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Glacier Express All Inclusive at Christmas

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8 days From £1,874 £1,799 per person
3.9 stars(11 reviews)
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An all-inclusive festive tour on iconic railways through mountainous Switzerland

Save up to £100pp

Save up to £100pp on selected Europe 2024 holidays when you book by 31st October 2023.

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Win a River Cruise

Book your Europe or British Isles holiday by midnight Wed 18th October and be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a free Springtime Tulips & Keukenhof Gardens river cruise for two, with our sister company Great Rail journeys.

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Mobility Rating 3

2023 Tour code: 24TFX

About the tour

Discover the delights of Switzerland at Christmas on this all-inclusive festive break. Travel through winter wonderlands on some of Switzerland's most iconic railways, explore upmarket winter resorts, and soak up incredible snowy vistas.

Highlights

What’s included

Itinerary

Day 1 - London and Strasbourg

Your holiday begins as you meet at London St Pancras, taking the Eurostar to Paris. In Paris, join the French rail network for your onwards journey to Strasbourg, where you spend the night. Twinkling festive lights adorn the grand squares while medieval half-timbered houses look on, setting the scene beautifully for a week-long winter holiday.

Please Note - For departures 22/12/2023 and 23/12/2023 you will overnight at the Hotel du Parc Mulhouse in Mulhouse.

Includes
  • Dinner
Day 2 - Strasbourg and Tienfencastel

With some free time in the morning, you may want to explore charming Strasbourg. With a captivating blend of German and French influences, the quaint Old Town is a medieval wonder, dominated by the spectacular Notre Dame Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock. At Christmastime, the city comes alive with cheerful lights and a fantastic traditional Christmas market - one of the oldest and most iconic in the whole of Europe. Continue your journey later, travelling via Basel and Interlaken to Tienfencastel a scenic base from which to enjoy the festive season.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3 - St Moritz

Today is Christmas Eve, and we head to the luxurious resort town of St Moritz. Journeying through stunning alpine scenery on the UNESCO-listed Albula Line, the route twists and spirals as it clings to mountainsides and crosses rushing rivers before arriving in St Moritz, a lakeside town synonymous with glitz and glamour. With free time to explore the charming winter wonderland at your own pace. Bedecked in its festive finery, sparkling Christmas light displays and enchanting decorations line the streets, making strolling through the town an experience in itself. Spend time window-shopping at the designer boutiques and jewellers, or perhaps pause for a hot chocolate and a spot of lunch at one of the many chic cafés here.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4 - Christmas on the Bernina Express

Enjoy a Christmas Day to remember today, as you celebrate onboard the famous Bernina Express, travelling across the border to Tirano in Italy. This remarkable railway line is over 100 years old and has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. It's widely recognised as one of the finest rail journeys in the world, and as you tunnel through snow-capped mountain ranges, cross spectacular canyons and valleys, and glide alongside frozen lakes, you'll soon realise why. You enjoy a little free time in the Italian town of Tirano; a fantastic opportunity to discover a new country at the most wonderful time of year. Tonight, back in Tiefencastel, you sit down to Christmas dinner in beautifully festive surroundings - a perfect end to a wonderful day.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 - Tiefencastel

Today, you're free to relax at your hotel or explore Tiefencastel, or indeed the rest of the region, further. At the confluence of the Albula and Julier rivers, the small village of Tiefencastel is surrounded by incredible scenery, while the church of St Stephen was expanded in 1650 by Capuchin monks and contains intricate wood carvings. Having a train station located on the routes of the Glacier Express and Bernina Express, there are many great rail journeys to take. The premier mountain resorts of Davos and Klosters, a favourite of the Royal family, are within easy reach.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6 - Chur and the Arosa Line

You enjoy a journey on the pretty Arosa Line today, climbing to the charming lakeside town of Arosa. Take in the rocky, wintry scenery of the Graubünden canton en-route, winding through wild and dramatic landscapes before arriving in Arosa, where you're met with stunning vistas across the icy waters of Lake Obersee. After some free time, continue by train to Chur, Switzerland's oldest settlement with a history dating back over 5,000 years.

You have some time to explore this quintessentially Swiss town. You could head to the quaint Old Town, which boasts fantastically preserved medieval town walls and buildings and is entirely traffic-free, making it the ideal place to explore on foot. At this time of year, Christmas decorations adorn the buildings, adding an extra touch of magic.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7 - The Glacier Express

A highlight of your holiday awaits you today, as you bid farewell to Tiefencastel and enjoy a journey on the world-renowned Glacier Express, travelling to Brig. Known affectionately as the 'world's slowest express train', the Glacier Express gently makes its way through the glorious scenery, affording you a front-row view of some of the best of Switzerland's natural beauty. During the winter months, the striking vistas are transformed into a picture-postcard landscape of snowy meadows, frozen waterfalls and white mountaintops. On board, a handy audio guide narrates your journey, letting you know when a particularly scenic or interesting spot is coming up, so you don't miss a moment of the views. On arrival in Brig, you change trains and head to Basel, a medieval Swiss city on the banks on the Rhine River. Your luggage will be waiting for you here, and you spend the night at a local hotel.

Includes
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8 - Homeward bound

Your festive adventure comes to an end today. Leaving Basel, you join the TGV train to Paris this morning. Here, you connect with the Eurostar to London St Pancras.

Includes
  • Breakfast

Additional information

Please note

Please note that while every departure of this tour will feature the same excursions, the order may differ from that shown above.

Departure times

Provisional departure and return times, where available, can be found together with dates and prices by clicking on the 'Prices & Availability' button. We will write to you around 10 weeks before your departure date with the precise meeting times for your tour group.

Mobility information

Due to the nature of our tours they are generally unsuitable for those with restricted mobility. If you’d like to discuss any particular holiday with us in this respect, then please don’t hesitate to call us.

Hotel

Hotel Albula & Julier, Tiefencastel

Hotel Albula & Julier, Tiefencastel

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Trains

Arosa Line
Bernina Express
Eurostar
Glacier Express
The TGV

Enhance your holiday

Upgrades

Extend your European holiday
Eurostar Upgrade
UK rail connections
London hotels

Reviews

3.9 stars3.9 / 5 · 11 reviews

  1. 5 stars
    (4)
  2. 4 stars
    (3)
  3. 3 stars
    (3)
  4. 2 stars
    (1)
  5. 1 star
    (0)

William Fyans

4 stars

Submitted 14/Jan

Lovely places to see/be in, but too much time pressure and stress during travel. Took days to recover. Better for the young/fit. Everyone was very disappointed as the actual Glacier express we were on, being I believe a special extra train due to demand, offered no buffet or refreshments at all, all the way. Much cynical laughter at the lavish videos.

Collected by Trustpilot

Michael

4 stars

Submitted 9/Jan

Great train and journey. Disappointed and spoilt the experience as no food and drinks available and buffet carriage closed

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JEAN

2 stars

Submitted 9/Jan

Be careful booking this trip, our journey on the Glacier Express, which was six hours in total, had no services at all ! No Buffet / Dining car, no at seat trolley service and no availability to purchase any souvenirs of our journey, we couldn't even get a drink of water. We booked this for a very special occasion and were very upset and disappointed at what should have been the highlight of the holiday.

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Steve Taylor

3 stars

Submitted 8/Jan

Let down on Glacier express, no buffet service as advertised.

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TeeGee

5 stars

Submitted 7/Jan

Fabulous way to spend Christmas. Tour Manager, Mark, was excellent. No need to worry about anything as he was there to solve any problems. About a third of the group were solo travellers. Some of the ladies were apprehensive as first time solo travellers but in the event were delighted with the relaxed and friendly nature of the group. Bear in mind that this is a rail based trip. There will be train connections involving transfers to another train so you need to be reasonable fit. Try to minimise your luggage. There are not words in the English language big enough to describe the scenery in Switzerland, especially the Glacier Express trip. Also check out the Bahnmuseum Albula on your free day. And finally I used no local currency at all, all payments were contactless.

Collected by Trustpilot

John In Sunderland

5 stars

Submitted 6/Jan

An excellent holiday. The train journeys, the hotels and the mountain scenery were superb. The tour manager and the rest of the group helped make the holiday a complete success.

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