chur area.
The Pradaschier Adventure Park, home to Switzerland's longest mountain coaster ride. is a 15 min journey on bus line/route 182, which departs every 30 mins from the bus station that's above Chur railway station.
Book a Holiday arranged by the Switzerland Travel Centre
Save 5% on the price of the holiday by entering the exclusive promo code AFFSMTJSWISS on the booking page.
Using rail passes
Chur is also an exceptionally easy location in which to use rail passes as journeys by the regular Rhaetian Railway trains are fully covered by Eurail, InterRail, Swiss Travel and Saver Day Passes.
Users of Eurail, InterRail and Swiss Travel Passes also only have to pay the reservation fees to travel by the Bernina and Glacier Express trains, which are less than a third of the total cost, which have to be paid by travellers without rail passes.
Window seats on these trains can sell out months in advance, but rail pass users can also access the easy alternatives and hop on and off the regular trains along their routes and experience the same wonderful landscapes.
The access to multiple trains per with day also enables an easy and wonderful circular route to be taken on the Rhaetian Ralways which is Chur → St Moritz → Klosters → Landquart → Chur.
The fact that Eurail, InterRail, Saver Day Passes and Swiss Travel Passes can also be used at no extra cost on the regular Mattherhorn Gotthard Bahn trains enables onward connections to its route at Disentis/Mustér station.
This opens up the possibility of all day journeys from Chur on incredible routes, which are fully covered by the rail passes.
It's possible to follow the western side of the Glacier Express route, by hopping on and off the regular trains between Chur and Zermatt.
Another fabulous idea is to experience the wonderful Gotthard route between Göschenen and Zug, pictured above, by taking spectacular circular route fully covered by the rail passes: Chur → Disentis/Mustér → Andermatt → Göschenen → Thalwil via Zug → Chur
To Chur by train
Chur has frequent direct trains from Basel, from Zurich and now from Bern.
There are hourly trains from the station at Zurich airport, though they take a roundabout route, so making a connection at the main station in Zurich is a faster journey.
There are also two direct trains per day on Saturday and Sunday from Geneva airport.
Chur is also served by direct German ICE trains which typically take a Hamburg → Hannover → Frankfurt (Main) → Karlsruhe → Freiburg → Basel - Zurich → Chur route.
Though these services are altered until Dec 9th, with destinations in Germany switched from Hamburg and Hannover to Berlin and Leipzig.
There are also trains between Chur and Buchs which connect with trains on the Zurich - Buchs ↔ Innsbruck - Graz / Salzburg / Vienna / Budapest / Bratislava route.
Plus Tirano is an easy train journey from Milan and with the stations in Tirano steps away from each other, heading to Chur from northern Italy is both incredible and easily done.
Simon Harper
I wanted to share my passion for train travel and explain how anyone can take the fantastic journeys I have taken.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.
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