Travelling between Milan and the Swiss capital by train is not only straightforward thanks to the direct rail services, it's also a lovely journey.
Connect in Bern for trains to destinations without direct services from Milan including Biel, Neuchatel and La Chaux de Fonds
Final Destination: Basel or Frankfurt (Main)
All trains also call at: Spiez (change for Interlaken) and Thun
Trains are usually scheduled to depart from Milano Centrale at 07:20; 11:20 and 18:20.
3 x trains per day
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead of the travel date - usually.
Reservations will automatically be assigned when booking tickets.
Check that you're booking for the direct trains - using the journey time to guide you.
Trains usually depart Milani Centrale at 07:20; 11:20 and 18:20.
If the departure/arrival times don't suit, then take trains that have a connection at Brig.
Rail Pass Users:
If you will be travelling with a valid Eurail or InterRail pass, you will have a choice of
(1) paying the reservation fees to travel on these direct trains - our guide to using using rail passes to travel from Italy has all the info you'll need, including fees and step-by-step instructions on how to book.
(2) avoiding all reservation fees by taking the 09:25 train from Milano Centrale to Domodossola and connecting there for another regional train on to Bern, which also happens to take a more spectacular route.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Italiarail | from €29 | |
Trenitalia | from €29 | |
Saveatrain | from €29 | |
Trainline | from €29 | |
Omio | from €29 |
If you're a fan of engineering achievements then this is an awe-inspiring journey.
After Domodossola the train travels through The Simplon Tunnel and after Visp it will travel through The Lötschberg Base Tunnel - both of which were previous holders of world's longest railway tunnel honors.
If your reserved seat is on the right of the train (when facing the direction of travel) the first highlight from a scenic point of view are the fabulous views over Lake Maggiore.
They can be seen north of Arona, but what's worth looking out for is when the train departs from Stresa.
This video was taken when travelling in the opposite direction...
...and shows the beautiful islands in the lake - and it also showcases why ShowMeTheJourney has tried and failed to photograph these islands, they can only be glimpsed through the trees.The part of the journey between Domodossola and The Simplon Tunnel is also fabulous, as the train will thread through a valley as it approaches the tunnel.
The other scenic highlight is the part of the journey between exiting the Lotschberg Base Tunnel and arriving in Thun station.
The beautiful Thunersee comes into view on the right as the train arrives in Spiez.
Between Speiz and Thun the train travels by the shore of Lake Thun.
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This is one of more than 1000 journey 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.