{"id":893,"date":"2026-10-16T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T01:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itpbaz.kinsta.cloud\/culture\/aboard-the-excellence-class-on-the-glacier-express\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T22:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T14:24:08","slug":"aboard-the-excellence-class-on-the-glacier-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/culture\/aboard-the-excellence-class-on-the-glacier-express\/","title":{"rendered":"The Postcard-Perfect Journey Aboard The Excellence Class Of The Glacier Express"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Images: Glacier Express.<\/h2>\n\n

It\u2019s 8:45am in Zermatt in the middle of December, and I\u2019m about to board the Excellence Class on the Glacier Express, one of the hottest train tickets in all of Switzerland\u2014and with good reason. The cabin\u2019s expansive windows present an unobstructed postcard-perfect view of Switzerland\u2019s natural beauty, stretching from Zermatt to St. Moritz.<\/p>\n\n

Red carpet treatment<\/h2>\n
\t
\n\t\t
\"A<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tA red carpet welcome to the Excellence Class aboard the Glacier Express.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The concierge waits on the platform, where a red carpet leads me into my carriage, and within minutes my luggage has disappeared into a lockable hold I won\u2019t think about again until we reach our destination. A glass of champagne appears before the train has even properly left the station. In the Excellence Class, the standard is set early.<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\t
\"The<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe Excellence Class, with its expansive scenic windows.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The carriage smells faintly of walnut. Here, luxury travel is defined by quartzite surfaces, beige leather seats\u2014two passengers per window\u2014 and a swanky bar as the train pulls away from the Matterhorn\u2019s shadow at 8:52am sharp (Swiss precision, after all).<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\t
\"The<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tThe swanky bar in the Excellence Class.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Each passenger is provided with their own personal tablet, powered by an onboard server rather than the network, that tracks the route via GPS and narrates the highlights of the 8-hour journey in eight languages.<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\t
\"Right:<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tRight: A personal tablet for each passenger.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Tastes of luxury<\/h2>\n
\t
\n\t\t
\"Champagne;<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tChampagne; and pea and mint soup to start the day.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Breakfast opens with smoked trout with beetroot and horseradish cream (the start of a five-course meal) followed by a pea and mint soup scattered with dried Alpine blossom\u2014my personal favourite.<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\t
\"\"<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In spite of the long journey, I don\u2019t fall asleep for a second\u2014and hardly look at my phone. How could I, when you have such gorgeous landscapes to soak in from start to finish?<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\t
\"Feeling<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\tFeeling at peace with gorgeous views from start to finish.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Outside, the Mattertal valley gives way to Brig, its 17th-century castle glimpsed briefly before the train turns towards Andermatt. Nobody rushes. That\u2019s rather the point of the slowest express train in the world.<\/p>\n\n

From the high alpine views at the Oberalp Pass (the highest point of the trip at 2,033 meters above sea level) and the majesty of The Rhine Gorge (dubbed the Swiss Grand Canyon) to crossing the stunning Landwasser Viaduct, a six-arched limestone bridge along the UNESCO-listed Albula line, I don\u2019t want to miss a single view.<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"The<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Oberalpsee (Lake Oberalp) alongside the Oberalp Pass.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"Passing<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Passing through Andermatt.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>

\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"The<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Glacier Express across the Abula line.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\"Crossing<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Crossing the stunning Landwasser Viaduct.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Glacier Express is easily the most breathtaking train ride<\/a> I have gone on so far because Switzerland itself has the kind of natural beauty that encourages you to slow down. (I\u2019ll let the pictures do the talking).That I get to experience it in the lap of luxury just makes that experience even more memorable.<\/p>\n\n

To find out more or to make bookings, visit www.glacierexpress.ch.<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eight hours, 291 bridges and one very good glass of champagne. A first ride on the Glacier Express, from Zermatt to St Moritz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bzd_title_left":"","bzd_title_right":"","footnotes":"","bz_kicker":"Great Escapes","bz_opener":"classic","bz_photographer":"","bz_hero_caption":"","bz_hero_credit":"","bz_hero_clip":0,"bz_inset":0,"bz_tile_image":0,"bz_clip":0,"bz_tile_dek":"","bz_reading_time":"","bz_duration":"","bz_feature_small":0,"bz_feature_medium":0,"bz_feature_quote":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[363,364,365,366,367],"bz_slot":[],"class_list":["post-893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","tag-glacier-expres","tag-luxury-travel","tag-switzerland","tag-switzerland-tourism","tag-train"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1643,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893\/revisions\/1643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893"},{"taxonomy":"bz_slot","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.itp.luxury\/baz-my-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bz_slot?post=893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}