Switzerland · Window guide
Which side of the Glacier Express should you sit on?
A window guide to the Glacier Express (291 km, 34 narrated stories), built from the same route data the Rail Journeys app uses to trigger its narration.
Operated by Rhaetian Railway / Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn. Rail Journeys of a Lifetime is an independent audio guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any railway operator.
The short answer
- Toward St. Moritz: the narrated sights are split between the two sides of the train — sit where you like and let the narration tell you which way to look for each one.
- Toward Zermatt: the narrated sights are split between the two sides of the train — sit where you like and let the narration tell you which way to look for each one.
The app narrates each sight automatically as you reach it and says which side to look — this page is the same route, in order, for planning. "Left" and "right" are relative to the direction of travel.
Distances in the tables are measured along the route geometry from Zermatt and are approximate; the headline distance is the operator's published figure.
Before you board
- The Glacier Express reverses direction at Chur: after Chur, the side you were sitting on becomes the other side of the train. Side cues below are relative to the direction of travel.
- Trains call at different stations between Chur and St. Moritz (Thusis, Tiefencastel, Filisur, Bergün, Samedan and Celerina are served by some trains only); Visp is passed without a stop.
Toward St. Moritz
| Distance from start | Sight | Look | What you'll hear about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 km (0 mi) | 🚉 Zermatt | — | Station stop |
| 0 km (0 mi) | The Slowest Express in the World | Either side | Welcome aboard the Glacier Express. |
| 1 km (1 mi) | Zermatt & the Matterhorn Farewell | Either side | Before we go any further — look back. |
| 6 km (4 mi) | The Mischabel Wall & the Dom | Right side | As we drop down the valley, look up — to either side, where the rock climbs into the sky. |
| 19 km (12 mi) | The Mattertal & Its Guides | Right side | Watch the villages now — small clusters of dark timber houses, clinging to slopes so steep it looks as if they might slide into the river. |
| 27 km (17 mi) | Stalden: Village of Bridges | Either side | Coming up is the little town of Stalden — and look how it's held together. |
| 35 km (22 mi) | Visp: The Valley Opens | Right side | Feel the train ease now, and watch the walls begin to fall away. |
| 35 km (22 mi) | *Visp* | — | Passes through — not a passenger stop |
| 44 km (27 mi) | 🚉 Brig | — | Station stop |
| 44 km (27 mi) | Brig & the King of the Simplon | Left side | Coming into Brig, keep your eyes to the left — and watch for three towers, each capped with a golden onion dome, far too grand for a town th |
| 50 km (31 mi) | The Aletsch: The Greatest Ice in the Alps | Left side | See those little cable cars, crawling up the slope to your left? |
| 58 km (36 mi) | The Walser: People of the High Valleys | Left side | Look up — as high as you can, to the very top of the slope, where you can just make out a few rooftops where surely nobody should be living. |
| 61 km (38 mi) | The Goms: The Sun-Bronzed Villages | Either side | Watch the villages sliding by now — and really look at the colour of them. |
| 78 km (48 mi) | A Glacier Express Lunch | Either side | Lunch is on its way — and on this train you don't go and find it; it comes to you, course by course, right here at your seat, while the moun |
| 85 km (53 mi) | The Glacier That Got Away | Right side | Look up ahead, to that high pass we're about to vanish beneath — and let me tell you a small secret about this train. |
| 102 km (63 mi) | The Furka Base Tunnel | Either side | We're under the mountain now — fifteen kilometres of solid darkness, and nothing to see but your own reflection. |
| 110 km (68 mi) | 🚉 Andermatt | — | Station stop |
| 110 km (68 mi) | Andermatt & the Devil's Bridge | Either side | As we slide into Andermatt — a village tucked in a high, hidden bowl of a valley, ringed by mountains. |
| 117 km (72 mi) | The Rack to the Roof | Right side | Notice the train change its mind. |
| 120 km (75 mi) | Oberalp Pass & the Source of the Rhine | Right side | We've reached the top. |
| 130 km (81 mi) | Sedrun & the Gotthard Beneath Us | Right side | As we come gently down off the pass, following that young river, notice how ordinary this valley suddenly feels — green slopes, a quiet vill |
| 139 km (86 mi) | 🚉 Disentis/Mustér | — | Station stop |
| 139 km (86 mi) | Disentis Abbey | Left side | Look up to the left, to the great white building riding high above the valley — twin towers, far too grand for the little town beneath it. |
| 150 km (93 mi) | The Surselva: Switzerland's Living Latin | Left side | Listen to the names as we roll down this valley — the stations, the signs over the shops. |
| 163 km (101 mi) | Ilanz: First Town on the Rhine | Left side | Look at the river beside us now. |
| 169 km (105 mi) | The Rhine Gorge (Ruinaulta) | Either side | Now — look out. |
| 188 km (117 mi) | Reichenau: The Rhine Made Whole | Either side | Watch the water just ahead, where a second river comes swinging in from the south to meet ours. |
| 197 km (123 mi) | 🚉 Chur | — | Station stop |
| 197 km (123 mi) | Chur: The Oldest Town in Switzerland | Right side | As we come into Chur — which calls itself the oldest town in Switzerland — look at the old town: the roofs stacked up against the hillside, |
| 216 km (134 mi) | Domleschg: A Valley of Castles | Either side | As the train turns south and the valley begins to narrow, start watching the hilltops. |
| 225 km (140 mi) | Thusis: The Threshold | Right side | Thusis. |
| 233 km (145 mi) | The Solis Viaduct | Right side | Feel the train curve — and look down. |
| 237 km (147 mi) | 🚉 Tiefencastel | — | Station stop (some Glacier Express trains only) |
| 238 km (148 mi) | Tiefencastel: The White Church | Right side | A quieter moment now. |
| 246 km (153 mi) | The Landwasser Viaduct | Right side | Look. |
| 247 km (154 mi) | 🚉 Filisur | — | Station stop (some Glacier Express trains only) |
| 262 km (163 mi) | Bergün & the Albula Spirals | Either side | Now look out at the mountainside — and look closely. |
| 269 km (167 mi) | The Albula Tunnel | Either side | And now — the dark again. |
| 275 km (171 mi) | Bever: The Engadine Opens | Either side | Out of the dark — and look how it opens. |
| 277 km (172 mi) | Silence in the Engadine | Either side | For the next little while, I'm going to do the most useful thing I can. |
| 281 km (174 mi) | Samedan & the Bernina Beyond | Left side | Coming into Samedan — and if the day is clear, look south. |
| 281 km (174 mi) | 🚉 Samedan | — | Station stop (some Glacier Express trains only) |
| 286 km (178 mi) | 🚉 St. Moritz | — | Station stop |
| 286 km (178 mi) | St. Moritz: Journey's End | Right side | We're slowing now — and ahead is the end of the line: St. Moritz. |
Toward Zermatt
| Distance from start | Sight | Look | What you'll hear about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 km (0 mi) | St. Moritz: Journey's End | Left side | We're slowing now — and ahead is the end of the line: St. Moritz. |
| 0 km (0 mi) | 🚉 St. Moritz | — | Station stop |
| 5 km (3 mi) | 🚉 Samedan | — | Station stop (some Glacier Express trains only) |
| 5 km (3 mi) | Samedan & the Bernina Beyond | Right side | Coming into Samedan — and if the day is clear, look south. |
| 8 km (5 mi) | Silence in the Engadine | Either side | For the next little while, I'm going to do the most useful thing I can. |
| 11 km (7 mi) | Bever: The Engadine Opens | Either side | Out of the dark — and look how it opens. |
| 17 km (11 mi) | The Albula Tunnel | Either side | And now — the dark again. |
| 24 km (15 mi) | Bergün & the Albula Spirals | Either side | Now look out at the mountainside — and look closely. |
| 38 km (24 mi) | 🚉 Filisur | — | Station stop (some Glacier Express trains only) |
| 39 km (25 mi) | The Landwasser Viaduct | Left side | Look. |
| 48 km (30 mi) | Tiefencastel: The White Church | Left side | A quieter moment now. |
| 49 km (30 mi) | 🚉 Tiefencastel | — | Station stop (some Glacier Express trains only) |
| 53 km (33 mi) | The Solis Viaduct | Left side | Feel the train curve — and look down. |
| 61 km (38 mi) | Thusis: The Threshold | Left side | Thusis. |
| 70 km (43 mi) | Domleschg: A Valley of Castles | Either side | As the train turns south and the valley begins to narrow, start watching the hilltops. |
| 88 km (55 mi) | Chur: The Oldest Town in Switzerland | Left side | As we come into Chur — which calls itself the oldest town in Switzerland — look at the old town: the roofs stacked up against the hillside, |
| 88 km (55 mi) | 🚉 Chur | — | Station stop |
| 98 km (61 mi) | Reichenau: The Rhine Made Whole | Either side | Watch the water just ahead, where a second river comes swinging in from the south to meet ours. |
| 117 km (73 mi) | The Rhine Gorge (Ruinaulta) | Either side | Now — look out. |
| 123 km (76 mi) | Ilanz: First Town on the Rhine | Right side | Look at the river beside us now. |
| 136 km (85 mi) | The Surselva: Switzerland's Living Latin | Right side | Listen to the names as we roll down this valley — the stations, the signs over the shops. |
| 147 km (91 mi) | Disentis Abbey | Right side | Look up to the left, to the great white building riding high above the valley — twin towers, far too grand for the little town beneath it. |
| 147 km (91 mi) | 🚉 Disentis/Mustér | — | Station stop |
| 155 km (97 mi) | Sedrun & the Gotthard Beneath Us | Left side | As we come gently down off the pass, following that young river, notice how ordinary this valley suddenly feels — green slopes, a quiet vill |
| 166 km (103 mi) | Oberalp Pass & the Source of the Rhine | Left side | We've reached the top. |
| 169 km (105 mi) | The Rack to the Roof | Left side | Notice the train change its mind. |
| 176 km (109 mi) | Andermatt & the Devil's Bridge | Either side | As we slide into Andermatt — a village tucked in a high, hidden bowl of a valley, ringed by mountains. |
| 176 km (109 mi) | 🚉 Andermatt | — | Station stop |
| 184 km (114 mi) | The Furka Base Tunnel | Either side | We're under the mountain now — fifteen kilometres of solid darkness, and nothing to see but your own reflection. |
| 201 km (125 mi) | The Glacier That Got Away | Left side | Look up ahead, to that high pass we're about to vanish beneath — and let me tell you a small secret about this train. |
| 208 km (129 mi) | A Glacier Express Lunch | Either side | Lunch is on its way — and on this train you don't go and find it; it comes to you, course by course, right here at your seat, while the moun |
| 225 km (140 mi) | The Goms: The Sun-Bronzed Villages | Either side | Watch the villages sliding by now — and really look at the colour of them. |
| 227 km (141 mi) | The Walser: People of the High Valleys | Right side | Look up — as high as you can, to the very top of the slope, where you can just make out a few rooftops where surely nobody should be living. |
| 235 km (146 mi) | The Aletsch: The Greatest Ice in the Alps | Right side | See those little cable cars, crawling up the slope to your left? |
| 242 km (150 mi) | Brig & the King of the Simplon | Right side | Coming into Brig, keep your eyes to the left — and watch for three towers, each capped with a golden onion dome, far too grand for a town th |
| 242 km (150 mi) | 🚉 Brig | — | Station stop |
| 251 km (156 mi) | *Visp* | — | Passes through — not a passenger stop |
| 251 km (156 mi) | Visp: The Valley Opens | Left side | Feel the train ease now, and watch the walls begin to fall away. |
| 258 km (160 mi) | Stalden: Village of Bridges | Either side | Coming up is the little town of Stalden — and look how it's held together. |
| 267 km (166 mi) | The Mattertal & Its Guides | Left side | Watch the villages now — small clusters of dark timber houses, clinging to slopes so steep it looks as if they might slide into the river. |
| 280 km (174 mi) | The Mischabel Wall & the Dom | Left side | As we drop down the valley, look up — to either side, where the rock climbs into the sky. |
| 285 km (177 mi) | Zermatt & the Matterhorn Farewell | Either side | Before we go any further — look back. |
| 286 km (178 mi) | The Slowest Express in the World | Either side | Welcome aboard the Glacier Express. |
| 286 km (178 mi) | 🚉 Zermatt | — | Station stop |
Hear it as you pass
Every sight above has a fully narrated, source-checked story in the Rail Journeys app, triggered by GPS at the right moment — and it works with no signal. Get the Glacier Express guide